How To Check Out Your Competitors

Posted by Marcel Sim under How-To Guides,
August 9, 2007

StartupStudents: Today we’ll be discussing ways to gather intelligence on your competitors. This can be useful in a variety of ways such as identifying cutomer habits, picking up on competitor workflow processes, and so on. With such fierce competition in todays market along with ever changing consumer opinions, it’s imperative that you stay one step ahead of your competition.

Quickly, here are some things to think about when checking out your competition.

* Remember that your competition is not necessarily who you think it is
* Your customers determine who the competition is by patronizing those establishments
* Be sure to broadly define your competition at the start, and carefully move inwards through the industry to determine all competitors.

And now for a few pointers on checking out your competition:

* Pretend to be a customer
* Talk to the business owners and find out as much as you can from them
* Talk to their customer’s and get a feel for why they utilize your competitors service or product
* There are tons of great resources out there, so use them! Internet, public filings, local libraries, etc.
* Go to industry trade shows, seminars, and conferences
* Complete a competitive matrix

Checking Out Your Competition [StartupStudents]

0 Comments

Comments

Add your own comments

What next?

Digg it

Save This Page

Subscribe to GetEntrepreneurial.com

Leave a comment

Next Article: Entrepreneur Profile: Fernando Saénz de Tejada »

Previous Article: Lyro Online Business Cards »

Marcel Sim is a GE Network Expert. View Marcel Sim's profile or read more articles from Marcel Sim. Learn more about the GE Experts Network.

Have an expert opinion on issues entrepreneurs and small business owners face everyday? Join the GetEntrepreneurial.com Experts Network and share your expertise with the community!

The new GE Experts Network is inviting seasoned entrepreneurs and small business owners to come on board and contribute small business advice to our community of aspiring entrepreneurs. If you have an effective way of generating sales or you know how to use social networking to connect with your customers, join us in providing wider entrepreneurial content that would benefit small business owners worldwide.

Click Here to Learn More >>

How to Grow your Business During Tough Economic Times
How To Go Easy On Filing Tax
How to Evaluate a Franchisor’s Training Program
Franchisor Support: What can you expect from your franchisor?
Star Power: How to Hire a Celebrity Spokesperson
How To Be Super Productive
Successful Business Decision Making

This article was posted to the category: How-To Guides. Click here to read more articles in this category.

Reknit Your Old Sweater » Springwise: Each month, Reknit will unravel old sweaters and re-knit them into a different item; this January, it's scarves. Consumers begin by...

Marbling Art on Stone » Hurriyet Daily News: Saadet Erciyas, a female entrepreneur from İzmir, and her team are creating decorative products by using the marbling art...

HP's Store in Store Concept » AMEinfo.com: HP Middle East announced its new retail strategy in the UAE - HP Store in Store, which is focused on facilitating enhanced...

BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 97 » Square Payment Square is a mobile app that lets you start accepting payment cards immediately with no contracts, monthly fees, or hidden...

Need more brand new promising business ideas and innovations around the world you wish you'd thought of? Visit CoolBusinessIdeas.com now!

Ever wanted to be the CEO of your very own Starbucks or Amazon.com? Fire your boss and be your own boss? Now you can, with BIZNESS! - the free biweekly business newsletter about new business ideas, opportunities and innovations from around the world. More than just new business trends, BIZNESS! helps the aspiring entrepreneur (you!) with small business advice, business tips, and entrepreneur resources and opportunities.

Subscribe for free now!