Who are your competitors?

It might seem a silly question, but do your know who your competitors are? If you are in retail you might list some shops on your high street or name your local supermarket chain. These provide some competition in that they sell goods and services that compete with yours. The trouble is you may have more competition than you think.

What exactly are you competing for? If you are a shop then you are competing for the money (or credit card) in some one's pocket. What else can they spend their finite resources on? If you are a pub then your customers could do any of the following:

• buy drink from the local supermarket
• go to the local bowling alley
• visit the local chip shop or pizza takeaway
• go to the gym

So the money can go to a number of places which may also be time or season dependent. The gym option may be number one just after Christmas or before the holiday season.

So you should think about:

• who else might be competing for the money in your customers pockets
• what factors might affect the spending patterns of customers
• what exactly are selling to your customers (and why)
• do you know everything about your customers
• can you sell anything different to your customers

This may lead you to other discussions regarding the direction of your business and where you intend it to be in the future (strategy in consultant speak). This may not have been on your 'to do' list for today but it just might help you ride out the recession.