One of the quickest killers of business, especially new ones is competition. The market place is a place of game and not a place of play. Hence, any business that doesn’t master ways to get ahead in the game will not just be left behind but will be crushed. Startups must then find creative ways to breakthrough by coming up with helpful but simple strategies that will enable them stay competitive in the market place.
Some useful strategies are hinted below:
LOOK FOR NEW MARKETS:
The problem is that sometimes, startups don’t agree that they came in a little too late. Some industries have been saturated and before some businesses came in. And if this be the case, making it out alive and beating competition is always a struggle. Seek new businesses and new markets. There is no business rule that says that what you’re started with must be what you end up selling. Sometimes, you have to abandon the idea you brought to the market or at best, recreate and reposition it for a different result.
Creating a new market will give you the first comer privilege which will then position you as the dominant competition. For example, when Tecno came into the smart phone market, it didn’t try to do what other phone companies like Apple, Nokia and the likes were doing. They created a new market of smart phone users who get a good smart phone experience at a more affordable price. Today, they are competing favorably with others who have been in the market long before their arrival.
ALWAYS BE DIFFERENT:
Some startups make the mistake of subscribing to brand resemblance. They try to copy and be like the older guys. But this strategy has much negative consequence which includes but not limited to: loss of voice and identity and second best effect. The best you can be when you copy is second best. ” what then happened to being the best”?
Never brand copy. Create your own brand and work on making it gain acceptance. Be unique. Be distinct and be different.
LOOK INTO THE FUTURE:
The future belongs to those who see with their minds and not their eyes. The world is changing so fast that it seems constant.
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Take advantage of the everyday happenings around you to predict what will come in the future. Companies like Apple, Facebook, LinkedIn, spaceX and the likes looked into the future and saw the opportunities that lie ahead. Therefore, looking in to the future helps to be ready when the future arrives. It also helps you to outperform and outsmart competition when opportunities finally arrive.
Be your own seer!
CREATE A COMMUNITY:
Turn your workers and customers into a community of friends. This improves fraternity and promotes trust. Word of mouth is the cheapest advert and this is what you get when clients and workers experience a sense of belonging. Make it a family affair instead of just business. If you want to beat competition, never out grow your customers and employees. Whatever makes these categories of people feel alienated will in no time take you out of business. Therefore, always find a forum or platform that keeps you together as a community of friends who are there to support and cheer each other along the way. You can support your community in many ways possible to make them feel special being part of your story.
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LEARN AND MASTER CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS:
Everybody has a need that is begging for solution. Your goal in business everyday should be to elicit customers’ needs even the ones that are not apparent. Observes market psychology, ask questions, request feed backs, sample-test and the likes. These will help you to uncover the hidden needs of the market and outplay competition by being there first with a reliving solution. Always try to be the first to arrive.
“What brought you here can’t take you there”. You must master your trade and study your craft. Entrepreneurship is a life school and anybody who wants to succeed in it must be a life student.
You must study your market; study your competition, study trends and master the game.
Those who outperform competition are those who understand their market better than others. This must be your game plan; unending mastery of your customers through knowledge.
LAST THOUGHT
Business success requires you to fight for your place. The market doesn’t hand it to you. You have to want it bad enough to take it. Therefore, master your competition and take your place.
