When starting out, it’s common to imagine your competitors in broad terms: related to a particular product, by an uninformed notion of their size, or by the quality of their advertising. It’s critical that you learn as many details as you can about your competitors. It doesn’t require a private investigator’s license, but rather, simple observation.
Try This Observation Exercise
Find a photograph of a person performing a mundane task, such as shopping for groceries or crossing a busy urban street.
- Study the photograph for five seconds.
- Hide the photograph.
- Make note on a piece of paper everything you can remember about that person:
- gender
- hair color
- clothing style
- age range
- jewelry
- surroundings
Many people who try this little exercise find they can hardly remember any of the details. Our minds are full of other thoughts that take priority, and we quickly form preconceived notions about what we see.
Beware of Preconceived Notions
Preconceived visual images are mental aids that speed up our thought processes. The mind stores untold amounts of visual information that it instantly calls up when necessary. Sometimes, though, when we try to apply those preconceptions to something we see, we get it wrong. That’s why it’s critical to develop your conscious powers of observation.
The Connection
So what does this have to do with my competitors, you might ask. It’s rare that we even see a competitor, unless we’re in retail and our competitor is located nearby. Without direct observation we often make competitive decisions based on faulty, even imaginary information.
I once worked for a guy who made a number of product marketing decisions based on what a competitor was doing. Unfortunately, the competitor, who was only one of many, happened to be the biggest competitor, nearly 100 times our size. Worse yet, some of the decisions this guy made were based on a half-dozen comments in online newsgroups.
Positive remarks about a competitor’s product in a newsgroup can be planted by the competitor’s employees. More often, product comments are valid, but have no long-term bearing on your own company’s strategy. An unhealthy focus on a large competitor can blind you to smaller competitors are trying to eat your lunch. Without good observation skills and critical discrimination, you can find yourself competing for the wrong market, or going in directions that are actually soon to be obsolete.
Improving Your Powers
How do you improve your powers of observation?
First off, start paying more attention. If your competitor is local to you, spend time around their facility if you can. I don’t mean you should start stalking the CEO.
But, if it’s easy for you to drive by a company, do so, and ask these questions:
- How many cars are in the parking lot in the evening or on the weekends? Do you notice any patterns?
- How’s the landscaping?
Companies often cut down on maintenance and janitorial services when times get tough.
Eat lunch in one of the delis near your competitor’s offices:
- How are the employees doing?
- Do they complain a lot?
Most rank and file employees neglect to remove their company badges when they go to lunch so it’s easy to see where they work.
Review your competitor’s marketing efforts:
- Is your competitor running the same ad over and over?
- Or are they changing it monthly?
If they change ads a lot, it means they aren’t focused and may not be getting the results they need.
Any time something changes drastically in an organization, and particularly when that change is externally obvious you can assume that certain customers will feel uncertain and may be open to changing vendors. By using your observation skills, you can take advantage of these situations to your benefit. You should, however, develop a regular habit of observing your competitors and keep a log of all observations.
For more than 25 years, Mark Smallwood has worked as a writer, marketer, small business owner, and software industry manager and executive. You can read Mark’s regular blog http://www.eversmall.com on real world issues facing solo entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Tags: analysis, competitors, marketing, observation, planning
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