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Five things you can learn from your competition

Five things you can learn from your competition
11th April 2018 Amy

Five things you can learn from your competition

When working in sales, keeping an eye on your competition is key. By measuring up your organisation against the competitive landscape you can learn a lot about the areas of your business that are thriving, and the areas that need attention. Looking at the way other organisations conduct themselves provides a great insight into ways you could do things differently, without the expense of disrupting your entire business.

 

Below are five things you can learn from looking at your competition:

 

What do their customers love about them?

Looking at what leads customers to choose your competition over you is a great way to identify aspects of your own business that need a re-think. Is there an aspect of the sales process that they particularly like that has won them over, or likewise an element of your sales process that left them underwhelmed? What can you learn from the way they operate their business? What makes them successful?

 

 

How are they utilising social media?

Spend some time exploring at how your competitors are using social media. The rise of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for business has been unprecedented and identifying how your competitors use this resource can allow you to also take advantage of it. Look at whether they have a social media strategy in place, whether they produce their own content, or what companies they are following or interacting with. These things will all help you map out a plan of your own.

 

 

What is their pricing structure?

Take a look at how their pricing compares to your own. One of your biggest challenges in sales is ensuring that you represent the quality of your product versus the cost. As part of that, knowing how your competitors price their product, and why they price in that way is important to demonstrating how you differ. It also allows you to identify a competitive advantage and this can be used to leverage sales away from them.

 

 

Who are they hiring? 

Using LinkedIn, try to identify the last 5-6 hires your competitor made. Were they for a particular role or department, working with a particular technology within their business, or from a particular organisation? (and was it yours?) Their latest hires can reveal if they have a new strategy or are exploring a new geography or technology area for expansion. From understanding this, you can stay ahead of the curve and make sure you’re not missing out on a potential revenue stream your organisation has not yet tapped into.

 

How are they spending their budget?

Take some time to observe how they’re spending their money. Have they gone on a hiring spree or just released a brand new website? Both will reveal they are doing well, but will show the deployment of different business strategies. In addition, if there is a noticeable increase in social activities, such as corporate days out, this is another indication they are currently enjoying a period of prosperity. Identifying ways they are allocating their budget may even help you identify where you next need to invest.

 

 

There’s much to learn from looking at how your competitors do business. Is there an aspect you think we may have missed? Let us know at [email protected]