I'm trying to loose weight. In an effort to embrace my new life, aka single and over fifty, I have shifted my focus from what everyone else needs from me to what I need for me.

One of which is to become healthier. After a life time of bad habits and bad choices, I, like that skinny bit*h in the photo depicted, am faced constantly with the choice between Krispy Kreme doughnuts, moist, sweet, delicious doughnuts or an apple.

Sometimes I make the right choice and sometimes I DECIDE to make the "wrong" choice.

As I look around I discover that probably the one thing we are faced with every day ALL DAY LONG is the task of making a choice. Seth Godin talks about choice this weekend:

The choice of more products. The choice of more retailers. Many a click away. The choice of more consumers to ask for an opinion. The choice by marketers over who to market to (precision increases). The choice of workers to be virtual or flexible or change careers

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For those of you reading that are "of an age" you'll remember, like I do, that choice wasn't really something we needed to concern ourselves with as young adults. There weren't the number of choices there are today. However, today's up and coming consumers have known nothing but the ability to choose. In fact, they rely on the fact that there are many alternatives available to them and most do considerable research before making a choice.

So that means that every product and service we offer has competition. We can't stand by our wonderful products/services and assume that people will choose us just because WE know how wonderful we are.

We need to actively position ourselves in a manner that makes it easier for our target prospect to CHOOSE us.

That blasted apple needs to sing out "choose me, not that hip-increasing doughnut, I promise to be more satisfying!"

So if it is a proven fact that customers have more choices - what are you going to do about it? How are you going to make them choose you?

Deborah Chaddock Brown
Writer