{"id":122,"date":"2011-06-06T01:27:59","date_gmt":"2011-06-06T05:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/?p=122"},"modified":"2011-06-08T22:36:26","modified_gmt":"2011-06-09T02:36:26","slug":"give-your-small-business-a-competitive-advantage-by-befriending-your-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/?p=122","title":{"rendered":"Give your Small Business a Competitive Advantage by Befriending your Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone knows that business is a dog-eat-dog world full of relentless rivals, right?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Consider the legendary battles of Apple and Microsoft,\u00a0Coke and Pepsi, Bad Boy and Death Row Records, heck, even Macy’s and Gimbel’s back in the day.\u00a0 And how many history students have dozed through lectures on\u00a0John D. Rockefeller’s immensely successful modus operandi of growing Standard Oil by mercilessly\u00a0eliminating the competition?\u00a0\u00a0Woof.<\/p>\n

In a Small Business,\u00a0rivalries can take on a particularly personal tone.\u00a0\u00a0For many Small Business owners, their\u00a0identities are closely linked to their businesses.\u00a0 Remember how\u00a0devasted Meg Ryan was in You’ve Got Mail <\/em>when her book store was threatened by the big box Fox Books?\u00a0\u00a0This intimate correlation can make a competitor’s\u00a0successes\u00a0feel like\u00a0personal assaults, and vice versa.\u00a0 It’s easy to allow\u00a0antagonism toward your competition to distract your attention from your true focus – your customer.\u00a0 What if, instead of trying to villainize your competition, your focus was on establishing positive professional relationships with them?\u00a0 What might your Small Business gain?\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, for Bottle Washer and I, the following occurred:<\/p>\n

1. We raised our level of customer service.\u00a0 <\/strong>Even though you may think of other businesses in your\u00a0field as competition, chances are they have a slightly different market niche than you do.\u00a0 There are some things they do better.\u00a0 Occasionally we get a potential customer who would\u00a0be better off serviced by another company.\u00a0 We tell them that, and pass on that business’ name.\u00a0 It is a win-win-win.\u00a0 The patron wins, because they get a service that is more appropriate to their needs.\u00a0 The other company wins because they get a new customer.\u00a0 Bottle Washer and I win because we have created a positive experience for an individual new to our business.\u00a0 Trying to keep their business for ourselves would most likely have resulted in a less-than-satisfactory experience for the patron, to our\u00a0detriment.\u00a0 \u00a0We traded the instant sale for the long-term appreciation of a future customer.\u00a0 (By the way, this works both ways, those friendly rivals will refer to you as well!)<\/p>\n

2. We gained a resource\u00a0network.\u00a0 <\/strong>Our industry is highly regulated.\u00a0 It is difficult for a Small Business to keep up with all the compliance issues.\u00a0 Since we have fostered strong relationships with\u00a0others in our industry, I can call those business owners when I have a question regarding the\u00a0implementation\u00a0or interpretation of\u00a0new legislation.\u00a0 I also call on our friendly rivals when making purchasing decisions of new products.\u00a0 Have they tried this?\u00a0 How did it work for them?\u00a0 A trusted source can save you a lot of wasted time and\u00a0money.<\/p>\n

