IDENTIFY ALL YOUR COMPETITORS
RESUMEN
Identificar a tu competencia, tanto actual como futura, es fundamental para entender el mercado y posicionar tu empresa. No solo debes considerar a quienes ofrecen productos o servicios similares, sino también alternativas distintas que satisfacen la misma necesidad, incluyendo soluciones que los clientes pueden proveerse a sí mismos.
Crear un mapa de la competencia te ayuda a identificar oportunidades de diferenciación y estrategias exitosas que puedes adaptar. La presencia de competencia es beneficiosa: indica un mercado existente, reduce la necesidad de educar al cliente y ofrece potenciales oportunidades de salida. Conocer profundamente a tus competidores es clave para definir estrategias efectivas y asegurar un espacio en el mercado.
Tabla de contenidos
What is your competition? There is always current and new future competition!
- The current competition is all the alternatives that the customer has to satisfy the same need or the same problem to be solved as we do.
- They are all companies that cover the same thing (even if the products are different).
- Future competition will come from new entrants that meet the same needs attracted by the benefits of the sector.
- We also compete with the client when he can meet his need himself.
Example: the customer can buy a Yoghurt in the supermarket or make it at home from fresh milk.
Example 2: If I sell scooters, I compete with the public bus and with the customer who can walk. All alternatives cover the same transport need but with different products and compete with each other.
Definición y Evolución de Sectores en Startups Innovadoras
All similar offerings and companies solving the same thing form the "sector".. In the world of startups In the innovative approach, we speak of verticals instead of sectors. verticals mentorDay specialises in.
Understanding how a sector typically evolves can help us understand how to position ourselves. The sector starts with a first pioneering entrepreneur which creates a "disruptive innovation"It is difficult to seduce the first customers. As soon as it succeeds, it is copied by others who enter more easily and with fewer errors and make a profit. This benefit, which makes the sector fashionable, the call effect provokes another large group of copiers that raise the rivalry.
Navegando la Rivalidad del Sector: Estrategias y Consecuencias
The degree of rivalry in the sector: when companies cannot differentiate themselves, all offering the same thing, they start to compete on price or start to give away value to the customer, reducing their margins and profits.
These battles are always bad for the competitors and usually end with some closures and with many companies left behind. zombies (+). There are only a few competences that maintain their benefits thanks to their competitive advantage (+). The blue ocean strategy (+) offers alternatives so that we are not affected by the degree of rivalry. Analyse the companies in the sector that are doing badly or have closed down, ask yourself the reasons for this so that you are clear about what is not working in the sector.
To keep up to date with what is going on with all the companies you compete with, you need to create yourself google alert" notices so that once a week I can send you a newsletter with everything that has been published in your sectorof each competing company.
Map of the competition
Analysing the competition map, i.e. the entire offer in a sector, allows us to discover gaps (blue ocean strategy), customers who are not satisfied with the current offer, and even competitive advantages. With the map we can discover what the most profitable companies have in common (according to their accounts in the commercial register), what things do they do that they like in the market.
Un Enfoque Práctico para el Análisis
Create an excel where each column is an offer and each line is a differential aspect of each one of them. Everything that is different from one to another. Take advantage of the fact that you are not yet known to study all the competition by pretending to be a customer.Write down everything you learn from each offer on your map. Having a clear map of your competition will also help you to map your competitors. SWOT analysis (+) highly recommended to reduce risks and seize opportunities.
Claves para Diferenciarte en un Mercado Competitivo
Once you have the map of your competition, create your company's column and in each line make it clear how you are going to differentiate yourself and what you are going to copy from others. You can copy things that successful companies do. Although copying is politically incorrect, seeing what others do can inspire us. In a perfect market, all companies in the sector are the same and it is impossible to differentiate and therefore impossible to make money.
This concept can also help you a lot: Benchmarking (+).
If the customer sees us as being different to meet their needs we will have to be the cheapest.
Example of a competition map
How can an entrepreneur identify all the competition he or she will face?
To identify all the competition a new business will face, an entrepreneur can take the following steps.
STEPS:
- Identify the sector and sub-sector to which the company belongs and list the companies that are in that sector.
- Conduct a search online and in business directories to find companies that are not on the initial list.
- Attend trade fairs and industry events to meet competitors and establish contacts.
- Analyse market data to identify industry leaders and emerging companies.
- Conduct interviews with customers and suppliers in the sector to identify other competitors.
- Analyse social networks and forums related to the sector to identify emerging companies and new competitors.
It is important to conduct thorough and up-to-date research to identify all competitors in the sector, as this will allow the entrepreneur to better understand the market and plan a more appropriate strategy for his or her business.
Competition is necessary and good
There is a certain awareness in the world of entrepreneurs that if we really want to be successful we must launch our project in a market where there is no competition, create something really new that nobody has thought of... which is a barbarity. The fact that there is competition is a great thing that can benefit you.
BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY IT IS QUITE COMMON TO HEAR CONVERSATIONS LIKE:
- Tu: I'm going to launch a project in which I'm going to do this and this...
- The other (with superiority): Are you sure? You know there are 3 companies doing exactly the same thing, right? They are X, Y, and Z. And Z is from the USA!
- Tu: Yes, but what we are going to do is different, let's...I think.
- The other: Already.
And on top of that, you go home annoyed, thinking that you made a mistake, that your idea is not so new, that surely there is someone else who will do it better, that of course the Americans are much better than us (blessed "Welcome Mr. Marshall" complex)... and at worst, you might even decide to abandon your project.
