Stop attacking your competition's weaknesses. Their customers did not buy from them because of these weaknesses. They bought from them because of their strengths. If you are going to take the market share from your competition, you need a new Direct Strategy.

Here is how it works:

• Step 1: Determine the strengths of your competitor's position.
• Step 2: Find a weakness in the leaders strength.
• Step 3: Reposition their strength into weakness.
• Step 4: Launch your attack there, on a narrow a front as possible.
• Step 5: Attack major weaknesses.
• Step 6: Make major weaknesses your strengths.

The strategy to attack the competitor's strength may seem to fly in the face of business logic. First keep in mind that you won't take a significant number of clients away from your competitors by always attacking their weaknesses.
Why? Because clients didn't buy from your competitor because of their weaknesses; they bought based on their strengths. Finding their "weakness in their strength" will provide you with your advantage over your competition, but it will also make you very attractive to their clients.

Here are a couple examples of how this has worked:

Example 1:
A real easy way to explain this is to see how Scope used this to take market share away from Listerine. Their strength? Listerine mouthwash kills germs. (Step 1) Scope found the weakness in the strength (Step 2) and repositioned that strength into a weakness (Step 3). Then they attacked on the narrowest front possible (Step 4). Scope attacked Listerine with an advertising campaign: "If you are tired of medicine breath, try Scope". They repositioned Listerine's strength into a weakness. It was a tremendous marketing success. For years competitors tried to take market share from Listerine and failed. Only when Listerine's strength became a weakness did they lose market share.

Example 2:
When F. W Woolworth opened his first store, an established retailer across the street immediately responded to Woolworth's grand opening by hanging a sign on his store, "Doing business in the same spot for 50 years." The next day Woolworth responded with a sign on his new store, "Established a week ago, no old stock." What a great example of repositioning a competitor's strength into a weakness.

If you want to take market share from your competition, learn how to reposition their strength into a weakness. It may take some work but it will be worth it.

Today's television stations have little or no time for public service announcements, and the non-profit organizations are hard pressed to keep their names and causes in the public eye. There is only one: Jerry Lewis telethon on Labor Day for Muscular Dystrophy. Many not-for-profit capital campaigns are using some of their donations and grants to purchase advertising to market their cause.

Should a non-profit brand themselves?

Often, I have found that nonprofits feel that if they concentrate funds or effort on branding, they are behaving too much like a for-profit company or are utilizing donor gifts for something that isn't really in support of the organization's mission. Not true. Campaign branding is integral to the success of any capital campaign and should be seen as a must-have rather than an unnecessary luxury. Remember, successful capital campaigns are the primary way nonprofits are able to expand their services they provide to the community.

An important thing to remember, especially if you come from a for-profit marketing background, is knowing your audience is imperative to creating a campaign brand. While marketing campaigns for products and companies are driven to appeal to the widest audience possible, non-profit campaigns are not. Rather, a successful major gifts campaign may only need to appeal to 20 people - just make sure you know before you start your branding who these people are and what will touch them most.

The first thing you should not do is decide a week before your campaign launches that you are ready to start branding. Logos may seem easy to create but coming up with a fully articulated brand is something that should happen over time. Its construction should be at least reminiscent of your organizations brand (through use of your colors and font) but should be distinct so donors receiving appeals know this request will be for something very special rather than for an annual appeal.

Next comes the creation of a campaign slogan. "Campaign for XYZ Hospital: The Time is Now!" seems like a catchy slogan but it tells you little about the purpose of the campaign. Instead, find a way to articulate the mission of the campaign and condense that into a few words. Also, remember having a message isn't the same as a having a plan. Your slogan should be specific as to what you want and how you hope to get it.

Once you have a logo and a slogan you feel communications your mission and vision, you are ready to put your campaign brand into action. Use it everywhere. Create stationary with the new logo. Notepads, thank-you notes, envelopes and brochures should all carry the campaign brand. Likewise, meeting agendas and minutes, e-blasts, email signatures, and any other method which which you will communicate with board members and the general public should include this important new image and slogan.

Most importantly, make the image and the language something your staff embraces. For a campaign to be successful, everyone must speak with the same language, talk about the goals and vision in the same way. Taking the time to create a banner under which you all move forward is the first step in drumming up enthusiasm from within; from there, you're ready to take your message to the outside.