Most businesses spend a fair amount of time assessing their competition. Annual marketing plans include in depth analyses of competitive strengths and weaknesses, and detailed tactics to leverage opportunity and minimze risk against competitors. Even solo and small practices devote resources to competitive intelligence. Yet, in two decades of business experience, I have never heard a single consumer proclaim:
Help! Every company is excellent, operating at the highest standards, possessing all the knowledge that is possible in this area, doing the right thing and perfectly suited to all of my needs and desires.
So, why I wonder do we spend so much time on the competition and so little on the people who need our services?
I’m not suggesting that competititve intelligence does not have its place. We can learn from our competitors, adopt best practices and gain insight that helps us to improve our business. However, we should not seek to be our competition, or even covet their customers. If we focus on uncovering and leveraging our own distinctions to delight our ideal market, we will create our own niche.
Competition does not destroy your business. Yes, there are many historical examples that would seem to validate that I am wrong. However, I must ask, was it really the competition or were there other factors at play, such as failing to correctly identify and position a clear market value, inaccurate targeting, lack of innovation?
If you are contemplating a new venture or direction and worried that there’s too much competition, I would advise you’re focused on the wrong thing. Competition is awesome! There’s awareness and a stated need from the market, hooray! Some of your “competitors” have leaped in to take advantage of market opportunity, others are highly skilled but will fail miserably at staking their claim, a small percentage will be highly successful and expert in the space. But none of them are you. This is your secret weapon, what Sonia and Brian call The X Factor.
A solid, well thought out plan + The X Factor = World Domination (okay not really but your own little piece of it)
Take your eyes off the competition and put them on you and your customers, it is a decision you will not regret.
Are there any businesses that you support because of their “X” factor? Or are you a business that markets their X factor. I’d love to hear your experiences.
If you are a freelancer copywriter and need help discovering your “X” Factor click here to view more details on the Freelance X Factor Course (This is an affiliate link, if you prefer to purchase from a non-affiliate link, hop over to Copyblogger.com and you can still buy the course, no hard feelings!)
If you are a business leader struggling to find your distinction, send me an email at karenswim at gmail dot com.
No problem, Karen.
I always enjoy contributing to your discussions over here.
.-= Andrew´s last blog ..Stern Hu’s detention and why the international business community should be worried =-.
Andrew, I of course love the race analogy 🙂 and it is a perfect metaphor. You are absolutely right and that analogy applies to our own personal race as well. If we spend time judging others and measuring ourselves against mankind we miss the opportunity to run our best race. Thanks for the insights Andrew, I always enjoy reading your brilliant mind at work.
Karen,
If you are in a sprinting race, and you spend the entire race looking acrooss to your left and right at other competitors, the chances are that you won’t have any rythm at all and that you will fall behind.
If, on the other hand, you focus primarily upon your own race (whilst being aware of your competitors and where they stand), then the chances are that you will develop your own excellent rhythm and that whilst coming first is not guaranteed, you will run the very best race in which you are capable.
.-= Andrew´s last blog ..Stern Hu’s detention and why the international business community should be worried =-.
No wheels allowed anymore because they don’t fit inside lockers very well. I don’t think the school allows kids to have wheels on shoes either — they need to take them out and replace them with the flat cover.
.-= Meryl K Evans´s last blog ..When’s Prime Time on Twitter? =-.
Alina, I have seen this happen a lot too and it’s funny that they create stuff we never care about. Imagine how different it would be if companies really focused on their consumers, we’d rid the world of needless junk and never have to ask “um what’s this for?” 🙂
Brad, hey I’m in the market for tires and will definitely give them a shot! I love that Discount Tires is using their X factor to delight customers. I’m on a mission to create an army of companies just like that! 🙂
Meryl, wow that’s pretty cool and sounds a lot like Nordstrom’s model of service. Who knew wheels weren’t allowed! I wonder why, wheels on shoes okay, but backpacks no? lol! Too funny but great how LE responded!
Land’s End has the X-Factor. Got daughter a backpack with wheels. It was beat up bad. Remembering their forever guarantee, I contacted Land’s End. They replaced it at no charge AND let me change it to a regular backpack because wheels were no longer allowed. This happened about one to two years after we ordered the original.
.-= Meryl K Evans´s last blog ..Big Fish Games Daily Deal =-.
Karen, I had an X Factor experience today at Discount Tire. These folks are awesome, even though they take head to head competition against their competitors to an extreme. What I love is, they make it so ridiculously easy to do business with them. No special request is a ever a hassle, they empower people on the front lines to make decisions, they are resourceful, accommodating, and reasonably priced. Obviously they have made a commitment to put the customer first, which you’d think every company would do … but doesn’t These other companies would be well advised to read your blog.
.-= Brad Shorr´s last blog ..How Twitter Is Changing Business Blogging =-.
Karen, I’ve seen this a lot! Companies striving to catch up with their competitors and never working on something truly unique. It sometimes is driven by what their customers are accustomed to and would require, but often times it’s just a lot of crap that never, ever gets used, but is developed because x company is offering it 🙂
.-= Alina Popescu´s last blog ..5 Social Media Lessons You Can Learn from Bikers =-.