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May 7, 2008 Leave a Comment

How to compete with competitors

“If you’re playing your competitor’s game, you’re going to lose.”

– David Yoffie

Follow the leader is a fine game to play – if you are a child. It is, however, a losing strategy in life and in business.

In my experience, I have found it easier to compete when I have been the under-dog. Less was expected of me. My goals were sharper. I looked for every opportunity to take advantage of the weaknesses of my competitors. An under-dog can do several things to gain market share:

  • If your competitor processes orders in two days, strive to turn orders around in one day.
  • If they open late and close early, do the opposite – open early and close late
  • If they offer a wide selection of products, do the opposite – find a niche market and carry a deep selection. And hire staff who care deeply about your niche and passionately serve your customers.
  • Find out what your customers value the most – and fill it for them.

Don’t play your competitors game. Play your game! Find your competitive advantage. Give your customers lots of reasons to do business with you.

Worry about your customer – not about your competitor.

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May 6, 2008 3 Comments

What to do when your busness is under siege

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we are curious – and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

– Walt Disney

How do you compete with “free? That has been the challenge facing the retail music store model since the year 2000. When most of the recorded music we listen to has been obtained digitally – legally or illegaly – how do you motivate customers to visit your shop to puchase Audio CDs?

There is no one easy answer. However, if you want to discover 8 possible answers then I suggest you read John Tozzi’s excellent article in Business Week Magazine – “From Bricks and Mortar to Digital Music Master.” 

This article details the eight steps that one New York City retailer – Other Music – is taking to respond to the challenge. 

Click here to read the article and also take time to view the slide show that accompanies it. Here are a few of the tips the owners and staff of Other Music are using to stay competitive and to lure customers to shop with them – online and in-store:

  • Sell MP3 Downloadson your own site. Apple’s iTunes Store does not carry every piece of music! Other music specializes in selling – and promoting – the music produced by Independent Record labels and individual groups.
  • Sell vintage LP Albums and other collectibles on auction sites such as eBay and Amazon. You may reach new customers and the prices that these collectibles fetch will almost always be higher than what you would have priced them at. The power of a free market!
  • Don’t print and mail a catalog! Put your catalog on-line and automate the mail order process.
  • Electronic Newsletters – allow you to stay visible to your customers. The more visible you are, the more value your customers will see in doing business with you.
  • Handwritten Reviews of Music by your staff. Showcase the great knowledge that you staff has about the music that your customers want to find. This is one of the greatest competitive edges that a small, independent music store has – exploint it! And… leverage it – use these reviews in your catalogs and newsletters.

Think that you can’t compete? You can, but it does require you to try some new things. Take your first step – read the Business Week article and make a plan to implement one of these eight tips this month. Not only will you see a difference … so will your staff… and so will your customers – new and old!

 

 

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Filed Under: Business Communications, Marketing, Merchandising, Sales, Small Business Tagged: ,
April 1, 2008 Leave a Comment

People, Products and Price

“People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn’t make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps.”

– Mary Kay Ash 

You can compete on price – and most often you will lose (both customers and profits.)

You can compete on products – and sooner rather than later, a competitor will match your selection or copy your technology.

Or …

You can compete by hiring the best people and investing in their development.

The latter is harder to do. But done correctly, it gives your business the best competitive edge. If it is hard for you to develop an outstanding staff, think how difficult it is for your competitor to do. Your people do make the difference – but the leadership of the company has to be invested in hiring and developing the best people possible.

One company that owes its success directly to its investment in its people is Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I was reminded of this twice recently:

  1. When I rented a car on my last trip – I enjoy having their employee walk me out to the car for a final inspection before handing me the keys.
  2. Reading a post on the Brand Autopsy Blog.

Here are the 8 criteria that Enterprise uses in their hiring practice:

ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR
Critical Customer Service Skills

1. A passion for taking care of customers.
2. A willingness to be flexible.
3. A work ethic based on dedication to the company and its mission.
4. An eagerness to learn a new business and work their way up.
5. Self-motivation and goal-orientation.
6. Persuasive sales skills.
7. Excellent communication skills.
8. Leadership ability.

Source | EXCEEDING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS (Kirk Kazanjian)

It is not enough to just spot this potential when you are hiring staff. Each of these 8 qualities must be developed – and that require leadership. And… it requires a company culture that expects, rewards and embodies each of the 8 qualities.

How does your business stack up?

How do you compete? On price? With your product? Or with your people?

Share your story or your experience with our readers. Add your comments below.

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April 11, 2007 1 Comment

"Short-Circuit" City Admits Defeat

Last week’s headline screamed, “Circuit City to Cut More Than 3,500 Store and IT Jobs, Cut Wages!” The opening paragraph of the AP Report says it all – “…implying that its wages are as subject to discounts as its flat-screen TVs.”

Except, that its (former) employees do not come with a “money-back” guarantee or any “extended warranties.”

