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Landing The Big Fish

Transcript of Radio Column produced for CBC Radio One
By Jacqueline Drew
START Marketing Inc.
www.startmarketing.com

Do the big fish only swim with the big fish?

I was very surprised recently to receive a call from a retail chain with almost 300 stores across Canada. As a strategic marketing consultant with a small firm, I assumed that such large retail accounts would only contact the big marketing and advertising agencies of the world. And how did they hear about my firm? Through a radio advertisement I was running, and through finding us at the top of Google.

This was a big eye opener for me. So I thought I'd pass along the insight it's given me:

1. First, size doesn't really matter. Ability matters. Yes, it so happens that sometimes the biggest firms got to be the biggest because they were the best. But other times, the big firms only USED to be the best. And sometimes, the best firms are simply small and specialized. If you can honestly say you do not know a competitor who can do a better job than you can, then go out there and get the best clients – even if they are far bigger than you are!
2. Second, market yourself like a big shot. You don't need to have a lot of staff to impress a client, but if you have the best product or service, and you are marketing it well, the professionalism you project will create a position of leadership for you, even if you aren't the biggest. The client I'm talking about remembered almost all of what I said in my radio ad, and recited it back to me – which put my firm ahead of some much larger competitors.
3. Finally, price yourself as though you are the market leader. People generally believe that the highest priced product is the best…and if you are trying to convince them you are the best, it will be a lot easier if your price reflects the same story. In my case, the client thought my price was a bit high, but immediately started negotiating with me, proving he already wanted to make it work.

So there you go. It isn't biggest likes biggest. It's best likes best. And if you keep thinking that way, you'll soon find you become one of the biggest too – if you want to – and as long as that “best” priority always comes first. And you'll never know how big a fish you yourself can become.