As part of the Strategic Planning process I conduct with all clients we will typically spend a considerable amount of time on the area of competition.
Why? Well I know it seems obvious that you should know your competition and know them you should, as they set your prices in the marketplace. No Ronan I hear you say, it’s our customers who do this. Think again as this is an important distinction.
What is not surprising perhaps is that very few businesses really do know their competition, in depth. They will have some but no in depth knowledge.
This is primarily because most businesses have no strategy or plan to ensure that they are continuously learning and updating their knowledge of their competition.
This is not as difficult as you may think, but it requires discipline.
For example if you are a retailer, how often do you or your staff visit competitors stores? How often do you conduct pricing surveys? How often do you check out their websites.
Put simply the best retailers will have a clear strategy and will have a system in place that ensures that they have accurate and timely information on their competitors.
This not only gives you the hard facts, it can also give you great confidence.
When I was a salesman for example the more I knew about my competitors the more confident I was because I was able to handle objections better. I was able to tailor my presentation to focus on our core strengths. I knew what our core strengths were. I knew what the competitors prices were so when the standard response from a buyer was “your too expensive” I knew how to respond. More often than not when you hear this objection it is just a reactionary response and is not comparing like with like.
You need to have this confidence though and this is only achieved through good competitor intelligence gathering.
Ask yourself some key questions
1) Who are your most successful competitiors?
2) Why do customers buy from them ?
3) In what ways are competitors superior to you?
4) In what ways are you superior to your competitors?
5) What are your areas of excellence?
6) What is your real USP?
7) How can you improve your product or service by making them better, faster, cheaper?
What does your customer have to be convinced of before buying from you, rather than a competitor
9) What changes can you make to increase your competitive advantage?
Actions
Take the time out today and answer these questions individually. Then take time to really dig deep in to them through out the course of this month.
Create a plan that ensures you have regular surveys of your marketplace and the competition. Make them measurable and be accountable to ensuring that they happen.
Best of luck, Ronan
Ronan Kilroy Certified FocalPoint Business Coach
Profitability, Productivity, Possibility.
Contact me on www.ronankilroy.ie and arrange a FREE 90 minute coaching session.
