But… just who is your competition?

Direct competition

Sally’s Floral Shop two blocks over and Flowers for You in the next town are clearly competitors. They both sell plants and flowers, offer similar services, and target the same market – yours.

Indirect competition

But how about Sensational Sweets and their delicious homemade fudge and chocolates?  Or the gift shop around the corner?  Or even the new Italian restaurant – and an anniversary dinner out instead of a dozen roses?  The list goes on, actually, and includes any business that competes for gift and special occasion dollars.

So, what does that mean?

It means you have to periodically evaluate how fast your business is growing – and then ask and answer some basic questions.

• Do you have more customers and higher revenue than last year?  If not, some competitor somewhere is saying “yes” to that question. So, think about what new markets you might tap. Maybe you could provide the centerpieces for dinners at the local event center, or cross sell with some businesses whose services and products complement yours. You could ask the local gift store to sell some of your flower arrangements – and you could feature some of its ceramic vases in your shop.

• Is your customer service so good it knocks out the competition, both direct and indirect? If not, how could it be?

• Does your advertising make your business stand out in the minds of potential customers? Do you have a consistent look and message?

• Are you thinking about your customers’ future needs?  What are the trends in your business?  What could you do that’s new and different?  Even M&Ms gave us a new reason to pay attention – now you can buy them with customized messages printed on them.

It’s worth the time it takes to list your competition – direct and indirect – and then to think about how your business stacks up. Ask and answer some important questions – and then act on those answers.

And remember…if your product or service doesn’t have any competition, it probably doesn’t have a market either.

When I teach business communications workshops, I often include a simple game. I break the group into four teams of ten – more teams or fewer depending on total number of workshop participants.  The teams sit in a line behind tables and each gets a pack of 50 index cards.  The goal is to get all 50 cards down the line first – while adhering to specific rules about hand placement and passing methods.  And, if a card drops, it has to go back to the first person and start its journey all over again.

The point?  None yet.

However, once a team is declared the first round winner, all teams are given 15 minutes to assess their performance and make changes to their set-up and process –  while still sticking to the rules. Some move into a circle. Some rearrange the line-up, most often changing the first and last person. Most get pretty creative — once a team tried to recruit from the winning team.

But guess what?  About 99 % of the time, those winners spend their 15 minutes smiling and chatting. They don’t assess and they don’t change a thing.  They figure they’ve got this task down, and they’ll win again.  But they never do – really never.

So…now the point.  Your business or product might be at the top of the proverbial heap, but you can’t expect it to stay there if you aren’t paying attention and constantly coming up with new and better ways of doing what you do.  Why?  Because that’s what your competition is doing.  They’re thinking up ways to get those cards down the line before you next time – and they will if you don’t match their creativity and drive to get ahead, no matter where you stand today.

It often works like this: You know you need to get your message out there, so you hire an ad agency to design a logo and create your tagline.  Then, you say thanks, pat those nice people on the head, and take over, thinking you can handle things from here.

You decide to try a newspaper ad – maybe just one or two to see how it goes.  And the talented folks at the paper, bless their hearts, even offer to design your ad.  A few months later, you buy a little radio time – say one of those three-week specials – and the station produces your spot for free.  Good deal.

Meanwhile, you remember that your brother’s best friend’s wife develops websites, so you get that going too.

With all that activity, customers and clients should be lined up at your door, right? Right. But, that’s probably not what’s happening.  And why not?

Well, because while advertising results depend on a clever look and a savvy message, results also depend on consistency.

That means you have to stay on top of everything that’s going “out there.” You have to make sure all your ads have the same look and core message – remember that logo and tagline you paid for? – and that each one reflects your company’s image.

Radio, TV, print media, and the web offer terrific services – and they all offer great opportunities to tell the world about your company. But, you can’t expect the radio producer to check in with the designer at the newspaper or for either of them to track down your brother’s best friend’s wife. So, guess what?  They’re all doing their own thing, and your look and message are destined to be delivered three different ways. Consistency is down the tubes – along with your company’s image and sales.

The bottom line?  Make sure all your advertising efforts complement and build on each other.  It takes awhile to capture attention and develop awareness, but it will happen – if you build a strong, consistent image in the marketplace.

And just so you know…frequency is important too. Running an ad once in awhile, here and there, won’t deliver the impact you need. You can’t just try advertising. You have to commit to it – and it can be done, even on lean budgets.

Just ask Newport Eye Care. Their ad agency put together a relatively inexpensive but consistent ad campaign – logo, tag, direct mail package, print ads, brochure, and signage – to launch their new business. Within five months, they had more appointments lined up than they expected to get after the first three years – and they were already turning a profit.

So, go ahead and make sure you’ve got that great look and effective message. Then take control and use them – consistently. You will be noticed – and you’ll see results.