<p style="text-align: justify;">One of the big challenges you have to face if you’re running a business is the competition &#8211; other businesses and other owners! You don’t have to feel like you’re directly and bitterly in a rivalry with each other to be in competition. Simply existing in the space, needing the same customers and resources to prosper means you’re competing, and you need to have a strategy about how you’re going to deal with that.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Today we’re taking a look at some of the issues in this space to help you make informed decisions about how to navigate it successfully.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Timing</strong><strong> </strong></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;">One of the most important ways to compete &#8211; or simply co-exist &#8211; with other businesses is to pay careful attention to timing. Launching new products, new marketing pushes or simply seasonal sales in the same window as a competitor forces your customers to choose between you, it pushes up the cost of your marketing and means you both get less impact for the amount you spend.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Using competitor analysis can help. This is a kind of consultancy work that <a href="https://www.inc.com/guides/201105/10-tips-on-how-to-research-your-competition.html">researches</a> your key competitors in the market and helps to pin down what they’re likely to do next &#8211; and to identify the white space in the market where you have room to play. If you’re looking for this kind of <a href="https://cognosis.co.uk/work">consulting London</a> is a good place to start, with a range of agencies and individuals to suit a range of needs and budgets.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Know Your Customers</strong><strong> </strong></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;">You can’t underestimate the importance of <a href="https://www.thebalancesmb.com/why-marketing-research-is-important-to-your-business-2296119">market research</a>. Knowing who your customers are lets you make better decisions about how to appeal to them &#8211; and most importantly how to identify the customers your competitors aren’t reaching, so you can capitalise on them!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">While you can reach the customers you already have relatively easily &#8211; as they’re right there, shopping with you &#8211; this isn’t very helpful for growth. Using a market research agency extends your reach to a cross section of all potential customers in your area, supercharging you with the data you need to reel them in!</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Feeling Competitive</strong><strong> </strong></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikekappel/2016/10/19/deal-with-competition-in-business/?sh=e3310273a60a">Competitive feelings</a> can be good motivation to go the extra mile, but it’s important not to let them boil over into bitterness. In some ways your competitors are your best resources: running a business can be an isolating experience, and the people who understand those pressures the best, people who can truly act as your peers may well be your fellow business owners.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Outside the context of actively running your business you might find your competitors are a vital network, a useful resource or simply a social group you fit right into!</p>

Getting Ahead Of The Competition
