I am not fond of surprises, especially when they come in business. When a shift in business happens that you did not see coming, it usually has a negative impact on your company. So how do you keep from being taken aback?

If you are paying attention to your marketing, you should see changes coming your way in two distinct areas. First, among your target market, if attitudes change about your brand, your business or your industry, you have to maneuver your marketing to adjust. That may be as extreme as coming up with new products and re-branding or as simple as addressing the change in a blog. For instance, attitudes about fast food, especially those that serve hamburgers and deep-fried food, have changed in the past decade. Burger King recently introduced a vegetable-based burger – the Impossible Whopper – to try to reverse a slide of the fast-food market share. Three years ago, Burger King was the fourth highest grossing fast-food restaurant in the U.S. The latest report says they have dropped to number seven. * They had to do something different. If you are faced with a change in your customer’s attitudes about you, listen to what they are saying. Smart marketing listens and responds to its customers’ concerns.

The second area where staying in touch will help you address coming change is in regards to your competition. The more competition you have, the more choices your target market has. Let’s go back to fast-food restaurants. Not too long ago, fast food was primarily a sandwich and french fries gig. There was not much choice beyond small, medium, and large. That has all been turned on its head. Not only are consumers eating less burgers and fries, their choices are much broader than sandwich shops. Taco Bell has jumped over Burger King and is now the fourth largest grossing fast-food chain. They will more than likely supplant Subway Restaurants for the number three spot sometime this year. Starbucks owns the number two spot. Both Taco Bell and Starbucks are trending upward. *

What do you do when your competition offers more choices? When choices become diverse, you have to do something to stand out from all the rest. First, it is good to offer something new that will catch the attention of the consumer. Does that mean I have to keep adding menu items just because my competition is offering the same thing? Maybe, but probably not. You can water down your main product or service offerings by adding too many choices to your own list of products. Here is a rule of thumb: if it pairs well with your main thing, expand your offerings (like adding tomato and lettuce to your hamburgers). If it takes away from your central product, don’t do it (like adding tacos as a side dish to your hamburgers). That brings me to the second point. You have to define your target market and find out what they are thinking. If you have a target market that still wants what you are making, promote your new product offerings to them. Make them aware of what is new. Market to them to try your product. Give them a reason to come back over and over. This is how you survive the flood of choices given to consumers.

No one likes to be surprised in business. Make sure your marketing is measuring the attitudes of your customers. Also, make sure you are aware of all the choices your competition is putting before your target market. Make sure you are prepared to make the changes needed to stay relevant to the people who are buying from you.

*According to QSR – see Ranking The Top 50 Fast-Food Chains in America, https://www.qsrmagazine.com/content/qsr50-2019-top-50-chart