5 Strategic Ways To Beat The CompetitionBY TITO PHILIPS, JNR. 23 COMMENTS

How do you intend to win the war against your competitions?

Business is a game and only the team with the best players will win. To beat the

competition will require everyone’s collective effort.

It’s not just a task for the marketing department or top management; it’s everyone’s

responsibility.

So as the leader of your business, it’s very important you enlist the support of the whole

organization once you’ve agreed on thestrategies to adopt in dealing with your

competitions.

Enjoy!

5 Strategic Ways To Beat The CompetitionIn continuing our series on how to remain in business despite intense competitions, let

me share with you the 5 strategic ways through which we were able to beat the

competition and also remain in business despite their presence.

1. Define your Brand

No two businesses are alike just as no two customers are alike, hence the need

for branding. What does your business stand for? What’s different about your business

in comparison to other businesses in your industry? What do you want to be known for

in the marketplace? Is there anything special about your business?

You see when new competitions enter into your line of business, whether you like it or

not, be prepared to loss some market share. I know that was rather harsh, trust me, it’s

for your own good. Don’t take it personal, it’s just the way the world is; different strokes

for different folks.

No one business can appeal to everybody. So your best response is to define your

brand and consistently communicate your own Unique Selling Proposition (USP). The

emergence of competitions clearly separates the men from the boys. It is the

businesses that don’t clearly stand for something that often get eaten up by

competitions. If your business doesn’t stand for something, it will fall for anything.

To remain competitive, you’ve got to be distinctive. There’s got to be something about

your business that will make the customers have a second thought about going to the

new competitions. What would they miss if they stopped coming to patronize you?

This was our most competitive advantage and the singular reason why we are still in

business. We were not just another cybercafé; we are the preferred cybercafé! Why?

Because we are redefining browsing from what a customer does (an activity) to what a

customer enjoys (an event/experience).

We were the only cybercafé where browsers were not just customers but also friends

because we knew and called them by name and we gave them gifts on their birthdays

as a result of our membership strategy. Our customer service was second to none. You

just couldn’t help but fall in love with us!

Not only that, we were the only cybercafé where browsing tickets never expires. I mean

you could literally come in at the beginning of a new year and buy a 1 hour ticket and

because you are a registered member you could come back at the end of the year to

finish using the one hour ticket you bought in the beginning of the year.

WOW!

This was very much against the conventional trend in the industry where browsing

tickets expired two days after the first usage. It was a very brilliant innovation and our

customers loved us the more for it. The only tickets that expire in our cybercafé are the

ones sold to non-members.

So when the competitions showed up, after panicking and responding wrongly we learnt

our lesson and began to focus on our brand. We strengthened those things that made

us distinctively unique from all 9 competitors all together. We started reminding our

customers of who we are – a People Loving Company (PLC).

Our brand became so unique that ‘Yahoo Yahoo boys’ (internet scammers) literally

avoided our cybercafé. From the outset we didn’t do overnight browsing. Somehow

without us saying a thing or imposing any law, just by our commitment to our brand,

they realized our cybercafé wasn’t the right place for them to carry out their nefarious

activities.

2. Choose a Competitive Advantage

Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric (GE) was right when he said “if you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete”. In other words, don’t bother

getting into the game if you haven’t first figured out a plan on how to win.

There are basically 3 key areas to focus on when choosing a competitive advantage;

o   Quality: You can choose to beat the competition by offering a superior quality than

others.

o   Price: you can choose to beat the competition by offering the lowest prices

o   Service: or you can choose to beat the competition by offering an unforgettable

customer service.

Most of the time it is not so easy to measure up well on all three key areas. However,

it’s important to include service in any of the combinations you want to focus on. Why?

The other two forms of competitive advantage can cost you a lot and often time

customers can choose otherwise.

There’s always an alternative to quality; if you focus on only offering the highest quality

at a premium price, customers will scout around for a lower quality at a cheaper price.

There’s always an alternative to price; if you focus on offering the cheapest price

possible it will require that you find a way to drive down your cost to the barest

minimum. And this can turn out in form of low quality products or services and

customers will start to complain.

So what do you do?

Pick either of the two; price or quality as your competitive advantage and complement

it with service. Without the element of service in your competitive strategy you can

never deliver happiness to your customers. People may not remember how great your

product or service is (quality); they may not remember how much you made them pay

(price), but they will never forget how you made them feel (service).

You see it is possible for your competitions to copy your products or services just in our

case they copied our pricing plan, timer, banner etc. but they couldn’t copy the way we

treated our customers and the spirit and attitude of our workers. Our greatest strength

was hospitality, they just couldn’t beat the way we made our customers feel whenever

they visited our cybercafé. And when we surveyed our customers, asking them what

made them stick to us, they kept saying the way we treated them was exceptional.

In our case we chose quality and service as our competitive advantage. Our competitive

strategy was simple; treat people Right, make browsing fun and fast (RF2). From the

outset of our operation we never made price an issue. We came up with our own unique

pricing plan that altered the pricing model of the industry. We had air time as low as 30

naira and as high as 200 naira.

We were very flexible; buy as your pocket allows. But we never compromised on quality

and service. In fact, we were the only cybercafé that compensated customers every

time the quality of our internet service/link dropped below certain expectation. If our

generator malfunctioned, we gave out compensation tickets; sometimes we even went

as far as given customers back their money.

At other times, we would completely replenish the tickets of our customers anytime we

had unforeseen power problems not minding how much of the air time they had used

already. We believed we were totally responsible and to be blamed for any interruption

in the quality or reliability of our service.  We followed a simple philosophy; “when you fuck up, treat your fuck up yourself, never pass the blame on the customers!”

3. Create a Customer Database

Do you know that it cost 20 times more to get a new customer than it cost to keep an

old customer? Customers are very expensive to attract and that is why smart

businesses focus on a customer’s lifetime profitability (CLP) rather than on a one-off

purchase.

Meaning that they place more emphasis on building an enduring relationship with their

customers rather than on making a sale. They have realized that it is wiser to have their

customers for life; rather than having them for a while.

Why? Because your greatest success in business will come from the number of repeat

purchases you’re able to generate from your loyal customers. This is how the concept of

relationship marketing came to be –building a long term profitable relationship with your

customers.

This was the idea behind our membership strategy. We were more concerned about

keeping our customers for life (building a relationship) than keeping them for a while

(making the sale). As a result we were able to convert 80% of first time visitors into

registered browsers in our cybercafé.

Initially it seemed like a lot of work and a lot of cost on our side, but on the long run, the

benefits outweighed the cost and the efforts expended to create our own customer

database through the membership strategy. Our greatest strategic weapon against our

competitions is our customer database (membership strategy).

There is nothing more powerful than having a communication link between you and your

customers. It is the cheapest but most effective tactic against intense competitions.

While our competitions were only interested in their customers coming to patronize

them, we were more concerned about strengthening our relationship with our

customers. We believed in a very simple logic; make every customer into a friend by caring first about their life before asking for their money and it will be hard for any competition to steal them away!

The following two points will explain better how we creatively used this tool against our

competitions.

4. Communicate ‘WITH’ and ‘TO’ your Customers

If you are not talking with and to your customers, someone else is. This is a very vital

element in your response to competitions. Talking ‘to’ your customers is what is known

as advertising and talking ‘with’ your customers is what is known as market research.

A lot of small businesses undermine this very important marketing strategy of constantly

communicating to and with their customers. Haven’t you realized this is the key behind

the marketing success of most big companies?

You should see how much big companies spend on advertising and market research,

maybe then you would better appreciate the value of communication.

This was a major component of our response to the competitions. We didn’t relent in

sending out messages via SMS (mobile marketing) to our customers every first day of

the month and on every major public holiday. We kept in touch with them constantly

updating them with vital information and words of encouragement to help them hang on

through the economic recession.

The impact of these monthly SMS messages blew our mind. People who had packed

away from the community in which the cybercafé is located would come around every

once in a while to browse at the cybercafé saying that despite the fact that they had

packed, our friendly SMS messages kept coming and so they thought to themselves to

repay our kind gestures by coming from far to patronize us.

Those who haven’t packed but were out of town either in school or travelled for some

other reasons, made it a point of duty to visit our cybercafé to browse as soon as they

were back in town also saying how happy they were every time they received our SMS

messages. It didn’t matter how far away they were, we still could reach them and talk to

them anytime, any day, anywhere.

Why? Because of our membership strategy (customer database).

We didn’t just talk ‘to’ our customers; we also talked ‘with’ them through periodic

customer satisfaction surveys that we conducted. Talking to your customers is a good

thing, but talking with your customers is a great thing.

Why? Talking with them helps you better understand them which in turn help you serve

them better.

