Healthy competition is a good thing for any business as it can be a great catalyst to make your small business grow.
In fact, that’s why it’s very important to regularly study what other businesses are doing. Look at their products and services, their web design, the way they engage with customers.
Because the truth is, regardless of your industry, you will highly benefit from studying and analyzing your competition. Here are some ways you can benefit from them:
1. Attack their weakness and always out-innovate them
Many business owners see competition as a negative thing, but there is a way you can leverage it to your own advantage.
Finding their biggest weaknesses and then attacking them head-on is actually one of the most effective approaches of leveraging your competition. If you can do this quite well, you will definitely win a significant number their customers to your business.
Out-innovating your competitors can also be a good thing. Carefully study what your competitors are doing and try to do the opposite of what they are doing. You will not prosper if you always follow your competitors; that’s why it’s good to take the lead and explore new avenues.
2. Don’t become a copycat
Even if you are the first to introduce a new product or service in the market, bear in mind that others will also follow and probably start competing with you. So, it’s good to stick to your own way of doing business and your own special knowledge.
Instead of following your competitors and doing what they are doing, choose your own way of doing things. Becoming a copy of others won’t take you anywhere.
By carefully choosing your own business path, your customers will definitely get more value. Your pricing strategy in this case is completely independent.
3. Consider collaborating with them
Partnering with your competitors is also a good way to benefit from the competition. You can partner with them if the market is big enough. Also, keep in mind that no product or service offering is the same.
So, try to highlight all your differences and similarities, package your services or products together, and then share your marketing costs.
Even though your partnership can be limited, it’s always created in such a way that both of you can benefit. In some cases, collaborating with your competitors can even result in a merger of epic proportions.
Of course, in other cases, a partnership can run their course, too, but not before both of you have enjoyed healthy returns which can sometimes be vast in the financial sense and for your customers.
If you are capable of covering the legal aspects accordingly and there is strong trust between both parties, there is no reason why you shouldn’t consider cooperating with your competitors.
4. Analyze your competition and don’t underestimate them
Truly, analyzing your competition is one of the best sources of information you can have for growing your business. Analyzing the way your competitors organize products or services on their website, the web design elements, and the kind of marketing strategies they use can help you a lot in terms of beating them.
In addition, don’t forget that your competitors can also come in all sizes and shapes. All types of businesses — from small to medium-sized to large organizations — want to make profit.
So, while you should always watch your biggest competitors, remember to pay attention to small players as well. Small businesses operate under the radar, but can easily out-maneuver big players in the industry.
Small players are also ready to take biggest risks in order to take their businesses to higher level. It’s therefore important to keep on your toes and pay closer attention to all the players in your industry.
5. Monitor complaints and support the bigger community
Monitoring the complaints of your competitors’ customers and supporting the larger community is also important for the growth of your business.
To benefit from this, monitor all complaints via social media from the customers of your biggest competitors. Analyze and get some insights from them.
By paying attention on social media, you will get to know the problems your competitors’ customers are facing. Engage with them and offer a better solution. If you cannot provide full tech support, at least offer generalized information, ideas, and even help those frustrated customers to switch to your service or product.
6. Always offer value
Getting into a price fight with your competitor is very dangerous for your business. Instead, always offer value to your customers. Try to show current and potential customers why your product or service is valuable.
In some cases, competition can be depressing and exhausting, but if you handle this properly, you can really benefit from it. Accept the fact that it’s good to learn from your competitors for a steady growth of your business.
7. Find a gap and fill it
It will become easier to work with your competition when you find a gap in the industry that you can easily fill with your service or product.
They will be ready and willing to collaborating with you when your product/service complements theirs.
It’s therefore necessary to know your competitor inside-out, from the products and services they are offering to their own web design, and try to learn about their weaknesses and strengths.
With these benefits that may come from your competition, it’s a good thing, therefore, to consider your competition an opportunity for growth rather than a hindrance to the success of your business.
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Originally published at www.bookmark.com on September 1, 2017.
