So many new businesses have a fear of competition when they
should be embracing it! Competition provides variety for the
customer. When you shop, do you shop the "malls" or do you shop
at stores that stand alone on some off street? If you are like
most women, you shop the malls. Why? Because the mall provides
variety. In the mall there will be several shoe stores, several
dress stores, several book stores and so on.
So if you are a business, wouldn't it make sense to place
yourself among the client crowds? Of course!
When I go to the grocery store I find that Coke and Dr. Pepper
sit side by side on the shelf. They are both successful and
neither company is afraid to sit right next to their
competition. What do they know? They know that they can't please
everyone. They also know that by placing their product right
beside their competition, they have a better chance of a sale
because the customer wants a choice.
Kotex and Tampax both provide a "different" solution to "one"
problem. They both sit side by side and yet they are both unique
in how they "deliver" the solution to the same problem. They
aren't afraid of their competition because again they know the
customer wants a choice and they can't satisfy everyone, but by
being on the same shelf they will get more exposure.
When you go the theater, do you go to the place that is just
showing 1 movie? Or does the theater show several movies. Which
theater do you think is going to have the most business? Do you
think the movie producers want their movie in the theater with
several other movies or the theater that will just show their
movie? Which theater do you think will bring that movie producer
the most money?
If the large corporations embrace their business competition and
they are rich, then why aren't you copying what the rich do?
Don't be afraid of competition! If your web site sells gift
baskets, wouldn't it make sense to list your web site in the
directories with all the other gift basket places? You BET it
would. If you offer cheese baskets, wouldn't it be wise to find
someone who sells a wine gift basket or cracker gift baskets to
compliment yours? Sure it would. Maybe you sell American cheeses
and you want to compliment your site with someone who sells
Swiss cheeses.
When people visit your web site, wouldn't it make sense to
provide all the complimentary business links you can to help
that viewer find what they're looking for? You can't possibly
provide everything that people want and you shouldn't even try,
BUT...you can generate MORE traffic to your web site when people
start telling their friends that they can "find' everything at
your place.
You can still have your products as the "featured" products and
you can still identify what makes you unique from your
competition. Maybe your candles have longer burning wicks, maybe
they are hypo-allergenic, maybe they are scented with essential
oils, maybe they help eat dust! Something makes you unique from
your competition. Find out what it is then sit yourself right
beside them for more sales.
About the author:
Rebecca Game has been an entrepreneur for over 30 years and is
the Founder of Digital WomenŽ, an online community for women in
business providing business resources and tools including loans
for women, grants for women and business networking tools. You
can visit her site at Digital Women: "Women with their modems
running..."
http://www.digital-women.com
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