Business Owner, Whom and What is Your Competition
It’s been a hard week, a zoom meeting here, and another one there. Every day until “further notice” at 4:30pm sharp, a Skype meeting to wrap up the day with “the team” per the urgent email that was just sent. Add in numerous conference calls, several cups of coffee and the additional work from home balancing act: teacher and parent, whew! Competition abounds in this daily routine.
That’s a complicated day, managing tasks and running a household during a pandemic. The economy is opening slowly and safely, but working from home is here to stay for many. Competing priorities. They demand good time management skills for the work at home employee, as well as, good time management skills for a parent teaching their kids at home. It’s being able to assess what’s needed and when. It’s a competition everyday between work and home.
Once we are accustomed to the New Normal, will we become accustomed to the competition? Some certainly will and some certainly will not. A new Normal is the new reality. Knowledge of how to navigate the new normal will be a key in being successful. Understanding how to manage the competitive tasks of time management and priorities of employee, parent and teacher will assist in identifying how to address the competition in a meaningful way. It’s more complicated than you think!
Competition in business is an absolute reality of doing business. It’s literally a contest between businesses to generate revenue. Take away revenue from their competition by taking business away; it affects the efforts of how your business grows successfully. Just like the above scenario requires the understanding of competition AND identifying what it really is, that’s critical for every business owner to do too. As the saying goes, “the struggle is real” applies here too. Business owners typically do not understand AND identify their competition accurately. It’s more complicated than you think!
In the world of business development, the landscape of business has changed dramatically. Competition among in store consumers and on line consumers is fierce. Over time, several brick and mortar stores close or, they evolve successfully with a balance of options for the consumer because they know fully whom and what their competition is!
The major retail brands that have successfully continued with brick and mortar locations are increasing there on line presence because of the demand of consumers. They understand competition and what it really is. They should have an understanding; they have invested a lot of money into studies that have aided in their decision making for growth in profits and sustainability. Of course, they had an established Business Plan that identified their market share and what’s essential for business growth.
Business Plans are critical for every business owner because they include conducting a competitive analysis. The analysis will be in-depth and will require as much knowledge as possible about your competition. It will include an assessment of: who they are and what products and/or services do they provide that might influence in any way the success of how your business will grow. Business owners typically do not understand AND identify their competition accurately. It’s more complicated than you think!
Let’s consider the local Brewery, they have a killer IPA and a great selection of other craft beers.* When asked of their competition, the brewery owner says, ”I don’t really have any other breweries around, but, the small growler shop around the corner has 10 taps compared to my 25 taps so, they might have some impact”. At least they identified one competitor.** Any business that sells craft beer or any beer/alcohol/wine is COMPETITION. The local liquor stores, winery’s, distilleries, local events, seasonal events that sell alcohol, sports and concert venues, restaurants that sell beer, wine and alcohol are all competition, any business/organization that is licensed to sell beer, wine and alcohol is competition. *
Big box stores that are still doing business today look different than in days past. They have responded over time to their competition. Many have been remodeled to fit both, the demand of their customers and the demands of what the competition requires in order to compete successfully with them in the market. The addition of new products and services, with exclusive incentives at times, allow them to remain viable and a competitor for market share.
It’s the understanding of competition AND identifying what it really is that makes their business model remain viable and successful over time. And some of these big box stores bought out their competition because those stores failed to have the understanding and ability in identifying what their competition was! It’s more complicated than you think! But they had a comprehensive strategy that included the understanding of markets, customers, competition and their business capabilities. Knowledge is power and it helps identify whom and what is your actual competition. Your success depends on it because it’s more complicated than you think!
Blazing Kiss Media implements successful business development strategies for its clients that achieve proven track-able results. Let us put our knowledge and understanding of competition and the power of analysis to work for your business. After all, the biggest struggle for most business owners is both, the understanding of competition AND identifying what it really is because it’s more complicated than you think! At Blazing Kiss Media our motto is essential to everything we do because we are “Never out of the Loop; but ALWAYS out of the Box”. Don’t let your business be out of the Loop on whom and what is your competition!
About the writer: Becky Blaesing owns Blazing Kiss Media. She is energetic about putting her vast experience of Business Development, Sales, Management and Media to work for her clients. She lives in Ooltewah, TN with her husband to 2 fur babies, Miggy and Sherman