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Article Title: How To Seek Out Your Competitors
Author: Sam Weston
Word Count: 743
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=57798&ca=Marketing
Format: 64cpl
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The best way to seek out your competitors is to try and buy
whatever product or service it is you�re planning to sell.
Enter the market as a customer, and find out what options you
would have.
Where to Look.
It might be tempting to just use a search engine and go by the
results that turns up, but you have to remember that plenty of
business still takes place outside the Internet. You should
also make sure that you pay attention to more traditional
methods of advertising, such as the yellow pages, or your local
newspaper. It�s worth cutting out and keeping any ads you find,
as they can be good to refer to when it�s time to start your
own marketing.
Do What They Do, But Differently.
Notice that I said �differently�, not necessarily �better�.
Don�t assume that you�ll be able to improve on established
businesses if you�re doing the exact same thing as they are �
they have years of experience, after all. What you�re trying to
do is distinguish yourself in the marketplace, so that people
who are looking for something specific in your chosen industry
will come to you.
There are a number of tried-and-true ways of altering existing
products to make them succeed in the market.
The Price-Quality Line. You may find other businesses that only
offer a very high-quality service, and accordingly charge a
premium price � or you might find ones that only offer
heavily-discounted rubbish. Consider taking their products to
the opposite end of the market. If you can offer a product of
only slightly worse quality at half the price, then people will
jump at it � and, likewise, there are always people willing to
pay the most to get the best.
Provide a Service. It is perfectly possible to sell products of
the exact same physical quality while providing a better service
� to the customer, quality and service are almost the same
thing. There are companies out there who can sell computer
software that their customers could get almost for free, simply
because the customers like to have the support services that
they get with their purchase.
Likewise, if service is all you do, then it should be pretty
simple to provide a more attentive and personal service than
your competitors. �One-on-one business� gives you a great
opportunity to become friendly with your customers, and that�s
often worth its weight in gold to them.
Make it Simpler. Many businesses offer great products, but
they�re pitching them to very technical customers. If you�re an
expert in your field, you will very often find that you can
build a great business simply by selling the same thing as your
competitors, but going to some trouble to explain and market it
to a wider section of the public. Anytime you start using some
new technology, the chances are that someone along the way had
to work out how to make it simpler. Few new technologies or
inventions come pre-packaged for consumer use.
Change the Design. Make it smaller, or change the colour, or
make it easier to open and fix. There are all sorts of ways to
subtly redesign a product and give it all sorts of bells and
whistles that customers will really appreciate. You might even
be able to buy products, modify them, and then sell them on.
Build Alliances.
Despite what the word might lead you to think, you don�t always
have to be competitive with your competitors. You might find
that they have extra work sometimes that they wouldn�t mind
sending over to you, or you might find that they�re willing to
give you advice on starting up (if not for free, then perhaps
for nothing more than the cost of a few drinks!). Of course,
you shouldn�t go giving away all your secrets or giving them
any other advantage, but that doesn�t mean that you should keep
away. Pay special attention to any problems that they say
they�ve had, or anything they do that seems to sell especially
well.
Believe it or not, your competitors can be your best allies in
this home business game, especially if they�re home businesses
themselves � over time, your competitors might even become your
friends.
About The Author: Discover How YOU Can Profit From Your Mailing
List With Every Way Possible - From The Moment Your Subscriber
Visits Your Lead Capture Page Until He Receives E-mails From
You! http://www.mailinglistsforprofit.com Active hyperlink must
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