Supermarket blues and reds
Big business or small business – we all have to have a type of offering our public understands. What do we represent? Whom do we represent?
Even the best most experienced businesses can get confused. In the UK, our biggest supermarket, Tesco, has lost sales. Their appeal may have declined because they cannot decide whether to emphasise their quality or their cheaper offerings.
One of their rivals, Sainsburys, has done well as a known purveyor of quality. They have not tried to be so cheap, though they do try to represent value. That does not mean that in supermarket-land there is anything wrong with cheap. The big discounters are doing well too. People know what they stand for and what to expect when they go to their shops.
My bigger pictures (or photo albums)
I like to take photographs and I like Flickr. That does not mean I am any good as a photographer (probably not) but I like a good place to share and especially to learn from others. I know what Flickr stands for.
Recently I thought I would look at Google’s Picasa as I had heard good things two or three years ago. However everything has been moved to Google+ Photos and while I am on Google+ it all seems a disorganised mess. Google changed the offering, and while I appreciate that Google is innovative and keen on evolution of its products, Picasa web is no good to me.
Credit is due to Yahoo for creating a platform in Flickr where everyone understands why they are there and can share their photos and network with those whose work they like. Of course there are complaints about any changes to the site’s appearance and presentation, but Flickr developers do ask for feedback for beta changes, so we feel we belong.
Confused? You will be
Too often I see professional firms saying for example that they specialise in e.g. Accountancy, Corporate Tax, Corporate Recovery, Financial Services, Human Resources, Office Support etc.. You see what I mean? They do not actually specialise in anything, and do not seem an obvious choice if you need one of those services. You would rather go to the firm which concentrates on the service you want, or at least had some provenance in that particular area.
Take a stand
What do you stand for? My “High Street” tax help offering is for landlords and let property even though I could help you with other things if you asked.
What is your speciality? What convinces your new customers to come to you rather than someone else?