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Oct 30 2009

Where’s your truckstop?

This begins a new series of five articles on getting more from your existing marketing program for little or no money.
My hometown of Knoxville seems to be the epicenter of the U.S. Interstate highway system and, most logically, mega-truckstops have sprung up at the intersection of major routes. These truckstops offer ACRES of every possible good, service and convenience for the trucker: clothes, food, showers, truck accessories, parts, repairs — anything you can imagine.
I’ve fantasized that being a marketing manager for a product aimed at truck drivers must be the greatest job in the world. Think about it — all you have to do is get your product on the store shelf and hundreds, maybe thousands, of customers drive to see you every day! Wow. What could be easier than that?
Marketing your business might not be THAT simple, but there is a lesson here. Where’s YOUR truckstop? Where do YOUR customers congregate?
If you can answer that question, it might lead to important insights that can make your marketing initiatives more effective, focused and inexpensive.
Where do your typical customers gather to get their news and information? Entertainment? Recreation?
Where do they shop, dine, exercise, worship?
What Internet sites would they most likely visit? What magazines do they read?
Are there businesses similar to yours where your customers buy goods and services?  Could those “truckstops” also offer YOUR products and services in a partnership?
There are several relatively inexpensive ways to conduct this simple research and it might lead to ways to create competitive advantage through your targeted marketing efforts.
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Tags: competitive advantage, customer acquisition, Internet marketing, marketing budget, marketing strategy, recession marketing

Filed in B2B and social media, Marketing best practices, best practices, business relationships, business strategy, customer acquisition, marketing strategy | markschaefer

1 Comment

  • By Ryan Taft, August 4, 2009 @ 8:15 pm

    Great post. It's so important for people to understand where their targets are spending time.

    When it comes to online tools,it's not just about using them, it's about making them work hard for your business. Tools like Facebbok, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, etc. aren't as effective unless they are focused on your target audience, are consistently used by you to communicate with your target audience, and are positioned in areas where your target audience frequents.

    Best,
    Ryan Taft
    Catalyst Marketers
    http://www.squidoo.com/Catalyst-Marketers

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