In today’s competitive business world, it’s tempting to perceive the leaders in your industry as enemies. So, instead of seeing large companies as Goliaths to be defeated -- or as barriers keeping you from entering a certain industry -- why not take their successes as opportunities to learn how to build a successful marketing strategy of your own? Fortunately, though, there are big players that actively seek to help you find your way to success. While Microsoft is taking an active role in bridging the gap, the company is just one example of a major corporation we can all learn from. Adobe: Employ “always-on” marketing. Walmart: Make affiliates’ lives easier. Affiliate marketing is a popular marketing method for a variety of companies, but Walmart’s active role in helping its affiliates is especially notable. Lesson learned: You don’t just have to make your services more accessible to your consumers to increase profits, but to your affiliates as well. Yet, it’s not just the minimalism that piques our interest in Netflix’s new shows or new seasons of old favorites -- it’s how much we don’t know that makes headlines. Netflix’s ads typically begin with nothing more than a release date, followed weeks later by a single viral image, then an episode list with no greater context.
It’s easy to be jealous of others’ success within your industry, but learning from the titans can be a free lesson in marketing.
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In today’s competitive business world, it’s tempting to perceive the leaders in your industry as enemies. After all, when you’re struggling to make a profit, who better to blame than those who are raking it in?
Jealousy, however, while great for a pity party, is not very useful for becoming the best business you can be. So, instead of seeing large companies as Goliaths to be defeated — or as barriers keeping you from entering a certain industry — why not take their successes as opportunities to learn how to build a successful marketing strategy of your own?
The big dogs can show you how
As a smaller company, you may feel as if you’re the underdog, desperate to overthrow your competition. Fortunately, though, there are big players that actively seek to help you find your way to success. Microsoft, for example, offers its partners ready-to-go marketing campaigns to help them elevate their own positioning with customers.
While Microsoft is taking an active role in bridging the gap, the company is just one example of a major corporation we can all learn from. Not every major player has opened its playbook, but businesses of every size can still emulate the successes of their larger peers by taking a moment to study their marketing methods.
1. Adobe: Employ “always-on” marketing.
Adobe has drastically changed its marketing tactics through a process called “always-on” marketing. Whereas the company used to spend months planning and executing what it hoped would be a…
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