Become a Disruptive Entrepreneur | Stay Ahead of the Competition
There is hardly ever time to rest when you are running a business. There is always a dip in the market, a new regulatory effect, or some other unpredictable challenge to block your path to success. Among the most frustrating obstacles is your competition, which is like a multi-headed snake bent on your destruction. While cutting off some of those heads might give you a brief respite, more biting heads are sure to appear soon enough. The only hope you have of succeeding, despite your competition, is staying ahead.
Outcompeting isn’t easy, especially for new businesses and new business owners. These tips should help you build a business that is stronger, faster, and better than those that compete with it, so you can stay on top.
Research, Study, Read, Repeat
Knowledge is power, even in business. Before you launch yourself into a new venture, equip yourself with all the information you could possibly need to establish your business in the market. This means reading relevant materials to better understand possible challenges, trends, and opportunities.
If you are younger or less experienced in the management field, consider obtaining an online MBA to help begin your business plans. This will prepare you not only for the unique trials of the market, but also for the general hardships of business leadership. However, it is important to remember that even after you graduate with an MBA, your education is never over. In business, there is always more to research — and more to learn.
Build a Fighting Team
There is nothing more aggravating than realizing you are the hardest worker, while everyone else is lagging behind. You need to acquire trustworthy talent, which usually depends more on how you treat them than on what they can offer you. The best workers are looking for more than a competitive wage; they want a fulfilling workplace atmosphere, progressive benefits, and structured development options. Being the best employer isn’t far from being the best business in your industry.
Disrupt with Strong Products
Some business leaders can find success by following the status quo — but the most outstanding success stories come from those entrepreneurs who disrupt what’s normal with extraordinary products. Instead of trying to keep up with your competitors’ new products, you should develop your own offerings that revolutionize how the audience views and interacts with your industry. Then, your competitors will be forced to keep up with your innovations.
Keep Your Customers Close
The customer is always right. What this tired cliché means is your customer isn’t wrong for wanting something smarter, faster, cheaper, or better in specific ways. Therefore, you must be confident that you know your customers’ wants and needs exceedingly well — especially when they change. Even the most stable industries are subject to trends. Be competent at observing fluctuations in consumer interest, or better yet, be able to predict what your customers want before they want it.
The best way to learn about your customers is to interact with them — and not in a sterile research-based way. Instead of sending out impersonal feedback forms, engage through social media, in-person events, and more. Not only does this help gain insight into their needs and wants, it also improves your brand, customer service efforts, and visibility in the industry.
Keep Your Enemies Closer
A customer’s persona is not the go-to for finding details about your competition’s movements in the market. Nearly as often as you evaluate your own performance, you should be analyzing your competitors’ offerings and brands. Usually, you can glean most of the information you need from their websites.
Just be careful to keep an eye on all competitors in the market, even seemingly small and inconsequential upstarts. The newer, smaller businesses have less to lose with risky, disruptive products, so they might even be your most dangerous competition.
Look to the Future, Don’t Forget the Past
Stability should never be a business goal. Instead, always be planning for bigger and better, envisioning a brighter future for your venture. Still, a plan for the future should include lessons learned in the past. Even after you succeed in outpacing your competition, always remember how you first became successful, and be wary of competitors that make similar moves. Your business should always be growing and changing to adapt to new market threats.
We hoped you enjoyed the above post in collaboration with Socialnomics!
