Building a marketing "Moat" or "Armada" - to future proof your business?
Two things to consider.
We all know that in the good ole days, they built moats around castles to make them harder to attack.
This was but one strategy to create an impenetrable, indestructible castle.
When it comes to business, I believe there are similar strategies you can use to create a business that can withstand any environment and continue pushing forward.
What is a marketing moat? Well, a marketing moat would be an analogy for one strategy to create a defensible business model.
And honestly, I don’t like the analogy. It implies that you’re gonna sit back and be on the defensive.
Really, you need to be on the offensive.
What sounds better to me is a Marketing Armada. An entire fleet of coordinated marketing strategies that you send out to sea. Moving most of your chess pieces forward in unison.
What does this entail? There are two main things that come to mind.
Having a multitude of offers. Low price, high price, different packages, different service levels, etc.
Having an array of marketing tactics in motion.
#1 is important because…
You are able to quickly adapt when you have a branded house of offers. You have something to sell to a higher % of your target market. And so you have the ability to maximize revenue. This approach has worked very well for me. Some people disagree, and you will find those who recommend having just one offer and price point and being laser focused on that. That’s fine for some people. For me, I have found more success going the other direction.
Now, you don’t need 15 different offers/products to keep track of. I’ve found 3-4 is a good number and manageable.
#2 is important because….
There are lots of ways to market your business. I believe you should be implementing 2-4 new major marketing initiatives per year. These are usually not one-offs, but hopefully will be evergreen. Meaning they keep working for you, and you can keep layering one on top of the next. Not all will work out, which is why you have to continue to try new things.
This future proofs your business, because you don’t have to worry about your marketing failing you. If you have 7 different primary sources of business…you don’t care too much if 1 stops working.
How important is it to take this stuff seriously and make sure your business is properly positioned?
Well, think about the economic downturns we’ve had in the last 25 years. We’ve had essentially 3 big ones. 2001, 2008, 2020.
So every 7-12 years something happens. This is pretty consistent if you go back even further.
The last one was 4.5 years ago.
Thus, you might say that the next one could be 2.5 years away. (Hopefully not, but you get the point)
Most of my clients are seasoned in the game of business.
So likely this is not news to you.
But hopefully a good reminder, and gives you an idea or two to spark something.
None of this is to say that I am pessimistic about things. The American economy is an absolute juggernaut and we, as always, have an unbelievable amount of opportunity in front of us. Even so, rainy days do come and while we are making hay, let’s make sure we’re ready for all seasons.
Let’s go!!!!
Josh
Josh Turner
Multiple times Inc 500 + 5000, Sold multiple business for 7 figures plus, WSJ Bestselling author, building moats and armadas.