4 Ways to Deal with Competition in Your Business

Many business owners seem to think that having competition is a terrible thing. I think those business owners are WRONG. I think competition is a GOOD thing. You can learn from your competition and competition prevents you from being lazy. Competition makes you DO the work and keeps you on your toes. 

You shouldn’t be afraid of having competition so keep reading for  4 ways to deal with competition in your business and plus a bonus way you can use competition to your advantage. 

Competition is good for your customers

The first way to deal with competition in your business is to know that competition is good for your customers. Competition keeps everyone on their toes, which is good for customers. 

If you really think about it, if you have the opportunity to be lazy in your business because you have no competition, you’re likely to just be lazy.

Think about taxi companies and how they used to be.  Grumpy drivers, inconsistent business practices, terrible service, dirty vehicles. I don't know about you, but I hated taxis! They were like this because they had no competition. But when Uber and Lyft came to town, all of a sudden they were up in arms and very quick to clean up their act because they had competition. Now they have to have clean cabs and consistent business practices.

As you can see in the taxi example, having competition allows your business to continuously do a better job of serving your customer’s needs and keeps you on your toes.

Learn from your competitors

Another way to deal with competition is to learn from them. If you did your research then you know who the competitors are in your space.  One of the keys to business success is finding the gap in the market.  This is how you’re learning from competitors. 

What are they not doing? What mistakes have they made? What successes have they had? What do their customers complain about? How can you do it better? How can you differentiate yourself from them? Take the opportunity to learn from your competition. 

Viv Pro Tip: You’ll notice how I said learn from them...not copy them. Nobody likes a copycat. 

Instead of trying to copy someone else’s success, take what they’ve done and make it better, or cheaper, or more exclusive or simpler. On the flip side, don’t worry about someone copying you.  It just goes to show you that you’re on the right track and they can’t make a move until you do, so continuously innovate.

Highlight your unique selling proposition

Focus on your secret sauce that they can never get access to...YOU! Having competitors gives you the opportunity to really stand out as a brand and show off your USP - unique selling proposition. Without competition, it’s harder to focus on a specific niche. With competition, a niche is absolutely necessary. 

Let’s say you want to sell high-end nail polish. It’s actually helpful to have a store that sells nail polish for $1 open up next door. Why? All those customers who want the cheap dollar store nail polish can go there because they aren’t your target customer. Now your customer service can provide high-end support and value to the customers who you intended to target.

If you position yourself intelligently against other competitors in your market, you stay in your own lane and make money.

Use your competitors in context to your business

Another way to deal with competition? Use them in context to your business. Sometimes, a product’s or service’s benefits aren’t always immediately obvious. This is why educating your customers should be a major part of your marketing strategy. 

Sometimes, it’s helpful to compare yourself to a more well-known competitor as it will help your bypass the legwork it takes to educate your potential customers. For example, when I try to tell people what I do with Mind your Business, I describe it as if Oprah + Gary Vee equals me. 

One more thing about competition… if you find yourself not hiring people or asking for help because you’re afraid of people stealing your idea, you’re suffering from a scarcity mindset.

A scarcity mindset stems from a deep-rooted feeling that there will never be enough.Enough money, enough customers, enough anything. It’s a toxic way of understanding the world and actually poisons all the thoughts you have and the things you say to yourself.

Understand that the thoughts and words that you say to yourself have immense power over your actions and successes. Be mindful of these thoughts and reframe the scarcity thoughts.  Tell yourself that there is enough money, enough customers, enough to go around and everyone can win.