Once you have determined the worth of your personal capital, the next stage is to think about how you position yourself in the market. Ultimately, I tend to find that marketing position is driven by two primary factors, the extent to which I am able to differentiate my offerings and how much I charge. Although there are many other factors that contribute to the market mix, for a quick and dirty sense of where I should operate these two hit the spot relatively quickly. We can use these two factors, to develop the matrix shown below. This is a market position model that challenges you to think about where you sit at the moment and where you want to sit so as to fully exploit your personal capital.
The suggestion is that you can opt to sit in any one of the
four boxes in the matrix, depending how much you and the market value your
personal capital. The four options are:
 |
Commodity – if you operate in this area you operate in a market that will generally have low entry barriers, but with the trade off that it will not generate significant margins. The upside is that with low start up costs, you have the flexibility to enter and withdraw from the market without taking a major risk. The downside is that it can be quite a battle, especially to maintain the low cost base that this type of market requires. Example of roles in this type of market will be those jobs that might be found in most employment centres or job agencies. We can start to see increased interest in the area form the new portfolio worker. If someone wants to balance their work and personal life, they might choose to have two or more positions from this segment. The result is that they have a spread of income and the flexibility to shift and rotate jobs at will. |
|
Market Share – In this segment, your aim is to enter the market as a specialist but with a low price position. The upside of this type of approach is that it offers the chance to get your personal brand known quickly in the market and to recoup some early revenue back on your investment costs. The down side is that you incur a degree of risk. If your specialist area is based upon something that was costly to acquire and you cannot generate the appropriate returns, then you will run the risk of falling at he first hurdle. The other point to consider is what type of knowledge does you specialist rely on. If it is a tacit based delivery, then it will be difficult for other people to copy or replicate the offering. However, if it is an explicit based offering, the risk is that a competitor will take your ideas and then offer then at a disconnected rate to yours. I have seen this approach being taken by a large number of web design companies that have surfaced with the growth of the Internet. As more and more people are gaining expertise in the field, so they are all trying to grow market share, which has resulted in pressure being placed on the day rate. If you operate in this field, the one question that you must ask is what can I do to realise the appropriate gain for my personal capital and how do I shift into the premium pricing range of the market. |
|
Relationship – one way is to move into spending more time on the softer aspects. Rather than trying to sell your products it can pay to sell you. To focus on the idea of developing relationships with your client base and only then move to a position where you sell your personal products. This is a classic marketing model and one that consultants exploit constantly. The upside is that it can help to lock in a long-term revenue steam and generate above average market return on your capital. The downside is that it can lead to over dependence and lock-in that can prove disastrous if the person moves on or you lose the relationships. |
|
Niche – Finally, it is possible to generate a premium return by offering a product that is unique in the market place. The benefit is that your ability to differentiate at a personal level can help build long tem revenue streams that are built around you rather than your employer. The down side is that markets can be fickle and change overnight. What was yesterday’s busting product is often to be found in the bargain bin a week later. So, if you follow this strategy, it is wise to ensure that you have contingency plans or products that you can call on if the market changes. |
(c) Mick Cope