Whether you are active in a new or existing market, sooner or later you will have to deal with competition. How do you, as a seller or sales department, deal with competition?
Nobody is looking for a thousand in a dozen providers. You know them, full service suppliers. Especially in technology markets, such as internet marketing, the full service formula is dying out. It is simply not distinctive enough and these fields now consist of so many disciplines that virtually no one can have them all in-house.
So choose your position in the market wisely! This doesn't mean you have to target a special type of customer or industry, but create a proposition that is clearly different from the competition. What is your main USP? Think carefully about your business improvement. Try to avoid the container terms, we are familiar with them by now. Terms such as full service, customer-oriented, flexible, cheap no longer make the difference.
Do you have to participate in pitches? Do you come into contact with competitors who stunt prices to attract customers in these difficult economic times? Then don't participate in that for a change. Give your competitors the losing customers and ensure that your image in the market is not tarnished. We once encountered a competitor who offered customers their services for free in order to gain market share. That competitor no longer exists….
Do you have as a seller or as manager a vision and idea of your positioning? This can of course be correct, but it can also deviate from reality. Don't rely too much on your market and competition, but determine your positioning based on your environment. Ask your colleagues how they see the organization, but also ask your customers what position they assign to your organization. They know better than anyone what you are good at and why they chose your organization.
Does the name Sun Tzu mean anything to you? This Chinese general wrote 'the art of war', an age-old book about warfare and dealing with competition. One of his most important statements is about getting to know your competitor. If you know your competitor and his motives, you can anticipate them and loss is hardly possible.
In these times of social media such as Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, you have the opportunity to closely follow your competition. Who works there, which clients do they work for, which contact persons do they have relationships with, how do they position themselves? All information that can be retrieved and with which you can get to know your competition.
You may look up to the giants in your market. Those big competitors with the great portfolio. However, don't forget that growing larger than these competitors also has disadvantages. They are less able to invest time in relationships and leads because of the high overhead costs. As a challenger to the market leaders, you can become a giant killer by investing more time in building relationships with your target group and advising these companies. It may not immediately generate revenue for you, but it will help you enormously in the long term.
So you see, both within your own organization and outside of it, you can think of numerous ways to outpace or stay ahead of your competition. Do you have any practical tips yourself? Then share them with us.
