The competitor that is ignored
Companies don't just compete for market share. They compete for relevance within the customer's priority stack.
Yet market share features heavily in marketing plans, KPIs, and board reports. People who matter know what the number is. And the team is always working to increase it. That is fair, because sales pay the bills.
But the real battlefield is upstream of that - the fight for relevance and importance in the customer's priority stack. This has to be won first before you can set foot in the brand selection arena.
Many marketers have experienced situations where their product was objectively better, awareness was high, and messaging was strong, yet customers still didn't buy.
The initial explanation is often along the lines of: the market is quiet, farmers have put their cheque books away, and our main competitors are experiencing the same thing (nothing like a bit of social proof to ease our concerns).
But the real issue is more likely to be a lack of relevance to the customer's current priorities.
So the next question becomes, how do I move the problem we solve up in the customer’s priority stack?
First, you need to know what their priority stack looks like. Making assumptions here can be misleading, as farmers' priorities are constantly shifting due to the dynamic nature of farming.
What I have observed in farmer interviews over the years is that they rarely stop caring about something altogether. What changes is where that issue sits relative to everything else competing for their attention, money, and time.
The best way to find out is to ask them.
For example, a milking system company may know that farmers rate automation highly, like their product, and are familiar with their brand.
Yet sales remain sluggish.
Why?
Because their priority stack might currently look like:
Debt reduction
Labour shortages
Succession planning
Environmental compliance
Milking system upgrade
The product isn't being rejected; the priority is being outranked.
Once you understand where their priorities lie and why they are priorities, you can then determine the optimal way to position your offering so it connects to their priorities.
In the above example, the milking system company could highlight product features that reduce the need for labour and the efficiency gains that improve longer-term ability to pay down debt.
How you frame a proposition can have a big effect on how it is perceived.
