Marketing for Small Business Competition

Group 9: Hana Alkurdi, Hiba Khan, Jiana Khazma

Fixture King: Situational Overview

-

Dallas-based
company
specializing in
restaurant supplies &
equipment, as well
as other home and
business fixtures
Well-established
local business using
B2B & B2C selling

Current marketing does not

produce a differentiated position
among competitors
However, a start-from-scratchplan is too risky
- How can the current and
traditional marketing methods in
use be modified to create a more
differentiated and successful
position?
- What is a strategy for smooth
transition in marketing efforts?

Marketing Tip #1 FK should

highlight what the competitors are
missing through modernized &
digestible social media outreach
Marketing Tip #2 Reaching
potential customers through
community presence; making their
presence felt in the community overall
Marketing Tip #3 Following up with
customers after purchase via E-letters

Our Game Plan:

We have an extensive goal
Redirect traditional marketing strategies to differentiate our
business objectives among competitors

While switching from traditional to modern

marketing is wildly successful for other types of
businesses, we are careful in assessing where
our market stands. In selling what we sell, and
in being a local business altogether, our target
market cannot solely rely on a switch away
from traditional marketing techniques. We hope
to offer a blend of marketing strategy, adding
onto what we have done in the past, and letting
go that which has not worked for our business.

and specific objectives

Traditional methods are still producing results, particularly
for our core target segments, but we also need to use new
methods. Whats a blended strategy?

Modernize & improve social media outreach

Improve & edify community presence

Follow up with customers after purchase

Marketing Tip #1 FK Should Highlight What the Competitors Are Missing

Through Modernized & Digestible Social Media Presence

As a small business, marketing must cater to our special

circumstances. Our primary goal throughout the years
has been to come out on top of local competitors.
Right now, FixtureKings marketing is undifferentiated
from that of competitors. This is an issue because FK
offers services and products unique to its business that
are not offered anywhere else. If customers are oblivious
to this, FK risks losing business over time and making a
bigger name for themselves within the community.
The best way to stand out? Our recommendation to FK is
to highlight what FK does that no one else does (as
detailed in the upcoming slides).

Example
website tweak
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Marketing Tip #1 FK Should Highlight What the Competitors Are Missing

Through Modernized & Digestible Social Media Platforms

Highlighting our commitment to standard

on our social media as well as we do on
our website its as simple as propogating our
message across all platforms:
Our website content (right) is strong evidence of the
corporate responsibility we feel towards our
customers (see red boxes for examples).
However, what works on a website in paragraph form
needs tweaking for stronger marketability on other
platforms, such as social media.
Some may argue, however, that paragraph-style
wording even on a web page is not digestible for
browsing. We suggest breaking down content on all
media channels for more effective marketing of our
strengths against competitors.
Screenshot from FixtureKing website

Making the traditional

paragraph-style more digestible
Key FixtureKing Advantages Over
Competitors

- Sells new and used equipment

- Price-matching
- Sells fixtures beyond
restaurant equipment
- Newsletter & email letter

- Graphical overview of how FK is

different
- Use this graphical representation
in advertising
- Can use graph as before and after
of website (paragraph form
chart form)
- Shows that same information can
be more effective if presented
differently

- 20 + years in the business

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Marketing Tip #1 FK Should Highlight What the Competitors Are Missing

Through Modernized & Digestible Social Media Platforms

In the next slides we explore how to go about

catering advertising to different platforms, and
why only using a website as media marketing can be
a regression for the company as new forms of digital
outreach can offer an edge over competitors.

Example Ads for Social Media

Same message modernized approach
Facebook- and platform-friendly

Ace Mart and Restaurant

Depot are certainly not
utilizing their social media
savvy as well as
FixtureKing does in these
innovative ads!

Facebook-friendly ads make it

easier and more attractive for
customers (business or nonbusiness) to keep up-to-date
with holiday deals or special
promotions.

Marketing Tip #1 FK Should Highlight What the Competitors Are Missing

Through Modernized & Digestible Social Media Platforms

Marketing Tip #2 Reaching Customers Through Community Presence

Promotional events
-

As a local business, it is important to attend

promotional business expos yearly
Why? To increase community presence,
maintain relevance within community, &
gain first-hand exposure to new
customers where competitors do not have
a presence
We suggest attending the Dallas Expo in 2015 with
brochures highlighting our key strengths
(discussed further in upcoming slides!)

Promotional deals
-

Using promotional deals in moderation could be a

great way to improve customer loyalty. While
previous customers are not likely to return on as
frequently of a basis due to the nature of our
business, they will be aware of our constant
commitment to providing the best deals for our
customers
Holiday and promotional deals also easily draw in
new customers who are browsing through
competitors and possible business options

Marketing Tip #1 FK Should Highlight What the Competitors Are Missing

Through Modernized & Digestible Social Media Platforms

Marketing Tip #2 Reaching Customers Through Community Presence

Marketing Tip #3 Following up with customers after purchase via E-letters

1) Utilizing unused data for email outreach:

Implement a post-purchase email letter
Implement a bi-annual newsletter

Email Letter

Automatically send an email to customers after

their purchase(s) to reiterate our strengths
(discussed in next slides). These points will stay
fresh in their minds long after the purchase & go
hand-in-hand with our customer loyalty attitude

Newsletter

Keep customers up-to-date after we acquire latest

equipment at yearly trade show (NAFEM)
We typically acquire new equipment year-round,
and want our previous customers to be aware
Newsletter sent bi-annually; avoids
excessiveness; also an avenue to inform customer
on promotional deals!

Currently, FixtureKing stores

customer emails but does not
utilize them for long-term
marketing. We suggest taking
advantage of this information
through these strategies

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Marketing Tip #1 FK Should Highlight What the Competitors Are Missing

Through Modernized & Digestible Social Media Platforms

Marketing Tip #2 Reaching Customers Through Community Presence

Marketing Tip #3 Following up with customers after purchase via E-letters
2)
Building off of point #1
in implementing Eletters, these are the
types of reminders we
would include, both for
post-purchase
reiteration, and yearly
reminders for previous
customers

Reminding our customers Why FixtureKing

Redirect advertising efforts (i.e., social media) to

emphasize key qualities that give us an edge over
competitors:
Customer Service
-

Customers come right back to the same

salesperson they started with if they need us after
purchase for repair, follow-ups, etc.

Not an eCommerce-only business

Many of our competitors are online but they can't

compete with our one on one, face-to-face service.
Subsequently, we also offer online browsing &
purchasing as well. We are there for any issues,
which can be an issue with online-only competitors.

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Marketing Tip #1 FK Should Highlight What the Competitors Are Missing

Through Modernized & Digestible Social Media Platforms

Marketing Tip #2 Reaching Customers Through Community Presence

Marketing Tip #3 Following up with customers after purchase via E-letters
2)
The information we
market is just as
important as the
methods we use for
marketing.
Emphasizing key
differences from
competitors will help
FixtureKing to stand
out more effectively.

Reminding our customers Why FixtureKing

Price Matching
Many times people come in to see a product
they are thinking of buying online from a
competitor. After being helped by our
knowledged staff, and because of our pricing
matching, in most cases, they end up buying
from us instead
Many people still are not comfortable
buying from someone online, especially
large items, and others have bought from
the Internet and had difficulties so now
prefer to buy from a storefront.

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Works Cited
Holtzclaw, Eric. "10 Simple Marketing Tips for Small Businesses." Inc.com. Mansueto Ventures, 26
Sept. 2013. Web. 8
Dec. 2014.

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