Small business owners must find innovative ways to overcome competition in the market and come out ahead.
Businesses compete with each other for customers in a variety of ways, whether by price, quality or the customer service they offer. According to Hubspot, there are three types of competitors – direct competitors that offer the same or similar product or services to the same market. Indirect competitors sell different products, but target the same market and help solve the same problem. Lastly, replacement competitors offer an alternative to the product you offer, but in a different way.
This guide will cover the best ways to overcome your competition and get customers to choose your business every time.
1. Study your competition
No matter what business you’re in, there is a lot to gain from studying your competition. Areas to focus on are their marketing and branding tactics, customer service processes, and how they run their business on a day to day basis. This data can inform how business owners run their product/service innovation, how they advertise and position themselves in the market.
A good way to collect high-quality and relevant insights about your competition is by conducting online research. You can start by checking the first page of Google results page for the product/service you offer and see which businesses rank high. Similarly, you can check the keywords you are currently targeting to identify other businesses targeting the same ones. Social media is also a good place to find out which businesses are the most popular in your category.
Small businesses can also perform market research using resources such as industry surveys and reports and by running an email campaign to get feedback from potential customers
2. Make friends with your competitors
The presence of competition in your market is not necessarily a bad thing. This is because competition validates that the market is growing and has potential. Additionally, your competitors can help you gauge how well your business is performing and where you may need to make changes .
Dr Thommie Burger, founder of JTB Consulting says you competition can help point out your strengths and weaknesses.
“They may also help you focus and set your concentration on what you’re really good at. Your weaknesses help you become better, while your strength drives you to achieve more.”
Finally, competition is not only good for your business, it’s good for consumers, he adds.
“When there is competition among brands, consumers get the opportunity to choose on which business they can spend their time, money and attention.”
Read: 11 Reasons to Love Your Competitors
3. Find your competitive edge
Your differentiation factor or “Unique Selling Proposition” demonstrates to customers what you have to offer that your competitors cannot.
Jannie Rossouw, head, Sanlam Business Market says business owners must give your customers and potential customers a reason to buy from them.
Rossouw offers the following practical ideas that can convince more clients to buy from you instead of your competition.
- Offer free delivery
- Offer online shopping
- Provide longer warranties
- Schedule appointments with customers at a time convenient for them and arrive on time
- Customise your product/service offer
- Have a location at a convenient place from a customer perspective
Read: How to Use Differentiation Factor to Stand Out
In the end it all boils down to convincing the customer to choose your business. Make it clear what makes your business unique and how you can solve your customer’s pain points to stay ahead.
