Who are my competitors and what do they do?

It's something almost everyone is going to face at some point in their lives: competition. Competition within love, competition within sports and, of course, competition in business. Everyone has their own way of dealing with this competition. Some will go the extra mile, others will allow themselves to be outmanoeuvred and yet others will actually enter into a partnership. Within the Sterce Model, we have also set up a place for competition, because we think it is important that it is well mapped out. We explain why.

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Own power

Before we cut loose about the competition, it is very important to start with yourself. We firmly believe that everyone, every company and agency, should start from their own strengths. After all, it is your own strengths that you can do something about, that you can work with. What others do is up to them. Earlier, we talked about your strengths and weaknesses as they come from your own company or agency. So now you have a good idea of where you stand and the means by which you can best present yourself. But as important as your own strengths are, the strengths of others should not be lost sight of.

Why is competition important?

The quality of a product generally benefits greatly from multiple parties competing for success. This assertion holds true for the different forms that product can take. A football match becomes infinitely more exciting when both teams are matched, the development of a computer goes much faster when two companies tussle for the latest gadgets. And it was competition that caused a man to be put on the moon in 1969. Without the hot Russian breath on the Americans' neck, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would never have got beyond some test flights in prototypes for new aircraft.

Competition creates development, creates commotion, creates improvement. It is vital for a healthy market. But competition can also outsmart you, take steps that you yourself have not yet dared, or could not. Competition can take away your girl, win the race, turn more sales. And even though we always assume our own strengths; knowing how the market moves, and therefore how competitors move, is important.

How do I determine who my competitors are?

The world of competition is changing. This makes sense because the way business reaches and serves its customers is constantly changing. It used to be that competitors were on the corner, or at least nearby. Grocer A had competition from grocer B, and if B slashed prices, A could do little but morosely follow suit. Today, that is no longer the only form of mutual competition; there are roughly two forms of competitors:

• 'Old-fashioned' competition; companies fishing in the same pond and moving around your area. You regularly encounter them in your field of work because they reside nearby, are in the same corner of the market, have the same specialisation or deal in the same product.
• Online competition; a 'new' form of competition, which has to do with how you are findable online.

The old-fashioned competitors are relatively easy to pinpoint. As mentioned, you meet them often and your floats hang out in the same pond, looking for the same fish. It is the new form of competition that deserves some further explanation.

Online competition

Please imagine Google as a street. And on that street there are properties. A very limited number of properties are in a real A-location, a larger part have to make do with a somewhat less obvious location. You want, of course, the A-location. And you can, but everyone wants that. Because whoever owns the A-location automatically attracts the most customers. No matter where these customers come from, or who exactly owns the A-location, you may never have heard of it, but thanks to its online smarts, it leans back contentedly, while customers browse through all that it has to offer to their hearts' content.

Online competition is something that business is increasingly facing. No longer is word-of-mouth advertising enough, or a nice ad in the Yellow Pages. A smart online strategy is key for that sparkling A-location. This goes much further than just clever deployment of a business name, but mainly concerns the use of smart keywords, which you bet on with Google. The smarter this is put together, the closer you will get to that A-location.  

Mirror

We talk a lot about the competition and how others do it, but a mirror is just as indispensable as the aforementioned knowledge. After all, you have a lot to offer. And it's important to take that strength into the back of your mind in everything you do. We weight heavily on assuming your own strengths. Why? Because your own strength provides you with the weapons you need to go to war. And we can sharpen, tune and sharpen those weapons so that you can use your own strengths even better.
To achieve all this, we will first take stock of your arsenal so far.