Entrepreneurs just starting out often fear their
competition and that’s a normal reaction but while it might sound strange,
competition is actually good for business.
In fact, it’s exactly what drives successful brands. When you’re not challenged, you might find
yourself complacent and lacking innovation.
It’s important to realize that there are other businesses out there that
might be doing things better and so by keeping a close eye on them, you can
actually learn from them so let’s talk about how entrepreneurs can, in fact, do
that.
The first thing to realize is that competition
promotes creative thinking. If you’re
working in a crowded market, you can’t succeed by doing what everyone else
does. Studying the competition can show
you what they might be doing wrong and therefore, enable you to do it better
which will distinguish your company from all the rest. Creative thinking is what fosters success.
Keeping an eye on your competition enables you to
provide better customer service. It is
often rare that your idea is completely unique and so others out there might be
focusing on the same product or service.
Look at how your competitors treat their customers and come up with
innovative ways to do it better, whether it is through inventive and original
marketing plans or other unique ideas.
As I mentioned, it’s easy to get complacent but
paying attention to the competition will keep you on your toes and push you out
of your comfort zone and drive you to be different than all the rest. Competition forces you to constantly review
your strategies and keep an eye on your strengths and weakness and allows you
to make both better. Competition will
only make you try harder in the long-run.
Paying attention to the competition can provide
valuable insight into the current state of the market you are trying to
target. It also helps you see what is
and is not working.
Competition validates your ideas. By paying attention to it, you can garner a
better idea as to what other companies are coming up with similar products and
services. Competition can make you see
whether or not what you’re offering to your customers is unique or not.
Keeping a close eye on the competition forces focus
and differentiation with others. Without
competition, it’s easy to lose focus on your core business model and core
customers. Competition forces you to
think differently and think outside the box.
It pushes your company and your ideas to be the very best they can
be. In essence, competition helps you
build a better business.
Another key benefit to focusing on the competition is
that it helps you identify potential threats to your business. The best way to learn what does and doesn’t
work is by paying close attention to your competition. If you see them edging into your space or
copying your ideas, you can work to rebrand yourself and make your ideas more
unique so they stand out in the marketplace.
By looking at the competition’s game plan, it will allow you to decipher
what plans and strategies you offer could be detrimental to your business.
While this might sound strange often the competition
can take customers who are not a good fit for your business out of your
hair. You can’t please everyone and if
you try over and over again to target a market and find it’s not working, then
it’s best to just let it go so you focus all your attention on the customers
that want your products so that you can service them better and maintain their
loyalty and build mutual trust with them.
Let your counterparts pull their hair out trying to please people that
simply can’t be pleased.
Competition makes you more inclined to vigorously
seek knowledge and research your target audience. As I said, the competition keeps you on your
toes and so you must be knowledgeable about what is going on in your
industry. Industries not only change
long-term but they change daily and so you must keep up with and be aware of
that change at all times and your competition will drive you to do that.
If you have employees, competition drives them to
work harder. They bring previous
experience with them as well and then you have an extra set of eyes keeping a
watch on your competitors.
Lastly and most importantly, competition allows for business
development. All the experiences you
garner by paying attention to your competitors are the best tools to help you
develop your brand. You can always be
learning so never lose sight of the competition because they can indeed teach
you something that will allow you to reach your own goals for your business,
become more successful in the long-run and eventually surpass them.
So what have we learned here today? Do you share the same ideas on competition
being good for business or do you feel it’s not? What have you learned from paying attention
to the competition and how has it helped your business grow and thrive? Let me know your thoughts and feedback!
Here are some articles you might want to check out
about why competition is good for business:
“5 Reasons Why Competition is Good for Your Business”:
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/fgdi45eekll/5-reasons-why-competition-is-good-for-your-business-2/
“Competition is Good for Business”: http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/entrepreneurs/2012/09/24/competition-is-good-for-business-plans/
“Why Competition May Be the Best Thing for Your
Business”: http://www.inc.com/magazine/201311/jill-krasny/more-competition-is-better-for-start-ups.html
“12 Reasons Why Competition is Good for Business”: http://www.m4bmarketing.com/12-reasons-why-competition-is-good-for-your-business/
For more information on the real estate services
offered by Emerge212, check out our official website here: http://www.emerge212.com
Until next time…
nice content about the /business thanks for sharing this
ReplyDeleteCompetition is good but you have to be ahead of your competitor always. You can use many professional services to attract and retain the customer. customer support outsourcing can do it more precisely. You surely have better result with them.
ReplyDelete