To show our customers how much we wanted to talk with them through our customer

satisfaction questionnaires, we paid them in kind with a 3 hours ticket every time they

filled the questionnaire. Through these surveys we were able to know those specific

things they liked about us and wanted us to continue no matter what.

Also, we were able to know those specific areas they wanted us to improve on in order

to serve them better. And lastly, we were able to know those specific things they wanted

us to stop doing that they didn’t consider added value. I mean what could be lovelier

than this?

Having your customers totally telling you how they want you to treat them so they can

spend more money in your business! WOW!

5. Excite your Customers

People will no longer have cause to deal with a business that isn’t innovating.

Innovation brings excitement to the marketplace and customers like excitement. Take

time to study the reaction of people whenever a company is about to launch a new

product, service or brand, you would be thrilled at what you would discover.

Recently, when Apple Inc. announced the launch of its latest invention; iPad. There was

so much excitement in the air as Apple customers couldn’t wait to explore all the

possibilities the new product offered.  Why do customers like innovation? The answer is

very simple; we all want a little spark in our life every now and then.

Innovation gives the marketplace something exciting to talk about. And there is nothing

that drives a business faster than word of mouth advertising. If you can find a way to get

your customers excited enough to talk about your company as a result of the innovative

things you consistently come up with, then you’ve got an edge over the

competition. You become the pacesetter of your industry. Others will literally look up to

you and can only follow your lead.

We were able to achieve this with our customers through our monthly promotions. In a

bid to increase sales we decided to come up with at least one new promo for our

customers every month. We literally gave them something to talk about every month.

We came up with promos such as;

“tell a friend promo”,

“Buy one get one free promo”,

“Heavy browsers promo”,

“Early bird promo”,

“weekend promo”,

“Facebook promo”,

“Scanning promo”,

“Fill a form promo”

“Laptop promo” and so on.

The good thing about innovation is that it keeps you on your toes always. It got to a

point when our customers couldn’t wait for a new month before they come asking about

what promo we had in store for them. And as a result of this, we couldn’t afford to let

them down. We constantly strived to up our game because we had set the ball rolling

and there was no going back.

The mere thought of a new month meant something exciting for everyone. We simply

couldn’t wait to see the reaction on their faces when they start walking into the

cybercafé with their mobile phones in hand reading out the SMS notification we had

sent as regards a promo. It was pure excitement and it kept our competitions confused

because they just couldn’t tell what we were going to come up with next!

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Ten ways to keep ahead of the competition

Whenever consumer spending is slowing down, you need to

defend your market position and maintain your competitive edge. Tom Whitney shows you how to stay

ahead of your rivals

1. Know the competition. Find out who your competitors are, what they are offering and what their unique selling point

(USP) is. This will identify the areas you need to compete in, as well as giving you a platform for differentiating

yourself.

2. Know your customers. Customer expectations can change dramatically when economic conditions are unstable.

Find out what matters to your customers now - is it lower price, more flexible service, the latest products? Revise your

sales and marketing strategy accordingly.

3. Differentiate. It's essential to give your customers good reasons to come to you rather than a rival. Your USP should

tap into what customers want and it should be clear and obvious - no-one should have to ask what makes you

different.

4. Step up your marketing. Make more effort to tell people who you are, what you sell and why they should buy from

you. It doesn't have to be expensive; marketing can range from posters in your window and leaflet drops through

to advertising campaigns in local media.

5. Update your image. Simple steps such as painting the front of your premises can make your business look more

modern and inviting. But look also at business cards, stationery, your website, branded packaging, clothing and so

on. Does your image reflect your USP?

6. Look after your existing customers. They will be your competitors' target market. Provide better customer

service by being more responsive to their needs and expectations. If feasible, consider offering low-cost extras such

as improved credit terms, discounts or loyalty schemes - remember, it's cheaper and easier to keep customers than

to find new ones.

7. Target new markets. Selling into a greater number of markets can increase your customer base and spread your

risk. Consider whether you can sell online or overseas, for example. Are there groups you've never targeted before

who might be interested in your offer? Don't waste time marketing to people who won't be interested, however.

8. Expand your offer. What related products or services might your customers be interested in? You might even

consider diversifying into another area - many cafes have successfully offered Internet access, for example.

9. Be the best employer. Skilled, motivated staff underpin vibrant, growing businesses. But attracting them means

more than paying a competitive wage - people are often more impressed by a good working atmosphere and benefits

such as flexible working and structured career development.

10. Look to the future. Businesses that plan for growth are more successful than those that are happy to stay still. Keep

up with developments in your sector, follow consumer trends, invest in new technology and - crucially - have a clear

idea of where you want to be in one, three and five years' time.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

You don't have to be cheaper to win customers.Time for a hard truth: you need to be better than each of your competitors in at least three ways if you want to survive. Yup, even if your competition is Tesco, Virgin and Coca Cola, you've got to find a way to do the dastardly devils a disservice. And now for the amazingly good news: you're a small business. Which means you're adaptable, you're already better than big brands in dozens

of ways, and you've got more punches to pack than Muhammad Ali circa 1974.

But let's get something straight right now: being cheaper than a competitor is not your only weapon. All too often, we see business owners at their absolute wits' end because a rival is undercutting them on price, and they can't keep up. Trying to compete on cost is a race to the bottom - you squeeze your margins so paper-thin you're left with nothing. If you can compete on price, brilliant. If you can't, get on top with any combination of these babies:

Your product

1.    Better quality/longer-lastingA great one to fight off the price wars, because it makes a higher price justified. Plus, your smallness means you can put in that extra bit of TLC that really makes a better-quality product shine.

2.    RarerSick of seeing the same mass-marketed products everywhere you go? So are we. Give the Ikea effect the cold shoulder by offering something your customers can't buy anywhere else.

3.    Easier to useJust keep it simple, a'ight? If a customer can figure out how to use your super-hydro-manu-sizer-gizmo in two seconds rather than two hours, you've got the edge.

4.    Safer to useThis is a particularly strong one if your customers are likely to have kids - or if they are kids. It might take a bit of user testing, and it's worth getting an accreditation, but believe us, it'll work. No one wants to end up decapitated by the less-safe tin opener on the supermarket shelves to save a few pennies.

5.    More efficient

Does your product get more done than its rivals? Is it quicker? Easier to set up and dissemble? Bonanza. Speed, these days, is ever more of the essence - and it's an incredibly powerful sales tool.

6.    More compactNever underestimate the magic of the Maglite effect. The maker of this mini-torch made their millions simply by shrinking the humble torch. Make it pocket-size, easier to carry and transport, or just all cute and diddy, and you're onto a winner.

7.    WaterproofApply some common sense here: this will obviously depend on what your product's used for.

8.    More retroRemember when Wispa made that massive comeback? It played on the retro effect. Old is the new, er, new. If your target customers are under 30, over 50, or trendy, they'll appreciate the novelty of retro.

9.    More modernOf course, that leaves the 31 - 49-year-old bracket wide open. Either them, or anyone remotely interested in technology, cutting-edge design, or the like.

10.    Design that is more beautiful/quirky/fun/edgy/stylish/simple/patterned/non-patterned/etcWe'll give our backslash key a break - you get the idea. Something as seemingly superficial as appearance can dramatically alter a customer's perception of its worth. Check out the price list at Bang & Olufsen to see what we mean.

11.    More beautiful/quirky/etc packagingAh packaging, the marketing executive's closest ally. The power of packaging allows you to dress up any product to the price point you want.Benefit cosmetics are a textbook example of the way it can set the tone for your entire brand.

12.    Designed by someone cool or endorsed by a celebrityNot easy to secure, but very powerful. Think celebrity perfumes - they might smell like molten plastic, but they sell like hotcakes.

13.    QuieterApplies to any product that makes noise when used, with the exception of speakers (especially subwoofers). Noise is annoying. Eradicate for customer zen - which equals repeat custom.

14.    Fresher/tastier/healthier/more organicIf you sell food or drink, you can do what the supermarkets can't. You can make things on-the-spot, preservative-free, and downright delicious. Do it.

15.    Greener/more ethicalWhether it's recycled, recyclable, or in some small way helps the plight of Tibetan goat farmers, it taps into the biggest consumer trend to hit the middle class since Boden.

16.    Sourced in Britain/locally sourced/home-madeThis holds ever-greater sway, not just because it cuts emissions, but also because people increasingly want to know where their stuff has come from.

17.    Approved by a respected organisationThis holds similar kudos to celebrity endorsement, albeit probably with a different crowd. Jump through the hoops of a trade or standards organisation and then stick their approval seal on every bit of marketing material you've got.

