Get Ahead of Your Competition

May 1, 2008


asdamd/photos/stylus/24605-ahead-of-competition248x275.jpg

Photo by iStockphotos

Research your biggest rivals in order to find the competitive edge that will get your business blooming.

By: MATT ALDERTON

When Eddy Salomon started his online telecommuting business, WorkAtHomeCareers.com, he quickly realized that he wasn't alone. The Web was full of enterprising entrepreneurs doing what he was doing. He had to get an edge. The best way to do that, he decided, wasn't to ignore his fellow Internet moguls, but rather to study them.

"One of the best ways to stay ahead," Salomon says, "is to study what your competitors are doing."

That doesn't mean copying them. It means finding out what they're doing—and how they're doing it—and then finding a way to do it better. "It's a matter of actually finding out what your competitors are doing, and filling in a gap that they're missing," Salomon says.

In other words, says small business coach David Mason, author of Marketing Your Small Business for Big Profits, it's a matter of finding your competitive edge. "You want to know what your competitive advantages and weaknesses are," he suggests. "Sometimes it is obvious and other times it will be more subtle. By determining what needs are going unfulfilled in the marketplace, you can then fill the void with your products and services."

If you're a small business start-up, then you'd better get out your proverbial shovel and start digging. The deeper you go, experts urge, the further ahead you'll be.

Start with a SWOT

A SWOT—Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats—analysis is where all market research should begin. You've got to figure out where you fit within your marketplace before you can compare yourself with others.

"What you need to do as a business is find where an opportunity is open for you, and maximize on that," Salomon says.

The easiest way to visualize that opportunity is with a SWOT analysis, such as this generic example from About.com, which will help you find out what you're good at and what you're not so good at. If you give great customer service, for example, but do poorly with your marketing, then there's a good opportunity for you to differentiate yourself from competitors with glitzier advertisements by way of being nice to your customers, who will no doubt shower you with referrals and recommendations. Similarly, if you find out that your weakness is staff resources—your competition has more employees—then it may be time to hire more help to level the playing field more.

Competition: Friend or Foe

With a SWOT analysis in your pocket, it's safe to say you know plenty about yourself. Once you understand your own strengths and weaknesses, though, it's time to learn more about your neighbors'.

There's no need to watch them from afar, though, according to David Carpe, founder of Clew, a competitive intelligence consulting firm that's based in Lexington, Mass. He suggests befriending your competitors in order to learn from them, collaboratively, firsthand. "Technically, we're all in the same associations, so that makes us at the very least acquaintances," he says. "Many of us know one another quite well because [our] field is small."

Mason agrees. When possible, he recommends approaching competitors in order to establish a relationship in which you can share information, advice and sometimes even business. "I have always tried to have a good working relationship with my competitors," he says. "I have taken competitors out for coffee, called with questions and have had several call me with questions or concerns. I had such a good working relationship with one competitor that I was able to have him do work for me while I was out of town in meetings."

Peers, Mason adds, are always better than opponents. "My advice," he says, "is to not have enemies and lead by example by treating competitors as colleagues and not foes."

Wear the Customer's Shoes

Of course, competition can't always breed collaboration. If you want to know more about your competitors, but you don't want to befriend them, consider being their customer; wearing a customer's hat will expose you to heaps of valuable information.

"It is important to put yourself into the frame of mind of your customer," Mason says.

To get in that frame of mind, make a visit to your competitor's store and take notes about your experience there; was it enjoyable? Go to their Web site and poke around; is information easy to find? Call their store and ask some questions that a customer would ask—for example, "How late are you open?" or "Do you have what I'm looking for in stock?" Is the person on the other end of the phone helpful and friendly?

If you're not comfortable being covert, Mason suggests:

Hiring college students to shop for you at a competing business, asking them to take notes about their impressions and experienceAsking friends or family members to visit competitors in order to compare them with youAsking vendors and suppliers for observations and information
Another idea: Approach businesses outside your market for information. "You can call a similar business to yours, but in another geographic area, and just be honest about your questions," he says. "Because you don't pose a threat to the other company, you are more apt to get honest answers."

What answers, exactly, are you looking for? According to Carpe, you're after information that you can use to make your own business better. In other words, ignore mundane details and focus instead on things that will improve the customer experience.

"The overarching theme is that it has be useful and actionable," Carpe says, "not just 'interesting' stuff. Products, people, prices, plans—these all matter, but within context, as in, 'What are you going to do now that you know this? How will it change what you are doing today or in the future?'"

Read and Research Lots

For most small businesses, competitive analysis ought to be an ongoing effort. As such, consider making reading and research a regular part of your daily routine.

"Do not underestimate the value of competitor monitoring," Carpe says, "and be certain to fit it into your schedule."

Competitor monitoring can be accomplished daily by keeping a scrapbook of relevant articles, Web pages, advertisements and press releases that reference your competition, many of which can be collected and tracked by setting up relevant Google Alerts. Keep a file of materials and reference it often in order to make sure your keeping pace with others in your field.

"If you're not watching competitors," Carpe concludes, "you may as well assume that they're watching you!

