There are two sides to competition. You hate competition and always want to be the leader in the industry, or even in the office. Or you have a healthy respect for competition and understand that it can make or break your business, depending on how you use it.
Every business marketing class teaches that competition is healthy. Our economy is built on that as well, so it's smart to embrace all aspects of competition.
Whether you have a product or service, identifying your direct competitor can actually be helpful for your business.
Let's explore what your competitors can teach you about your business.
1. Study their strengths and weaknesses. Correlate that to your strengths and weaknesses. That way you can capitalize on what they do poorly and focus in that arena.
2. Do you both have a storefront and an online business? Are you utilizing marketing methods in both areas? Are you focusing in one area and not another? Make sure that any off-line marketing directs people to your online connections.
3. What are they doing in social media? Are they doing it well or poorly? How can you adjust your marketing message to reflect your differences?
4. Remember to always lead with value in your message. Are your competitors good at that? What are they offering or doing that you can expand in your business?
5. What does the website look like? Is it reflective of today's marketing messages or is it old school and need an update? Compare that to your website. Are you offering valuable content? Is it fresh and updated, easy to follow and interact?
6. If they have a storefront, is it clean, well-kept, well branded? Does the brand correlate across all areas of the business and online too? Does yours?
7. Look at your competitors marketing messages. Who are they targeting? Is your target the same market? You may have similar products but your target may be different.
This is just the start of would be close look at your competitors can do to help improve your own business. When you identify the areas of improvement, create a strategy so you can track how to address and make those improvements. Add implementation dates and follow updates so that you can track successes or make any adjustments as needed.
Competition is healthy in business. By taking some time to research your competitors, you can bring fresh ideas and maybe some much-needed change to your own business.