Competition brings different emotions in people – scare, anger, aggression, humour. But most are ambivalent to competition. These emotions become beliefs over a period of time. Where does this ambivalence? Two sources :
1. An inherent thinking that competition does not have enough intellect and execution fire power. Many large brands are victims of this thinking
2. And that that nothing will happen (atleast in the short or medium term) that will change the equilibrium of the market.
However, history has taught us that ignoring competition is just too perilous. Ask RIM, Barnes & Noble and Swiss Watch manufacturers and they will tell us what this means. There is no doubt that ignoring competition could mean anything from losing business to complete eradication. Brands ought to have a strong competition-watch program.
What are the objectives of this competition-watch? The end point of competition-watch is to visualize the market in the medium and long term with all the dynamics that the brand and the competition could create. It is not about an individual data point or information. Typical questions that one needs to be able to answer are:
- What all could happen to disrupt the space?
- What consolidation can happen in the industry?
- What new offerings can come up?
- What potential partnerships can be stuck?
- How deep are competition pockets to make investments?
- What is the competition good at? What is it bad at?
- Will competition be able to make strategic changes – restructuring, leadership changes, expansion, sell out in the current scenario?
Over the years, here is what I have learnt from colleagues who do this especially well :
- Watch the industry analysts reviews closely. They are best placed to understand industry implications and can serve as the oracles of how the industry is likely to shape in the future
- Your customers can be a great source of how you are perceived vis-à-vis competitors. Be sure that they are constantly approached by competition for a break-in
- A business associate once shared that she spends nearly 70% of her time on understanding competition and predicting the next move. Studying competition at events, web properties and collaterals and executive communication can greatly enhance in sharpening the picture about competitors’ landscape
- Ask your channel and technology partners for information and what their prognosis is of competition next moves
- Study market trends of your industry and also industries which are complimentary to yours
Assimilate data, information and insights from as many sources and analyze them systematically. Over a period of times, brands can develop the art of understanding patterns and predicting with reasonable accuracy on next moves by competition. Of course this takes concerted efforts and a hawk like approach. But will pay off in the long term for the brand.
