Finding my marketing position

nothinglikeit

Hello I`m a first time poster and new member to the community so please be kind. J/K. I also must apologize if this is the wrong place for this posting.
 
I`ve been reading lots of books as I plan my business. One of the books that I am currently reading is called Guerilla Marketing in 30 Days. Day 5 talked about choosing a marketing position. To me this meant choosing what  my company is all about or what my niche is.
I`m having a hard time narrowing it down because I plan to produce Comptuer Games. I also plan to write about other games online (basically its a web publication driven by ad revenue). I also plan on producing websites and designing graphics for other small businesses. My main question though is what type of position is this? Am I making this too broad? Should I approach the marketing problem differenttly depnding on which industry each of my products or services belong to? I`m sorry if these are too many questions but I appreciate any help you can offer.

pmccord

nothinglikeit;

A website that tries to do too many things runs the risk of not doing any of them. That doesn`t mean you can`t do multiple things as a company, but that you might need to segment.

From what you described above, it sounds like your business could be split into two websites--one for the games you create and the game review publication, and another for the website design for small businesses. Of course, you could choose to create a third just for the publication if it needs to stand alone also.

This may sound like double the work, but it eliminates some real issues you`d have with a single site.

With a single site what are you going to promote as your primary product/service? If it is games, then the small business owner may look at your front page and say goodby--I want a serious site designer.

If your primary product/service is web design, your gaming visitors may do the same, wanting a serious game site.

With two sites you can do both all under one roof--you`re simply splitting your company "divisions" so you can address the issues of each of your markets without confusion.

nothinglikeit

Thanks for your repsonses guys. I actually wanted to set them up as completely seperate companies originally. Someone told me in a small business workshop that that was a bad move for a first time business owner such as myself. I saw thier point and have since tried to do  a better job of breaking up everything that I offer. I have toyed with the idea of different websites. Would have to register assumed names for the phases of the business divisions?

pmccord

nothinglikeit,
You don`t need to register different assumed names if you`re doing business under the same name.  You simply have different websites for different product catagories.
I`m not sure why you were given the advice to have only one site for multiple and very different products.  It is much easier to set up a site that has only one focus than it is to try to attract and maintain the attention of very different groups of visitors.

nothinglikeit

yeah that`s what I thought. I tried to make a site that was all encompassing. Ultimately I had to take it down because I wasn`t happy with it. You live and you learn. I guess the next question is how to write a business plan for such an idea. So far I`ve listed all of my different services as "products" Each product has a seperate business model and marketing strategies and customers as you alluded to. Is this a good way to write it or should I try something else?

InactiveMember

If you`re interested in market position, branding, etc.
1. 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, Al & Laura Ries
2. Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind, Al Ries & Jack Trout
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Porter</A>

nothinglikeit

Thanks again for the responses guys. I spoke with a cousnelor at my local Small Business Development Center and the confusion about the different services we offer was one of the first things she touched upon.