3. We\u00a0improved our staffing.<\/strong>\u00a0 If you need to hire specialized staff,\u00a0you eventually will hire staff away from your competition.\u00a0 Having a positive relationship with rivals puts your company in a favorable light, enabling it to\u00a0attract top staff.\u00a0 It also\u00a0makes it difficult for a defecting employee to trash talk or harm your business when hired by a friendly competitor.\u00a0 Remember my post on our slick new competitor that moved in?\u00a0 We turned them into an ally, and currently the two businesses actually share an employee.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0We have a ready market for buying and selling assets.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>As your business evolves, you may no longer need various pieces of equipment or\u00a0other assets, or you may need additional assets.\u00a0\u00a0Friendly relationships with competitors provide a ready source for both purchasing and selling.\u00a0 Bottle Washer and I have purchased\u00a0pieces of equipment from competitors that no longer needed them, but were perfect for our needs.\u00a0 We saved some money not buying the items new, and the other business was thrilled to turn unused\u00a0equipment into\u00a0cash.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Similarly, we have\u00a0sold items we no longer used to friendly rivals.\u00a0\u00a0Having these contacts saves a lot of time searching for a buyer or seller.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 We\u00a0lowered expenses.<\/strong>\u00a0 One disadvantage\u00a0Small Businesses have is the inability to buy most supplies in large enough quantities to get a substantial discount.\u00a0 Why not combine your orders?\u00a0 We have done this in the past for waste removal, propane deliveries (for heat), and some specialized supplies that\u00a0our industry uses.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 We\u00a0gained renters for our old location.<\/strong>\u00a0 Bottle Washer and I bought a commercial space several years ago.\u00a0 We had it retrofitted perfectly for our type of business.\u00a0 Then, to our pleasant surprise, we outgrew the space.\u00a0 Rather than sell it, we decided to rent it.\u00a0 But, it was really only suitable for a similar business.\u00a0 So, we now rent to a rival firm.\u00a0 They were reluctant at first, but once they realized we weren’t going to be sneaking in at night and snooping through their offices, they signed on the line.\u00a0 It has worked out well\u00a0for both of us.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 We avoided awkward situations.<\/strong>\u00a0 During the course of doing business you will\u00a0step outside your own four walls and participate in something bigger.\u00a0 It could be a charity event, a panel discussion, or a Chamber of Commerce program.\u00a0 If it appeals to you, it will appeal to your competition, and they will be there.\u00a0 There are few things as uncomfortable as making small talk in public with another Small Business owner when there is tension\u00a0between you.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 We gained a sense of camaraderie.\u00a0 <\/strong>I know we all love our businesses, but sometimes it is really nice to blow off some steam by venting a bit.\u00a0 Who better to listen than someone who truly understands what is going on in your field?\u00a0 When I was in high school\u00a0my friend Jane’s dad was a minister.\u00a0 Every Wednesday he had lunch with all the other clergy in our small town.\u00a0 No matter what else was going on, he\u00a0wouldn’t miss that date.\u00a0 Even though they were all competing for the same souls (literally!), those men knew that\u00a0nothing feels quite as therapeutic as sharing and commiserating with someone who really understands your situation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

9. We may\u00a0gain a buyer for our business or a new acquisition.<\/strong>\u00a0 Friendly rivalries improve your opportunity to both expand your business and for a favorable exit scenario.\u00a0 When it comes time to sell your Small Business,\u00a0chances are it will involve either an employee or a\u00a0competitor.\u00a0\u00a0Already having a positive association with that competitor, no matter how casual, will make the negotiations and transaction much more relaxed for everyone.\u00a0 Also, having relationships with like businesses may present opportunities to you to buy a business, and an interested seller may approach you first.\u00a0 This has happened to Bottle Washer and I several times.\u00a0 Although we have yet to actually buy another business, the process of considering it was ultimately very beneficial to our business.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, the next time a similar Small Business hangs out a shingle a few blocks away.\u00a0 Don’t panic.\u00a0 Send them a plant.\u00a0 Stop by and introduce yourself.\u00a0 And seize the opportunity to build a new relationship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What friendly rivalries have you cultivated?\u00a0 How did it benefit\u00a0your Small Business?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone knows that business is a dog-eat-dog world full of relentless rivals, right?\u00a0\u00a0Consider the legendary battles of Apple and Microsoft,\u00a0Coke and Pepsi, Bad Boy and Death Row Records, heck, even Macy’s and Gimbel’s back in the day.\u00a0 And how many … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[37,33,35,34,38,8,20,36],"class_list":["post-122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-operations","tag-buying-and-selling-equipment","tag-competition","tag-exit-strategy","tag-friendly-rivals","tag-lowering-expenses","tag-small-business","tag-small-business-ownership","tag-staffing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132,"href":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122\/revisions\/132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiefcookandbottlewasher.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}