18.    Not tested on animalsThis holds sway with plenty of non-veggies, so it's well worth shouting about.

19.    More daringSex still sells. And as a small business, you can take far more risks than a large

company confined by 50-year-old policies. Risqué appeals to a far-wider net of consumer than you might ever have imagined.Your service

20.    Better customer serviceThis is such an easy one - and it's free.  Smile, be polite, build relationships with your customers and respond to complaints quickly and calmly. It's that simple. But it's something big companies find impossible to do well.

21.    More favourable opening hoursWhether you go 24/7 or just open Saturdays when your rivals are shut, making a customer's life more convenient and shaping your business around their lifestyle is guaranteed to bring them through the doors.

22.    Faster deliveryHire a crew of Hell's Angels if need be, because this one can make or break a buying decision for time-poor customers.

23.    Offer online ordering where competitors don'tAs we said, convenience is a number one priority for an ever-growing number of consumers these days. So let them buy your products while they're browsing the web at work - and get sales coming in 24/7 too.

24.    Your website is more efficient/reliable/quicker/simplerWe can't say it enough: websites are key these days. Get a good one, and you look professional and encourage people to get on there all the time. Read more here on how to get it spot-on.

25.    Offer freebies that competitors don'tThis can be something as simple - but as utterly charming - as offering customers a cup of tea. It really does make all the difference. Check outSupermarket Sarah, who does just that to entice weary Saturday shoppers in to her tiny premises.

26.    Being UK-wide or internationalA broader reach will win you more customers and give you an edge over those who only deliver down the road. It takes a lot of organisation and careful management, but can work wonders.

27.    The gender or age of employeesSee what we mean by checking out Smarta 100 winner Home Jane, whose women-only handyman (or handywoman!) force get the contracts from women's refuges and hostels that other companies couldn't. And watch our video interview with Livity founder Sam Conniff to find out how to leverage age.

28.    Employees' expertise or demeanourThe best salespeople are those who know their subject matter inside-out. As a small business, you can nail this one, because you're most likely to employ people with a good dose of passion for what you're doing. Use it: train staff to know your product and be happy to explain it in-depth and make recommendations. Think of the service you get in independent wine shop for inspiration.

29.    Employees wear uniformA small thing, but a powerful one. It makes your business look more professional and trustworthy, which can go a very long way.Your business

30.    No frills dealsSome people like it straight-up. Take a leaf out of Ryanair's book, or just strip down your premises and packaging to their bare minimum to appeal to time-poor, fuss-free individuals.  

31.    Loads of frills dealsOf course, for every minimalist there is a, um, maximist. Chuck in lots of complimentary bits and bobs, pamper your customers, and make packaging nice and froufrou.

32.    Wider range of productsVariety is the spice of life - but that doesn't mean your shelves need to rival Tesco's. Go niche, then go broad within your specialism. If you have more trowels than B&Q, the gardeners will come to you.

33.    Better payment optionsThis is a difficult one if you're an early-stage business because cashflow is so key to your survival, but if you're longer-established and have enough in the bank to allow a 100-day payment period, you have a big edge over more stringent companies.

34.    Better locatedThat can mean nearer public transport, or with parking facilities, right through to having a beautiful view. Or simply being the first of your kind in an area. Location, location, location applies just as much to commercial premises as private property.

35.    More pleasant premisesWhether you go for a super-sweet old-fashioned tea-shop vibe, a vibrant wall mural, or ultra-chic interior design, surroundings doth maketh the experience. Make your premises memorable and beautiful, and customers will want to come back.

36.    Having an outdoorsSell food and drink? Have a garden or a pavement? Great - you've just doubled your covers for every single month of summer. And winter too, if you get a gas heater and a couple of pretty lamps.

37.    Being charitablePut in an hour or two a week at your local old people's home, donate 5% of your profits to charity, sponsor the local kids' football team - anything along these lines, modestly publicised, will win customers' hearts.

Smarta Business Builder…………………………………………………………………..

Knowing who your competitors are, and what they are offering, can help you to make your products, services and marketing stand out. It will enable you to set your prices competitively and help you to respond to rival marketing campaigns with your own initiatives.

You can use this knowledge to create marketing strategies that take advantage of your competitors' weaknesses, and improve your own business performance. You can also assess any threats posed by both new entrants to your market and current competitors. This knowledge will help you to be realistic about how successful you can be.

This guide explains how to analyse who your competitors are, how to research what they're doing and how to act on the information you gain.

Who are your competitors? What you need to know about your competitors Learning about your competitors Hearing about your competitors How to act on the competitor information you get

WHO ARE YOUR COMPETITORS?All businesses face competition. Even if you're the only restaurant in town you must compete with cinemas, bars and other businesses where your customers will spend their money instead of with you. With increased use of the Internet to buy goods and services and to find places to go, you are no longer just competing with your immediate neighbours. Indeed, you could find yourself competing with businesses from other countries.

Your competitor could be a new business offering a substitute or similar product that makes your own redundant.

Competition is not just another business that might take money away from you. It can be another product or service that's being developed and which you ought to be selling or looking to license before somebody else takes it up.

And don't just research what's already out there. You also need to be constantly on the lookout for possiblenew competition.You can get clues to the existence of competitors from:

local business directories your local Chamber of Commerce advertising press reports exhibitions and trade fairs questionnaires searching on the Internet for similar products or services information provided by customers flyers and marketing literature that have been sent to you - quite common if you're on a

bought-in marketing list searching for existing patented products that are similar to yours planning applications and building work in progress

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR COMPETITORSMonitor the way your competitors do business. Look at:

the products or services they provide and how they market them to customers the prices they charge how they distribute and deliver the devices they employ to enhance customer loyalty and what back-up service they offer their brand and design values whether they innovate - business methods as well as products their staff numbers and the calibre of staff that they attract how they use IT - for example, if they're technology-aware and offer a website and email who owns the business and what sort of person they are their annual report - if they're a public company their media activities - check their website as well as local newspapers, radio, television and

any outdoor advertisingConsult Corporations Canada’s Choosing a name and the Registraire des entreprises' database in Québec to check the availability of a company name, and the Canadian Trade-marks Database for the availability of a trade mark.How they treat their customers

Find out as much as possible about your competitors' customers, such as:

who they are what products or services different customers buy from them what customers see as your competitors' strengths and weaknesses whether there are any long-standing customers if they've had an influx of customers recently

What they're planning to do

Try to go beyond what's happening now by investigating your competitors' business strategy, for example:

what types of customer they're targeting what new products they're developing what financial resources they have

LEARNING ABOUT YOUR COMPETITORSRead about your competitors. Look for articles or ads in the trade press or mainstream publications. Read their marketing literature. Check their entries in directories and phone books. If they are an online business, ask for a trial of their service.Are they getting more publicity than you, perhaps through networking or sponsoring events?

If your competitor is a public company, read a copy of their annual report.

Consult Corporations Canada’s Choosing a name and the Registraire des entreprises' database in Québec to check the availability of a company name, and the Canadian Trade-marks Database for the availability of a trade mark.Go to exhibitions

At exhibitions and trade fairs check which of your competitors are also exhibiting. Look at their stands and promotional activities. Note how busy they are and who visits them.

Go online

Look at competitors' websites. Find out how they compare to yours. Check any interactive parts of the site to see if you could improve on it for your own website. Is the information free of charge? Is it easy to find?Business websites often give much information that businesses haven't traditionally revealed - from the history of the company to biographies of the staff.

Use a search engine to track down similar products. Find out who else offers them and how they go about it.Websites can give you good tips on what businesses around the globe are doing in your industry sector.

Organisations and reference sources

Your trade or professional association, if applicable. The local Chamber of Commerce. Directories and survey reports in any business reference library. Our Strategic Information Centre

HEARING ABOUT YOUR COMPETITORSSpeak to your competitors. Phone them to ask for a copy of their brochure or get one of your staff or a friend to drop by and pick up their marketing literature.You could ask for a price list or enquire what an off-the-shelf item might cost and if there's a discount for volume. This will give you an idea at which point a competitor will discount and at what volume.Phone and face-to-face contacts will also give you an idea of the style of the company, the quality of their literature and the initial impressions they make on customers.It's also likely you'll meet competitors at social and business events. Talk to them. Be friendly - they're competitors not enemies. You'll get a better idea of them - and you might need each other one day, for example in collaborating to grow a new market for a new product.Listen to your customers and suppliers

Make the most of contacts with your customers. Don't just ask how well you're performing - ask which of your competitors they buy from and how you compare.

Use meetings with your suppliers to ask what their other customers are doing. They may not tell you everything you want to know, but it's a useful start.Use your judgement with any information they volunteer. For instance, when customers say your prices are higher than the competition they may just be trying to negotiate a better deal.

HOW TO ACT ON THE COMPETITOR INFORMATION YOU GETEvaluate the information you find about your competitors. This should tell you whether there are gaps in the market you can exploit. It should also indicate whether there is a saturation of suppliers in certain areas of your market, which might lead you to focus on less competitive areas.

