SO, YOU’VE set up in business, yes? And you know who your competitors are. And you know who your friends are – the people in the shop next door, or in nearby offices. People who are absolutely no threat to you whatsoever, yes? Wrong.
You’d be surprised just how many competitors you actually have. The customer only has so much to spend. So anyone making, providing or selling something they might want is – if you think about it – a competitor of your business.
That includes the friendly couple next door, selling crystals. And the people in the nearby offices, promoting relaxing trips abroad. It all sounds incredibly nasty, doesn’t it? – regarding everyone as a rival for the customer’s baubles.
I’m not contemplating for a moment that you go around scowling at everyone, regarding every single person as a potential threat. However, you have to bear in mind that, just as there’s a food chain, there’s also a chain of ‘essentials’ and you have to figure out where you’re positioned on that chain.
Food, of course, is pretty high up that chain – some foods, the staples, being higher up than delicacies.
Then there are clothes. They wear out, we grow out of them, we decide they’re no longer fashionable enough.
If your product is typically bought as a present, you’re actually up against just about anything else that can be given as a present.
If you’re selling books, you’re up against a variety of leisure activities, including films, music CDs, bowling…If you’re selling, say, items at an airport, you even have to take into account that someone is selling something that’s easier to take on the plane.
Complicated, isn’t it?
But just look around. Think what you’d be tempted to buy first before even considering your own product.
Why is it higher up the ‘essentials chain’? What extra incentive does it offer?
Which incentives can be copied, or adapted? When do customers tend to make their purchases, and what mood are they in?
How do you move higher up the chain?
Whether friend or foe, you can learn from the people around you.
Tel: 01296 730230
The Business Centre, Padbury Hill Farm,
Padbury, Buckingham
For more information, visit www.believeuk.co.uk
‘Shouldn’t everyone believe in your product as much as you do’”
