Small Business Competitive Strategy Focus

When it comes to small business and it's strategies against competitors, it is essential to know what should be the focus of your strategy against the competitors, should it be focused on your competitors weaknesses or your business strengths. 

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Most of the time rather almost all the time the focus of such strategies is competitors weaknesses and that happens for seemingly good reason, isn’t it logical and reasonable to focus on your competitors weaknesses to gain advantage?! Yes it is, especially if you know for sure what the weaknesses are.

Such approach to your competitors in terms of strategies won’t make much difference neither would you get the desired results in short nor long run. Now you might think I sound pretty unreasonable; right?!

Okay, let me tell you something that would make my contention, position pretty valid, reasonable and logical. Well instead of focusing on your competitors weaknesses you need to focus on your strengths.

Because

• You Are a Small Business

You can’t compete with all of your competitors on developing a strategy which focuses on their weaknesses; because you are small business and small business can’t sustain such strategies. But it is far easy to sustain and far more beneficial for small businesses to focus on their strengths when it comes to strategies against their competitors.

• That Strategy is For The Big Guns (Corporations)  

  
  

Well don’t get deluded by those awesome infographics, ppt slides, success charts/plans where huge corporate giants or big businesses takes on their competitors by focusing on their weaknesses. Becuse! they can, you can’t, they have the resources that you don’t have, they are big you are small.

Hope I am making some sense; these couple of reasons have a lot to convince you to focus on your strengths when it comes to small business instead of focusing on competitors weaknesses.

Now the question is how you would know what your strengths are, should you go with that superficial understanding of your business or gut feeling. No no no!! You need to do a careful and thorough analysis (SWOT, PESTLE etc) of your business either yourself or by utilizing the expertise of someone who can like consultant etc.

Because sometimes a seemingly strength might turn out to be a disaster in the long run, likewise a weakness can turn out to be a source of strength therefore leave it to professionals to determine what really are your strengths, weaknesses, threats, opportunities etc.

This is really important for your business not only in long but short run too.

Okay I got it, I Know My Business Strengths Now What?!

Well the answer is easy

• Focus on your strengths, devise a strategy accordingly, (likewise focus & devise strategy to help your weaknesses, minimize threats and to capitalize on opportunities). Compete with your competitors in terms of those strengths.

• It takes a good amount of time to see results; you would get the desired results in small bits, making small jumps in the right direction. And as they say “Drops make the Oceans”drops of success makes success. You just need to increase those drops by constantly trying.

• Keep patience and keep it going. Perseverance and continuous struggle, efforts make the difference as they say “Rome wasn’t built in a Day”.

Okay How Would I Know That I am Moving in The Right Direction?!

That’s easy to answer too

Customers Feedback And Target Market Surveys

Feedback and surveys related to your strengths like are they improving (for instance if a lot more customers report about them being the best things, features, products, services etc you can take that as sign of improvement), like are they adding/making value for the customers.

Set bit by bit indicators while conducting surveys or collecting feedback for any changes (positive/negative) in your strengths, together all these indicators in your strategy will help you to get a more detailed and clear picture of how you doing, where you going and where do you need to tweak or reconsider your strategy.

Along with all this also conduct SWOT, PESTLE etc analysis of your business quarterly or semi annually as that will help you in understanding your business overall position, your strategy over time.

Read this important article on “Customer Feedback” for reasonable understanding and right interpretation of customer feedback.