Are you paying close attention to your competition? My guess is, you’re probably glancing at them when you have time or when you are going through a business-critical strategy assessment. If you fall into this category currently or have previously been in this category raise your hand. (I raised mine by the way).
I believe that your competition can give glimpses of business critical signals that can provide you with enough information so that you can see what your next emerging market or product opportunity could be.
Weaknesses
If you don’t know what your competitor’s weakness is, you need to start digging for it. They do have them. Once you discover what they are, start drafting a strategy to exploit them and use them to your advantage. This can create a new market for your business. Sometimes this weakness can be a reason not to buy. In a recent article titled, Where Do Brand-Building Ideas Come From? David Aaker explains a few key points that are worth paying attention to if you want to stay on your game.
Look at competitor weaknesses, even for potential “reasons not to buy” and attempt to position them as well as your brand. – David Aaker
In my opinion, brands tend to look more at their competitor’s strengths and try to emulate them. This can be a more cost-intensive process and also risky. You will now have to invest in creating this business process yourself and it may not work perfectly at first. You will also have to make-up ground because your competition is way ahead of you. Your brand will be the newcomer on the block and you may have to invest more money in educating the market.
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Scott MacFarland
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Email: scmacfarland@yahoo.com
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Sources:
Where Do Brand-Building Ideas Come From?
Photo Credit: Paul Bica