Running a business is about competing in a survival race; new business owners find this out pretty quickly. However, not too many business owners know whom they should compete against.
Rival Companies
No matter what kind of business you start, there are already established businesses in the same industry as you. Even though you start a one-of-a-kind business, there will be copycat businesses. Because of this, you cannot monopolize the market. Whether you like it or not, you will start to use all kinds of marketing techniques to rob customers from other businesses. This is an inevitable consequence of seeing other businesses as rivals.
Customers as Rivals
Rather than see other businesses as rivals, you may identify your customers as the true rivals. In saying so, you focus on satisfying dissatisfied customers--or, with satisfied customers, you try to satisfy them even more. In other words, you forget about getting ahead of other businesses, and you focus instead on getting ahead of your customers' expectations.
Strategic Advantage
If you focus on getting ahead of customers' expectations, you will automatically get ahead of other businesses. For example, you do not have to mimic so-called customer loyalty programs that some business has just made up. It will be other way around: other businesses will follow your customer-centered operation. It may sound strange, but you can get ahead of other businesses once you forget about them and focus instead on your customers.
© February, 2015