Eliminate Your Competitors With 2 Simple Steps

In business, having competitors goes with the territory. There's almost always someone selling the same product or service you are selling, or at least trying to solve the same customer problem you solve.

Not only can competitors out-market you and steal your valuable prospects and customers, they can put you out of business if you're not careful. Trying to fight back by out-marketing your competitors can not only get expensive, it can be frustrating.

But there is another solution. Eliminating your competitors is the easiest way to increase your chances of business success. And it isn't that hard when you know what you're doing. And, before you worry that I'm advocating violence, relax. I don't mean literally eliminate them, in the sense of doing something "bad" to them.

When I say eliminate, I mean ... take them out of your prospect's consideration set for your product or service category. Make it so your prospects ONLY think of your business, product or service when they are contemplating making a purchase. That way you get their business, instead of your competition making the sale.

What this means is if you sell widgets, you want your prospects to only think of your widgets when they are thinking of buying widgets. This is pretty easy to do if your business is not in a competitive industry. But let's suppose there are all kinds of businesses selling what you are selling, or filling the same consumer or business need you are filling.

How can you make sure your prospects ONLY think of you - and therefore only BUY from you - and not all those other companies?

Answer: By thoroughly understanding those competing businesses and then doing one of two things:

(1) Finding a position in the category you can own.

This will separate you from all the other businesses and will make you uniquely qualified in the eyes of your prospect to fill their need. This usually requires finding a specific market niche you can focus on, or finding a specific product or service attribute or benefit, that is of value to your prospects, that none of your competitors can claim or are currently promoting.

This puts you in a class of your own and virtually eliminates the competition. No one does exactly what you do. Or in the quite the way you do it.

(2) By turning your competitors into "co-opitors."

What the heck is a "co-opitor?" It is a competitor that you turn into a partner or a cooperator. Are there businesses or individuals with whom you could partner, with the idea of referring business to each other?

For example, a wellness coach could partner with a weight watchers clinic or a health club or a massage therapist. All of these practitioners are selling improved health and well being, but they can also be positioned as complementary services. And they could easily refer business to each other as an added value or service to their customers.

Or, let's say you are a web site designer and you decide to focus primarily on working with small businesses (a market niche). You could create a partnership with another web site designer who has decided to focus on large corporations. If you both agree to only take on business that fits your identified niche, and to refer business outside your niche to the partner, you both win.

You can partner with other businesses in your exact business in this manner, by identifying niches, by geographic area served, or by size or type of clients served.

And you can partner with businesses in different categories that fill a similar customer need by agreeing to work together to help each other get customers.

There is not a business out there that cannot effectively use one of these two strategies to significantly reduce their competition. So figure out which strategy fits your business best, and make it a priority to eliminate your competition this year.

© 2005 Debbie LaChusa

20-year marketing veteran, consultant, author, teacher and coach Debbie LaChusa, has developed The 10stepmarketing System to help small business owners successfully market their business, themselves. To learn more about this simple, step-by-step program and to sign up for her FREE audio class and FREE weekly ezine featuring how-to articles, tips and advice, visit http://www.10stepmarketing.com

---

Newsletters are Marketing Machines!

Is your business publishing a print or e-newsletter? An informative... Read More

Pamphlets and the Money They?ll Put in Your Pocket

People are making a fortune on pamphlets. If you go... Read More

How to Win a Price War

Any economics student can tell you that price is a... Read More

Five Most Common Mistaken Beliefs About Joint Venture Marketing

Apart from being the fastest, easiest, and most profitable strategy... Read More

Will Googles Gmail spell trouble for Email Marketing.

We wait with baited breath for the anticipated launch of... Read More

Business Postcard Marketing: 35 Ways to Use It

Postcards are an effective way for many business owners and... Read More

Increase Repeat Business and Referrals with Direct Mail

So you have been writing mortgages like crazy now for... Read More

Set Your Business Apart With A Unique Selling Proposition

Unless your company has absolutely no competition now or in... Read More

A Tool For Selling New Ideas!

Imagine tossing a pebble into a crystal clear pond on... Read More

Mobile Marketing a New Age Strategy

More and more companies seem to be looking for new... Read More

What to be Successful? Marketing Makes the Difference

When you hear the word "marketing" what comes to mind?... Read More

Marketing On The Cheap: Join The What?

Your local Chamber of Commerce.Now before you stop reading, I... Read More

Beyond the Booth

With the advent of spring, trade shows begin to blossom.... Read More

Make Your E-Mail Signature File WORK for You!

You're probably familiar with e-mail signature (or "sig") files -... Read More

Give It Away Now - The More You Share, the More You Sell!

Give away your knowledge, and you'll make money. How does... Read More

Promotions That Build Profit

Promotions are everything you do to let your customers know... Read More

Networking, iNetworking, What Is The First Rule?

Networking on the Internet is the same as networking in... Read More

To Web or Not to Web?

Do I need a web site? That is the question... Read More

Ten Easy Marketing Tasks You Can Do NOW

Who says scientists can't market? Here are 10 easy marketing... Read More

Limited Time Only (Shh! Its A Secret)

Under normal circumstances, you'd shout it from the rooftops. After... Read More

Ready, Aim, Fire...Oops...Wheres The Target?

Everywhere you go on the Internet you find the words,... Read More

Integrity and Marketing - Finding the Right Balance

When marketing themselves to leads and prospects there are five... Read More

Joint Venture: 50 Power Secrets Of Joint Venture Marketing, Exposed

What is a Joint Venture?A joint venture is an agreement... Read More

How to Turn Your Marketing Into a Money-Making Machine - Preparing for Marketing That Yields Results

The usual complaint from companies is that Marketing simply does... Read More

Do this One Thing and Beat 85% of Your Competition!

Maybe you don't want to work that hard, or maybe... Read More