Don’t Fight The
Competition!
“Don’t fight the competition! ” I may regret saying this one
day, but hear me out. Competition keeps you successful and can lower your rate
of failure. They are actually a critical part of your marketing ecosystem. Pay
attention to them, but don’t let them steer your business.
In a recent client strategy and balanced scorecard workshop
the client started to talk about how the competition was coming into the
territory. The energy in the room increased significantly as they talked about
the competitor and how they were starting to eat away at work or at least put
high risk on the current and future customer base. I asked them if the purpose
of their strategy was to beat the competition or to serve the customers. This
led to an “Ah-ha” moment. They realized
that they become obsessed with the competition. They had become diverted in
their thinking about their strategy from focusing on meeting the needs of the
customer to focusing on beating the competition.
If you let the competition set the agenda, you’re doomed to
follow and never lead in your market.
What then is the role of competition in the execution of
your strategy? Competitors are the “canary in the coal mine” of strategy
execution. You should watch them closely. The early warning signals the
strategy is not being completely successful in delivering your desired results.
The competitors are as driven as you are to meet the customer needs. They are like
flashlights, searching in the dark, showing you areas of customer needs that
you are not being the most effective at the meeting, or that you may not have
seen. If competitors illuminate customer needs that you have targeted, then
they have provided you with market Intel on the effectiveness of your strategy.
A customer focused initiative may be required to strengthen your strategy
execution. However, if the competition is meeting customer needs outside your
current strategy, the intel should simply be noted for consideration in your
annual strategic planning and strategy review. There is likely no current
response needed other than to reaffirm with your customers that you are truly
meeting their high priority needs, and if so, stay the course.
Think about this: if you design your strategy to meet
selected customer needs, you leave the other customer needs open to the
competition. If you selected a strategy of meeting customer needs where you can
excel (SWOT) the other customer needs that are left for competitors to fill are
not in your “sweet spot”. In fact, a smart competitor will see those needs and
will take their strengths and meet them … taking the path of least resistance,
focusing where they can excel, and staying off your identified and targeted market.
Remember, you can’t do it all. Do what you do best and leave the rest of the
competitors. (I might wonder here if you would really call them competitors
since you’re actually beating complementary customer needs.)
So how do you keep your organization from fighting the
competition?
Know your strategy and execute it well.
1.
Identify your targeted market – the customers
you want to serve and the needs that you will meet. In this action you’ll
consider your internal strengths and the external environment
2.
Identify which of the customer needs you will
meet – consider your own capabilities in the areas of: product, costs, and
service.
3.
Align the organization with a clear strategy to
meet those needs – clarifying and communicate the strategy and put metrics in
place that proactively measure/manage your effectiveness and executing the
strategy (e.g. balanced scorecard)
4.
Execute, evaluate, and continue focused
execution of the strategy.
I am reminded of the old joke about the two hikers who
encountered an angry bear. The bear started chasing them. One of the hikers
stopped to re-tie his sneakers. The other hiker asked “why are you tying your
sneakers? You know you can’t out run a bear”. The first hiker responded, “I don’t
have to out run the bear, I just have to run faster than you”.
So keep an eye on the competitors – they will let you know
if you’re moving fast enough. But don’t let them set your strategy or agenda.
Remember, it’s all about the customer, not the competition.
