Managing the Business Relationship With Your Competitors
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As a business, your competitors are just that: competitors. However, the way you treat your competitors may affect how your customers and the media perceive your business, your ethics, and your friendliness. For those reasons, and more, it's important that you carefully consider how you act with your competitors. It is possible to have a good relationship with competing businesses while limiting the impact they will have on your business success. When customers see you treating your competitors fairly, they will have more respect for you.
Congratulate Their Success
When a competing business does something well, you should be prepared to say so. If for example, a competing business has managed to gain greater traction than you, then you should point out that they have done really well, and are a good business, while also pointing out the advantages your business is able to offer that your competitors cannot. This is a good demonstration of the strong beliefs you have for your business, and will certainly leave a positive impression. At the same time look at ways of overtaking your competitor in all areas!
Recommend Business Their Way
If you and your competitors are able to cater for different categories of customers, then why not recommend them when you can't offer the required service to a certain customer? This will make you look good in both your customers and competitors eyes, and they might also be able to do the same for you in return. In the end, both of you will hopefully end up with more business as a result.
Sales & Marketing Strategies
When it comes to sales and marketing, it can be tempting to point out the negative aspects of your competitors. And, in some cases, it may be an essential part of closing the sale. However, rather than criticising your competitor, why not mention both positive and negative points of their service? Such as: "Yes, you are correct, Company A is able to offer lower pricing than we can. For customers that are more price sensitive, and that 100% up-time isn't essential, they can be a great solution. We cater for more IT-dependant organisations and employ 3 times as many engineers per customer. Company A also use an overseas call-centre, which is a great way to keep costs down, and provide a more efficient service, but we prefer to assign each customer a dedicated account manager to provide better service."
However, on some occasions your competitors may not provide a good service. In this case, you should be as polite and tactful about your competitors as possible. Rather than voicing your own opinions, you should cite sources, such as articles and media coverage that make your point for you. After pointing out any negative issues, you might also wish to explain how your company responds to the same problems. This will show a certain level of objectivity on your part and will demonstrate that your business has strong ethics and is willing to appreciate your competitors' problems.
Don't Bite
When a competitor speaks negatively about your business, it can be hard to know what to do. Especially when you want to ensure your business appears to be friendly and considerate of others. Although it's important to respond to any issues in an articulate way, you should avoid getting involved in any tit-for-tat. This will help your business stand out from the crowd.