Can you think of a single line of business you could start today and not have any competition? If you can, please share it in the comment section below.
Now to the topic. What does competition mean for you, and what do you need to do to stay ahead?
Competition means someone knows what you know (maybe even more), and is ready to put in the efforts to offer something better to the same customers you are hoping to serve, sometimes at a lower price than what you are offering, and maybe with some added benefits that you do not offer yet. Whether the competition was in business before you started, or started up after you did, it means the same thing. You are hardly ever in a vacuum. There is always competition.
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This definition is explicit enough, yeah?
Now that you know that the almighty idea you thought you could use to change the world, might not be exclusive to you, what are you going to do to stay ahead of the competition?
Invest in your knowledge and your team
Your business will never perform better than what you know. Since you know that some other team out there knows as much as you do, one way to avoid being run over is to constantly invest in knowledge. You cannot afford to be stagnant or rely on what you know already. New information, new data, and new trends emerge daily. Be ready to put in the work. Learn them and up your game.
Mark Cuban says irrespective of the industry you pick, if you are ready to outwork others, be a little better and more prepared than everyone else, you will record more success.
Pursue innovation
In a market where every solution seems to be solving the same problem, only innovation can stand you out from the crowd. Originally, your business should be based on innovation but what happens when competition also has a solution that gives the same benefits as yours. You have to keep innovating to match and stay ahead of the competition. Upgrades, new product launches, new features, and the likes should constantly be on your radar.
Learn more about your customers and your industry
The more information you have about your customers, their needs, preferences, disposition, habits, etc, the more likely you are to produce solutions that will satisfy them. You may need to conduct customer feedback, reviews, market surveys, and more to learn more about the industry trends and the ever-changing customer habits.
Work on being the best, as an individual and as a brand
If the three best in your industry were to be nominated, would your name make it into the list? Are you doing enough to put yourself out there? Are you doing enough to show that you know exactly what you are doing at every point? If you are not, then you should be.
The world is becoming more compact and experts say we might be looking at a future where competitors will be doing more collaborations than before. This does not undermine the need to stay one step ahead of your game at every point.