New Landscape to Business Success: No Competition

Image Credit: guardian

Posted by: Albert Weng

("Competition Is for Loser", a new article written by Peter Thiel, cofounder of Paypal and first outside investor of Facebook, who posted this article on Wall Street Journal, which share a similar perspective)

Competition is a temporary situation one has with others given the conditions that define the battle. However, quite often, if the conditions were changed, intentionally or unintentionally, the situation may change from the competition to the cooperation, immediately. And seriously, this is something one should learn and leverage to build a better world "together". Here shares how I see this agenda and what suggestions for the ones who wish to get out of the competition, in order to enjoy and build a lot more beautiful moment in the world.

What Wikipedia Says?

"...It arises whenever at least two parties strive for a goal which cannot be shared or which is desired individually but not in sharing and cooperation."

The digest from their content that says, "competition is not in sharing and cooperation." Don't you feel this is counterintuitive? We all been taught at school to share and cooperate with others, in a belief that people can work together to build something greater than what an individual can achieve. The core issue of the conflict is, "do we share and cooperate with competitors?" And then, the key factor of this question is, "how do you define the competitor to yourself?" Something in the past and what's happening now and for the future has dramatically redefined what competition really is, for you and for everyone. Take a fresh look here, in a way to build a new landscape of a world with "no competition".

Past, Know the Market Less, the Fight has been on Just the Product

The visibility of any given market in a business was much less discovered in the past (maybe divided as before the Internet came to commercialization, somewhat before 1990). The most common way to know a market was about conducting regional and local survey and research, which limited the quantity and also the quality of the sample size for a sound research and analysis. Therefore, the majority of what a business can outperform was not looking out of the market, but to focus on what's inside with much accessible, visible to check and improve, which was the product, and very likely just the product. In this case, the business focused on making a better product than ever day after day, year after year, and the benchmarking was normally, better than the old product, or better than the competitor's product (sustaining innovation, see also disruptive innovation). A kind of arms race, but not exactly making a justifiable business case from the entire effort to the organization.

Now, Know the Market Much Better, the Fight shall be on the Customer

Thanks to the digitalization wave in the past two decades that help bring countless data and numbers accessible to the public, also the many advanced market research institutes have conducted tremendous research, survey and analysis with a lot easier format to further study the market. All business now has greater visibility about the market (unless ones who are not able to perform such market research effectively and professionally, and well, this is another topic though). Given the reality of higher visibility about the market, the focus lies on customers, the ones who, in the end, make their own decision to spend their own money on what you offer, "to them". A key point here, it's not what you offer, it is what you offer "to them". By doing the latter one, the concept of "addressing the target customers", the seller (Mfg, dealer, etc.), shall cover at least something as below:

1) Know who are the target customers (profile) that want or need the offerings (products, services, or a mix of the two in different form)?
2) Why will the target customers buy?
3) How will they use and then benefit from the offerings?
4) What's the approach to reach out to the target customers that make good sense to them?

Doesn't something mention a common practice out there? Not likely, people still concentrate way too much about the competition, but not customer. An easy test you can try, for all those sales and marketing efforts, the one focus on product's highlight, especially advantage eyes on the competition. In the other hand, one that lean against a customer's problem or pleasure comes with the care of the customers, those who they're targeting to address.

Choice, not Comparison, from the Customer's Mind

Frankly speaking, customers only buy what they want or need, but not simply what's better. Period. The majority of marketing effort emphasizes too much about advantage, or so-called competitive advantage that attempts to degrade others. However, deeply from the customer's point of view, they just don't care about this unless there're be someone, a smart enough salesperson or marketer comes out to help make the choice among the several options. That is to say, the salespersons and marketers shall be able to approach the customer in a way to stick to their problem or pleasure (customer insight) as engaged and enjoyable as possible, then try to suggest the right product for the customer in order to address their respective concern, that help make the choice of purchase. In this way, comparison is just one step in the whole process to help check the matchmaking for the customer, instead of perceiving the competition is the whole process of making the sales/ business. We make our life by choices, not competition, isn't it?

What could be Even Better?

Everything from what a company made for a business activity is one of the accumulation of human asset. If, we can see competition as an opportunity to learn for our own growth, therefore, all competition and their activities become an exciting chance to learn, similar to reading a book from others (competitors?). Open our mind, the world is now much wider and accessible, learn to make unique effort to create the self-defined marketplace (the blue ocean strategy), and share to inspire others to make them better. We'll benefit from these positive cause-and-effect endeavor, eventually.