How to not get distracted by your competitors

Meta4 Business Coaching

Which camp are you in?

There are usually two camps when it comes to how small business owners see their competition.

There are those small business owners who view their competition as the enemy.

They don’t want to connect and engage at all with one another.

Then there are the successful business owners who welcome collaborations.

Collaborations work well in many situations: passing work that fits better with how a competitor delivers, becoming a bigger market force to be able to deliver against larger projects and sharing knowledge and expertise in a healthier way.

Ultimately, it’s always useful to connect with those who are seemingly in the same marketplace as the right clients will choose to work with you and vice versa when it’s right to do so.

It’s good to know who else is out there working in a similar market.

We all have our own unique and niche way of delivering and who we work with and what problems we solve with tends to be very specific anyway (although we may not always realise it from the outset).

It’s liberating as a small business owner, with choices, to have a back-up plan – when you know someone who approaches you would be better off working with a different business.

Tackling ‘Competitor Comparison’ With social media it’s very easy to follow your competitors and their every move without them even knowing.

As a business coach I would encourage small business owners to find how competitors are interacting with their audience – what kind of conversations are happening – as this is where the learning starts and newcomers can listen and watch how to find their own voice on social media.

There is a line that needs to be drawn on this following, checking on them and you know when this needs to be drawn…

The best way (and only way!) to stay out of the competitor comparison trap is to focus on your own approach and this being the best you can possibly make it.

This involves having a plan.

What do you want to achieve with social media and your marketing and how will you go about it? There is plenty of help out there on this, so go out and find it.

Usually, if you are falling in to the Competitor Comparison trap it’s because that someone else is doing what you feel you should or want to be doing but there’s something’s getting in the way. Know what that is.

It’s most likely fear of failure, fear of success – yes, this is a real thing or lack of knowledge *insert your reason here*.

So learn to be more of that person. It’s likely the person (your competitor) shouting about their good news, success stories has learned exactly how to overcome a *reason* and has invested in themselves – both financially and time wise.

This is a good thing, right?

All small business owners are on their own path and are just trying to be the best they can be with what resources available to us at the time.

We are all unique and understanding your business USP (unique selling point) goes a long way in addressing any imbalance you may be experiencing.