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Best Practices for Managing the Competition

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Getting Your Foot in the Door

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Competitive Stance

Know the Competition

Whether managing an existing brand or trying to break into new markets, dealing with the competition is difficult if you have no strategy in place. Even if your product is the best on the market, there are several variables at play which can prevent you from making a splash and earning your share of the market.

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Breaking In

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Different is Good.

Don’t Play Copycat

It may seem easier to emulate industry leaders when trying to enter a market, but that is not an effective way to boost share.

The infrastructure, resources and exposure that incumbent brands creates barriers of entry for new brands.

To get past these barriers, target smaller consumer groups that your competitors are weakest in.

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There’s Only One “First Impression”

Don’t Waste it!

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Fielding a Team

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Create a Product CulturePhysical interaction with consumers plays a huge role in forming customer purchase decisions.

Make sure your field team is representing your brand-image in a consistent manner.

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Give Your Team the Tools they Need.Eliminating administrative tasks like filling out physical forms can help field reps focus on the product and customer. Equip reps with a mobile device and appropriate software for the job to increase productivity.

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Research What WorksEvolve with the industry and research which field team methods provide the highest returns. Being the first to implement a new strategy or technology gives your field team a big boost over the competition.

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Setting Competitive Prices Across Different Channels

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Channel Pricing

Understand which consumers shop at which locations.

Discover retailer cost-structures to determine what your margins will be in each location.

Determine what pricing strategy to apply to achieve the most growth and profit in a retail venue.

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Price Skimming is often used for Consumer Electronics

Price-Skimming

Target less price-sensitive consumers to purchase higher priced goods.

Usually this strategy sacrifices sales volume for higher profits

Price-Skimming is great for short-term profit, but not for long-term growth.

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Penetration pricing is used in the razor market, where the low cost of razors is supplemented by high-priced blades.

Penetration Pricing

With penetration pricing, prices are set low (sometimes temporarily) in order to quickly gain market share.

The price can be raised when businesses feel they can maintain the market share they’ve gained.

Penetration pricing has the added benefit of discouraging new entrants to the market who can’t compete at low prices.

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High-Low pricing is very common in the consumer packaged goods industry.

High-Low Pricing

With high-low pricing, goods are sold at a higher price to project an image of higher quality.

These products are brought down to an affordable and competitive price by using coupons and promotions.

If this strategy is compatible with your brand image, it can be a great way to achieve growth and sales at the same time.

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In-Store Promotional Tactics

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That Extra Push

Once a business has broken into a market, trained a field team, and set up an effective pricing strategy across all potential channels, a great deal of focus should be put on driving sales and growth higher through different methods.

Some ideas for in-store promotions:

Traditional coupons and displays.

Mobile device integration, like QR codes or a product app.

Social Media integration.

Interactive displays.

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Putting it all Together

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Plan, Execute, Succeed.

While effectively managing the competition can be difficult for entrepreneurs and small businesses alike, careful planning and attention to each of the key areas outlined in this guide should help set a course for success. Entering a market with a consistent brand image, motivating and training an effective field team, strategically setting pricing points, and using innovative and effective in-store promotions will ensure that a brand not only competes, but thrives in whichever direction it is taken.

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Thank you!