How well do you know your neighbors? My guess is that some of you know your neighbors very well, while others rarely see your neighbors. The same thing goes for competitors. Some businesses know their competitors very well, while others have very little insight.
In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share a few tips from business guru Mike Michalowicz’s article “7 Things You Need to Know About Your Competitors” on information you should know about your competitors in order to gain insight into the best ways to position your business.
1. Revenue and threat level. According to Michalowicz, knowing your competitor’s revenue will help you to determine the size of the organization and threat of attracting the same customers. For example, he says that if the competitor is much larger than your business, then you can safely focus on some small accounts the competition may be ignoring. If they’re much smaller than your business, then you’ll know they’re unable to handle the bigger clients you’re targeting. He recommends this simple formula for determining a very rough estimate of revenue: multiply the number of employees by $150,000.
2. Who’s the top salesperson? A simple way to gain information is to interview a salesperson from a competing company. You can learn what drives their business, what barriers their sales team faces and what attracts others to their business. By having this information, you can focus on market positioning that will make your organization more attractive to others.
3. Best customers. In addition to sales, you also want to find out who the competitor considers to be top customers. One of the best ways to determine this is simple: look at the testimonials on a competitor’s website. Businesses are most likely to solicit rave reviews from the clients with whom they have the best relationships. Knowing who your competition is selling to can give you an idea of the scope of their business, and it can also clue you in to clients who aren’t yet being served.
4. New products and offerings. What products are you competing with? Simply find out by going to a trade show. And don’t just observe from afar. Go to their booth. Ask questions. Learn what they say. Or talk to other attendees to determine trends and reputation of your competitors.
5. Level of customer satisfaction and engagement. How successful is your competition on customer satisfaction? You can learn a lot through social media. Today’s disgruntled customers tend to vent on social media channels. You can easily track these mentions through tools such as SocialMention or Google Alerts. As Michalowicz says, a flurry of customer complaints on social media can present you with a great opportunity to win over your competitor’s clients.
It’s important to maintain a pulse on your competition so that you’re not missing out on opportunities to lead the market. Try these tips to gain deep insights.
Source: Mike Michalowicz is an American author, entrepreneur and lecturer. He is the author of the business books Surge (May 2016), Profit First (July 2014), The Pumpkin Plan (July 2012) and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur (September 2008). He is a former small-business columnist for The Wall Street Journal, and is host of the “Business Rescue” segment for MSNBC’s Your Business.
