How many businesses would you say are your competition? Depending on the industry you’re in and services/products you offer, there may be a ton of competition that you think about or face on a daily basis. Is it nice to be one of only a very small handful that people may consider? Yes, but only to an extent because if you’re the only or one of only a very few options out there, you’ve got a lot more pressure from people to offer different things or meet all their needs, which gets overwhelming and impossible after a while. So for that reason alone it’s good to have at least a few other businesses that people can choose from so it’s not all on you to be everything for everyone.
I also think it’s good to have some competition so that you’re encouraged to keep growing and learning and don’t get lazy or complacent in your business but instead are offering contemporary and up-to-date services and products as is appropriate for your business. And even if you don’t need to upgrade your offerings, the business side of things like technology, decorations, music and marketing are all changing on a regular basis and keeping up with what your competition use or do can really matter to your customers.
But I also know that comparison and focus on the competition can distract you from being the best you can for your customers and employees. If you’re so focused on trying to top the competition or do something first or best or beat them to the bottom dollar you can get away from doing what’s most important: offering the best products and services to your customers and supporting your employees to the best of your ability. It’s also not healthy to spend time on comparing your customers and complaining about those you still choose to serve even if they’re “annoying” or “challenging” because you do have the final say and in many situations there are polite ways of getting out of having someone as a customer (and I can also guarantee you that there are other customers out there).
So the next time you find yourself comparing your business to another, or a customer to another, or an employee to another, consider if it’s really a good thing to do. Will that comparison help you build a better business, one that better serves customers and provides a great place to work, or will that comparison take you down a rabbit hole that’s better off left alone? I think we do a lot more comparison than we should and it’s about time that we start focusing on being the best we can be and caring for our customers and employees as individuals. What’s one thing you’re proud of about your business, not because it’s better than another, but because it’s what you’re good at and something your customers are happy you bring to the table?