Assessing
Your Competition: What should you be asking?
Whether
you’re a mature business, growing business or a new business,
you will have competitors. They want to outsell you and take
your customers. The secret to survival and growth is knowing
more about them than they know about you, and they are watching!
By knowing the answers to the following questions you might
keep a step ahead:
1. Exactly who are your
competitors?
If you’re not sure, check the phone
book or the web.
2.
Are
they big, franchises, or small?
This will tell you the financial
resources they have available.
3. What are their strong points?
Can you do it better or at least the same?
4. Do they have niche products?
Are any of these products patented or can you offer a similar
product?
5. Are the owners on-site?
If the owner is absentee, it will take them longer to respond
to your changes.
6. What is their pricing strategy?
Are they expensive, rock-bottom or middle priced?
7. Are they opening a new location?
You may be able to find this out by asking commercial realtors
or brokers.
8. How many employees do they have?
You may be able to find this out by visiting their store
asking people who work there or their customers.
9. How do they pay their employees?
High, medium or low; the quality of their work will be in
proportion.
10. How are their customers treated?
Be a customer and find our or send a friend to browse.
11. What are their weaknesses?
Poor quality, rude service, small selection, late delivery-do
it better!
12. Where are they?
Near or far from you and, if a store, are they easily accessible?
13. How do they market?
Advertising, direct mail, signs, coupons or very little.
14. How do they react to you?
When you make changes, do they counter or do nothing and
how quickly?
If you know
the answers to most of these questions, you’re ahead of most
small business owners. Don’t ignore the competition because
they’re not ignoring you.
