It happened twice this week. I was meeting with my new client on Zoom and I asked, “Have you researched your competition?”, there was silence – twice.
So, it got me thinking… have you researched (or stalked) your competition’s digital platforms? You’d be amazed at what you can learn.
Now while I believe strongly that we shouldn’t worry about our competition taking business away from us, I do believe that we can benefit from researching our market.
Here are the 3 top reasons to research your competition:
1. Learn what they are doing well (heck, I mean, what are they doing really, really well) and ask how could you emulate their success?
2. Learn what they are doing poorly and ask how you can do it better?
I’m going to cover #1 and #2 together:
- Is their website awesome?
- Why?
- What works?
- What doesn’t work?
- Is it easy to understand what they do & who they help?
- What SEO or keywords have they used successfully?
- Is their messaging on the money? Or not?
- Is their social media active, informative and relevant? Could it be better?
Sometimes comparison is a good thing – if it inspires you to see the bigger opportunities.
3. Ask yourself, could your competition be the inspiration you are looking for? Here’s what I mean. It’s often difficult to see big possibilities for our own businesses unless we see that someone else has achieved them. When I started my coaching business, I had no idea that someone could build a multimillion-dollar coaching business until I met a woman who had done it. Was her model right for me? No, but it showed me the possibility!
This week both of my clients researched their competition and saw BIGGER possibilities for themselves. They saw businesses and business models that they had never considered before. They saw websites that rocked and others that, well frankly, stank.
Just by researching their competition!
Here’s a 5-minute exercise for you.
- Go to Google.
- Start typing into the search bar keywords that you used on your website.
- For instance:
- I might search – business growth coach and find a franchise.
- My client typed – ghostwriting – and found a slew of independent services and one that truly inspired her.
- For instance:
- Another client typed – podcast management services and was inspired as to how he could narrow his niche.
- Spend 5 minutes searching and see what you learn!
It happens frequently that I help my clients see bigger possibilities for themselves than they ever thought possible! One way I do that is by showing them other success stories!
YOU CAN TOO!
Diana
P.S. The month of February is LOVE month and my content theme will be loving your leads! Be sure to enroll for my client appreciation event, where M. Shannon Hernandez will share her unique perspective on loving your leads!
https://dianalidstone.com/client-appreciation-workshop/
