Medy Navani
Medy Navani is the CEO of Design Haus Medy, which is an award-winning architecture and interior design practice based in Dubai and in this article he explains how you can use your competitors to increase your own success.
From a young age, competition is a strong motivator for progression and success. Starting out, it may be a simple rivalry with a sibling, later through sports played at school, and more notably seen in the working world between businesses and colleagues. Competition can be seen as negative but as a part of human nature, “survival of the fittest” inevitably pushes us to achieve.
As seen with professional athletes who regularly compete, they must continue to train and better themselves to be able to triumph over their opponents. Famously, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs competed in business to inevitably both create some of the world’s most innovative technologies.
Sometimes competitors in business can get under our skin but as with all obstacles, but it is still an opportunity to thrive and the best way to thrive is:
Use it as a driving tool
Competitors keep us on our toes. Sitting back and being complacent is how a business will very quickly decline. Using the added pressure to drive you forward can allow for the opportunity to increase creativity and innovation. Springboard ideas from those that work for others in the industry, looking at how to improve for the benefit of the customer and therefore increase reputation in the market.
Setting a standard
With the need to ensure you are producing results for the business, competition means you will always be looking to assure excellence, finding ways to work faster, harder, and smarter than your competitors. Assess your strengths and weaknesses against those in the market and take the time to listen to customers feedback. By going above and beyond industry standard, you will stand out to consumers, allowing the business to be a driver in its field.
Learn from them
It is always important to keep a close eye on the wins and tumbles of your competitors. By being invested in what they are getting up to, it will allow you to understand where they are coming from and how each choice made affects their business. Through their strengths and weaknesses, you will be provided with a better understanding of the market, how the consumer is interacting, and also allow you to better understand how you measure up. Knowing your competitor as well as you know your own business is a benefit to ensuring your own success.
Differentiate
If you find yourself up against others in the market, it means you are doing something right. As they say, great minds think alike but the most important tool to use to ensure you out way the competition is to understand who they are, what they do, and why they are your competitors. Once you have done the analysis, find a way to differentiate yourself. By creating your own niche, you will eliminate the current competition and find a piece of the market, all for yourself.
Just do you
At the end of the day, the business you are working for should be your absolute priority. Try not to get consumed by what everyone else in the market is doing, otherwise, you will never have any time to do actual work. Stay true to your strategy and product, always making moves that feel right for your business. Just because someone else is doing it one way does not mean there are not a thousand other ways to get results. Focus is key so make sure you are working towards goals, drown out the noise of competition and just do you.
