Most marketing strategy books and articles are aimed at big brands, the consumer sector, or both. If you’re responsible for marketing at a company few people have heard of, addressing a technical sector, it’d be easy to dismiss most of what gets described as being a little other-worldly. If your advertising budget is a few hundred pounds a month, you’re not going to be devoting much to creating and promoting a brand manifesto, or whatever the latest trend is.
However, although you may not feel this concerns you, it might be worth looking at any larger competitors. What sort of an image are they trying to establish for themselves? And what about competitors of all sizes who just get lumbered with an image because of circumstances such as their country of origin? Indeed, do you have an instinctive brand perception which you haven’t even tried to create? If you’re called ‘Acme & Son (1887) Ltd’, people are going to jump to conclusions, especially if the competition is the Dynawhizz Corporation of Coolsville, California. (These needn’t be bad conclusions, by the way).
So try to work out how you’re perceived, and think about how your competitors are too. You’ll be aware of your own USPs, so how does this all work together, what opportunities are there, and how can you differentiate yourself? It needn’t cost a lot to associate yourself with a desired niche in the market.