Often times we get into business for many reasons but the best one. Some people, (like me) are unemployable- we cannot work well for others-we want to be our own boss. Other entrepreneurs get into business because they have acquired a personal passion or a preference for a product or service. Those entrepreneurs have the “great idea” that will make them rich. So we sell everything we have to start a business

What we often fail to do is define our market. The market is the most important asset to any entrepreneur. Market based decisions to be in business are very rare.


Dr. Kevin Flood,
www.floodthedenitst.com

If you do not define your market your market will define you! For example if you are a dentist who wants to be everything to anyone-why should your prospects choose you over any other dentist-what makes you so special that the prospect would pass over more conveniently located dentists to choose you. In your business if you are everything to anyone it is easy for your prospects to commoditize you-to make your product/service a commodity. Once your product/service becomes a commodity in the eyes of the prospect the only factor that separates you from everyone else who provides the same product/service is price. Offering the lowest price is not a good long term business plan. At the lowest price it becomes difficult to offer great service and a quality product/service. If you are anything to anyone, for example McDonald's, you have a huge market but do you have enough money to really impact the market- your pockets are not as deep as McDonald's

The first step we must all make in this economy is to reassess our market. Who are they? Where do they live? What do they read?  How do they dress? Where do they shop? What does this market buy? Is the market I want big enough to support me over an extended period of time? Is the market the right size for my financial resources? Is my market affordably reachable? Is this market already assembled-are others already marketing to this market? Who are they? Can I copy them? Can we work together? Does this market have an affinity for other connections in the community?

For example Dominos Pizza started next to a college. There was plenty of other pizza places close by. They studied the market and realized there was a place for them in this cluttered market. They advertised hot, fresh pizza in 30 minutes or it was free. Now clearly they were not advertising organic ingredients, or the best tasting pizza. They were offering hot fresh pizza in thirty minutes. That became their unique selling proposition to a market niche-college student. A college student market could care less if the ingredients were frozen ten years ago or were the highest quality; they only wanted hot fresh pizza fast. Tom Moynihan made millions with this market and his unique selling proposition.

Everyone sells coffee-why would Starbucks think that they could come into a cluttered market place and charge 3-4 times more than anyone else and be successful. They studied the market. What they discovered was that people not only enjoyed a great cup of coffee but often times wanted to sit down and enjoy their coffee. Starbucks not only provided a superior quality coffee; but also provided an experience. This is an important lesson and an idea that deserves its own article. The experience the prospect has at Starbucks is as important as the quality of the coffee.

In a market niche or a subculture the astute entrepreneur can leverage the marketing budget for maximum return. If you provide a distinct service for a market you are no longer considered a commodity. I am a dentist in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After several years in practice I realized this paradigm and began taking classes and educating myself to blend alternative holistic health trends with a traditional dental model to provide a new paradigm for dentistry that would not only improve your health but also offer the opportunity to change you life. I transformed my dental practice into a holistic or biological dental office.

My market was no longer anyone- I was now marketing to females’ age 35-55 who were concerned about their health. They were concerned about the environment. This market was concerned about nutrition. They would recycle. They would buy organic foods. They would shop at a health food store. This market was concerned about the long term effects of the dental materials on their bodies as well as the effect on the environment.

There are magazines that appeal directly to that market-“Healing" , "Better Homes and Gardens”, “Natural Awakenings”, and the “Women’s Journal”. I gave talks at health food stores.

It became much easier to contact this market. My service was no longer seen as a commodity.

Dr. Kevin Flood is a general dentist in Grand Rapids Michigan and the entrepreneur of The Dental Health and Wellness Center.

Dr. Flood has taken the principles of dentistry and interwoven them with alternative healing modalities such as nutrition, dental material sensitivity, and manual medicine to create a new paradigm for dentistry.

This new paradigm moves beyond drilling and filling and addresses the relationships of dentistry to the rest of the body.