The Best Ways To Beat Your Competition

Henry Ford once said, “Competition is the keen cutting edge of business.” With nearly 30 million small businesses across the country, you need to know how to stand apart from the crowd. Regardless of your industry, knowing your competition allows you to improve your strategy and encourages you to become more innovative. Keep reading to learn the top three ways to keep your company ahead of the rest.

Compare strengths and weaknesses.

Maybe your competitor just closed a large round of funding. What do they do with the money? They release an improved product. How do you respond? Not necessarily by releasing a new product. Think about other aspects of your business and how you can influence consumer buying decisions. Perhaps you stand out with improved customer service, increased transparency with the public, or extended warranties. Know both your own company’s and your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Position your strengths against their weaknesses.

Keep your eyes and ears open.

The internet has given customers more power now than ever. They can review your company, research other solutions, compare costs, or rant or rave on social media. Paying attention to what your target audience is saying is crucial. Whether you’re directly responding via social media or just monitoring chatter, you are showing that you care about both current and prospective customers. Some ways to listen to your audience: set up an alert any time your business is mentioned on the web (Google Alerts is free), send out customer surveys, and monitor industry trends.

Don’t underestimate the importance of analytics.

Think about the entrepreneurs who appear on Shark Tank. The “sharks” rarely invest in a business if the business owner doesn’t understand their numbers. Know how much it costs to acquire a customer, and how much each customer is worth to your business (Average Customer Value – ACV). Understand your marketing costs, product costs, and number of new customers.

In an extremely competitive marketplace, every move your business makes is important. Decisely cares about the success of your business, which is why we make your life easier with great service and great tech (so you can focus on other things, like your competition). Whether big or small, any advantage that lets you stay ahead ensures the ongoing success of your company.