The Tribune

By Simon Cooper
Res Socius

The downside to doing well in business is that competition arrives and tries to grab your patch. However, you can still do well, provided you supply quality and keep things simple, that is. All things are fair in love and war. So I’ll turn the argument around and supply some tips for entering a market instead.

• Focus on your customers, to the exclusion of everything else when they are present. One of mother nature’s protective measures is to incline us to do things we enjoy (and to shun the things we do not). This implies that everything must appear to go the client’s way (especially when someone messes up, and a refund - and more - may be required).
• It’s vitally important that everything you do is genuine. Feigned concern and false friendship are obvious, and add to a customer’s displeasure. Do it with frank and honest intent, though, and you could really boost your sales. That is because we all prefer to buy from friends.
• There is nothing wrong with copying success, provided it is not patented or copyrighted. In fact, many leading brands are clones of something else. You do, however, have to add a unique discriminator that makes you different. And if it is effective and you can patent it yourself, you could be on to a real winner.
• Do not be put off by market saturation, although you may need to unseat a competitor or two somewhere down the line. And that’s not difficult when you get things right.

In fact, a saturated market is proof positive that demand exists in volume. You just need to create a comfortable niche to trade from. The single most important thing of all is to believe in yourself, your products and your business strategy (and to empower your people with your vision). Confidence breeds confidence in staff to perform well, and customers to do business because they have confidence in you.

• Never discriminate just on price. Although the temptation is there to lower prices to push volumes, the reality is that market conditions keep the competition’s prices low already, and dropping them further can lead you into loss. Besides, your prices create expectations in customer’s minds, to the extent that when you push them up again they will resent it and go elsewhere.

If you choose the price-war route, you will encourage established firms to do the same. They may have reserves that give them greater staying power. It is quality of service that brings in the repeat business and referrals needed to stay in business. And people are willing to pay more for quality, not less.

I began this article by touching on what to do when someone muscles into your market. When this happens, there is nothing wrong with focusing on customers, reinforcing your niche, providing quality service and, for that matter, cloning their ideas as well. In fact, these are the characteristics of corporates who have stood the test of time. Some things never change …

NB: Simon Cooper is a founding partner of Res Socius, a firm authorised by the Bahamas Investment Authority to facilitate the sale and purchase of businesses and provide management consultancy services. Contact 376-1256 or visit www.ressocius.com.