You Might Have More Competition Than You Think

By Author: Charen Smith
Total Articles: 25
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Stop right now and take and put serious though to who your competition is. Let's say you run a video rental store. Odds are the answer you came up with was the other video rental stores. Acting on this you're going to advertise yourself by showing why it's better to rent at your store than it is at theirs. Maybe you'll point out that your cost is lower, or your selection is greater, or maybe the length of time a person can rent from you is longer. All of these are great ways to compete against another video rental store, but maybe they aren't your only or even your real competition.

You're going to use color printing to send out a group of flyers, or put up some posters, and you have to decide exactly what focus to use. Ever think that a restaurant might be your competition? Maybe a bowling alley is who you have to be aware of? Even dance clubs could be the real business to watch out for. What do these have in common with a video store? All of them are different kinds of activities people do for entertainment.

Most people are going to have a certain amount of money set aside for entertainment. They might not always ...
... know what kind of entertainment they want. Any other source of entertainment is a potential form of competition for a movie store.

Don't just focus your advertisement on people who are already in the mood for a movie when you can get the people who might not have been to begin with. If they have money to spend on something fun, send out a flyer showing why staying at home with a good movie makes for a better night than going out to the bowling alley.

I know it can be a little daunting thinking about just how many other companies you're suddenly in competition with that you might not have thought of before. An important factor is to think of your type of industry as a whole rather than the kind of store you run.

Use your color printing to target the people who don't already have an interest in your business no matter what kind of business you run. This doesn't just apply to rental stores. Any business has far more competition than they might realize, and understanding exactly who you're competing against will do wonders when it comes to focusing your marketing attention.

The obvious competition is usually the one to give the least of your attention to. Once you figure out who challenges you the most, you'll know where it's best to direct your resources, and you'll quickly see just how much additional business you'll be able to bring in.

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