Ask IH: Profitable business owners: how to stand out when entering a competitive market?
Hi guys, this is my first ever post! Loving the community here so far.
I have this problem where I'd think up of a seemingly good idea, look up competitors, then realise that I'll never beat them, and give up on my idea.
I really want to get over this fear of failing, and I've always heard that entering a competitive market is a good sign because it means that there's a market for your product. However, how do you stand out from your competitors when they already have the reputation and audience in a specific field?
I dont know which type of ideas you are working on but if it is related to SAAS, then I would suggest you to focus on the market segment which is currently being neglected by your competitors.
For example when Survey Monkey launched, there were already Survey making software, but they mainly focused on Big Enterprises.
Survey Monkey focused on the Mid Market and it paid off.
No matter, how well funded a competitor is , it is impossible for them to serve every market segment and this is where the opportunity lies.
Just my 2 cents.
-Ankit
Have unique selling proposition. For example,you can compete with more simpler software or easier to use
Did you know you don’t need killer messaging when you first enter a market?
You just don’t know enough. Here’s a talk on the jobs to be done framework and how to use it to position yourself.
https://microconf.gen.co/claire-suellentrop
Few things to consider...
Are you sure that they really are your competitor? Really consider their product/value prop/ideal customer. You may find that you guys aren't actually cutthroat competitors, but you guys are just in a similar space. Consider creating a "positioning map" to see the relationship between one another, you may find empty gaps in the market that you could change your product focus to.
Are you sure that they are doing as "well" as you think they are? Or are you sure you really need to worry about them? I'd do an "audit" on your top 5 and then see if that gives you a boost of motivation or insight. For each competitor, audit their business for a few key things:
their business (biz model canvas is a good framework to consider) also refer to my first question
their product (messaging, features, reviews/testimonials, etc) lol, what if you think their product is great but it really sucks? also refer to my first question... if you can, get a demo or a trial account and check them out.
their brand (messaging, identity, mission, etc) consider if you guys even are on the same quest or if you could brand your product in a unique way
their social accounts/content/ads/etc - maybe there are channels/keywords/networks/etc that they are not leveraging or leveraging to their fullest potential?
their website/seo stats/etc - maybe they aren't getting huge traffic or maybe you can find new channel opportunities or strategic seo ideas
Just a few ideas, hope they help in some way!
Really appreciate the actionable tips, gonna try them out!
Do you have a framework for the positioning map? Or a resource you use?
Not off the top but it's nothing more than setting up an X and Y axis and deciding what you want to measure by. I'm sure there is plenty of resources out there that explains this better. I believe the origin of this concept was more so used for "perceptual" mapping with big name brands but it can work with anything truly.
How do you know they're your competitors and not your customers? If you start out as a freelancer, you often first work for companies that offer the same service as you do - only as part of a package comprising even more services. Later on, you scale up to offer the same package of services as your erstwhile customers do.
The same could work for a product, if it's simple enough that it can be combined in a package. To be honest, I don't know any examples in the app & saas space.