I have a friend from LinkIn, a fellow writer who once in awhile sends me articles to review. Feedback provides us all better skills, so I help as others have helped me and hopefully will in the future. The recent article he sent was over crushing competition and as much as I disagree to this it got me thinking. I have said not everyone is your competition, but what if they are? What should you do when the competition shows up, (and they will someday!)?
1. The first thing is not to panic-fear is one of the greatest weapons, used since the beginning of history and before. But don’t’ let it take away your reasoning, this is what the competition is hoping for. You will fail if you let the fear grip you, stay calm and use the reasoning to work through the problem(s). Start by insuring there is competition; rumors are voices in the dark, shine some light on them. This will help with the next step and others.
2. Assess the situation-this requires both an internal and external review of all operations. Just because an accounting sheet or production schedule says something does not mean it is real. Look internally and externally to determine what resources exist, those you can use and the same for the competition.
3. Find advantages and opportunities you have—promotion involves describing your advantages to others. Don’t be afraid to speak out about what advantages your reviews have shown. Just don’t let the competition know until you are ready. In this I refer you to another article I wrote about surprise and security.
4. Reason why the competition exist-what has changed, or is about to change that brings in the competition? This did not just happen, it occurred with some thought or action behind it. If possible remove this motivation from your competition actions or at least lesson it. Motivation is the driving force, when it is gone the forces behind the competition is gone. Lowering this keeps the matter from escalating; controlling it allows you to control the situation.
5. If the competition is:
A. Bigger than you-it will be slowed down by the infrastructure. But this also means something else they didn’t just jump in. Thought and discussion went into this so that infrastructure may already exist. As I said earlier, assess internally and externally to know first, take action second. But if infrastructures already exist then find out why it took so long to know this and if they are using your patients, parts or products. This makes them a customer who depends on your operations to stay in business themselves.
You will profit from their actions as a business relationship. But you should have known they were coming when they started, now is a good time to decide to find out your weaknesses and improve them. Not known is a big weakness!
B. Smaller than you-they may be cutting cost, therefore quality should be a concern to you and the customer. They could also be in a different location or market you did not know existed. (Refer to options below.) Watch carefully, whether the same size or not they present creative ideas you may not have thought of, investigate and see if you can make use of such.
6. Seek options—providing customers with services and products are just the start. If you want to expand, funds will be needed, but your funds may be needed other places so attempt to use investors or a loan. The fact there is new competition indicates this industry is expanding, if there is profit to be made it behooves your investor to gain some. In this regard, especially against a well funded larger entity, seek an ally that is just as big. Their competitors can be very helpful even if all they do is tell you more about this competition. The last option I would suggest is a legal one, it is very expensive and time consuming. The longer is last the less likely you are to get any return.
7. Enhance the products/services-bring value to customer’s lives is what you should be doing. So long as you provide value to the customer they will want it. Enhancing these attempts to remove the mundane and drudgery they have to put up with. If you cut cost, do not lose the quality, this is what provides assurances of long-term success.
8. Look to yourself-your team is the entity you are working for, do not forget this! These people are on your side, avoid paranoid behavior, do not blame them unless there is proof. Your team is your support, in labor and creativity, the more eyes you have looking at a problem the more likely you will see what you have missed that solves it.
9. You built it, now it is time to use it!-going into business you made a plan. If it is worth anything it will still work, at least a little. Use it, the entity was structured around it. By planning a good plan and following through, even the competition can not stop you, only slow you down. But concentrating on the customer will get you through the short-term. Long-term requires a solid plan so this is the time to see if you have a good plan. Remember any weakness, make them stronger and stay flexible so you go the long distance.
Contact: Michael Pulse [email protected] Author of: The Truth of Things
CEO of Stone Rose LLC Profile on Elance under Stone Rose LLC.