Modern-Era Must Knows About Service Businesses

Marketing your business, requires modern-era understanding of The Situation. Next comes the question: "How has The Situation changed"? Depending on your business, change could happen in 1 month. Then comes Strategy Development (my topic next week).

Competitors - In the old days, competing families would bring guns to church and then shoot each other after the singing. Huck Finn would appreciate today's business environment where (unlike the Grangerfords & Shepherdsons) this town IS big enough (or at least this planet) for both of us. You can learn powerful lessons from your competitors (despite your grumbling, they are in the same business). Don't like it, not one little bit? Follow their moves via the net. Social Media, email lists, networking, google search etc. Just like you, they have no option but to be transparent.

Company - The concept of and some people's reaction to outsourcing is outdated. Effective business models today, are built by defining the select functions that should be IN-Sourced, with all other functions outsourced, by default. Even the venerable (or shill for big business depending on your view) Forbes Article calls for discarding tax regs and laws leftover from a bygone era when manufacturing dominated the US economy. Businesses are increasingly being supported by easily contracted services. This can mean anything from hiring a whiz kid who knows the latest software to hiring fed ex to courier your packages. Find your Unique Value Proposition and stick to it.

Customers - Coinciding with the great consumer demand slump of 2009 came Web 2.0. The result is consumers with high standards; they do not accept overt solicitations. Rather, customers need to be informed by your business and receive something of value before even giving you the opportunity to explain the service offering. The days of drawn-out monologues, repetitive advertising, spamming, and even crafty SEO tactics, are gone. Your offered content must engage the consumer or its game over.

Climate - By now, its a bit anti-climatic for me to state "Internet" (which is the obvious one). Business are under a microscope. Amazon is being blasted for offering books geared to pedophiles. New laws are being created because of Google's data collection practices.
Wasting is unpopular, whether you are a consumer, a politician or a Wall St banker. Even vegan dieting has a growing foothold in American high society - Bill Clinton of all people has put down his cigar and picked up celery (or at least the latter).

Collaborate - Even before this became a corporate buzz word in 2010 it was part of classic situational analysis. Today, collaborating has truly come of age, in a time where technology and software can allow employees to work seamlessly from remote locations with other employees, sub-contractors, suppliers and business alliances.

Employ these concepts to better understand the particular business situation. Then comes strategy.