How to Find Business Competition and Beat Them – One of the things you need to scrutinize as you evaluate your target niche is the competition. Namely, how much competition there is and how well financed and established your competitors are.
A word to the wise: If you think you have no competition, look again. You do. No matter how unique your product is, there is a competitor somewhere, probably pretty close by. To succeed in your new venture, you need to learn as much as you can about who your competitors are, what they offer, and how they operate.
To identify the competition in your niche market in mind, ask the following question: “What are my potential customers doing right now to meet the need I hope to meet?”
It is a good bet that they are giving their business to one or more of your competitors. In some cases, you will have direct competition — a business that offers a product or service that is similar to your own. In other cases, you may be up against a well-established company that approximates what you offer. You also should consider potential new entrants into the marketplace.
When you research your competition, the first thing you should do is find each and every competitor. Pull out the Yellow Pages and look though the index to find any type of business that might resemble yours. If you have a product or service that you are marketing to other businesses, be sure to review the Business-to-Business Yellow Pages. On the Internet, go to a search engine and type in keywords associated with your idea. You may be surprised to see what businesses show up.
How to beat your competitor is your great challenge. To identify the most effective way to set your business apart from the other players in your field, here are five ways to accomplish this goal:
1. Understand the competition. You can’t differentiate yourself if you don’t know what you’re up against.
2. Make your product or service unique. Offer special features or benefits to make your business stand out from the crowd.
3. Price your product or service differently than the competition. Usually you will want to offer a lower price than your competitors. Be careful, however — you may start a pricing war and drive the profit out of your business. When you can meet the specific needs of your customer, it’s easy to outshine the competition. Offering individualized service in a friendly, professional manner is a sure way to build client loyalty.
4. Offer stellar customer service. Friendly service and customer support can be a key selling feature in a competitive market. I’ll bet there is at least one company you give your business to because it offers excellent customer service.
5. The bottom line in differentiating your business from your competitors is offering customers something they can’t find anywhere else. In other words, you need to create value for your customers.