When Competitors Strike (attack with full force)

Key takeaways

• You will always have direct, indirect, present, and future competitors
• First, understand them and focus on their weaknesses
• However, your ultimate strategy is to serve customers better than they can
• Digital tech offers a way to narrow the gap between larger firms and your business
• Chambers of commerce offer a way to network and create your own events

You wake up one day to discover that a competitor stole the show. Your black swan event is where one bad day turns into a nightmare, then takes a turn for the worse—a perfect storm emerges—an alignment of two black swans sitting on your doorstep. Every small entrepreneur has to be alert for competitive changes. Some are from larger firms, and other times, SMEs like yourself. How do you respond? How do you do it on a tight budget? ?

Study the competition

First, you must define the major players who can eat your pizza today, but do not forget tomorrow. Second, list out your competitors and analyse their strengths and weaknesses, as you may have done for your venture in your business plan. Then, you want to develop a strategy to attack them where they are weak. Another way to define your competitors is to do it from a customer perspective. However, one of the failures of competitive strategy is to focus first on the competition, then the customer; this is a significant mistake.

Improve your customer experience

Customers come first. Your customer base could be declining for several reasons. One is that you might be distracted by what your competitors are doing. In addition, customers might be paying a higher price for better service elsewhere, which sounds counterintuitive. There is always a segment which wants better, which you might have ignored. Entrepreneurs should think innovatively.

One of the best ways to improve your service is to map out the customer’s journey. A typical client would take these buying steps and analyse where things can go wrong. Consumers often go through a stage that makes no sense. They were told it would be replaced. However, there was no apology and an appreciation of my lost time. ?

Innovative marketing

How can you stand out in the marketplace? One long-term strategy is to be different by creating a unique product. When I create a new training product, I first look for what does not exist and then determine if I can develop this product. Of course, you can never be sure if this idea will float successfully. As with any innovative concept, testing the market with a scaled-down version is necessary. I test with a free webinar, and then, if there is traction, I go for full development.

Frequently, emerging markets start as a niche; other times, the market does not exist but has latent demand. Humans are social creatures, and Facebook’s founders asked how people could engage in this activity online. Many thought it was impractical as it was not a face-to-face engagement. A prototype was developed and tested among university early adopters, and a new market was later born.

Narrow the digital divide

Many SMEs do not have a business model based on digitalisation. Digital technology can impact your marketing, operations, and other parts of your value chain. It can result in a lower cost structure, better product, process, or both.

Recently, I was offered a free trial of graphic design software. I used to write the instructions to send to my graphic artist and would go back and forth until I got what I wanted. I created a flyer and was surprised that I made it in less than one hour and at little cost. In addition, I could have used text-to-image AI to do things even faster—my next learning assignment. These software products are often available for monthly subscription, so this is great for small businesses. Efficiency and effectiveness come together with a small investment!

Understand your value proposition

Often, we do not consider why someone will buy from us and not from others. Why would I buy a JBL speaker over a Bose? While I like the latter, I have found that the sound quality from the JBL is almost indistinguishable for a lower price. While others may disagree, the type of music I listen to works with JBL. If you are into classical music, consider the Bose.

Value happens in the mind of the customer . The mind battles over the benefit versus the cost—it’s like having a scale in your brain. If the scale tilts too much to cost (it’s therefore expensive) and the benefit is not aligned, the buyer is not getting a good deal.

Build your networks

Even if you are a solopreneur, do not go it alone. Join a chamber and go to their networking events. Further, since chambers and associations are voluntary organisations, you should be more than just a paying member—enrol in a committee that can benefit your firm. People tend to respect you more if they perceive you as belonging to a particular grouping.

Chambers serve members in several ways: advocacy, networking, training, business development services, and research. Beyond chambers, you should build your social media presence and craft your brand. Some entrepreneurs pick an adjacent field that they are passionate about. Kama Maharaj, founder of Sasha Cosmetics, launched the Young Entrepreneurs site on Facebook. The goal is to create a network for early-stage entrepreneurs in an online community setting.

SMEs are like insects in business—larger firms can quickly kill them. However, the insects of the economy can adapt and be agile faster than their more significant counterparts. Being small brings several advantages, so use that trait to deal with those pesky competitors.

Sajjad is an SME and Family Business Advisor who supports entrepreneurs in scaling their ventures. In his spare time in Trinidad and Tobago, he tries to produce organic tropical fruits and vegetables and practise sustainable farming in his home garden.

His book,?Build Your Legacy Business: Solopreneur To Family Business Hero, provides a unique roadmap from start-up to family business creation.

You can contact him at [email protected] or www.entrepreneurtnt.com