Sizing
Up The Competition
You can learn a lot from
your competitors. Analyzing your competition is an important component
to your marketing strategy. If you have strong competition in your
market area, it will be very important that your product or service
stands out from the rest. It must be unique, meet a particular need
not being currently met by your competition.
Key questions to answer
regarding your competition include:
- Who is your competition?
- How long have they been
in business?
- How loyal are their
current customers?
- What are their strengths?
- What are their weaknesses?
- How does their product
or service meet the customer's needs and wants?
- How are they not meeting
their customer's expectations?
- How might your competition
affect the sales of your product or service?
You can find out information
about your competition from your sample customer group. Asking questions
about where people are currently purchasing their products and services
and what they like and don't like, will give you insights into the
strength of your competition.
Other information can be
gathered through:
- Public library
- Local chamber of commerce
- Your own observation
Simply copying what your
competition is doing probably won't work. The customer is purchasing
from them now. To capture a share of the market, you will need to
have a product or service which is unique or superior to what is currently
available. You will need to convince customers to switch their purchasing
habits to your business, and to do that the customer has to have a
reason. Some reasons why customers may change their current loyalties
are:
- Improved quality of
product or service
- Friendlier service
- Price
- More features or benefits
- Speed of delivery
- Business which is responsive
to their needs
If you intend to use any
of these strategies in your new business, you will need to communicate
these unique features of your new product to your potential customers
in your marketing efforts.
You may be in a situation
where there is no direct competition in your market area. But don't
assume that is true without research. Just because you are not aware
of competition does not mean that it does not exist. In today's global
marketplace, your competition may be on the other side of the globe.
Next
Chapter...
