The future of Canadian marketing — Kelford Labs Daily

Note: Up here in Canada, we’re working on breaking down interprovincial trade barriers. This post particularly applies to my fellow Canadians, but hopefully the lesson is broadly applicable.

I’ve been thinking a lot about history.

Did you know that when Canada confederated in 1867 (partially due to fears of American annexation), there were barely any celebrations in Halifax?

Why? Because many believed that confederation would lead to centralization, that the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes region would suck up the economic energy and leave little for the East Coast.

And they weren’t entirely wrong.

Part of me wonders if something similar might happen as interprovincial trade barriers come down.

It’s tempting to believe that more options simply means more opportunity, but it also means more competition.

I suspect that, out here on the East Coast, for instance, our markets will see a sharp increase in Ontarian products, benefiting from scale economies and manufacturing capacity that we can’t match out here.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a thing. A thing to think about.

So how do I think Canadian entrepreneurs can prepare for more interprovincial trade? Well, by getting better and better at identifying their unique value, their specific tradeoffs, and their ability to demonstrate value at a distance.

Store shelves may become packed with similar options. Web searches and Buy Canadian apps might become full of alternatives from other provinces whose prices or marketing budgets we might not be able to match.

So it’s up to entrepreneurs, wherever they are, to remember that standing out remains a necessity.

We don’t want to blend in with the crowd, we don’t want to paint ourselves in the business camouflage of the same messages, in the same way, at the same time as everyone else.

We have a little bit of time before the floodgates open, so, as much as we can, let’s spend that time getting to know our current customers.

Let’s spend it by learning what they value about us that no one could ever replace.

And let’s think about how we can demonstrate that value at a distance to the customers who want it most.

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