Loading...
Answers
MenuHow should you talk to your competitors? What if you meet a competitor at a social gathering and he asks to see your work?
Example, if you run a marketing agency and your competitor also runs a marketing agency, should you be sharing samples of your work?
Answers
As a marketing agency, your work is designed to reach people and be publicly viewable anyway, right? So I don't see the problem. Why not share specimens that have already been shared with the world at large?
Today's competitor may be tomorrow's coworker or collaborator. Perhaps your peer might wish to hire you or bring you on as a partner some day ... or vice versa. Maybe the overlap between your services and skill sets is only partial. In some cases, I and my competitors team up to work with a single client; so we actually refer leads to one another.
If you're aloof and standoffish, then you may be closing doors to future opportunities. Since the risk of being open appears minimal, just relax and talk about the best work you do.


Well it can be socially awkward to say, "no, I'm sorry", and it can be pretty much impossible for some people to say that. The fact that you're asking the questions means you're looking for a way to not say that.
So instead, just show them some of your older and / or lower quality work. That way there's no bad blood, and you're only showing stuff that's old news, and you are also convincing them that you're doing lower quality work than you actually are, which will make them be more comfortable and therefore easier to out-compete, if you're out do do that.


You can use this knowledge to create marketing strategies that take advantage of your competitors' weaknesses and improve your own business performance. You can also assess any threats posed by both new entrants to your market and current competitors. Even if you are the only restaurant in town you must compete with cinemas, bars, and other businesses where your customers will spend their money instead of with you. With increased use of the Internet to buy goods and services and to find places to go, you are no longer just competing with your immediate neighbours. Competition is not just another business that might take money away from you. Read their marketing literature. If they are an online business, ask for a trial of their service.
Use a search engine to track down similar products. Websites can give you good tips on what businesses around the globe are doing in your industry sector. Phone them to ask for a copy of their brochure or get one of your staff or a friend to drop by and pick up their marketing literature. You will get a better idea of them and you might need each other one day, for example in collaborating to grow a new market for a new product. Do not just ask how well you are performing ask which of your competitors they buy from and how you compare. Use your judgement with any information they volunteer.
Draw up a list of everything that you have found out about your competitors, however small. If you are sure your competitors are doing something better than you, you need to respond and make some changes. It could be anything from improving customer service, assessing your prices, and updating your products, to changing the way you market yourself, redesigning your literature and website and changing your suppliers.
You should always follow the links to more detailed information from the relevant government department or agency. Any reliance you place on our information or linked to on other websites will be at your own risk. You should consider seeking the advice of independent advisors and should always check your decisions against your normal business methods and best practice in your field of business.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
Related Questions
-
A new startup in the same industry as my current startup asks me to join in order to leverage my current startup's insights. Should I do it and how?
I am not a lawyer and am not giving you professional advice here. Merely discussing the topic. I see what they are getting from you...but what are you getting from them? You lose control...they get your expertise...you can be booted out at any time thereafter. I don't see the upside. If they want your expertise, they can pay you for it: hire you, license your product, etc. If they don't want to work with you as a separate entity, that should tell you a lot about their true intentions and how badly they truly need you (or don't). I personally would not get involved in an offer like the one you've described. You can still be friendly, offer to work together, be complimentary as you say, but I don't see any reason for you to give up control for a few shares in someone else's company, transfer your knowledge, and then be at risk of being kicked out because they don't need you any more. Plus, do you really want to be a minority shareholder and treated like an employee, rather than the owner? I suppose you could have a legal agreement drafted but secrecy never lasts and your insights WILL be leaked sooner or later. I also doubt your position in the firm can be protected. Speak to an attorney as I am not an attorney.
-
What are some marketing strategies that can be used to obtain your competitor's customers and gain more market share?
Lot of ways 1. Target their fans on facebook - if they are big (20k+) you should be able to select them as an interest 2. Bid on the same keywords as them on adwords search and/or display - this requires some technical chops but there are ways to find your competition's placements. If you can get there and present a better ad and/or outbid them, you can get the clicks they are used to getting. 3. Find where their customers are spending time online - another thing that will take some chops but you can find out what blogs, facebook pages, etc your competition's fans are looking at and get in front of them there. This is an indirect method. Most of the other options you will have are some variation on that theme. Make sure you have a way to stay in front of them (like retargeting or email marketing) if you want to make your investment go as far as possible! Good luck
-
How much time do you spend on google (or other search engine) when you are searching informations on a specific topic ?
As a tech marketer - I am always looking for the fastest, cheapest yet reliable research in order to create competitive intelligence internal documents, stats for blog posts, etc. Some people live by the "if it isn't on the first page, it doesn't matter" when it comes to leveraging search engines as a research tool. However, often when we are looking for value, we have to realize that anything REALLY worthwhile these days from a content perspective is typically gated behind a web form, or nestled inside a blog post. So, expect to spend a few hours in order to get through all the form gates, and also make sure you're using as specific and direct search terms as possible - then getting more generic if results are not ideal. Some other tips: -Have a few "burner" email addresses setup with gmail or hotmail, etc. - these allow you to get content when filling out forms to get White Papers, Reports, Case Studies, etc. without your primary inbox getting stuffed with marketing emails. -In the form fill process, if available put "student" or "researcher" as typically sales reps pass by these "leads" when the form gets dumped into the CRM queue. -Don't forget specialty search sites and tools like Wolfram Alpha for more "numbers" derived searches. -Also, like your question here - always seek the wisdom of crowds in addition to machine learning algorithms! Hope this is helpful! Search on!
-
I have been developing an idea on my own for sometime now. Recently,a potential competitor has surfaced. Should I reach out to them? What should I do?
Here are your options: You can only compete with them If you're able to either: A) Get a programmer: - Either raise necessary funds to hire one full time. See my answer on ("When is the right moment to approach investors?") - Use your own funds to hire a freelancer. See my answer on ("How do I get my game from Prototype to Demo?") - Or convince a developer to join you as a cofounder for equity. See my answers on that topic ("Where do I find a co-founder to join my team?" --And-- "How and or where do I find a stellar Partner/CEO") B) Learn how to program it yourself, and program it yourself - Either have enough time and motivation to learn programming fast enough (could be very difficult, depending on how far along you are, and what you're trying to program) - Or there are several methods you can potentially use (depending on the complexity of the app you need) to make an MVP without programming. For instance MIT App Inventor (http://ai2.appinventor.mit.edu/), or Marvel App (https://marvelapp.com/) Otherwise: A) Either see if you can join the competition. If you contact them and can convince them that you have something to contribute, they might let you join the team. See my answer on that topic ("How do I approach a business with an idea?") B) Or come up with another idea, and see if you can do steps A or B before someone else starts implementing the same idea Send me a message if you want to discuss any of these, or other options in more depth. In any case, I wish you the best of luck, Lee
-
Whats the best way to protect yourself from the competition that will arise after you launch a product?
The best defence is a strong offence. Said another way, the best companies don't spend too much time looking in the rear-view mirror, and instead focusing on the drive ahead. Most web and mobile businesses are not defensible by true I.P but rather speed of execution, great design, responsive and caring customer support and a relentless concern for the customer. In the case of the example you provided, content quality and regular and timely updates are also key competitive differentiators.