As a small business owner, have you ever felt threatened by a new business entering your market – or by increased marketing by a competing business? If so, I challenge you to reconsider that perspective – and look for ways to benefit from the increased competition.
Case Study from the Internet Browser market posted at Slashdot this morning:
about the availability of alternatives to the ubiquitous Internet
Explorer. 'How has the emergence of WebKit and Chrome changed the
market for you?
JvT: The effect of Chrome so far has been 20 percent more downloads
every day. It's fairly logical when you think about it, because the
biggest hurdle we have is all those people that don't realize there's
an alternative in the market. Now, with the launch of Chrome there's
focus on the choice of browsers in the market.'
There is a basic concept known as the "cluster concept" that says that groups of similar businesses usually perform better as a group (ie. everyone benefits from the power of the group) than businesses operating in a vaccum.
What can you do to "ride the coattails" of the marketing budget, increased awareness, or initial shopper curiosity that occurs when a new business moves to your neighborhood? Turn the competitive threat into an opportunity.
Also, check out Laura Ries thoughts on this basic subject today on her very thorough blog post "How and When to Attack."
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