Get Ahead of Your Competition

May 1, 2008


asdamd/photos/stylus/24605-ahead-of-competition248x275.jpg

Research your biggest rivals in order to find the competitive edge that will get your business blooming.

By: MATT ALDERTON

When Eddy Salomon started his online telecommuting business, WorkAtHomeCareers.com, he quickly realized that he wasn't alone. The Web was full of enterprising entrepreneurs doing what he was doing. He had to get an edge. The best way to do that, he decided, wasn't to ignore his fellow Internet moguls, but rather to study them.

"One of the best ways to stay ahead," Salomon says, "is to study what your competitors are doing."

That doesn't mean copying them. It means finding out what they're doing—and how they're doing it—and then finding a way to do it better. "It's a matter of actually finding out what your competitors are doing, and filling in a gap that they're missing," Salomon says.

In other words, says small business coach David Mason, author of Marketing Your Small Business for Big Profits, it's a matter of finding your competitive edge. "You want to know what your competitive advantages and weaknesses are," he suggests. "Sometimes it is obvious and other times it will be more subtle. By determining what needs are going unfulfilled in the marketplace, you can then fill the void with your products and services."

If you're a small business start-up, then you'd better get out your proverbial shovel and start digging. The deeper you go, experts urge, the further ahead you'll be.

Start with a SWOT

A SWOT—Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats—analysis is where all market research should begin. You've got to figure out where you fit within your marketplace before you can compare yourself with others.

"What you need to do as a business is find where an opportunity is open for you, and maximize on that," Salomon says.

The easiest way to visualize that opportunity is with a SWOT analysis, such as this generic example from About.com, which will help you find out what you're good at and what you're not so good at. If you give great customer service, for example, but do poorly with your marketing, then there's a good opportunity for you to differentiate yourself from competitors with glitzier advertisements by way of being nice to your customers, who will no doubt shower you with referrals and recommendations. Similarly, if you find out that your weakness is staff resources—your competition has more employees—then it may be time to hire more help to level the playing field more.

Competition: Friend or Foe

With a SWOT analysis in your pocket, it's safe to say you know plenty about yourself. Once you understand your own strengths and weaknesses, though, it's time to learn more about your neighbors'.

There's no need to watch them from afar, though, according to David Carpe, founder of Clew, a competitive intelligence consulting firm that's based in Lexington, Mass. He suggests befriending your competitors in order to learn from them, collaboratively, firsthand. "Technically, we're all in the same associations, so that makes us at the very least acquaintances," he says. "Many of us know one another quite well because [our] field is small."

Mason agrees. When possible, he recommends approaching competitors in order to establish a relationship in which you can share information, advice and sometimes even business. "I have always tried to have a good working relationship with my competitors," he says. "I have taken competitors out for coffee, called with questions and have had several call me with questions or concerns. I had such a good working relationship with one competitor that I was able to have him do work for me while I was out of town in meetings."

Peers, Mason adds, are always better than opponents. "My advice," he says, "is to not have enemies and lead by example by treating competitors as colleagues and not foes."

Wear the Customer's Shoes

Of course, competition can't always breed collaboration. If you want to know more about your competitors, but you don't want to befriend them, consider being their customer; wearing a customer's hat will expose you to heaps of valuable information.

"It is important to put yourself into the frame of mind of your customer," Mason says.

To get in that frame of mind, make a visit to your competitor's store and take notes about your experience there; was it enjoyable? Go to their Web site and poke around; is information easy to find? Call their store and ask some questions that a customer would ask—for example, "How late are you open?" or "Do you have what I'm looking for in stock?" Is the person on the other end of the phone helpful and friendly?

If you're not comfortable being covert, Mason suggests:

Hiring college students to shop for you at a competing business, asking them to take notes about their impressions and experienceAsking friends or family members to visit competitors in order to compare them with youAsking vendors and suppliers for observations and information
Another idea: Approach businesses outside your market for information. "You can call a similar business to yours, but in another geographic area, and just be honest about your questions," he says. "Because you don't pose a threat to the other company, you are more apt to get honest answers."

What answers, exactly, are you looking for? According to Carpe, you're after information that you can use to make your own business better. In other words, ignore mundane details and focus instead on things that will improve the customer experience.

"The overarching theme is that it has be useful and actionable," Carpe says, "not just 'interesting' stuff. Products, people, prices, plans—these all matter, but within context, as in, 'What are you going to do now that you know this? How will it change what you are doing today or in the future?'"

Read and Research Lots

For most small businesses, competitive analysis ought to be an ongoing effort. As such, consider making reading and research a regular part of your daily routine.

"Do not underestimate the value of competitor monitoring," Carpe says, "and be certain to fit it into your schedule."

Competitor monitoring can be accomplished daily by keeping a scrapbook of relevant articles, Web pages, advertisements and press releases that reference your competition, many of which can be collected and tracked by setting up relevant Google Alerts. Keep a file of materials and reference it often in order to make sure your keeping pace with others in your field.

"If you're not watching competitors," Carpe concludes, "you may as well assume that they're watching you!