Schewanick Computer Services

So many new businesses have a fear of competition when they should be embracing it! Competition provides variety for the customer. When you shop, do you shop the "malls" or do you shop at stores that stand alone on some off street? If you are like most women, you shop the malls. Why? Because the mall provides variety. In the mall there will be several shoe stores, several dress stores, several book stores and so on.

So if you are a business, wouldn't it make sense to place yourself among the client crowds? Of course!

When I go to the grocery store I find that Coke and Dr. Pepper sit side by side on the shelf. They are both successful and neither company is afraid to sit right next to their competition. What do they know? They know that they can't please everyone. They also know that by placing their product right beside their competition, they have a better chance of a sale because the customer wants a choice.

Kotex and Tampax both provide a "different" solution to "one" problem. They both sit side by side and yet they are both unique in how they "deliver" the solution to the same problem. They aren't afraid of their competition because again they know the customer wants a choice and they can't satisfy everyone, but by being on the same shelf they will get more exposure.

When you go the theater, do you go to the place that is just showing 1 movie? Or does the theater show several movies. Which theater do you think is going to have the most business? Do you think the movie producers want their movie in the theater with several other movies or the theater that will just show their movie? Which theater do you think will bring that movie producer the most money?

If the large corporations embrace their business competition and they are rich, then why aren't you copying what the rich do? Don't be afraid of competition! If your web site sells gift baskets, wouldn't it make sense to list your web site in the directories with all the other gift basket places? You BET it would. If you offer cheese baskets, wouldn't it be wise to find someone who sells a wine gift basket or cracker gift baskets to compliment yours? Sure it would. Maybe you sell American cheeses and you want to compliment your site with someone who sells Swiss cheeses.

When people visit your web site, wouldn't it make sense to provide all the complimentary business links you can to help that viewer find what they're looking for? You can't possibly provide everything that people want and you shouldn't even try, BUT...you can generate MORE traffic to your web site when people start telling their friends that they can "find' everything at your place.

You can still have your products as the "featured" products and you can still identify what makes you unique from your competition. Maybe your candles have longer burning wicks, maybe they are hypo-allergenic, maybe they are scented with essential oils, maybe they help eat dust! Something makes you unique from your competition. Find out what it is then sit yourself right beside them for more sales.

About the author:

Rebecca Game has been an entrepreneur for over 30 years and is the Founder of Digital Women®, an online community for women in business providing business resources and tools including loans for women, grants for women and business networking tools. You can visit her site at Digital Women: "Women with their modems running..."

http://www.digital-women.com