Business Development Services 1 Who are your competitors? Session 4

Business Development Services 2  Collect information about your competitors  Research and analyze your competition  Identify direct and indirect competitors  List your product/service features and benefits  Define your business’s unique value proposition Session objectives

Business Development Services 3 Your company Competitor #2 Competitor #1 The Market Share Pie

Business Development Services 4  Who else is selling my product or service in this industry?  What makes my business different? How will my business stand out (be different) from the competition? Goal: find your competition

Business Development Services 5  Knowing where your business is strong, and the other company is weak, can help you stand out in the industry.  Knowing where your competitor is strong, and you are weaker, can help you learn and improve the way you do business. Why learn about your competitors?

Business Development Services 6  Direct competitors: businesses that offer similar products/services to yours. They are the most risky, and should be central to your research.  Indirect competitors: offer alternative products/services to yours. They may surprise you one day with a competing product!  Phantom competitors: forces outside your control that can have a big effect on business Types of competitors

Business Development Services 7  Company websites and search engines  Social networks  Visit your competitors  Google alerts  Ask your customers…and ask them again!  Survey existing or potential customers  Conferences & trade shows  Better Business Bureau Where to find information

Business Development Services 8  Local market focus: may want to look at competitors within 50 km, if a restaurant, that might be a smaller area (15-20 km);  If in a bigger market (e.g. Manitoba) will need to look more broadly throughout the Province, and potentially to neighbouring provinces  Online: who else is selling online? Where do they show up in search rankings (e.g. Google) Where to look

Business Development Services 9  Company details  Target market  Strengths/weaknesses  Products/services  Price  Added benefits  How do they reach customers?  Features & benefits  Unique value Information on your competitors

Business Development Services 10  The amount of information you can find may be different for each competitor.  Don’t be discouraged if you can’t find all the information you need for every competitor.  Do check several of the potential sources just covered. About competitors

Business Development Services 11  What is a product/service feature?  What is a product/service benefit? Features & benefits

Business Development Services 12  Feature: what your product or service is or does. Least effective in selling.  A benefit explains what features mean and why they are important. Benefits tell your customers how your product or service features will solve their problems. Features and benefits: definition

Business Development Services 13  10 megapixel camera  Camera that shoots clear pictures, even in action shots  Gluten-free pizza  Safe pizza for celiac customers  Lightweight vacuum cleaner  Vacuum that is easy to carry up stairs Is it a feature or benefit?

Business Development Services 14 All-Natural Doggie Treats

Business Development Services 15  A promise of unique benefits that your product/services offers to your customers.  A few sentences long, includes your product features/benefits, and can apply to your entire business, or individual products or services.  A UVP answers 2 questions:  How can your product/service solve my problem?  Why should I buy from you and not someone else? Unique Value Proposition

Business Development Services 16 Your UVP can be used to communicate your product/service’s value to:  Customers  Investors/lenders  Potential partners  Employees  Suppliers Unique Value Proposition

Business Development Services 17  For (target customers)  Our product/service is a (details about product/service)  That provides (key problems that the product or service solves for the customer)  Unlike (another product/service) UVP Formula