Competition is a driving force in business. It pushes you to achieve more but it can also be detrimental to your success.
Do you do everything in your power to get ahead of the competition? Or do you take the time to befriend the opposition?
Why You Should Befriend Your Competition
When I began my journey as a design consultant I did nearly everything myself. Design, development, accounting, anything to save a dollar and learn how it all worked so I could feel comfortable trusting someone else to help.
It wasn’t until I was in over my head that I reached out to a developer to solve some more complex problems that arose. From that point on I gave up doing web development and opted to trust others who were better than me to tackle the job.
Referrals
After a few more years went by I became too busy with my long-time clients to take on new clients. I looked to my competition to pass along projects I did not have the capacity to take on. As my business developed further, I began to pass on work that I felt could be better done by someone with a more specific skill set than myself.
If I didn’t have good relationships with my competitors I wouldn’t have been able to provide a solid recommendation to my clients. Even though I wasn’t the one solving their end goal, I helped them find the solution that could.
Better Customer Service
If you’re like me, then you probably do most of your shopping online. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to find one particular item and came home empty handed and felt like I had wasted my time.
There was one shopping trip in particular that stands out in my mind.
I was searching for a very specific pair of jeans. No holes, light wash, no buttons on the back bottoms or bleach accents. I went from store to store trying to find what I was looking for. It was until the second to last store that the retail clerk suggested I go to another store because she knew they had what I was looking for.
The stores that truly understand customer service will go above and beyond for you, even if it means sending you to their competitors to solve your problem.
Unique Selling Point
The biggest challenge of selling anything is figuring out what makes you different from your competition.
How will you know what makes you different if you don’t take the time to get to know your competitors?
You both have something in common. You are in the same industry.
When you first approach your competitor, keep the conversation light and high-level. Talk about the industry as a whole and any challenges you have overcome in the last year that your competitor may have also encountered.
Learning how someone has solved a problem can teach you a lot about a person.
The more you understand your competition the easier it will be for you to understand how your different from them. It will give you the ability to refer customers to them when you are too busy or know that your competition will better serve their specific needs.
They may even return the favor…
Acquisition
If you are looking to expand your business by purchasing another, getting to know your competition can have big benefits.
For one, they will feel more open to the idea of being acquired if they trust you will continue to run things as they have or do an even better job.
And more importantly, you’ll have a better insight into the inner workings of their business making it easier to decide if they are worth purchasing in the first place.
It’s not easy to think of the competition in a positive light, especially when you are after the same customer. Be smart about what you share. Share only what you think will benefit both sides of your relationship. Sales secrets, pricing strategies and other proprietary information can remain your own little secret.
Befriending the competition can open up a lot of doors, bring in new referrals and allow you to better market your own business.
Don’t burn bridges.
You never know who will show up to help when you’re in need.