Draw up a list of everything that you've found out about your competitors, however small.

Put the information into three categories:

what you can learn from and do better what they're doing worse than you what they're doing the same as you

What you can learn from and do better

If you're sure your competitors are doing something better than you, you need to respond and make some changes. It could be anything from improving customer service, assessing your prices and updating your products, to changing the way you market yourself, redesigning your literature and website and changing your suppliers.

Try to innovate not imitate. Now you've got the idea, can you do it even better, add more value?

Your competitors might not have rights over their actual ideas, but remember the rules on patents, copyright and design rights. For more information, consult the Intellectual Property Toolkit.What they're doing worse than you

Exploit the gaps you've identified. These may be in their product range or service, marketing or distribution, even the way they recruit and retain employees.

Customer service reputation can often provide the difference between businesses that operate in a very competitive market. Renew your efforts in these areas to exploit the deficiencies you've discovered in your competitors.

But don't be complacent about your current strengths. Your current offerings may still need improving and your competitors may also be assessing you. They may adopt and enhance your good ideas.

What they're doing the same as you

Why are they doing the same as you, particularly if you're not impressed by other things they do? Perhaps you both need to make some changes.

Analyse these common areas and see whether you've got it right. And even if you have, your competitor may be planning an improvement.

Original document, Understand your competitors, © Crown copyright 2009Source: Business Link UK (now GOV.UK/Business)Adapted for Québec by Info entrepreneursOur information is provided free of charge and is intended to be helpful to a large range of UK-based (gov.uk/business) and Québec-based (infoentrepreneurs.org) businesses. Because of its general nature the information cannot be taken as comprehensive and should never be used as a substitute for legal or professional advice. We cannot guarantee that the information applies to the individual circumstances of your business. Despite our best efforts it is possible that some information may be out of date.

As a result:

The websites operators cannot take any responsibility for the consequences of errors or omissions.

You should always follow the links to more detailed information from the relevant government department or agency.

Any reliance you place on our information or linked to on other websites will be at your own risk. You should consider seeking the advice of independent advisors, and should always check your decisions against your normal business methods and best practice in your field of business.

The websites operators, their agents and employees, are not liable for any losses or damages arising from your use of our websites, other than in respect of death or personal injury caused by their negligence or in respect of fraud.………………………………………………………………………………………..

Business plan: how to be better than your competitors

 

No matter how original, unique and brilliant your idea is, there are always going to be other businesses out there competing for your customers. However, this doesn’t mean you should give up – it should just spur you on to be the absolute best you can be! The video below gives advice on how to complete the “How to be better than your competitors” section on the Virgin StartUp business plan.

Learn from them

 

Research and study your competitors so that you can find out both what they’re really good at, and what they’re bad at. Where they’re good, you can learn from them – and where they’re bad, you can aim to do it better in your own business.

Read up on the history of the business, and how it came to be. Go in and do a bit of undercover work by experiencing the services first hand. Read reviews on Tripadvisor and Yelp to see what the customers are saying, or chat to them yourself. Search social media to find out what people are saying about the business. Now with the advent of the internet, it’s never been easier to find out what people really think about businesses and services.

 

Look at how you compare

 

Think about why people use your competitor’s product or service. Is it because of price? Is it because they’re accessible? If it’s a café or restaurant, is it the décor, food, or service that has people coming back?

You might find it helpful to create a specific list of competitors and explain what you’re competing with them on. Perhaps you bulk-buy your product wholesale and are able to offer an equal standard at a lower price; perhaps you have a more luxurious environment, or you’re just in a better location with more footfall.

Then, it’s home truth time: why should these customers, presumably used to using the service or product they usually do, switch to you?

Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customers, and think about your unique selling points in general. Every product or service is solving a problem, so what problem are you solving? What are the things that set you apart? These are the things that will

win over customers. For example, say you run a coffee shop and you’re competing with a chain up the road. They might have you cornered on price, but perhaps you offer a higher quality of coffee and wonderful customer service – every customer walks out smiling. Be aware of your strengths and play to them.

 

It’s an ongoing process

 

It doesn’t end when your business starts – keeping up to date with your competitors is an ongoing process. Read the trade press for your industry, check out the products and services of your competitors, and generally ensure that you’re on the ball. And just like you listened to the opinions of your competitors’ customers, make sure that you listen to the opinions and thoughts of your own through keeping up to date with reviews, taking the time to ask for feedback, and listening when someone makes a complaint or suggestion.

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6 Ways to Be Better Than Your Competitor at Content Marketing Content marketing” is a phrase everyone is throwing around, but few are excelling at. There is a lot of content being generated, but the quality, focus, and targeting is lacking. This is good news for you, though! The odds are your competitors are not really effective with content marketing and you can learn to be awesome. I am going to discuss six ways you can be better at content marketing than your competitors.

ALWAYS Start with ResearchThere is no form of marketing that is good without research. You need to know which audiences you should target and then gather as much information on them that you can (sex, personality, income, location, age, etc.). Next, you need to determine, for each group, what makes them tick, what they need and what will push them away. Segmenting your groups is critical.

Once you have a break down of demographics for each group, you need to figure out how you are going to reach each audience. Are social networks best? Which network per group? What about email marketing? What about real mail? Does your audience prefer content, images, or video?  Where and how do they research?

Break down your current customer base into groups as well. What works for them? Ask them questions about why they chose you, how you have best reached them, where they hangout online, what are you missing, etc. Collect as much data as you can from your current customers; what they have to offer is golden.

You will need all of this data to start creating content and to continue generating content (and you can use it later for comparative analysis).

Create PersonasPersonas are basically like creating a person based on the data you have collected. Use your current customers to help you create the personas you will be targeting.Needs and wants are important here; what need does your persona “A” need met?

Where are they located? How can you reach them? What do they need to hear? What does persona “B” want in a service provider? What are the final decision making factors for persona B? What are the overlaps between persona A, B, and C? What message do persona A, B, and C need to hear? How should it differ for each

of them, but essentially make the same point?You know who you are currently reaching, but who are you not reaching? HOW are you going to reach them?

Personas are a great way to break down the groups that you NEED and WANT to reach. You need to understand what you are failing to do and/or

what is missing in your current marketing strategies. Research and personas are a good way to begin creating and testing your theories on what will be effective with your audience.

See a detailed explanation of how to create personas.

6 Ways to Be Better Than Your Competitor at Content Marketing

Feb 06 2014

2

“Content marketing” is a phrase everyone is throwing around, but few are excelling at. There is a lot of content being generated, but the quality, focus, and targeting is lacking. This is good news for you, though! The odds are your competitors are not really effective with content marketing and you can

learn to be awesome. I am going to discuss six ways you can be better at content marketing than your competitors.

ALWAYS Start with ResearchThere is no form of marketing that is good without research. You need to know which audiences you should target and then gather as much information on them that you can (sex, personality, income, location, age, etc.). Next, you need to determine, for each group, what makes them tick, what they need and what will push them away. Segmenting your groups is critical.

Once you have a break down of demographics for each group, you need to figure out how you are going to reach each audience. Are social networks best? Which network per group? What about email marketing? What about real mail? Does your audience prefer content, images, or video?  Where and how do they research?

Break down your current customer base into groups as well. What works for them? Ask them questions about why they chose you, how you have best reached them, where they hangout online, what are you missing, etc. Collect as much data as you can from your current customers; what they have to offer is golden.

You will need all of this data to start creating content and to continue generating content (and you can use it later for comparative analysis).

Create PersonasPersonas are basically like creating a person based on the data you have collected. Use your current customers to help you create the personas you will be targeting.Needs and wants are important here; what need does your persona “A” need met?

Where are they located? How can you reach them? What do they need to hear? What does persona “B” want in a service provider? What are the final decision making factors for persona B? What are the overlaps between persona A, B, and C? What message do persona A, B, and C need to hear? How should it differ for each

of them, but essentially make the same point?You know who you are currently reaching, but who are you not reaching? HOW are you going to reach them?

Personas are a great way to break down the groups that you NEED and WANT to reach. You need to understand what you are failing to do and/or what is missing in your current marketing strategies. Research and personas are a good way to begin creating and testing your theories on what will be effective with your audience.

See a detailed explanation of how to create personas.

Gather Feedback and Adjust AccordinglyWhatever form(s) of content marketing you choose to use (blogs, video, infographics) you have to plan ahead of time on how you are going to gather feedback on your marketing efforts.  Obviously you will have analytical data to examine (please, please, please use analytics), but you also need human interaction to really get the nitty-gritty on success and failure.

Note: Failure is really a great thing because it allows you to eliminate things that don’t work and failure allows you to fine tune what does work.

