You are doing very well and then, suddenly, without warning a new player comes along and tries to muscle in on your turf. Now, you may have your area as tightly managed as the Kray Twins had the East End of London sorted back in the 60s, but it is more likely you will not be in a position to break a few legs.
They come from many angles
It would be helpful if you got to know this “new threat on the block” in great detail. It doesn’t matter if they’re a start-up. A JV between companies in other industries, the result of a merger or acquisition or a new division of a large multinational, it’s essential that you understand how they are going to affect you.
It’s about good questions
If you can answer these questions, you will start to build a good picture of them.
- What is it that they do?
- How do their products and services compare to yours?
- Are they offering new features or are they just copying what you do?
- What are the weak spots you can exploit?
- What are they good at? Can you learn from them?
- And what is their value proposition?
- Is what they offer better than want you to do and will your customers want it?
- What are their short and long terms goals? Are they serious or a flash in the pan?
- What are their reasons for entering your market?
- Do they have the financial resources to compete and stay around?
- What are their technical capabilities?
- Any idea of their sales & marketing plans and positioning?
- Whom are they going to target in terms of customers and your best people?
- Who are in their management team, and does it give you any indication of their culture and values?
A new competitor enters your market
This article is called a new competitor enters your market and we offered our thought on the questions you need to ask in order to some basic competitor analysis.