Continue reading “"Short-Circuit" City Admits Defeat” »

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January 17, 2007 Leave a Comment

Hone Your Message

I participated in a teleconference yesterday led by Jaynie L. Smith and William G. Flannagan. They are the authors of a very important business book, “Creating Competitive Advantage.” I reviewed this book on my blog a few months ago (Click here for the review) and so I was intrigued to receive an e-mail solicitation to dial in for the teleconference. I’m glad that I did!

As many of you know, I worked in music publishing for 30 years. So, I am well attuned to watching how authors and publishers produce and promote their products. Most of the really good business books that I have been reading lately have a few things in common:

1) The have a very sharp, clearly defined message.

2) The have excellent websites set up to offer support, extended content, multimedia features and the opportunity to interact with the author(s).

3) An author who truly is passionate about their subject and is excited to communicate their message.

Jaynie L. Smith is a perfect example of this need breed of media savvy authors. The website (and now selective teleconferences) that she offers in support of her book “Creating Competitive Advantage” is first rate. Click here to check out her website – www.smartadvantage.com.

Okay – back to the teleconference. Ms. Smith talked about interviewing David Neeleman, the founder and CEO of JetBlue Airlines. Mr. Neeleman is a great leader and a remarkable innovator. Check out his personal blog – or flight log as he calls it – to see what I mean! I LOVE his introduction:

Hi I’m David Neeleman, Founder and CEO of JetBlue Airways.

Each week I fly on JetBlue flights and talk to customers so I can find out how we can improve our airline. This is my flight log.

WOW! How many CEO s or Senior Executives of any company – of any size – actually seek out their customers or experience their products as the customer experiences them? Very, very, very few.

How about you? When is the last time that you rolled up your sleeves and worked the floor? Or went out on a real sales call? Or asked your customers, “How are we doing?”

Try it – you may find that you like it. And… you might find your “Competitive Advantage” in doing so!

On the teleconference, Jaynie L. Smith mentioned something that David Neeleman said to her during the interview that had stuck with her:

“Each week, key managers and I have a three-hour conference call to discuss what are we doing, what they (competitors) are doing, and how can we do it better.”

That is a terrific strategy and it helps to pinpoint why JetBlue Airline stands out from the other airlines. Southwest Airlines also stands apart from the rest. It is worth pointing out that David Neeleman once worked for Southwest Airlines – he learned a lot during his short stay there!

1) What are we doing? – (that makes a difference for our customers)

2) What are our competitors doing? – (that is attracting some business that we would like to get)

3) How can we do it better? – ( to attract those customers now shopping with our competitor to give our product / service a try)

These are three powerful points that I am incorporating into my own consulting practice and will be sharing with my clients.

After the teleconference yesterday, I picked the book out of my bookcase to find the interview with Mr. Neeleman. It is interesting to note that when I originally read the book, I did not underline or circle these points. It took a teleconference to point them out to me. I’m glad that I responded to the invitation to participate!

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November 14, 2006 Leave a Comment

Death by PowerPoint

I have been preparing for a few speaking engagements coming up soon.  So I was delighted to find a wonderful article in today’s Wall Street Journal, “Tips for PowerPoint: – Go Easy on the Text – Please, Spare Us,” by Jared Sandberg.  (Click here for a link to the full article.)

According to the article, there are an estimated 30 million PowerPoint presentations given each day around the world!  And most of them are poorly crafted and delivered in a manner designed to put most audiences to sleep.

The “point” of using PowerPoint has been missed.  We should use the program to make it easier for the audience to see our point; to deliver a more powerful presentation.  Instead, most presenters use PowerPoint simply because the program makes it so easy to put together their presentation – any presentation.  The focus should be on the audience – why are they there in the audience; what does your need to know; what do you want your audience to do as a result of your presentation?

As the article point out – just because PowerPoint is so easy to use, audiences are subjected to:

Bullet points gone wild – writing paragraphs instead of points.

Presenters who then go on to read these paragraphs to their audience.

Special effects on steroids – just because you can make your text “tap-dance”…

30 slides in a 30 minute presentation (I do hope that you think this is too many.)

In today’s WSJ article the author talks about a salesman whose company sent him to a class to learn how to make an effective presentation without using PowerPoint – they did this because all of his competitors were using PowerPoint and this would be one way to stand out from the crowd.

Indeed, I think that far too many presenters feel that their job is over once they have created the final PowerPoint slide.  They think that the brialliant content they just put on their slides will speak for itself.  Their logic will be irrefutable.  Their audience will clap and cheer when they finish. Wrong!  Wrong!  Wrong!

Audiences need to be engaged.  The presenter’s job is to communicate their message to their audience so that the audience understands the message – and is prepared to take action as a result of that message.  If PowerPoint can help you to achieve your goal, use it.  If not…?  Well, it is less addictive than sleeping pills.

 

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