Audience feedback via direct communication, social networks, comments, email and/or surveys is really fantastic data. This kind of data will allow you to adjust marketing strategies in the right way and possibly also adjust your personas.

The goal is to begin offering the types of content marketing that lead to conversions, right? Your personas need to be precise and your marketing strategies need to offer what your audience needs, wants, and enjoys.

Being Diverse – Test, Modify, and RetestDo not limit yourself   to one form of content marketing. Blogging alone might not be enough for your audience. The personas you have created should help guide you in the creation of various forms of content. Some personas

should prefer video over written content and the reverse might be true for a different persona.

You will need to create, gather feedback, examine conversion data and use it to determine if your marketing strategies are working and/or how they are or are not effective. You will have to test, modify, and retest; this will take time and money, which brings me to my next point.

Expect to Spend MoneyYou will have to spend money that doesn’t have an immediate return in the beginning of any marketing effort. The reason is that you are essentially testing to determine if your personas are correct and if your marketing messages and mediums are effective. You eliminate what doesn’t work and fine tune what does.

The money you spend to do this is well worth it because you will now have starting points, specific audiences you know to target, and you will have a wealth of information to help you generate content.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Monitor Social CloselyIf you are going to use social media you have to understand that there is a true psychology behind being effective at marketing on social. You have to know how to interact with your audiences the right way (each network varies). You have to take the time to engage with your audience in a friendly way and create rapport with a large group of people.

You also need to know how to properly determine how effective your social marketing efforts are. Typically, various forms of content marketing are shared on social, which is why I am pulling social into the equation.

In social, you want to be looking at the conversation rate, amplification rate, and applause rate. Avinash Kaushik breaks down each of these nicely:

Conversation rate is the number of audience comments and/or replies per social post.

Applause rate is the number of +1s and likes per post (videos, infographics, images, whitepapers).

Amplification rate is defined differently for various networks – On Twitter it would be the number of retweets. On Facebook/Google Plus it would be the number of shares per post and on a blog/YouTube it would be the number of share clicks.

You should be collecting data on everything you post on social and you really need to be collecting data on the forms of content marketing you share via social. The amount of conversation, applause and amplification should give you insight into whether or not you are on the right track with your marketing message and strategies.

To Sum UpIf you want to be better than your competitors at content marketing, I highly recommend that you include the six strategies I mentioned above. You can’t jump into content marketing and assume that whatever you do will work well. Anything that is good takes time, planning, money, and effort. The same holds true for content marketing.

6 Ways to Be Better Than Your Competitor at Content Marketing

Feb 06 2014

2

“Content marketing” is a phrase everyone is throwing around, but few are excelling at. There is a lot of content being generated, but the quality, focus, and targeting is lacking. This is good news for you, though! The odds are your competitors are not really effective with content marketing and you can learn to be awesome. I am going to discuss six ways you can be better at content marketing than your competitors.

ALWAYS Start with ResearchThere is no form of marketing that is good without research. You need to know which audiences you should target and then gather as much information on them that you can (sex, personality, income, location, age, etc.). Next, you need to determine, for each group, what makes them tick,

what they need and what will push them away. Segmenting your groups is critical.

Once you have a break down of demographics for each group, you need to figure out how you are going to reach each audience. Are social networks best? Which network per group? What about email marketing? What about real mail? Does your audience prefer content, images, or video?  Where and how do they research?

Break down your current customer base into groups as well. What works for them? Ask them questions about why they chose you, how you have best reached them, where they hangout online, what are you missing, etc. Collect as much data as you can from your current customers; what they have to offer is golden.

You will need all of this data to start creating content and to continue generating content (and you can use it later for comparative analysis).

Create PersonasPersonas are basically like creating a person based on the data you have collected. Use your current customers to help you create the personas you will be targeting.Needs and wants are important here; what need does your persona “A” need met?

Where are they located? How can you reach them? What do they need to hear? What does persona “B” want in a service provider? What are the final decision making factors for persona B? What are the overlaps between persona A, B, and C? What message do persona A, B, and C need to hear? How should it differ for each

of them, but essentially make the same point?You know who you are currently reaching, but who are you not reaching? HOW are you going to reach them?

Personas are a great way to break down the groups that you NEED and WANT to reach. You need to understand what you are failing to do and/or what is missing in your current marketing strategies. Research and personas are a good way to begin creating and testing your theories on what will be effective with your audience.

See a detailed explanation of how to create personas.

Gather Feedback and Adjust AccordinglyWhatever form(s) of content marketing you choose to use (blogs, video, infographics) you have to plan ahead of time on how you are going to gather feedback on your marketing efforts.  Obviously you will have analytical data

to examine (please, please, please use analytics), but you also need human interaction to really get the nitty-gritty on success and failure.

Note: Failure is really a great thing because it allows you to eliminate things that don’t work and failure allows you to fine tune what does work.

Audience feedback via direct communication, social networks, comments, email and/or surveys is really fantastic data. This kind of data will allow you to adjust marketing strategies in the right way and possibly also adjust your personas.

The goal is to begin offering the types of content marketing that lead to conversions, right? Your personas need to be precise and your marketing strategies need to offer what your audience needs, wants, and enjoys.

Being Diverse – Test, Modify, and RetestDo not limit yourself   to one form of content marketing. Blogging alone might not be enough for your audience. The personas you have created should help guide you in the creation of various forms of content. Some personas should prefer video over written content and the reverse might be true for a different persona.

You will need to create, gather feedback, examine conversion data and use it to determine if your marketing strategies are working and/or how they are or are not effective. You will have to test, modify, and retest; this will take time and money, which brings me to my next point.

Expect to Spend MoneyYou will have to spend money that doesn’t have an immediate return in the beginning of any marketing effort. The reason is that you are essentially testing to determine if your personas are correct and if your marketing

messages and mediums are effective. You eliminate what doesn’t work and fine tune what does.

The money you spend to do this is well worth it because you will now have starting points, specific audiences you know to target, and you will have a wealth of information to help you generate content.

Monitor Social CloselyIf you are going to use social media you have to understand that there is a true psychology behind being effective at marketing on social. You have to know how to interact with your audiences the right way (each network varies). You have to take the time to engage with your audience in a friendly way and create rapport with a large group of people.

You also need to know how to properly determine how effective your social marketing efforts are. Typically, various forms of content marketing are shared on social, which is why I am pulling social into the equation.

In social, you want to be looking at the conversation rate, amplification rate, and applause rate. Avinash Kaushik breaks down each of these nicely:

Conversation rate is the number of audience comments and/or replies per social post.

Applause rate is the number of +1s and likes per post (videos, infographics, images, whitepapers).

Amplification rate is defined differently for various networks – On Twitter it would be the number of retweets. On Facebook/Google Plus it would be the number of shares per post and on a blog/YouTube it would be the number of share clicks.

You should be collecting data on everything you post on social and you really need to be collecting data on the forms of content marketing you share via social. The amount of conversation, applause and amplification should give you insight into whether or not you are on the right track with your marketing message and strategies.

To Sum UpIf you want to be better than your competitors at content marketing, I highly recommend that you include the six strategies I mentioned above. You can’t jump into content marketing and assume that whatever you do will work well. Anything that is good takes time, planning, money, and effort. The same holds true for content marketing.3 Reasons Native Advertising Could Replace Guest Blogging by 2016

Taming the Wild West of YouTube

About the author

MELISSA FACH

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Tesla

Elon Musk and Tesla Motors have broken the myth that electric vehicles need to be ugly, slow cars.

In the electric sports car market, they don’t have any viable competitors yet. Fisker Automotive has

been shown to not have the best track record when it comes to vehicle quality.

But Tesla is setting itself up to be a real player in the automobile market. Their cars are currently

marketed to the affluent; but if they step up production and make cars a little less expensive and

available for lease, they can broaden their customer base quickly.

So what makes Tesla a tough competitor to replicate, and what are they doing to keep it this way?

1. Their early electric cars are the future, and they’re the only thing that Tesla does. While there is a

lot to learn about and improve with electric vehicles, Tesla is already years ahead of any

competitor. They don’t have the financial resources of BMW, but they have the knowledge

acquired from going through a couple of product R&D’s and launches. They’re making a name for

themselves while the electric vehicle market is still young.

2. Tesla charging stations  – Don’t underestimate this. With Tesla building these charging stations,

they’ll be a step ahead of any competitor and will provide abig benefit for anyone looking to buy

an electric vehicle.

3. Their focused electric cars are the only thing that Tesla works on. Other auto companies primarily

offer gas-powered vehicles. Because of this focus on only one category, all Tesla employees are

becoming experts in the electric vehicle market.Tips for Differentiating Your Business

Now that we’ve gone through examples of how successful companies have differentiated

themselves, let’s turn our attention to you and your company. How can you set up a differentiating

quality that will make it hard for any competitor to replicate?

