in South Australia
Issue No. 7 - October/November 2002
Sketching Out the Competitive Landscape
by Warren Hobbs
For anyone trying to grow a business, one of the first tasks is to map the competitive landscape and then continue to do so as long as you stay in business. With a good understanding of the competition facing your business, you’ll be able to spot and exploit opportunities as they develop. Ignoring the competition or lulling yourself into a false sense of security could mean nasty surprises down the road.
One example of this is SA Health Education Centre (SAHEC) which is within a very competitive industry as a private college of natural therapies and massage. Principal, Kevin Watkins (pictured), has been very aware of his competitors, and those competitors are broadly any institution that focuses on education. Kevin has used a number of the following guidelines and, as a result, has chosen to differentiate his business by shifting to an improved business premises and by obtaining course accreditation. Such changes have helped to set SAHEC apart from its competitors.
Here are some guidelines to help you start developing a competitive strategy:
- Define the competition broadly. Your competition includes anything that could draw customers away from your business. For example, movie theatres compete not only with other cinemas, but also with restaurants, live music venues, theatre - even cable TV, video rentals and video games. As we are aware, Adelaide has more restaurants prorata than any other Australian capital city. Competition is significant and needs to be scouted.
- Be a customer. Take a notepad and pencil to competing businesses and ask a lot of questions. Testing a competitor’s ability to serve you will reveal much about their business. And don’t just pretend to shop from competitors. Buy something. It’s the only way to gain first-hand experience with the company’s products and services.
- Talk to your competitors’ customers. Why do they buy from your competitors? Is it bec...
