They are always one step ahead, always the incumbent
supplier and they just seem to know more about your market, its customers and its
decision makers than you do. They have stronger customer relationships, are
known as an innovator and are seen as the preeminent market leader. So, what is it your competition is doing that you aren’t? Here are five reasons
your B2B competition is beating you to the punch and winning more business.
1. Market Experts: No company ever became a market leader without first concentrating solely on becoming a market expert. This includes knowing your vendors, partners, customers, market influencers and competitors as well as you know your own product and service offering. Most importantly, it means knowing when and how to introduce a new product offering.
It’s not about being first. It’s not about following leaders or being a market challenger. It’s about becoming a market guru and using that knowledge to decide how to position your company.
Focus on coming up with a market intelligence gathering strategy, one that constantly feeds your people with vital market data. This data should focus on competitive pricing, competitor deals, discounts, customer buying influences and current market trends.
Become an expert first and then use that knowledge to build your business know-how.
Should your company be a leader, follower or challenger in its market?
2. Strong Value Proposition: The best enterprises have a well-established value proposition. That value drives sales because customers are made fully aware of everything the company brings to the table. A value proposition defines the company’s strengths in supply chain management, its approach to inventory, its strengths in operations, its engineering prowess, its proactive marketing and sales approaches and its excellence in customer service.
A value chain analysis defines this value proposition and helps your company focus its efforts on improving that value in the eyes of customers. Your competition’s value proposition is more convincing than yours, so what is it they’re doing that you aren’t? More often than not, if your product is better, then it’s simply a matter of defining that value better.
Your Value Chain Outlines Your Internal and External Business Strengths
To better define your company's message, please go to: Your Value Chain Defines Your Value Assertion: B2B Marketing Essentials
3. Speed of Response: Speed is everything in business today. Faster response times means faster service and faster service means your customers are dealing with a proactive vendor, one that can anticipate their needs. That means something in our ultra-competitive marketplace.
Today’s enterprise mobility solutions aren’t just gadgets: These solutions are based on speed of response and the ability to transfer data – and gain access to vital data – instantaneously.
A cell phone won’t cut it. Today’s rugged handheld computers and mobile devices are critical for salespeople, project managers, field-service technicians and business development professionals. They provide real-time feedback on deliveries, inventory counts and finished good counts.
While your sales team wastes time capturing data manually, inputting that data into a trip report and then sending it off after a couple of days, your competition has transferred all that vital data immediately after the visit. Now, who would you want to purchase from – the vendor that takes too long to get back, or the vendor that has your answer within seconds?
4. Customer Retention: We’ve all heard the statements that it costs four or five times more to find a new customer than to retain an existing one. Ultimately, your competition is winning because they incentivize their customers to return. They reward them for their business and they give them rebates and deals to keep them coming back for more.
Reward programs aren’t just for consumer markets: They also have a place for companies providing industrial finished goods. So, start a reward program and give your customers a reason to see your company as their only choice.
You can run a simple reward program by reading: Sample Back-End Rebate Excel Sheet for Customer Retention
5. Appreciation for Gross Profit: If you allow your customers to take advantage of you, they will. If you continually bail your customers out of jams, without getting any volume later, then you’ll forever be seen as a secondary source. Sure, they’ll tell you you’re great, but if you aren’t seeing anything for your efforts, then why bother?
It’s human nature to take advantage of someone if they allow it. It’s no different in business. Part of why your competition is winning is because they want to win. In fact, they want to win more than you do. They know that customer face time is critical to a successful negotiation. They know that marketing can only generate leads – not close them. They know that a sale is only a sale if the gross profit is healthy. They are tough negotiators and their customers respect them for it.
If you’re not convinced, then ask yourself the following: Why do we continue to bail out our customers while our competition reaps the rewards? There’s a reason for that.
The above video is from: Sales Negotiation - Defend Price, Customer Scare Tactics & Managing Concessions
The answers to these aforementioned questions come from understanding your market, defining your company's value, increasing your service response time, using reward programs to increase customer retention, and most importantly, understanding that your customer’s needs should never supersede your gross profit objectives.
Your competition isn't giving things away. They are fighting for the business and winning. You need to start beating them at their own game.
Here are some additional articles on positioning your company in today's economy.
Stop Losing Business to Overseas Competitors: Define Your Customer’s True Purchasing Costs
Sample Customer Scorecard Excel Sheet: Grading Your Customer’s Value
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