Images Magazine Digital Edition February 2019

www.images-magazine.com FEBRUARY 2019 images 45 KB BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT everything you possibly can to help you outwit, outmanoeuvre and outperform them. The first thing to understand is you’re not going to do this by imitating them. You need to differentiate your small business, and a ‘me-too’ strategy is not the way to do it. Seth Godin’s book, Purple Cow , is about standing out from the herd. It’s a good philosophy, but it only works if you know what to stand out from. You must know their strengths and weaknesses. And this isn’t a one- off exercise. In business, nothing is static. We have to be aware of changes as they occur. So, what do you need to know? A paper published by Leeds Beckett University provides a good summary: the products and services they provide; how they market to customers; the prices they charge; how they distribute and deliver; their market share; their brand and design values; their staff numbers and the calibre of staff; how they use IT; their management style; and their media activities. Competing in customer service A number of the items affect customer service – in other words, the customer’s experience. Outstanding customer service is likely what many of your competitors think they provide. And it’s likely that few actually do. If you’re going to exploit a competitor’s weaknesses, a good place to start is with the low- hanging fruit; customer service is usually low-hanging fruit. If your small business does this better than the competition, it will stand out from the herd. The price of war So what’s the takeaway? Compete hard but ethically and avoid warring with your competitors. In the short- term, there’s no joy in conducting day-to-day warfare – it’s debilitating, distracting and counter-productive. But there’s also an important long-term reason to avoid warring with competitors. When the day comes that you need an exit strategy, you don’t want to find that the obvious candidate to acquire your small business is the competitor with whom you waged bitter war. Intense but peaceful competition is a much better strategy. Characters Who Can Make Or Break Your Small Business is a new book from accountant and print industry veteran Michael Best that identifies the issues faced by small business owners and offers advice backed up by real life examples. It is available from www. smallbusinesscharacters.com and Amazon . 185+ Discover creative and innovative products at the UK’s leading exhibition for signage, print, display, décor and design. o Talk to the experts o Live Demos – practical ideas & applications o Exclusive show offers BE INSPIRED BY THE LATEST INNOVATIONS EXHIBITORS PRACTICAL WORKSHOPS & TRAINING DISCOVER NEW PRODUCTS WITH THE ‘WOW’ FACTOR www.signanddigitaluk.com SIGNAGE | PRINT | DISPLAY | DÉCOR | DESIGN Face-to-face with creativity 2-4 APRIL 2019 • HALLS 3 & 3A • NEC BIRMINGHAM Pre-register for free entry at www.signanddigitaluk.com PRODUCT UPDATES & LAUNCHES MEET THE INDUSTRY MAKE NEW BUSINESS CONTACTS