Plastics Decorating - January/February 2008 - (Page 45) BUSINESS STRATEGIES Keep Your Eye on the Competition by Richard Ensman Hear the term ‘competitor intelligence,’ and you may visualize sinister activities like industrial espionage, electronic eavesdropping, and other shadowy phenomena that smack of poor ethics or illegality. Typical competitor intelligence gathering techniques, however, are not at all like this. Rather, they’re based on common-sense research principles, and usually involve public information available to any wise business person willing to seek it out. Competitor intelligence is far from a luxury and, at times, may even be a critical ingredient of business success today. Think about it: only through knowledge of your competitors’ products, market penetration, and strategic strengths can you effectively position your own products and services in the marketplace. Analyzing the Competition: What to Look For The secret to effective competitor analysis is to identify exactly what you need to know, and zero in on that data crisply and efficiently. Then, you can use that information to help achieve your own business objectives. Here are some common questions you might answer through a competition analysis: • What are the unique selling propositions of my competitors? What can they do that I can't? • What are my competitors' customer service capabilities? • Where are the gaps and weaknesses in my competitors' business operations? How can I turn these into competitive strengths of my own? • How do my competitors' prices fare in relation to mine? Do prices vary from season to season? What discount programs do they make available? • What key marketing strategies do my competitors pursue? Do they tend to focus on particular segments of the buying population? • What is the quality of my competitors' products? Do customers perceive this level of quality? • How do my competitors perceive me? • How would I describe the financial posture of my chief competitors? Can I estimate their profit margins? Are their behind-the-scenes operations more or less efficient than mine? Are competitors' costs being soaked up in some way? • What distribution channels do my competitors use? Who are the middlemen? How fast is distribution? • Who supplies my competitors? What unique financial arrangements do my competitors have with suppliers? • What is my competitor’s market share? Is it going up or down? Why? • What is my competitors’ vision of the future? Does it include expansion plans? Searching for Answers Now, you have a list of things you want to know about the competition. How do you find the answers? An amazing variety of information about your competitors is available at your fingertips right now. As a simple starting point, know your trade. This means reading industry and local business continued on next page A.W.T. World Trade, Inc. www. awt-gpi.com A.W.T. World Trade, Inc. www. awt-gpi.com 45 http://www.awt-gpi.com http://www.awt-gpi.com
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