Don’t assume your competition is standing still
Over the past several months, I have seen our competitors invest to fabricate similar products, make deals with our suppliers to promote similar products and have seen others bring out new products which may have an impact. It is common to get so absorped in your new products and promotions to assume you are the only company moving forward, but I can assure you everyone is moving forward or they are going to go out of business. Knowing what is going on is critical to our success so we can adjust to it, learn and get better and counteract those moves. It keeps you from some unpleasant market surprises.
We spend a lot of time talking with others in the industry - both customers, manufacturers and distributors who are usually a little different than us, as well as monitoring the web sites of our competitors. Our suppliers are successful and as such supply a number of our competitors (after all we can’t guarantee their mortgage payment and we need our manufacturers to be very successful so they are in a position to do things for us). We often ask our suppliers about things we see on our competitor’s websites. If it is not their product they will be more than happy to tell you why the item is not that good! And if it is a good product, it may be a product your customers need you to offer them.
Also, you may find that your competitor is going in a different direction or focusing on a different market than you and that is good to know too. While most of the things that drive us originate from our customers, knowing what is going on helps us do a better job, and that is what it is all about.
So cultivate your network of contacts. I encourage everyone who works for me to do the same. Also it can be fun. I have spent 25+ years in this industry (don’t guess my age now!) and know and like a lot of folks in our industry and it can fun to gossip about them (always in a nosey, but positive way - and I assume they gossip about me too!) It may not sound adult, but I only say that to illustrate that it can be fun to keep up on everything and make your business better at the same time.