Think Platform to Launch Your Business!

If you notice the successful businesses today have a synergy of businesses or business interest that feed and support each other.

If you look at a company like Disney, they have the Disney Channel, they have a radio network and magazines and each of these are successful alone, but these entities serve as a platform to market their movies, videos, theme parks and so forth.

They license their famous characters out for a substantial price and when those characters appear on t-shirts or coffee mugs all over the world they quietly advertise Disney, its one big cycle.

Now you may be saying, “Well Disney is a gigantic company”, that is true, but the concept works for large companies and small companies.

I think if done intelligently and carefully it works better for smaller companies.

The Importance of a Platform

The term platform is often used when it comes to ‘media’. If we use Disney as an example again with their magazines, the radio and television network, and all of their websites, when they release a new product or service its success is practically guaranteed…

It’s difficult to get a book deal nowadays. The publishers prefer to deal with authors that have a platform which in their eyes cements a certain number of sales.

They look at their followers on Twitter, the number of friends on Facebook, if they have an email list or radio/TV program which gives them influence.

You see the platform is what drives sales.

Ok, you’re probably thinking what does this have to do with my business.

You Need Your Own Platform

Your platform does not have to be the size of Disney and you don’t have to be a famous personality with a million followers on twitter.

But you want to have a platform that will allow you to reach your customers as well as new potential customers, when you roll out a new promotion, product, or service.

You want to be your own conglomerate.

Let me see if I can give you a clearer picture of what I’m talking about.

You…The Mogul!

When you just flat out promote your business, radio, television, newspaper, and other media want you to buy advertising.

Now every serious entrepreneur knows how expensive this can be.

In fact, this is where a great deal of businesses dies.

Either they blow all of the resources on ineffective advertising or they don’t have the resources to let enough people know about their product or service to make a profit.

The other drawback here is that the public is generally turned off by advertisers; the consumer tends to view you and your business as just another salesperson intruding on their valuable time trying to take their money.

When you think platform you give yourself something else valuable to promote without directly advertising your product or services.

You may be asking what I mean.

Let me use myself as an example.

As publisher of this Blog and author of several FREE e-books the doorway to potential customers and clients are wide open.

There may be 1000 people reading this post at the same time you are reading it.

Radio program host and event organizers are excited and happy to interview me and have me as a guest.

If I just wanted to promote The Association Of Black Entrepreneurs or one of my other products, these avenues would probably be locked and harder to enter.

Also, my e-books position me as an authority in my niche or category, it allows me to share my message more in-depth giving me an advantage over others who would be attempting to market to my target customer.

So how could a person with a local clothing store use this type of positioning strategy or something similar?

The local radio and television stations will not have you on to promote your clothing store, but if you have a website that people can access for free to help people save money in a tough economy, where they can get the “27 Ways To save Money On Clothes”.

Maybe you can have other experts giving money saving tips on the site. Can you see how much easier that would be to promote

Could you organize an event or a cruise that would appeal to your market, where the only way they could get in was to wear something from your store?

Heard of White parties and Black parties?

Imagine having a monthly Newsletter featuring celebrities wearing your fashions and you had thousands of people receiving your newsletter.

You could have accessories available through your newsletter and anything else that compliments your store. The possibilities are endless.

The point is to use your business to build a platform and then use your platform to promote and support your business as well as generate other avenues of revenue.

Those other avenues of revenue can come from Strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures.

I’ll talk more about those tomorrow.

Let me know your thoughts about building a platform and what you plan to do to reposition your present business as a platform

Just post it below….

Talk to you tomorrow.