Business Essentials 3: Knowing Your Place. Essential!

The other day I was driving to Atlanta. I was thirsty, tired, and I needed a PepsiMax (not a shock to anyone who knows me). I stopped at a Gas Bar at the next exit. I was in a hurry and hated to stop, so I took the opportunity to gas the truck up. Once I was done, I ran into the store and went to the Pepsi Cooler. Regular Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and every other kind of Pepsi soda; but no PepsiMax.

I asked the store clerk who helpfully said, “What a PepsiMax?” Grrrrrrr. So I ended up leaving and stopping at another exit where I finally got what I needed.

If you have a truly amazing product, you must have it available at the right place. Or your audience won’t discover it (or find it).

Here are 3 things to consider in order to make sure your placement is correct:

1. Know where your Audience is looking. Of course you know exactly who could benefit from your product, right? Now consider what they would be doing when your product comes to mind (could be a magazine, the web, or a bricks and mortar location). If you can identify where your target audience frequents, you can make sure your product is there. Once you figure out where they go, try to get your product available (or advertised) there.
2. Have a great POP. Point of Purchase. If you know your audience will coming to a certain place (web or location), make sure you have the correct, simple, professional way of communicating benefits to them. This can be search terms, advertising, or cardboard stand. The next time you’re looking for something, figure out what catches your eye to find it.
3. Educate those selling it for you. I’m amazed at the amount of times I ask a clerk for something and I get the response that I got for my PepsiMax run. Huh? What? If you’re relying on others (including a search engine), make sure they have the proper education to sell your benefits.

You’ve probably figured it out already, that it gets easier and easier to be in the right place, if you have a clearly defined, targeted audience. The smaller the target, the easier to figure them out. Start small, get successes and then grow! I may just go have a PepsiMax now…