Consumers are doing their own research and comparisons, so to stay competitive a business has to do the same.

Every business have competitors and a battlefield, therefore you need to try to offer something different from your competitor that will set you aside and get you on the road to a more successful business.



Firstly, you need to research your competitors to assess just exactly what they are providing. Below are some tips to follow and consider when trying a different approach.





Know who your competitors are

The first step to finding out about your competitors is to see what you can discover online. Look at their website, search them out on Google, see what they’re doing on social media and sign up for any newsletters they send out.



Search under keywords that relate to your business and closely examine the competitors that come up on the first page, as they’re the ones consumers are most likely to look at.



How does your competitor answer the phone?



A lot of small businesses actually ring up their competitors posing as customers to get quotes. This gives you an insight as to their services offering, how they treat their clients and is their service prompt.





Resist the urge to compete on price


Reducing your process will not grow your business. Stay away from the continual battle to be the “low price leader”. You’ve got much more to offer than just a low price.



Master the art of explaining to your customer why your higher price is actually a better value – learn to sell the reason for being in business in the first place. If you have something worthwhile to offer your customers, then it will lead to a successful business.



Remember – cheaper isn’t always better.




Develop relationships with your competitors


Once you’ve researched your competitors, reach out to them. Join industry and business networking associations so and get to know the people who own and work for competing companies as individuals. You never know where those relationships might lead.



Depending on your industry, you may also find that competitors can serve as a backup resource. For example, you may have an order that is too big for you alone, by having a good relationship with a competitor, you may be able to outsource and vice versa.



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