Here are a few ideas:

Partnerships

If someone in early 2009 came up to you and said:

We’re going to build an image hosting service.

What would your response have been? You would have been like most people if you had said

something like:

That’s insane. There are literally thousands of image hosting solutions out there. There’s no way you

could possibly offer something unique. The market is crowded and there’s no room for entrants.

Now, say those people ignored you and decided to build it. They come back to you three and one-

half years later and say:

We get 60 million image uploads monthly, use over 5 petabytes of data every month, and we’re

profitable.

You’d probably be shocked and ask:

How did you do it?

The answer:

We partnered with and became the image hosting provider for Reddit.

That’s the story of Imgur.

With Imgur and Reddit as a case study, it’s clear that partnerships can be very beneficial.

Don’t take it too far and think that partnerships alone will make your business successful. Your

product has to be great. If Imgur was filled with ads, was slow, and faced a lot of outages, they

wouldn’t be where they are today.

So Imgur and other companies in partnerships have qualities that their competitors cannot take

away from them. They expose your brand to people who might not even hear about it if not for your

partner. They also allow people to demo your product without ever leaving your partner’s product.

Are there any companies that would benefit from your service? Keep in mind that partnerships work

best when all parties involved benefit. And don’t forget that partnerships can end up being

disastrous.

Make sure the differentiating quality is something people want

So let’s say you don’t like the Facebook product. You think it’s poorly designed and has major

privacy problems.

You decide to build a new social network. You invest a few thousand dollars and make it just the

way you want it – with all the design features you’ve ever wanted and the privacy policy you’ve

embraced. You get all your friends to join and they all say nice things about it.

Three months later, you get 2 more members and your friends haven’t returned to your product in

weeks. Clearly, things aren’t working out.

You ask yourself:

Why? I made this layout much better than Facebook’s and we don’t track anyone like Facebook

does. I love this product, why would anyone not want it?

The answer:

The differentiating feature was something nobody cared about or wanted.

When you build your business and have your differentiating feature, you have to make sure it’s

something people want. Too many businesses have failed because they built something for their

needs but forgot to check if other people were having the same problems.

How do you make sure you’re building something people want? Here are a few ideas:

1. Ask people who could potentially be your customers/users.

2. Set up a launch page explaining your UVP. Ask for an email address for an early invite. If you

don’t get a lot of responses, don’t build it.

3. See if there have been any previous attempts to build what you’re proposing.

4. Learn about the problems people have with current offerings and determine if your solution is

compatible.

Once you build something that people want, you’ll see that your product becomes much easier to

sell.

Focus

Focus is difficult. It can be easy for a company to diverge from its main product and go off and make

other products. Google is one company that seemed to have lost its focus:

Especially for a startup, focus is key. As we’ve seen with Apple, it can produce great products. Their

focus has led to a limited number of products that are top quality.

It seems that Ford’s new CEO, Alan Mulally, also believes in focus. When he became CEO, he

noted that there wasn’t enough focus at Ford:

You just can’t be world class on 97 different things.

So he sold off many of their assets and even shut down the Mercury brand. Today, Ford is turning

around from where they were just 5 years ago.

Focus can be even more critical at a startup. It can be really tempting to say:

Why not create another product to compliment our current offering? It will provide another revenue

stream, and we can always shut it down if it proves unsuccessful.

The trouble is that there are limited resources in a startup. Any time and money you spend working

on another product will take away from focusing on your main offering.

But it’s often not enough to just “focus on the product” in general. You’ll want to focus on one specific

thing in your product, get the team on board, get input from customers, and go from there. By

working on small pieces one at a time, the collage of your product will end up being better.

So how does focus set you apart? Because you’re focusing on one thing, you’re working on your

unique business, and you’re becoming the best in the world at it. You’re learning every day and

becoming experts at what you do best. There can be no replacement for that expertise.

Any comments, questions, criticism, or just want to say hi? Share them in the comments!

I’ll leave you with these parting words:

If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete. — Jack Welch

About the Author: Zach Bulygo is a blogger for KISSmetrics, you can find him on Twitter here. You

can also follow him on Google+.

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How Can I Set My Business Apart From the Competition?Since the bakery business seems to be growing so fast, I'm concerned about the success of my own bakery. How can I differentiate my bakery and make it profitable? I'd love to know what would make people prefer my cakes, cupcakes and other baked goods over others. Where can I find that kind of information? Could and should I talk to my own customers? What about looking at what the competition is doing and talking to their customers? What other resources could help me really set my bakery apart?

SEPTEMBER 05, 2013

In many ways the elements that go into differentiating a bakery are the same as any other business. While it may seem obvious, most businesses are not even doing a good job at the three basics. If you can

make sure to keep these areas in good shape, you will by default stand head and shoulders above the rest.

1. Quality of product: Make sure the quality of your product is demonstrably equal to or better than your best competitor. Make a list of the top three or four qualities your customer looks for in your type of product and make sure you are delivering it. Is it freshness, taste, visual appeal, high quality ingredients?

2. Quality of service: It's one thing to get loaf of crispy French bread that tastes like a million bucks. It's another thing to have it served to you by a surly teenager who clearly hates their job. The tone with which business is conducted can make all the difference in the world. What are the most important service qualities to your clientele? Is it timeliness, friendliness, personal attention, cleanliness?

3. Quality of process: Here is where many businesses miss the mark. They offer a great product or service, do it in a customer-focused way, but make the process of doing business with them a burden. Consider the policies and procedures in place at your bakery. Are they making it harder or easier for your customers to do business with you? For example: What is your refund policy? Satisfaction guarantee? How do you manage long lines? Do you take credit cards on even small purchases?

To put these three crucial elements in place, I suggest you do two things. First, go check out some of the more popular bakeries in your area and see how they stack up against the items above. Where might you have a window of opportunity in areas other bakeries are lacking? Next, create a simple feedback card that your customers can fill out,

asking them to evaluate your products and service. Encourage them by putting completed cards into a fishbowl and picking out a lucky winner each week who gets a complimentary cruller. Lastly, find a way in one of these three areas to distinguish yourself. How can you differentiate yourself? Some bakeries have done this by being gluten free, using only natural ingredient, or making everything in miniature.

Remember, it's the combination of the basics done perfectly, combined with a slight twist to differentiate you that will have your bread not only come out of the oven fully baked, but going into the hands of eager, repeat customers. 

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A Bigger Prize: How We Can Do Better than the Competition Hardcover– April 8, 2014by Margaret Heffernan  (Author)

   7 customer reviews

See all 2 formats and editions

Hardcover   $20.65 27 Used   from   $2.89 30 New   from   $8.93 Read more

"Quicken Willmaker P

Competition runs through every aspect of our lives today. From the cubicle to the race track, in business and love, religion and science, what matters now is to be the biggest, fastest, meanest, toughest, richest.

The upshot of all these contests? As Margaret Heffernan shows in this eye-opening book, competition regularly backfires, producing an explosion of cheating, corruption, inequality, and risk. The demolition derby of modern life has damaged our ability to work together.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. CEOs, scientists, engineers, investors, and inventors around the world are pioneering better ways to create great products, build enduring businesses, and grow relationships. Their secret? Generosity. Trust. Time. Theater. From the cranberry bogs of Massachusetts to the classrooms of Singapore and Finland, from tiny start-ups to global engineering firms and beloved American organizations—like Ocean Spray, Eileen Fisher, Gore, and Boston Scientific—Heffernan discovers ways of living and working that foster creativity, spark innovation, reinforce our social fabric, and feel so much better than winning.

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HOW I AM DIFFERENT (AND BETTER) THAN MY COMPETITION12 JUL HOW I AM DIFFERENT (AND BETTER) THAN MY COMPETITIONPosted at 15:36h in Customer Service, Lessons from a Small Business Owner by John 

Share

When I began my business in March of 2010,

I knew I was going to be walking a fine line. I needed to balance creating an

array of services that would appeal to small businesses. And I knew that while

there were many, many other internet marketing firms in the area that would

be offering the same services, I had to somehow set myself apart from them.

I started with two mindsets. Not only was I going to charge less than my

competition, I was going to out-work, out-communicate, out-perform them. I

was going to provide each of my clients with an individual package of services

that they could of course find somewhere else, but as Marlon Brando would

put it – “I am going to give them an offer they can’t refuse.”

UNDERCUT THE COMPETITION

By keeping my overhead low, I can keep my prices low. And with low prices

come lowered expectations. I provide a level of service that my clients would

probably pay 5-10 times as much with another company. I get projects done

efficiently and I work hard to make sure they are done right the first time.

I could charge what I know the market value for a website to be and most

would probably pay it. I charge what things cost, not the maximum that I think

a client will pay. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses in my field disagree with

that practice.

