A little competition never hurt anyone, at least that’s what people say. But, is competition good for business? The answer is YES! Competition is actually healthy for a business. Here are three reasons why you should welcome competition:
- It makes your customer service better. When competition eventually does arrive, you’ll be ready. Competition often forces customers to choose one service over another and thus, find loyalty in that brand. Building customer loyalty early is a key aspect to any business hoping to retain customers. As nice as it is to get to a market first, it does not guarantee longevity and loyalty.
- Competition can foster innovation. Competition drives innovation because different businesses constantly compete to do things better. This doesn’t just mean making a better product, but figuring out ways to market that product better as well. While differentiating a product is one way to conquer competition, some businesses will still be left selling almost identical products. This can cause innovation in both marketing and branding. Although advertising on toilet paper didn’t work out too well, new and creative ideas are being thought up every day.
- Competition can help you, as a business owner, identify your strengths and weaknesses. Identifying your own weaknesses can be one of the most difficult tasks for any business. In a sense, competition points out your weaknesses through others doing certain things better than your business. If another business creates a faster product, your weakness is speed. If another business gets their name out to more people, your weakness is advertising. You get the point. After finding your weakness- focus. Focus on one aspect of your business rather than attempting to focus on everything at the same time.
Competition is an open source of information for your business and many others. Being able to strive in a competitive market is what separates one business from another. After all, there aren’t many business that aren’t in a competitive market, and if they are, they won’t be for long. Even brand new innovations eventually have competition.
