There are many things to learn when running a business, and as a business owner, it is your job to understand as many of them as possible, and to know which areas you have no knowledge or skills in so that you can outsource.
One of the things that you must absolutely be aware of when you run your own business is the competition and what they are doing. Without this information, there is no way that you can truly compete with them, especially since it is likely that they will be making it their duty to see what you are doing. Once you are aware of your competition you can stay ahead of them, and here are some of the best ways to do just that.
- Discover Their USP
The USP, otherwise known as the unique selling point or unique selling proposition, is what makes your business different to everyone else’s. It is absolutely essential that you know your own USP as you can use this to drive your marketing and to ensure that you can make yourself seen in a potentially crowded marketplace. However, it is just as important to try to determine your competitors’ USP as well. By understanding what it is that they do best and better than everyone else, including you, you can start to understand more about their business and the direction they are taking with it.
What you do with this information will depend on how you want to tackle having competition. You might like to try to compete directly with them on the same footing, or you might prefer to work in the opposite direction, making yourself different in that way.
- Know Your Customers
Knowing as much as possible about your customers is extremely important in business, and it will help you get ahead of the competition too. By carrying out in-depth market research regarding who is buying your products and services, including their gender, where they live, what their age is, and what their likes and dislikes are, you can create an advertising campaign that taps directly into their lives and speak to them on their level. This will make your marketing budget go further as you won’t be wasting your money targeting the wrong people (or attempting to capture everyone at once). It will also mean that you can ensure your products are always going to be what people are looking for.
- More Marketing
The more marketing you do, the more people will hear about you, and the more people who hear about you, the more sales you will make. This is basic business sense, and it is something that needs to be planned for. When comparing yourself to your competition, take a look at how they are handling their marketing. Look at their social media feeds and their print ads. Are they creating leaflets to be put into people’s mailboxes? Are they driving around in sign written vehicles? Not only will you need to know how your competitors are advertising, but you will also need to know, as far as possible, whether it is working or not. What kind of engagement are they getting on the Facebook page, for example?
When you can use your competition to find out what kind of marketing strategy works best for your particular niche, you can then jump straight to working on your own successful strategy without having to have any significant failures along the way.
- Find A Mentor
Sometimes when you are falling behind in business or find that you have reached some kind of plateau, it’s not the competition that is the problem. It could be that you simply need a boost and some guidance. Without forgetting that your competitors are out there, of course, it might be time to sign up for mentoring programs, or look online for inspiration from those who have already been through everything you are going through, and come out the other side. Click here, and you’ll find plenty of excerpt guidance and help, and it is this that might help you more than anything else.
Everyone gets stuck at some point in their business life, but not everyone takes the initiative to find a mentor and ask for help. If your competition fails to do this and you have someone who can help you, you are sure to come out on top.
- Improve Your Image
If you have a physical store, you need to look after it and ensure that it always looks in excellent condition. If it needs a little paint or a new sign, or if the décor inside needs updating, these are important jobs to take care of. If you can give your patrons a comfortable, pleasant environment to be in when browsing and buying, they are more likely to return, and to recommend you to others. The same goes for your website if you don’t have a physical store, or you have an internet presence that runs alongside it. The site must be kept up to date and be entirely user-friendly.
You and your employees must also fit the image of what you are selling. Your clothes and general appearance can make all the difference. You might want to wear branded clothing to tie in with everything else, for example, or you might choose a specific dress code. Stick with your vision and ensure that your image is a good one, and you will do well.
- Be There For Existing Customers
When you are trying hard to find new customers and take customers from your competition, you might be neglecting your existing customers, in which case your competition could more easily take them from you. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that your current customers are kept happy and that you are responsive to their needs. If you do this, they will help you to find new customers by rating and reviewing you and by letting their friends and family know how good you are to work with.
An important point to remember in business is that it costs a lot less in both time and money to keep hold of an old customer than it does to find a new one, and it is these loyal customers who will help you to grow.
