Smart Emmanuel: How to Thrive in a Competitive Market

Business is best enjoyed when you’re untouchable by competition, but a lack of competition is not possible – even the most loved companies will at some point face competition. The manner in which you handle competition will determine the future of your business and profitability. Some entrepreneurs are very competitive, and they get so caught up in a competitive mode that they forget why they started their businesses in the first place. There are a few steps that will help you thrive in a very competitive market:

Focus on your mission

Amidst competition, it’s easy to forget the purpose and reason you set out for the business in the first place. You feel like your competitors are breathing down your neck, pilfering your concept, and out-innovating you. In some cases, they may have developed a superior product or service because they have improved on your ideas and those of others. It might feel unfair to you, but customers love the idea of competition. For customers, competition means lower prices, more variety, and better value. For you, it can mean the end of your goals and dreams.

So it’s important to remember your mission. Competition is an undeniable facet of entrepreneurship. The question that beckons is whether you shall align with the throng of competitors and mimic their endeavours, or whether you’ll rekindle your unwavering commitment to your business’s fundamental mission – the very essence of your why. It’s precisely during these arduous junctures that your mettle is put to the ultimate test, evaluating your resilience in adhering to the compass of your mission.

Understand your customers

Every business is fighting to win the heart of the customer. A business that understands the thinking process of its customers stands a high chance of winning the customer’s heart. Customer thinking patterns and behaviour are always changing, so fresh research and observation are important. It’s important to understand how customers are reacting to new entrants and what their motivations are. The more accurate your research, the more likely you are to make smart choices. A year ago, the world couldn’t use any other tool to get information than Google. Recently, and almost overnight, they switched to ChatGPT. The customers who you knew a few months ago aren’t the same people today. You need to understand your customers and what they truly want at the moment.

Pick your battles

Not all battles can be won, so it’s important to know the areas where you might not be able to win over your competitors at the moment. You might have a plan to win in the future, but with limited resources, you have to pick battles you can win. Competition can create low prices in certain areas or segments. You shouldn’t focus on those because you need to retain your ability to be profitable. This is the only way you can win short-term and long-term. For example, if you are in the telecommunications business, voice calls might be an area you want to give up temporarily if it’s less profitable and focuses on internet services if it’s more profitable. Your competitors are mostly too blinded to winning because profit isn’t their initial motivation; they just want to beat you. This is a weakness you can maximise – while they burn their cash, you make money.

Become the best for the customer

At this point, you are armed with your profitable area of focus, you understand your customers, what they truly want, their motivations and attractions to your competitors. It’s now time to improve your products and services and give customers a service they will feel in their hearts. Customers understand it’s business, but go the extra mile to make them feel like they are underpaying, without also giving more value than they pay for. There are products you experience and you just have to buy them again because you felt the heart of the creators. We all know that one movie that got us glued and involved. It was not the budget of the movie, it was the heart of the creators.

Competitors will still copy your new methods when they find out it’s working, so you rinse and repeat the process over and over. Unlike them, you’re not burning cash for a feeling of victory, you are winning where you want to win and making a lot of money. This is true business.

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