Some companies have the added advantage of being unique in their industry. They are the only ones who have this product or service on the market. No one has it anymore. If it applies to your business, good for you. And if you succeed and make money, sooner or later you will have competition. The more money, the tougher the competition.
If you are like most companies, you will have to compete for market share with other similar or even identical companies. Only units enjoy any exclusive market rights. Even cable companies have to compete with satellite and Internet.
So, let's just assume you have a decent business model, a good product/service, and good customer service. Here are three things you need to beat the competition:
- Have a better product: just have the best product or service you can have. Make it the best. Respond to your customers better than anyone else and don't sacrifice quality. Focus on being better at what you do. If you have a restaurant, the best food, be known for it. If you are a lawyer, know the law better than anyone else you know. If you are a bagel maker, make the best bagel in the world. Be the best you can be. Have a quality control checklist and reward your staff for producing the best product or service ever created. Your business will grow because people want the best, period.
- Speed up delivery: whatever you do, deliver or do it fast. Speed is a huge commodity in today's world, because time is very valuable. Many people are busy in their daily lives, so anything that ships faster is a huge bonus. Answer phone calls faster, ship your products faster, build them faster. Just make speed a priority in any form for your business. All your customers will appreciate it and brag about it to their friends. This is a huge advantage for any company, so don't forget about it. What destroys any business is thinking or believing that it doesn't matter to your industry or that your customers don't care. This is not so. People love fast and accurate service in any way they can get it.
- Have a better value proposition: find a way to offer your products or services for less money than your competitors. This means finding a way to provide your product or service at the best price, maximizing efficiency and negotiating with your suppliers. Deal with larger volume to get better product value. Cut some expenses that aren't needed or don't improve your bottom line. Is it possible to outsource? Isn't it time to look for other suppliers with a better pricing model? Your question should be: How can we make our prices the best without compromising our quality or our profits? In today's market, you should review your pricing model at least every 12-18 months. While pricing is not the main deciding factor for many people, it is still an important factor. People like a bargain. Get the best price or best value for money and beat your competition.
You may not be able to implement all three strategies based on your business, but you must have at least one of them, preferably two, to compete and beat the competition. If you have the best service on the market and you deliver it faster than anyone else, your value will be so great that people will be willing to pay you more than the average.