Well, I'll tell you one thing: thank goodness there is competition. If there is no competition, it is most likely for one reason: because there is no market. We have already discussed this issue in blue ocean (ver+) to the cesspit there is only one step... but that is not the only reason why competition is a good thing.
PLUS:
- If there is competition you don't have to EDUCATE the customer. If there is one thing that terrifies me, it is when an entrepreneur tells me that he or she is going to create a new market. Especially if he is really right. Not because it's impossible, or because he's wrong about his product... but because of the very high cost in time and money involved.
There are statistics that say that it takes 3 to 5 years to educate a market... Do you have the money and time to take on the job yourself?
If there is competition there is a MARKET.
One of the most difficult aspects in the early stages of a startup is to validate that your product solves a need and that there are customers willing to pay for it. Even if you are not going to do exactly the same as the competition (I hope), the reality is that there are already customers interested in solving the problem you are covering, which will allow you to go much faster.
If there is competition you have an EXIT.
Although I am an enemy of businesses that are born with a totally clear exit (the famous exit ver+ TIP). Whether it's selling to a competitor or a larger ally, the reality is that if there's a market there's a chance of a buyout... something that shouldn't be your goal but which will make potential investors happy certainly sweetens the pot.
If there is competition there are RESOURCES.
If you are creating a new market where there is no competition, chances are that there is no ancillary industry that will supply you with the materials or trained personnel with the skills you need... which means you will have to build it all yourself or train your people, rather than for example recruiting talent from a potential team with experience in that market, which will lead you to make the first mistakes.
If there is competition you can learn from THEIR MISTAKES.
The previous point brings me to another interesting factor, since when we are operating in a nascent market we have to pivot many times until we find the best way to attract customers, the most appropriate method to do things... etc. That means high costs, slowness and often a bad image. Moreover, once a market exists, we can look at the competition... but not to imitate them, but to detect the limiting beliefs that block them (the only way to do things is...).
In conclusion, if there is competition... great! As I hope you are not going to do exactly the same thing as the competition in the same way and with the same strategy... great!
"Competition takes you out of complacency".
There is nothing better than being second, than letting the pioneers take the arrows in the back while you collect the fruits of their labour in opening up the market (remember that the pioneer has on average a 47% failure rate vs. 8% for the fast follower). And being second can be very profitable... or for you success is being the biggest?
ALSO, THINK ABOUT THE FOLLOWING:
"Imagine two coffee shops next to each other: both serve the same coffee, and yet one is full and the other empty. why?"
In a business model the key is not the idea (in fact, I believe that ideas are worth nothing https://mentorday.es/wikitips/cuanto-vale-una-idea-de-empresa-nada/ ) but how you are going to execute it, the unique vision you have of the business or your customer relationship strategy. All of this shapes your business model, even if you have competitors trying to solve the same problem as you, The reality is that each of you will do it in a different way. So when you are asked you should say: "Yes, fortunately I have competition.
APPLY THIS TIP TO YOUR PROJECT
TASK
NOW THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS TIP, ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:
- What alternatives does your customer segment have to meet the need?
- Who is your competition?
- What is the rivalry between your competitors?
- Do you identify the competitors that do it best? "best practices", what they do well and what their customers like?
- If you compare yourself with the competition, what do they have that is superior and what can you copy?
CASE STUDY ON IDENTIFYING YOUR COMPETITION
- Make a list of the products or services your company offers.
- Define the key characteristics that differentiate your company from other similar companies. For example, product quality, price, brand, customer service, etc.
- Identify direct competitors, i.e. companies that offer similar products or services and target the same market as your company. You can search the internet, attend trade fairs or industry events, or consult business databases.
- Conduct an analysis of direct competitors, studying their strengths and weaknesses, their pricing strategy, their social media presence, the quality of their products, etc.
- Identify indirect competitors, i.e. companies that offer similar products or services, but do not target the same market as your company. For example, if you sell pet food, an indirect competitor could be a sports shop that sells clothes for dogs.
- Conduct an analysis of indirect competitors, studying their strengths and weaknesses, their pricing strategy, their social media presence, the quality of their products, etc.
- Identify the opportunities and threats posed by the competition for your company.
- Create your map, in Excel in the first column by all the competitors and in each column their compared characteristics.
- Once everyone has completed their map, the entrepreneurs can discuss their findings and strategies as a group to find opportunities for collaboration or improve their action plans.
- Gather as a team and have each person show their map and the others sign questions:
- What alternatives does your customer segment have to meet the need?
- Who is your competition?
- What is the rivalry between your competitors?
- Do you identify the competitors that do it best? "best practices", what they do well and what their customers like?
- If you compare yourself with the competition, what do they have that is superior and what can you copy?
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THINK ABOUT YOU
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Always before I get to any new businesses always i look around my competition. According to this topic there is even client can be your competition wow . My opinion was someone who does the same thing like me and we have the same standard so i always try to be better .Now I will also concern client .thank you so much Empertec I'm so grateful
There are only a few competitors that maintain their profits through their competitive advantage. The blue ocean strategy offers alternatives so that we are not affected by the degree of rivalry.
Competition is an incentive, as long as it is legal, it is perfect because when there is a powerful monopoly, innovation is not so important for an unprofitable market.
Mentor Day helps you to analyse your company in order to improve it.
Knowing the evolution of the present and potential competition is fundamental to outline our own strategy. It is also important to take inspiration from successful strategies of the competition, as long as they can be extrapolated to our own company, or to decide on radically opposite strategies. In both cases, a constant and up-to-date study of the competition is mandatory.
When a company does not have a break-even point it starts to give away its customers to your competitors this is not right because we have to have blue ocean my Startup have to have its difference every time it is growing.