It’s Wednesday, so that means it’s time for some small business consultation discussion. In my consultation practice, one of the most important things that I try to do for my clients is to make sure that they show their customers how their small business is DIFFERENT than any other option out there.
I hope that today’s Tip Sheet will help your business out too.
If you take NOTHING else away from what I say here at the Underdog Millionaire, it is my hope that today’s message is one of the sticking points.
One of the ways that I like to help my clients show their world that they are different, is through the use of preemptive marketing.
Preemptive marketing is a strategy where you take unique features in the development, manufacturing, processing, installation, research, or some other process in your business that is not well-known and you EXPLOIT it in your marketing.
When you use this strategy, even though your competition may produce their product in the same way, since you’re the one that used it first, they’ll seem like a copycat if they try to use it later. This is one of the key strategies that you can use when you create your Unique Selling Proposition (USP), which is the absolute foundation of all your marketing.
Claude Hopkins first did this with Schlitz Beer, where he exploited the way that the bottles were washed and sanitized in the bottling process. At the time, all other beer was made the same way, but Schlitz was the first one to capitalize on it. This worked so well, Schlitz became the number one beer maker (for awhile).
So what does any of this have to do with Dr. Pepper?
Well, awhile back Dr. Pepper was also trying to regain some market share and they chose a preemptive strategy in order to bring their brand back out of the grave.
They use 23 different flavorings in their “top secret” soda pop making process, in order to get that weird cherry/prune/eggplant (who knows what to call it) flavor in their beverage.
…pretty much every other soda pop manufacturer uses a whole batch of crazy chemicals as well, in order to get their secret recipes, but Dr. P was the first one to stick it on the can.
Their tactic gave them a marketing stronghold, where if any of their competitors tried using the same thing, they would look like a bunch of rip-off artists.
Now, unfortunately Dr. Pepper completely botched their preemptive marketing strategy and has since ditched the effort after a very short-lived campaign. Now they are over the place with using KISS as their sales campaign, which in my mind is product suicide, because they are selling the band and not the product.
…we’ll see how it goes.
What do you think? This can be a very powerful tool, especially if you have a commodity-like business. What are you going to do with your marketing to show that you are DIFFERENT than the other guys?
In your service,
Joshua Black
P.S. Make sure you get on the notification list for the Underdog Marketing 101 launch party. There is going to be a huge bag of extra goodies for the people that are on the list come launch day. (Upper right hand corner of the blog)
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{ 4 comments }
Interesting read and I never noticed Dr. Pepper doing this so good to find out, although I have to say it tastes horrible!
This follows the line of making a USP so that you stand out against your competitors, something to make you different. Maybe a good one for Dr. Pepper could be to make a different shaped can? They are all the same, making a different shape could make them stand on the shelf and also give them free press for making a new can which could maybe be more ergonomic.
Anyway, thanks for the post, just starting reading your website and there is some interesting reads about!
Simon Duck.
Thanks Simon,
Yes, I agree that Dr. Pepper tastes like something out of a morgue, but there are a few folks out there that like it and they are going to need to do something to strengthen that position if they want to still be around in the future.
Preemptive marketing is just another tool to get you to your USP there are a lot more in my system as well. Thanks for stopping by.
-Joshua Black
I was very confused by Dr. Pepper’s switch to the Kiss campaign. I think another example of what you are talking about is Coors campaign of brewing with cold water.
First off, most beers do the same thing, and brew in cold water. If they do not, it really does not matter to the final taste of the product, but they exploit that very well in marketing “The Banquet Beer.”
Thanks Josh,
Yep, there are so many missteps out there in the world of the big brands. They don’t have the advantages that a small business has. Shareholders want to see brands with big images, even though that image may have nothing to do with influencing the customer’s purchases. My favorite new beer disaster is the Miller Lite vortex bottle. They actually rifle the necks of their glass bottles, but even their own commercials cannot tell you why they did it. At least the Underdog Millionaires know better, eh?
-Joshua Black