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Competitor One-upmanship: Devise the Plan

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One of the most common pitfalls for business owners is to make marketing plans without any competitor information. This is akin to devising a battle strategy without knowing who your enemy is! An effective marketing plan is based on information. The better the information, the more effective the plan.

Analyse your competitors’ strengths and weakness. Their strengths are the threats to your business, and their weaknesses are your opportunities. Be as objective as possible, since this will be the backbone of your whole plan. A subjective view can break even the most well-thought out plan because it does not address the reality of the situation.

Now look at the market. Try to determine if there are emerging trends that might be perceived as either a threat or an opportunity for your business.

One important rule about devising a marketing plan is to make one that is appropriate for your business and your market. An extravagant plan is not always effective because it may not address the key factors that will determine your success. Identify your target audience/market and devise your strategies around it – your “sales-pitch,” so to speak. After this, determine what kind of media you would want to use to bring your “sales-pitch” to your target market.

A common, yet highly effective, strategy is to use people’s emotions in making your pitch. This is a potent approach because you do not address your audience’s logic but their hearts. An emotional response is more impulsive and immediate than a logical response.

All the factors needed to understand the competitor and the market consumes a lot of time and attention. It is for this reason that there has been an increased demand for company formation and business solutions professionals. By outsourcing certain functions of setting up and maintaining a business, owners can focus on more crucial battles, like sales and marketing strategies.

Competitor One-upmanship: Resource Management

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Now that you’ve done research and devised an impregnable battle plan the final step would be to “amass your forces”, so to speak. This is where your available resources and how you manage them will come into play.

At this stage, it will be important to determine how your competitors are using and managing their resources . But this is not a battle to overwhelm a competitor with sheer numbers, rather it is a conscientious allocation of available resources. Use just enough to get the job done and follow your marketing strategy without any wastage.

The question you should ask yourself at this juncture is: What resources are available to my competitor in terms of finance and people? Try to find out if these are increasing, pegged at a certain level or declining. Credit reports are a good resource in finding out these data. Also try to find out if your competitors outsource some of their business functions. Outsourcing is an effective strategy in keeping business maintenance costs down. In fact, accountancy and payroll functions are increasingly being outsourced by many companies.

Company location, especially in a retail business, can also be considered an important resource. A strategic location can be advantageous in that it can attract more customers or clients. An inconvenient spot will certainly affect a business’ viability. There may be some instances where the competitor is not easily reached but is still attracting good business. Find out what makes them successful because it may be a strategy that you can also use.

Staffing is an important resource. Getting the best possible manpower is advantageous to any business. In fact, company formation experts advise that business owners pay ample attention in hiring their employees.

Competitor One-upmanship: Perception is Key

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In the battle for market share and domination over your competitors, the right information can be your best defence and most potent offensive weapon. Now that you know who your competitor is, with an intimate knowledge of what makes him tick and how he is placed in your market, the next step would be the battle for perception. This is where inspired marketing, clever information dissemination and a feel for the pulse of your market will come into play.

The questions that you would need to ask when dealing with perception is: How does my competitor position himself? Try to determine if the image your competitors are trying to project to the market is the same as yours. Are they trying to be upscale, mass-market, snobbish or accessible? Make the necessary adjustments to your image based on what you have learned.

It is also important to know what channels your competitors are using to project that image. Are they using direct mailers, media advertising, or billboards? The kind of homework you do, and your dedication in collating this kind of information is an important factor for the long-term success of your business. By having the right information you can then formulate an effective counter-strategy that will not only counteract your competitors’ marketing efforts but also make your own messages and image-building efforts more effective.

It may take a lot of work but you can always employ the help of professionals in sharing the load of setting up and operating your new company. Company formation and business solutions professionals have the necessary expertise to help in the task of taking care of the nitty-gritty of setting up a limited company or even handling certain aspects of business operations.

Competitor one-upmanship: Know your Enemy

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Business is a chess game. As you plot your moves, you also need to anticipate your opponent’s plans, and block them — knowing full well that he is doing the same thing. Sun Tzu said it best: “If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”

This kind of strategic thinking lets you stay two steps ahead of competition. The first question to ask is: who are my competitors ? Direct competitors offer the same product or service to the same market, e.g. two travel agencies selling tickets to a luxury cruise. But you also deal with indirect competitors, who meet the same need through alternative ways, e.g. a website offering cheaper tickets, since it removes the cost of a travel agent. Both cut into your profit because customers will choose only one way to meet one need.

For this reason, company formation experts recommend that you invest in understanding your consumers’ needs and values so you can convince them that you provide the best option. You must also study how your competitors are already meeting those needs. What will make your product or service different from theirs? How are they perceived by the consumer, what are strengths and weaknesses, and how can you take advantage of those weaknesses to highlight your own strengths?

Knowing your competitor also means identifying his potential — unused opportunities and resources that may not be a current threat, but may develop into one once he makes the necessary investment. Many financial consultants say that the cost of investing in opportunities is far less than what it would cost once competition has made its move on those territories.