Competitive Shopping – Are You Doing It?
Whether you are a wholesaler or a retailer, it's important to know about your competition. Taking the time to understand who your competition is, what they are up to and why it matters to your business is an extremely important part of being effective in the marketplace—particularly one that is as saturated as the baby business.
Who Is Your Competition?
Competition surrounds us in our own communities as well as online. Let's not forget about mail order catalogs, television shopping networks, craft shows, and house parties selling products similar to yours and to a similar market, as well.
Take the time to know all of the outlets that may be competitive to your business, but don't just do this once and think you have it all understood. The reality is that new competition is always entering the marketplace. As a store owner or manager, it's your job to stay on top of current businesses and new businesses that are competitive to your own. In doing this, you will be better prepared to make your business stand out from the rest.
What Is Your Competition Up To?
Recognizing competition that is directly competitive to your business will allow you to analyze why customers purchase from them versus you, how those competitors communicate in the marketplace, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. For example, a nearby store that previously only sold apparel may now also sell gear, such as strollers and highchairs. Consider how this is affecting both your businesses and how customers now shop in your marketplace. Does the fact that your competition has a one-stop-shop destination directly hurt you, since you don't? Or is it helping you by offering customers a store solely dedicated to one specific category? Think about how you can leverage this recent change in the marketplace and react to it accordingly.
You may also find out along the way that you are stronger than your competition in many areas, including marketing, press and merchandising. However, it's essential to stay on track with their growth so that you can strive to always stand out from your competitors. The key is to always know what they are up to, so that you can better support your retail or wholesale business.
Why Your Competition Matters
While a store that is two states away may be similar to yours and may not make a difference to your direct sell thru, it's still possible to learn from their successes and failures. However, if a store opens two towns over from you and sells the same brands in a similar assortment, this is definitely something you need to follow—and possibly address with select vendors. As wholesalers, it's very important to be aware of the national or international marketplace since your brand is more likely to be sold on a larger scale. Even if this is not a problem for you now, it may be a goal for you eventually. Either way, the point is for you to want to know what your competition is up to so you can ultimately learn from them.
If your competition has success, take it in stride—not jealousy—and learn from them however you can. Even if just through observation versus chit-chat, the time you take to observe will impact the decisions you make for your own company. These decisions will be the determining factor in your success or failure, so everything you can lean on to help make those right decisions matters.
In addition to learning from your competition, this is a great way to get inspired. Sometimes seeing new ways of merchandising, different marketing executions, and other elements of competition are just what you need to recharge your business energy. So take the time to shop competitively so that your business can gain from your competition—after all, isn't using your competition for your own growth rewarding in some way?