You’ve heard it before, you need to determine ALL of your competition, not just your direct competitors. When Scott Cook was developing software he realized that his biggest competitor wasn’t one of the 46 accounting software companies in existence, it was the pencil and paper. At the time, most of his target market was using pencils to balance their checkbooks – so he needed to develop software that was easier to use than the current and most widely used method.
The company that I’m working for now is a business to business Green Energy management company. After interviewing their current customers and potential customers, we discovered that the primary reasons small business owners to Go Green is because it is socially responsible – and all the benefits of becoming socially responsible.
What did this do? It opened up a whole new way of thinking about their marketing. Not only is this business going to compete with contractors, installers, and others in the construction industry – they are also going to compete with the myriad of other worthy social causes; such as cancer research, child abuse, or animal charities.
This new found knowledge doesn’t just enlighten us to a host of competitors, but also offers more opportunities to reach their goals. For instance, a partnership with the Wild Life Conservation can be a mutually beneficial relationship. Both companies are focused on preserving the environment for the current and future inhabitants of the planet.
What is the moral of the story? Find out exactly why your customers by your products so that you can determine all the obstacles you must overcome and the opportunities that will enable you to reach your goals.
