By Tom Davis
Las Vegas, Nevada — October 10, 2017 — Do you ever feel like the industry is a battlefield? Tom Shay might agree with you. Shay uses the teachings of General George Patton to explain how multiple businesses can succeed in the same marketplace.
His presentation, “Business Management: If General Patton ran your business” will take place at this year’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
The presentation will use a movie as the focal point of how General Patton learned to fight a war, something that Shay believes is very similar to business. There will be a specific focus on how businesses can find their own niche in a competitive industry. He will use examples of how soft drinks, stores and car brands found their own place in the market.
One example Shay gives is how car brands competing in the same pricing bracket have managed to create their own piece of the market. Whether it’s being known as the safest or the most environmentally-friendly, they have all created a strategy that focuses on a particular segment of the market.
“Companies need to create their own niche in the market,” says Shay. “One example I give is if one bodyshop is offering repairs by appointment only, but there is a nearby competitor letting consumers drive straight into their shop to be seen, why would anyone choose the first shop?”
The second aspect of the presentation will focus on the tactics that businesses use. He will explain to shop owners how they can develop different strategies to “niche” themselves. This will lead to customers who have those specific wants and needs learning to think of them as the go-to shop.
Shay says there are only four real strategies to success, but many successful tactics to carry out those strategies. He says businesses have the power to determine those tactics.
Shay adds: “My experience in having taught this over the last 10 to 15 years is that developing these tactics give shop owners a focus on where to position themselves within the market. People really understand how to develop a focus rather than just relying on a car to pull into their garage. It’s like playing a football game and businesses need to work out how to offer something that their competitors either can’t do or offer.”
For more information, please visit semashow.com.
