Sweating the Competition? 4 Steps to Stay Fresh
Innovation is key as a business owner—you have to keep your products and your strategies current. But you can’t do that without first studying your competitors’ edges. Follow these no-sweat tips to stay ahead of the game.
Step 1: Profile your main competitors
Identify the top three to five leaders in your industry and create detailed profiles about each of them.
Get on their websites, subscribe to their email lists, follow their social media. Find out everything you can about their market position, services, and goals.
If you can, buy a product or service they sell. It may seem counterintuitive, but this will really place you in the consumer’s shoes. Review the company’s customer service, delivery of service, and level of quality.
Step 2: Critique and compare
Examine the profiles in front of you—and make one for your business.
Assess all the information you have available; you may even want to perform a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats).
Next, compare the competition’s performance with your own. Write it out: What do you admire about them? Where are there opportunities for growth in your business? In what ways are you exceeding industry standards?
Identify any offerings they have that your business does not currently provide. Look for opportunities to learn, develop, and grow. Lean into your discomfort.
Step 3: Re-strategize
You have the information, but doing something with it is the secret to finding your own edge.
After conducting competitor analysis, it’s a good idea to hold a strategy meeting with your staff and/or board to determine where to take action.
Assessing your competition is likely to reinforce your own unique brand and market position, and provide the motivation to continue carving out a niche in your industry.
If you’re one of many business owners who came out of this exercise inspired to revamp their marketing strategy, you’re certainly not alone—but you’re also not done. The bonus step to staying fresh is…
Step 4: Don’t neglect your marketing.
It’s true what they say—when the going gets tough, most people cut back on their marketing budgets. This is a terrible thing to do. But when others default to that mindset, it presents a fantastic opportunity for you—because when the competition isn’t advertising or investing in SEO, you can be.
It’s important to stay in the spotlight and get in front of potential customers. Email Broadcast makes it easy to streamline that process and outsource the work. Email marketing continues to be the #1 investment a company can make for its sales and marketing. Don’t neglect this pivotal step.
