What do you mean - Distinction over Competition?

When developing strategic alliances and fusion partnerships a good methodology is Distinction Over Competition.

Distinction is what differentiates you from everyone else. Every business has its own unique mission, vision and benefits. These include the type of products you carry, the brand of products or that distinct way you deliver your services.

Competition is not a bad word, but it is often used in a bad way. Having friendly competition in business can be a motivator, but too many times the word competition is used negatively. There is a mindset that without competition you become the monopoly, which will then guarantee you success in your venture. Some believe the idea in marketing is to crush the competition until they go out of businesses, thus giving you more market share.


Distinction over competition is working together with like-minded business to highlight all of the unique differences that you bring to the same target audience. Even businesses that are in the same industry will have subtle differences. Two stores that sell fashion will have different brands, styles of clothing and shopping environments. Although these two stores could be targeting the same audience, they both provide unique experiences.

Attitude is very important as it contains a hidden message. If you are excited about the variety and different experiences available within your industry, and you educate your customers about it, they will appreciate the enthusiasm and most likely will return. If you are negative about your competition and would like to see them go out of businesses, you could potentially be offending customers (especially in small towns).

Today’s consumers like variety and experience most of all. Being able to have a selection to choose from and creating an enjoyable purchasing process will create a happy customer. Happy customers go on to tell others about their wonderful experience, while dissatisfied customers will tell even more people about their negative experience.

The Fusion Marketing model is based on Distinction over Competition, working together to create a greater impact and reach is achieved through collaboration. When implemented correctly, Fusion Marketing focuses the efforts of a number of businesses to achieve similar goals. By working in a collaborative way you increase your reach and decrease your costs.

Fusion Marketing is based on the Fusion Model

The Fusion Model

The fusion model is the practice of having many voices saying the same thing, as opposed to just one. As an example, if you were to go to an event in a stadium or arena there would be the chatter and voices of many people saying many things. With everyone speaking about different things all at once it makes individual messages inaudible. Granted a very boisterous individual may get attention, but it will soon be overcome by the mass noise. At some point at these events a group of people will start to cheer the same message. They will repeat it together and their message will be heard throughout the stadium.

The Fusion Model is getting a group of people to start saying the same message so that it is heard clearly. When many businesses are all trying to get attention, messages get lost, while those who work together with a more unified message are heard clearer. By working together with a number of different businesses your message will have more power and influence, and you may reduce expenses, too.

The benefits to fusion are not just the ability to be heard but also the opportunities to increase your appeal, get more time with customers, lower your marketing costs, become an industry leader, educate more people about your vision and create a “WOW” factor.

Appeal
To have someone to want to come to your establishment is the goal of increasing your appeal. By fusing your efforts with other business, you have a bigger voice explaining to people why they should utilize your services. When one business refers customers to another, it acts as a testimonial.

Time
When like-minded businesses work together they can create more experiences for their target audience to enjoy. A group of business that send out a message that there are plenty of shops of the same industry in a specific community say that there is an opportunity to experience variety. There is a ratio of the distance a consumer will travel vs. the amount of time they will spend at their destination. Giving your target audience more to do will get them to come from greater distances and stay longer.

Costs
When you work as a group you have the opportunity to share costs. You also have the opportunity to utilize the benefits of your businesses to reduce expenditures. Contributing prizing, sharing displays and working for trade are examples of cost effective marketing ideas.

Leader
The best way to understand your audience is to do research. Businesses who communicate well with each other will share industry knowledge. When a customer realizes that you are a resource of information in your industry they will be more likely to refer your services or repeat business. A leader of their industry will know what is best for the customer even if it involves referring them to a competitor. When a customer is satisfied they will tell friends, if they are unhappy they will tell everyone.

Educate
From letting people know about your new product line, to helping causes get a stronger voice, you have an opportunity to increase the reach of your message by working with a group. Your service may be a benefit and complement another business; working together to educate your audience will result in smarter consumer.

WOW!
It is that goal we strive for when we are trying to impress. To get a “WOW” response from your target audience gets attention, and people have fun in the process. The formula to going from a good marketing campaign to a WOW campaign is passion and teamwork. When there are many people working on individual aspects of a marketing program they focus their enthusiasm.

Last year Sasha Kitch of Grounded Organic Coffee House gave all of her proceeds for one day to the Kootenay Kids Society Life after Birth Program. Sasha created a Fusion Promotion to raise money and awareness for a group that she is very close to. She worked with the business community, suppliers and the society to raise over $2,000 for the local family resource. This year she is adding more fusion partners and looking to raise even more money this year.

Stay tuned for updates on Grounded Gives to the Kids 2010.