When developing your business strategy it is necessary of course to take a look at the activities of your competitors. A horse riding school for example might look at the other schools within driving distance of their clients, and then maybe look online at overseas or interstate operators to see how they can match, or push their business beyond, their offerings. All well and good. However the problem lies in that competitors aren’t necessarily the businesses that sell and offer the exact same product as you do.
When you start to examine why people buy your products – what the essential nature of your product is that appeals to the marketplace - suddenly a whole new realm of competition appears. Not great, I know! But if we are to keep our businesses afloat in a less than perfect economy, we need to keep putting our businesses under the microscope. Knowledge is power after all.
When you start to examine why people buy your products – what the essential nature of your product is that appeals to the marketplace - suddenly a whole new realm of competition appears. Not great, I know! But if we are to keep our businesses afloat in a less than perfect economy, we need to keep putting our businesses under the microscope. Knowledge is power after all.
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| Is he up against a treadmill? Credit: Bubblejewel96 |
So what does the horse riding school need to worry about other than other horse riding schools? Well, firstly we need to ask simply: why do people go horse riding? There are a multitude of reasons: to get exercise, to connect with animals, to spend more time outdoors, to learn a new skill – and many more.
When you start to break a product down like this you can see that there are many markets that the horse riding school has its foot in. And if they are trying to gain the exercise market, well surely gyms and sports teams are competitors? If a segment of their market specifically wants to connect with animals and spend more time outdoors, they could start participating in dog agility clubs or something similar. The horse riding school has more to worry about than just other businesses of the same breed!
The benefit is, that once they are armed with the knowledge of their competitors, they can begin to strategise to make their business stand out to prospective customers. Their new model could target executives who are trapped indoors all day who go to the gym to stay fit. Their new marking could read something like: “Don’t climb stairs to nowhere at the gym to get that perfect body – come horse riding in the fresh air.” They could then ensure they were open weekends and late hours, and provide a night arena, so clients could visit after work.
When you start to break a product down like this you can see that there are many markets that the horse riding school has its foot in. And if they are trying to gain the exercise market, well surely gyms and sports teams are competitors? If a segment of their market specifically wants to connect with animals and spend more time outdoors, they could start participating in dog agility clubs or something similar. The horse riding school has more to worry about than just other businesses of the same breed!
The benefit is, that once they are armed with the knowledge of their competitors, they can begin to strategise to make their business stand out to prospective customers. Their new model could target executives who are trapped indoors all day who go to the gym to stay fit. Their new marking could read something like: “Don’t climb stairs to nowhere at the gym to get that perfect body – come horse riding in the fresh air.” They could then ensure they were open weekends and late hours, and provide a night arena, so clients could visit after work.
Above is a ‘competition map’ example for a different kind of business: the bookstores I talked about in my last post. When you are thinking about who else provides books like you, your competitors seem small: other booksellers, online and physical, and libraries. Once you interrogate why books are bought its no longer simplistic anymore.
So why do people buy books? Well to get something to read. Could they get that through another medium? Absolutely. Why do they want to read things? For entertainment or to get information. Can they get entertainment from somewhere else? Hollywood says so. How about information? It’s called the Internet. If you are stuck in the mindset that you just sell books, you’re not seeing the full picture. Booksellers beware, Jet Ski operators might just be your mortal enemies!
Clearly we all need to be open minded in reviewing our products so we can understand what we are really selling and give ourselves a chance to sell it better than our competition!
Tips and Tricks:
When developing your strategy, analyse the essence of your product or service and its appeal to the marketplace. Reflect on whether other businesses provide a similar result for their clients through other means and equip yourself to take on the challenge.
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