Keeping ahead of your competitors

Experts say for businesses to stay competitive, the quality of the products and services they offer is vital. 

SIMON EJEMBI highlights tips that can help businesses beat competition

Business experts say many entrepreneurs spend more time chasing capital instead of focusing on the product or service they want to offer to the public.

Once they get the needed capital, they quickly set up the business, without properly developing the product and service.

According to experts, with many other businesses already offering similar services, such companies may be unable to attract customers and end up failing.

The Chief Executive Officer, R&S Consulting Limited, says, “A lot of people don’t know that many businesses are failing because they keep seeing new businesses on the streets.”

According to him, the reason why many businesses are failing is due to ignorance.

When it comes to being competitive he explains that there are several factors that determine competitiveness.

Some of these factors are explained below:

Making your product competitive

For your product to be accepted and to stand a chance of beating competition, experts say you should strive to ensure that it has an edge over those of your competitors.

Ways in which you can achieve this is to ensure that it has a better quality or that it is more durable.

In situations whereby you cannot make the price of your price lower than that of your competitors, you can make up for the higher price by ensuring that the quality of your product is better.

The packaging and design of your product matters as well. If your product is poorly packaged or unattractive, people may not even consider trying it out. And that is not something you would like to see happen.

How unique is your product? People are increasingly on the lookout for unique products and targeting those groups of people may keep you competitive. For instance, with the paparazzi ever-present and fashion magazines ready to make a story out of the fact that two celebrities wore the same outfit to an event, celebrities make a lot of effort to avoid such a ‘slip’. So, if you are a fashion designer, you may be better off making outfits that are rare and shunning the lure of mass production.

How easy is it to use or assemble your product? Are your customers required to read bulky manuals before they can use or assemble your products? All these play a role in determining whether people will patronise, and continue patronising your products. Nobody wants to get a product for which he or she will have to get a technician to assemble when there is an alternative. With careful planning and research, experts say you can have a product that is beautiful, of high quality, well packaged and easy to use at the same time.

Other factors that can help give your product an edge over its competitors include how safe it is to use, how efficient and how portable it is.

If you produce safety helmet and it is discovered that your helmet is actually not safe in the first place, people will avoid it. Not far from this is efficiency. Many people have complained about buying insecticide or mosquito repellant that does not work. On the flip side, some have bought these items only to discover that though they eliminate insects, they are hazardous to people.

Another factor is how portable, sleek and compact the product is. Experts advise entrepreneurs to ensure that their products are not only more portable than those of competitors, but that they are also sleeker. To get it right in this regard, they say it is important to consider the conditions under which the products will be used.

Another way to ensure that your product is competitive is to ensure that it is endorsed by the relevant authorities and if possible other respected organisations. People look out for such endorsements. It motivates some of them to at least give the product a try.

All these are factors you should consider in building your brand, which the Chief Executive Officer, Arden and Newton Brand Management Company, Mr. Perez Tigidam, says is the life and soul of any business that craves for sustainable growth and long term success.

“I love to tell my clients that the branding is in the thinking. If the thinking at this stage goes wrong, the product or service will go wrong, leading to the death of such an organization,” he adds.

Ensuring quality services

Just like your products your services also have to have an edge over those of your competitors – in terms of quality, efficiency, and reliability, among other things.

Whether you sell products or provide services, you need to have an excellent customer service in place, and strive to make or keep it better than others. The social media platforms are now a huge platform for customers to vent their frustration about services they receive from companies. Many people have talked about how rude, unintelligent, and unhelpful, they have found customer service personnel of different companies to be – with many of them deciding they would never do business with the company or companies involved.

The danger here is not only are you losing a client or an opportunity to get referrals, you are courting negative publicity, which can only alienate your company from customers. It is important, therefore, to get it right and keep it excellent when it comes to customer services.

According to the author of the Brian Tracy-endorsed sales novel, ‘The Silent Champion,’ Mr. George Emetuche, no matter how much advertising you have done to promote a product or service, the publicity will not lead to sales if you have salesmen with the wrong attitude.

How accessible your business or service also matters. There was a time when certain banks in the country kept their doors open to customers on Saturdays. Many people decided to bank with them just because of that. Therefore, the time of the day and how long you keep the doors of your business open to customers every day matters. If a business is open 24 hours every day, customers are likely to go there more because they are sure they will not get there and find the place locked.

Another factor that experts say can give your business an edge is having your employees wear uniforms. According to them, it helps to make your business look more professional and trustworthy.

With the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cash-less policy, some businesses now use point of sale terminals, which allows customers to pay for services or products with their ATM cards. Providing this and other options such as accepting cheques can help you attract more customers and retain a competitive edge. It will also make customers buy more because when they see something they like, even when they do not have enough cash, they can pay via other options.

