How to handle potential competition?

Not knowing the market that you are in or the product, it is tough to provide specifics around competition. I will therefore throw some general remarks with the hope that some apply to you.

1) When to come out of stealth mode? This is a key milestone, and you need to make a conscious decision as to when to do it. If your product is not ready yet or if you are still piloting with select customers for example and don’t need the publicity yet because you can’t handle large deployments (again, not sure what the product is), then you should stay in stealth mode.

2) First mover’s advantage. Remember that as a first mover into a market, you have a big advantage and the opportunity to a) grab market share as fast as possible, and b) define the space (think: functionality, delivery and support mechanisms, targeting vertical markets, pricing, etc…). The competition might be able to do what you are doing, and that’s ok, as long as they are following. It is pretty much impossible to be in a market without competition; so the question is not how to keep the competition out, but rather how to make sure that you continue defining the space, and that the competition is lagging and trying to catch up.

3) Patents are not a short term competitive tool. On the other hand, they are crucial from a strategic long term point of view if you have intellectual property to protect and are working in a space where potential competitors are big into IP protection.

4) Ultimately, although it sounds simplistic as an answer, you want to make sure you have a better offering than the competition. You should be looking at how to be better than the competition in a holistic view of your offering: product functionality set, functionality roadmap, quality, usability, security, compatibility and standardization, customer support, price (tricky!), ethics, marketing, etc…

5) Investors are looking for barriers to entry for competitors; but they are also looking at competition as a sign of a viable market. Use that to your advantage.

Hard to tell, but here are some thoughts:

• When you have no competition, I would question the existence of a market.
• Competition is really helpful because it validates your market and keeps you on your toes. It helps light a fire for everyone.
• If a big guy becomes your competition is probably great news for you. This validates your market. Typically most markets can handle a couple of leaders and when one big play enters, you become an acquisition target for other competitors of the big player
• When competing your goal is to change the rules to your advantage. Look for ways to redefine the problem and try to change what the market scores you on.

Always think of competition as opportunity, not risk

1. opportunity to increase market
2. opportunity to push you forwards
3. opportunity to learn from other success stories and failures
4. opportunity to provide better and better service to your clients

Once you think this way, you will find all answers.

You have to be competitive. You must always try to better, to improve your business. You must never admit that the competition is better than you. Oferte cazare Bucuresti