KILL THEM WITH KINDNESS

I grew up learning from the king of customer service, my dad, CEO of Young’s

Dairy. He teaches weekly and monthly classes about the importance of the

guest experience at his farm and I take that to heart in my business as well.

It’s not just about making as much money as possible. It’s about creating an

opportunity to help someone. I am helping small businesses succeed.

When I take on a new client, I put myself in their shoes. What are they doing

in their store to make the customer experience a great one and how can I

supplement that with a website or their social media campaign? I work to meet

with my clients as often as they want to ensure that the things I do for them

online match what they do offline.

MORE FLEXIBLE THAN A RUSSIAN GYMNAST

One of the things I really try to be is flexible. Clients come to me because they

don’t want to deal with the big internet marketing firms in the area. Not only

are their costs too high, but their rules and guidelines make them difficult to

work with. Of my last 5 clients, 4 of them have stated that the previous

company that they were talking to tried to alter the client’s business plan to fit

the firm’s needs. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

I’ve had a handful of clients that have needs outside of what I’m comfortable

in handling. But I explain the situation to them and we learn together what

works and what doesn’t. Being flexible is like Yoga Classes for Business.

UNRELENTING IN WORK ETHIC

I never stop working for my clients, sometimes to a fault. I know that sounds

like one of those standard interview questions “My only fault is that I work too

hard” but it’s true. I spent most of the recent July 4th weekend at my desk,

sketching frameworks for potential clients, brainstorming for current clients

and catching up on things for my end of business (blog entries, accounting,

marketing plans, etc – you know, the exciting stuff).

I haven’t answered “Not as busy as I’d like!” to the question “How is

business?” in many months. I love what I do and I love working for my clients.

Helping them succeed makes me feel good about what I’m doing. It makes

them feel less like clients and more like friends. And I like that.

RELIABLE & TRUSTWORTHY

Nearly all of my clients have come from referrals from my other clients. What

does that say about the level of service I provide?

I am open and honest with the services I provide, I do whatever I can within

my means to make my clients happy and I work my tail off for them. What

more can a client ask of me?

I realize that I probably am outside of the norm with my business. I keep my

prices low, I provide excellent customer service and I work hard to ensure my

clients are happy. I guess that’s why I’m going to be busy for a long time to

come.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Speech: Satisfying Customers Better Than Competitorsby Smriti Chand Speech

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peech on Satisfying Customers Better Than Competitors!

Satisfying customers may not guarantee success. The real question is

whether a firm can satisfy customers better than competitors. Customer

preference will depend on creating more value than competition. This extra

value is brought about by establishing a competitive advantage.

Corporate performance depends upon customer satisfaction and being able to

create greater value than competition. Therefore, firms need to understand

both customers and competitors. By understanding competitors, a firm can

better predict their reaction to any marketing initiative that the firm might make

and exploit any weaknesses that they might possess.

The essence of strategy is to select a unique set of activities to be performed

by an organization and achieving efficiency in performing these activities.

A company can perform better than its competitors if it can establish a

difference and then maintain it. It must deliver greater value to customers, or

deliver comparable value at lesser cost, or deliver greater value at a lesser

cost. Delivering a greater value allows a company to charge a higher price

and greater efficiency results in lower costs.

Cost is generated by performing activities, and cost advantage arises from

performing particular activities more efficiently than competitors. Similarly

differentiation arises from both the choice of activities and how they are

performed.

Activities are the basic units of competitive advantage. Overall advantage or

disadvantage results from all the activities of a company. Operational

effectiveness results from performing similar activities better than competitors.

Strategic positioning results from performing activities different from

competitors, or performing similar activities in different ways.

Constant improvement in operational effectiveness through new technologies

and better practices is necessary to achieve high profitability. But a

competitive advantage in operational effectiveness is not sustainable because

technologies and best practices diffuse fast and every company comes to

have them after some time.

All the players of an industry become more efficient and start competing on

the same parameters as they benchmark with one other. The profitability of

the industry goes down as firms reduce price to attract customers and spend

money on new technologies and benchmarking. The extra value generated

due to improved operational effectiveness is captured by customers and

suppliers of technologies and equipments.

Strategy requires a tailored set of activities. Strategy is the creation of a

unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities. The

essence of strategy is to choose activities that are different from rivals. In

choosing the set of activities, a company will have to make trade-offs because

some of the activities that it could choose are incompatible. An airline can

choose to serve meals but the result will be higher costs and slow turnaround

time at the gate.

Different positions require different product configurations, different

equipments, different employee behaviour, different skills and different

management systems. Value is destroyed when an activity is overdesigned or

under designed for its use.

If a given salesman were capable of providing high level of assistance to one

customer and none to the other, the salesman’s talent would be wasted on the

second customer. Moreover productivity can improve by limiting the variation

of an activity. By providing a high level of assistance all the time, the

salesperson can achieve efficiencies of learning and scale. By clearly

choosing to compete in one way and not other, the management makes

organizational priorities clear and employees can take appropriate day-to-day

operating decisions. Making trade-offs also helps in providing consistent

image to customers.

Companies dangerously believe that they can avoid making trade-offs. They

believe that they can provide high quality of product and lot of associated

services to customers at a low price. They cannot. The essence of strategy is

choosing the activities, which the company will not do. A company has to

categorically choose the activities it will do and the ones which it will not do,

depending on the strategy it has chosen.

The chosen activities should fit with each other and reinforce each other.

Every activity matters. Southwest’s rapid gate turnaround is the result of well-

paid and efficient ground crews, no meals, no seat assignment and no

interline baggage transfers. It selects routes and airports to avoid congestion

that introduces delays. Its strict limits on the type and length of routes make

purchasing standardized aircrafts possible. Every Southwest aircraft is a

Boeing 737.

Southwest’s activities complement one another in ways that create real

economic value. One activity’s cost is lowered because of the way other

activities are performed. One activity’s value to customers is enhanced by a

company’s other activities.

Fit among activities provide a sustainable competitive advantage. It is harder

for a competitor to match an array of interlocked activities than it is to merely

imitate a particular sales force approach, match a process technology, or

replicate a set of product features. Strategy build on systems of activities are

far more sustainable than those built on individual activities.

The more a company’s strategy rests on activity systems with second-order

and third-order fit, the more sustainable its advantage will be. It is difficult to

untangle such systems from outside and therefore hard to imitate. A

competitor seeking to match an activity system gains little by imitating only

some activities and not matching the whole. Performance can even decline.

Strategy should have a horizon of a decade or more. Continuity fosters

improvement in individual activities and the fit across individual activities,

which helps in building unique capabilities tailored to its strategy. Frequent

shifts in strategy are costly. A company must reconfigure individual activities

and also must realign entire systems.

Trade-offs and limits appear to constrain growth. Serving one group of

customers and excluding others places a limit on revenue growth. Strategies

emphasizing low prices result in lost sales with customers sensitive to

features or service.

Differentiation loses sales to price sensitive customers. Companies are

constantly tempted to take incremental steps that surpass those limits but blur

a company’s strategy. Eventually pressures to grow, or apparent saturation of

the target market lead managers to broaden the strategy by extending product

lines, adding new features, imitating competitors, matching processes and

making acquisitions. Compromises and inconsistencies in the pursuit of

growth erode competitive advantage. Companies fail to make choices as they

try to serve wider constituencies.

Companies seeking growth should create stand-alone units, each with its own

brand name and tailored activities. Each unit will have a unique strategy.

…………………………………………………………………………………

Differentiate Yourself From the Competition: 15 Sales Experts Share How

Posted in Sales on July 10th, 2014

In our work at Sales Engine, we often see a few problems reoccurring within sales organizations. These companies are not identical. They come with their own processes, standards, structures, and methods of communicating. They are small or large, B2B or B2C, an unknown start-up or well-known corporation. When we visit with sales leaders and assess their capacity to increase sales to avoid a plateau, we ask them all sorts of crazy questions. And we almost always ask some version of questions like:

Who is your biggest competitor?

How is what you do different from what they do?

Who do you think has the advantage in the market?

These conversations vary depending on the business and industry, of course, but it usually boils down to this one statement:

“We’re just better than Competitor XYZ.” 

We all want to believe that we do a better job than anyone else, that no one else can compare. And while confidence is an important part of succeeding in sales, it isn’t true.

A company’s success is largely based on its ability to articulate and execute why it is DIFFERENT and BETTER than the competition.

Being “better” than someone else won’t get you very far. It might just make you feel good in the short-term. And assuming that your competitor will never “catch up” to you is a dangerous game to play.

If you bring this down to the salesperson’s level, those that tend to succeed are skillful at catching their prospect’s attention. They offer information. They send a ‘thank you’ note. They think ahead. On the flip side, the average low-performing salesperson requests information and time from their prospect (rather than offering it), avoids sending a handwritten thank you note (because that would “take too long”), and thinks on the fly (rather than thinking ahead).

