It comes as no surprise that competition is an inevitable part of running a business and it’s a very important part of keeping the market healthy and manageable from a consumer standpoint, as well. Whether you’re a brand new startup or a multimillion dollar company, there’s never a bad time to take a look at the way you approach competition. Although initially, competition may seem like a negative thing, it can actually be very beneficial. Let’s take a look at some helpful tips for business owners dealing with competition.
Analyze Your Competition
One mistake many business owners make is they jump straight into adjusting their own product to adapt to the market they’re targeting. However, you should be sure to start by analyzing your competition before all else. If you have an idea of who your competition is, look into their successes and failures. What kind of products and services do they offer? What types of marketing are working best for them? Has their stock value gone up or down? Why? Only after you’ve answered questions like this should you start planning your business by trying to identify any faults within your competition’s gameplan.
Don’t Be Afraid, One-Up Them
Business competition can range from corny to downright savage sometimes. Although some companies are able to fall into their own spot in a market, with other companies, there’s constant unrest trying to find the best product to beat out their competitor. If you think you do your product or service better than a competitor, don’t be afraid to brag about it and let people know. It may seem rude at the time, but it’s a natural part of running a business.
Never Compete On Price
With this being said, you should never compete on price. First and foremost, your company should focus on doing your job better than the competition, not at a lower cost. Why? Because you’re a business — your goal is to bring in money. If you drop your prices to unsustainable levels, you’re going to have to bring them up at some point. When you do, you’re going to lose a lot of customers because they’ll think you’re trying to rip them off.
Unless your business model is specifically designed to sell the lowest priced products, stay out of the “I can do it cheaper” game. You’ll end up having to cut back on the quality of your product to compensate and be labeled as the “cheap” company.
Contact FRF Consulting Group
Whether you’re just starting a business or you’ve had one for some time, it’s never too late to speak with business consultant who can provide you inside information on dealing with competition in your market. It could be that you haven’t exhausted all your options or that you’re missing something entirely. You should never be afraid to ask for help when your business is going through a hard time, especially if you’ve never owned a business before. Contact us today to get started.
