How you can beat competition next year
Businesses need to devote more time in re-assessing themselves and thinking and looking ahead for the future. It is better taking a second look at the model and the strategies set in place vis-a-vis the set targets.
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As the year is ending with inflation soaring, resulting into a fall in the demand for goods and services, so is the competition becoming tighter. And despite the unique selling attributes, coupled with the distinctive competencies that make particular firms thick in the market, consumer spending behaviours are changing in the current economic conditions and, therefore, firms are supposed to secure their market positions and retain their competitive edges.
In fact, one preferred expectation of exploring the strategic elements of an entity is to detect a niche on which the enterprise can fall on to urge past its peers in the industry, and with the use of core competencies, improve and gain the expected stand in the market place.
The utmost is to seek for a propitious niche which is an advantageous and a favourable platform that fits so well in the enterprise’s internal and external task environment that other entities and setups cannot compete in. This niche should, therefore, become so promising that the enterprise will be able to meet its customers demand and preferences.
Hence, strategically, the firm’s supplies and distribution should be carried out without potential threats from competitors.
Therefore, when reviewing the year in retrospect, the questions asked and the audit conducted are always centered on what really the actuals are and in which ever sphere the forecasts made were. The only answers management looks for are whether expectations were met and whatever the results help to inform management of what to do next.
Interestingly, profits, dividends, market share and business survival all boils down to customers’ demand, so management must all the time be on the look out to adopt a strategic window that is most exclusive and exceptional to propel the business to a stand that would be difficult to imitate in the market for long. This should as well as discourage competitors and peers from competing in the long run.
But it is not always easy finding that unique niche. Likewise, it is not wise always selling cheap to attract potential clients. What the business strategy must do is to concentrate on developing and expanding the competitive locus of the firm’s products and services in a particular industry or market segment.
Management must make sure that the strategy is competitive enough and that it shields off potential competitors or that the strategy is cooperate enough, and for that matter, it works appropriately with others in the market to ward off other bigger competitors that may take a lion’s share of the market from peers on the same level in a particular industry.
The big question that management may ask them out of their strategy should be whether they must compete on the grounds of low cost and hence, higher prices or on differenting their products and services on the basis of quality and quantity.
Again, they should figure out whether to compete head on with their key competitors within the industry or dwell on their strategies and competencies on a specific niche that they can take advantage of to get the needed share in a particular segment of the potential market.
So in all these, the best strategy must be adopted and the one that is most competitive enough selected. The truth is, your business must be better than your competitors own and that, the niche to carve for yourself must in some ways win the race for you. It must be able to score you the points for your products’ and services’ demand and at least scale up on the competition for you.
What management can use to beat the competition should be tactical and timely. These,therefore, can come in some specific forms.
Quality
This is one best strategy to beat off the price wars. This explains why your price is just a little above the rest. It also guarantees the demand for your product as there are a lot of inferior and imitation ones, all competing against your range of items.
Uniqueness
This makes it imperative for you to be distinguished from the rest. It also makes it possible for you to be attracted to a particular segment of the market, thereby, growing your share and profits without having to compete fiercely.
Safety and user friendliness
“If it is easier, simpler and safer to use, why worry to go for the other”. This is what customers seem to tell themselves all the time. Knowing this should make you work towards increasing demand for your products and services.
This invariably should impact on your profits and market stands.
Modern and efficient
Does it cater for all the age groups? Are the technologically minded catered for? Are your products able to do more things than your competitors’? Are they faster and less time consuming in satisfying needs and wants?
Of urgency, swiftness and reliability are the sales strategy these days, remember.
Packaging
The tool to beat them all is better packaging. This helps to cloth any product or service to get the actual price that is expected to generate into the revenue and profits.
This is a powerful strategy and it must not be ignored.
Customer service
If it is better, it must be seen in the relationships built between you and the clients over the years.
In responding quickly to their needs, in being polite and in going the extra mile to offer just an additional service beyond what was asked for, goes on to double sales and the market share.
New markets
A careful search into other market needs can help out on diversifications and in new market segments established. This transcends increased sales of both existing and new product.
Such help to scale the wall over saturation, poor sales performances and liquidity problems.
Image improvement
In as much as your customer base has swelled, kindly make efforts to improve upon your image. This could be in your symbols, colours and slogans and of what had been known for ages without much change to reflect current industry trends and conditions.
Have some paintings for your shop. Do make changes on your branded packaging, and have a look again at your website and your marketing and distribution mechanisms.
All these are intended to call in and attract additional customers to help you beat off the competition.
Conclusion
In being able to focus on well on the competition ahead, management in their own wisdom must conduct a research and an audit of what has transpired all this year and look into the future with hope of adopting the appropriate strategies to safeguard their positions in the market.
In this regard, it is expedient for management to plan for the growth and the prosperity of their businesses by having clear picture of what the economy holds for the coming year.
The bottom line would, therefore, be what strategy to adopt to beat the competition.