Keeping An Eye On Your Industry
Staying Ahead: The Importance of Monitoring Competition in Marketing
Part of maintaining effective marketing strategy is keeping your eye on the competition. Don't be afraid to incorporate good ideas from others in your industry because that's often just what it takes to keep up with the latest trends, some of which are brought about by consumer demand.
That brings the focus back to the main target: the consumer. You either provide goods or services (or both), and your ability to stay in business depends on fulfilling demand created by customers or clients. This is true pretty much without exception.
So it could be that your competition has picked up on a new consumer need before you have. That's okay. It doesn't mean that you concede defeat, however. Quite the contrary, it means you have some catching up to do.
But a wise business owner will turn this into an advantage by noticing what the competition is doing right versus what the competition is struggling to do in their marketing. This is a chance to define a better position and come out ahead in the long run.
You can't compete, though, if you have your head buried in the sand or are stuck in the tunnel vision so common amongst overworked entrepreneurs. Periodically, you simply must make time to evaluate the marketing being undertaken by others in your industry. If you do, you'll often get fresh ideas and clearer vision about where your own marketing needs to go in the future.