Carry out research

In order for entrepreneurs to keep their business competitive, it is important that they have proper understanding and knowledge of their business, the industry in which they operate, and other industries as well.

According to experts, research and further studies are the best way through which entrepreneurs can get good understanding of the industry.

They explain that by having good knowledge about the industry and carrying out research, business owners will be in better position to notice changes or trends in the industry and find truly new ideas. They add that by paying attention to trends in other sectors, as well, entrepreneurs may be able to adapt ideas from other businesses to theirs, thereby giving it an edge. This they stress is better than imitating competitors.

Through research you can also find out more about your competitors and their unique selling points, which will aid you in your bid to stay ahead or to stand out.

Understand your customers

For you to keep your business competitive or to give your products or services an edge over others, it is very important that you understand your customers and their expectations – needs, wants and even challenges. For this to happen there is the need for more interaction with them. One way in which you can freely relate with your customers is by being actively involved in the communities where they live via participation in local activities or programmes.

By interacting with customers frequently, experts say not only will they provide you with feedback on your products; they will also keep you informed of new trends – sometimes giving you ideas on how to improve your products or services. Experts say without such an understanding, new innovations instead of making your product ‘irresistible’ or the preferred choice may end up putting customers off. When you know your customers, you are more likely to get it right in terms of the quality, appearance and cost of your product.

Define and keep your goals in view

While it is advised that you take note of market trends and adapt your business accordingly so as to stay ahead of the competition, experts say it is important that you keep the vision that you have for your business in focus at all times. That way, they explain, you won’t make the mistake of adopting a trend that is not in line with your goals, which your customers have come to appreciate and prefer over time. By keeping your vision in focus, they say you will be able to adopt trend, technology and ideas, which will go to strengthen it and speed up your chances of achieving your goals; rather than adopting ideas or spending money on technology which in reality add no value to your business. Apart from the likely effect adopting the wrong strategy or technology may have on your customers, it could also amount to wastage of funds.

Experts say when entrepreneurs merge their goals and aspiration to their businesses, they stand a better chance of enjoying what they do and put in their best or doing all it takes to keep the businesses running smoothly. Once that is the case, they explain, the business owner will have less challenges keeping his business ahead of the competition.

Look to the future

How prepared is your business for the future? Can it withstand the challenges that are ahead? Can it take advantage of the opportunities that time will bring? Experts say not many entrepreneurs can answer these questions. They argue that many have not even thought about them. Such entrepreneurs are unlikely to keep their companies ahead of their competitors. Even if they are ahead now, they are unlikely to maintain that status; because they are just not prepared for the future. To be prepared for the future is to plan ahead. According to experts, such planning is critical to the long-term growth and success of businesses.

Remember the role of hard work

It’s tough raising capital for a business, tough setting up the business, and also tough attracting customers to the businesses. Consequently, many business owners keep pushing until the customers start trooping in. After that they take ‘some time’ off. But experts say doing this is a big mistake on the part of the entrepreneur because keeping the customers coming back is perhaps an even tougher task. And neglecting that task can only lead to devastating results.

According to them, there is very little time for a business owner to take a break if he really wants to keep his business ahead of competitors. This is because as renown entrepreneurs have said again and again hard work is the key to success. So, to stay ahead of your competitors there is need for you to work faster and harder.

Adopt ICT

From automated accounting and Human resource systems to interactive websites, more and more businesses are adopting information and communication technology to the running of their businesses. Without adopting technology to your business, experts say you don’t stand a chance of beating competition.

By utilising technology, experts say owners of small enterprises can give their business and edge. For instance, a small business can make its service available across the country via a website. This is in contrast to what was obtainable in the past when a business had to have offices across the country for its services to be accessible to everyone. While bigger companies that have established offices all over are battling to maintain those offices and the many workers that were employed to run them, your business – with just a few workers – is providing a similar service at an affordable and probably faster way, especially if you offer advisory services. Are you taking advantage of the social media – Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn? Do you have a website? What gadgets are you using at work? Are you taking advantage of the digital revolution? What about mobile devices?

Ensure effective financial management

Virtually every day, there are calls for the Central Bank of Nigeria to intensify efforts to ensure that banks interest rates in the country are reduced. Entrepreneurs have continually lamented the difficulty they face in getting funding to grow their businesses or to diversify their business. Experts say it is, therefore, important for companies to be prudent in managing their finances.  Doing so will ensure that company has some form of saving or ‘capital’, which will enable it to take advantage of opportunities in the industry and easily adapt to changes in the industry.

BY SIMON EJEMBI

Source: Punchng.com