How competitive are your competitors?
Two sentences that will grind your business to a halt:
“Anyone is a good client”
And
“I have no competitors”
Let me assure you that taking this approach will slow down your business growth rather than drive it. You should consider it good news to hear that neither statement is true.
Welcome competition
In my early days with a software startup company, a new competitor entered the market quite suddenly, from a direction we were not expecting. As a new small business, we were focused on expanding our reach and making sure more potential buyers knew about us, and all of a sudden: this new competitor did all the work for us.
They were calling up every potential buyer to tell them how important having this software was. Which prompted each of those potential buyers to consider their options, do more research, and eventually find us. Our phones had never rung so often.
That’s when I learned to love having competitors.
And when I learned that competition is about your clients. It is about what they need and where they want to get it.
Competitors
Who are your direct competitors, by which I mean the people whose business cards have all the same words as yours? They do the same thing that you do.
Now think about all the ways you are different from each other.
- How and why are your prices different?
- What is their reach is, how and where do they find new clients?
- What are they known for?
- Have you ever been considered directly against them?
And think about how your clients interact with each of you.
- How do they buy from you?
- What do they expect from each of you?
- Is it difficult for them to choose between you?
- Is it difficult for them to switch from one vendor to another?
Just be yourself
There is space for all of you because you only want to work with your ideal clients. Which may, or may not, be their ideal clients.
Either way, shape your competitive approach around your client, not around your victory over an adversary.
Understanding why people don’t buy from you is essential to build your value proposition. Contact me for a 3 part online program to write yours.