Successful salespeople seek to be different, not just ‘better’. Because being different makes them better (i.e. more successful) in the long run.

We were curious about how our fellow sales pros thought about differentiation at the salesperson’s level, so we asked a few experts this question:

“What is ONE way a salesperson can differentiate him or herself from their competition?”

It turns out, there are plenty of ways to be different. You just have to choose a few and test them out.

In no particular order, here’s what the experts had to say:

Mark Hunter: The Sales Hunter

“Ask shorter questions.  Salespeople in general don’t ask enough questions and those that do ask ones that are far too complicated.  The best questions are the short questions that follow up on a response the customer just shared.  A few short questions I like include:  Why?  How come? Could you give me an example? Could you share with me more?”

Geoff Winthrop: Acquirent

“Be prepared, be sincere and ask great questions!  Now more than ever prospects are inundated with sales calls, voicemails and emails.  It is crucial that we constantly differentiate ourselves from all the noise.  I have found that if I am prepared (i.e. knowing about the prospects business and the potential challenges they face), sincere (using the phrase “am I catching you at a good time” or “I know you aren’t expecting my call”) and ready with great relevant open ended questions that this has opened up a ton of opportunity that we would not have otherwise had.”

Jack Malcolm: Falcon Performance

“Ask smart questions. This actually requires two interrelated skills that are in short supply among salespeople: outside-in mentality and proper preparation. Outside-in is the approach that understands that the best way to get what you want is to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and figure out how to help them get what they want. You need to prepare properly to ensure that you ask questions that get to the heart of their problems and opportunities; that’s the key to differentiation and the first step on the road to trust.”

Jim Keenan: A Sales Guy

“The greatest sales person differentiator is knowledge. The sales person who knows more about the industry they sell in, the business workflows, operations, the competition, government mandates, and the challenges of their customers wins! Sales is all about contextual knowledge, and those bad ass sales people with the greatest command of this contextual knowledge will be wearing the champions belt.”

Kelley Robertson: Fearless Selling

“The ONE way a salesperson can differentiate him or herself from their competitors is to ask high-value, thought-provoking questions that make prospects sit up and think. Most sales people THINK they do an effective job asking questions but the reality is that most fail to ask enough deep, probing questions to really learn what the prospect needs. By asking these types of questions you can climb into the mind of your prospect and find out what is really important to them, the challenges they face, the decision-making process and the motivators that will influence their buying decision.”

Dan Waldschmidt: Edgy Conversations

“High performing sales people heal broken situations rather than pitch, pander, or prospect.”

Tibor Shanto: Renbor Sales Solutions

“Focus on the buyers objectives, not their pain, not their needs, not on product fit, but their objectives; leave your product in the car.  People love to talk about their objectives, and they will tell all kinds of things you otherwise would not hear.  If they feel you can help them move towards or achieve their objectives, they will want to talk to you.  But most sales people want to talk solution before they even know what, if anything, they are solving.  Focus on objectives and impacts you can deliver to those.”

Dan McDade: Point Clear

“A good friend (and SVP of Sales) jokes about the public’s perception of sales people.  He says “Enough about me, what do you think about me?”.

A sales rep can differentiate themselves by being genuinely interested in their prospect and their prospects needs and wants.  As Stephen Covey said: “Seek first to understand and then be understood.”

Matt Heinz: Heinz Marketing

“One way to differentiate?  Build, value and nurture relationships before you need them.  This means not just prospects but peers, competitors, partners, past customers and more.  Use the amazing tools we have around us now – CRM, social, content, drip marketing, contextual follow-up reminders, etc. – to exponentially scale your ability to foster and improve those relationships without having to take all day doing it.

Seriously, that’s it.  Be the person who cares more before there’s anything specific in it for you.  It takes time and commitment, and a daily discipline, but those who do it see a widening gap between themselves and their competitors.”

Nancy Bleeke: Sales Pro Insider

“Sales people can differentiate themselves by focusing everything – I mean everything – they do on the What’s in it for Them (WiifT) of the prospect or buyer. Preparing for the sales meeting with this WiifT focus is the beginning. During the sales conversation is

where the biggest difference is made. Ditch your ‘pitch’ and make anything you say connected to or followed by the reason it is relevant to that person, situation, and company. It takes work to be focused on WiifT instead of you and your solution, which is why so few of your competitors will do it.”

Anthony Iannarino: The Sales Blog

“If I could choose only one way to differentiate myself as a salesperson it would be caring. I would love to put business acumen above caring, but there are plenty of smart people who don’t generate trust because they are self-oriented. I would love to put resourcefulness above caring, because helping your clients requires new ideas. But caring is what ensures your client that the new ideas are going to be implemented. I’d love to put determination above caring, because you aren’t going to succeed without a pigheaded determination. But you have to care enough to keep pursuing difficult outcomes.

See what I did here? I chose only one but I weaved in three more attributes. The one thing you can do to differentiate yourself is be the whole package.”

Paul Alves: AG Salesworks

“One way a salesperson can differentiate themselves from their competition is to focus on adding value in every interaction with a prospect.  Ask questions and listen with a focus on helping the prospect solve a problem or reach a goal versus trying to sell them something so you can reach yours.”

Michael Boyette: Top Sales Dog

“A great way for salespeople to differentiate themselves is by NOT using such “typical salesperson” language as “Are you the person responsible for …”  or “If I could show you a way to save 20%, would you be interested?” There’s fascinating research showing that when you use stock phrases like these, buyers don’t even hear what comes next. You could tell them their dog died and they’d say, “Sorry, not interested.” They’ve already pigeonholed you and made up their mind whether or not to continue the conversation (usually not). For more on the research, go here: http://rapidlearninginstitute.com/top-sales-dog/be-unexpected-salesperson.”

Jonathan Farrington: JF Blog It

“I believe that the one term, which sets top sales performers apart from the also-rans, is customer focus. Outstanding sales results depend on the ability to think from the customer’s point of view as well as understanding the customer’s agenda, buying cycle and best interests.

Beyond a superficial reading of immediate customer needs, salespeople must gain a deeper understanding of both the buyer’s long-term goals and the overall business climate. Certainly at the heart of customer focus is the art of listening constructively – the best salespeople are masters at capturing information.

Customer focus also means taking the customer seriously – today, the salesperson who clings to the product orientation of a decade ago is losing ground, because as client companies branch into new markets and unfamiliar territories, they are demanding unique, flexible solutions from their vendors – customized to support specific goals.”

Colleen Francis: Engage Selling

“Adding value at every interaction. Show up at a meeting with success stories, case studies or white papers that the client can learn from even if they don’t by form you. Publish (or reprint what your company publishes) high value videos, podcasts, research papers, articles or opinions in your market that position you as a thought leader not just as a “seller”. When buyers see you as an expert in the marketplace they seek you out. You are no longer an intrusive sales person but an expert that can add value to their business.”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

KISS SMART: 5 Things You Must Do Better Than Your CompetitorsPosted November 12, 2013 5:49 am by Kfir Moyal with 1 comment

In previous posts, we have discussed how competitive the display advertising world is and how to knock out competitors; but today, I would like to revert to the old KISS adage and keep it simple by listing the 5 things you MUST do better than your competitors in order to succeed with your display advertising campaigns.We like to use another acronym to remember these five: SMART

Styling – The first aspect involves quite a bit. The style of your creative designs, your color choices, landing page layouts…all of these must be better than your competitors.A quick example of two long-time rival competitors, Honda and Toyota:

Which one compels you to click?Messaging – of course, your styling isn’t everything. Though it is very important how you look, what you say is also critical and MUST be better than what your competitors say.Another great example:

Mr. de Blasio is seen in sunlight with bright colors, the words “Progressive” and “Join Us” jump out – looks like an energetic, summery, fun group.Mr. Lhota, though smiling, appears much more serious. Notice the dark suit, the twilight skyline. He urges you to “Learn More” rather than his competitor’s “Join Us.”Which appeals more to you?Adjusting – critical to success of any online campaign (but, specifically, online display campaigns) is how quickly you adjust with the times. If a news story hits that affects your customers, work it into your campaigns! If your competitor shifts their focus, consider adjusting yours.Reaching – naturally, no matter what you say, how you say it, or how quickly you adjust, you must reach a lot of people. Advertising is a numbers game. The more you reach, the more you convert. You must increase your reach beyond your competitors. Use more (and better!) publishers, run longer, start sooner. Reach more people.Targeting – But don’t just reach more people, reach more of the RIGHT people. Target your message to your audience: different locations, age groups, gender, socioeconomic status. Here is one last example:Keep it simple, folks…but be SMART about it. The success of your display campaigns depends on your SMART KISSability.