To stay successful in the business world you need to have an edge over your competition. And, you need to keep that edge, always. This means that you need to have a clear idea of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. Only when you have this information can you make better informed decisions on which directions to take your own business.
Identify Other’s Mistakes
A smart person learns from their mistakes, but a wise person learns from other’s mistakes. When you have a competitive edge in business it means that you have learned from other’s mistakes. Hopefully some of those others have been your competitors. There are a lot of ways to discover their mistakes and it does take work, but it is worth it in the long run.
Analyze The Market
Having an edge on your competition means that you need to analyze your target market and be smart with your business resources. This doesn’t mean that you have to play dirty, be unfair, or be cut-throat about business decisions, in fact, it is quite the contrary. Consumers don’t want to do business with a bully. If you are cut throat or play dirty with your competition you are more likely to lose customers than gain customers, but you also don’t want to pretend your competition doesn’t exist.
So, your first step is to find out who your competitors are.
The Competition
Your business competition is going to be the businesses that offer the same services that you do. Your competitors are going to be the businesses that focus on the same niche market, the same customers, and sell their products or services in the same price range as you do. When you have a clear idea of who these businesses are; it will help you to get a better idea of who you are and where your business stands in the marketplace.
When you have a good idea of who your competition is you can start to ask yourself these questions:
• What is it that my business has to offer that is different or better than my competition?
• What are my competitor’s strengths and weaknesses? How can I use these to my own business advantage?
• What are my own strengths and weaknesses? How can I use these to my own business advantage?
Market Research
In order to gain insight on the competition you need to do market research to see what your competitors are doing. Keep an eye on their websites; follow them on Facebook or Twitter. Watch what they do, watch how they work the market, and look at how you can do it better. Pay attention to how your competitors deal with customer services issues, as if you were one of their clients. You know, the things that make you choose one business over another. Get inside the head of your potential customers and see what would win you over to the business you are running as opposite to the competition.
Keep Up With Market Trends
Keep up with your market’s business trends. If a new product is coming out in your industry make sure you are the one to break the news to your social media outlets. Share information about industry changes, new business inventions, and potential fun promotions that are happening in your industry. This will not only show your customers that you are a smart business person, but that you care, and you are paying attention to the changes in your market.
There isn’t one simple way or one clear answer on how to keep that competitive edge over the competition, but there are many small and simple things you can do to thrive and be successful.