Why competition in business is healthy?

Discovering that a competitive business is offering the same service as you can be disheartening. What if they take all your customers? What if you’re unable to drive the sales you need?

A lot of people are put off starting a business when they realize that there are competitors offering the same thing. This can often be a huge mistake. On the surface, competition can seem like a negative thing, but actually, it can be a huge positive if taken seriously.

Here are just several reasons why you should be embracing competition.

It shows there’s a market for your business.

If there are already competitors offering what you’re offering, it shows that there’s a need for your business. When an idea becomes popular, lots of people cotton onto it and try to replicate it.

Of course, there can come a point when there’s too much competition leading to saturation – in such cases, you can still offer the same service, but you may also want to offer other services to help you stand out in the similar competition. Till that time enjoy the market of business.

It makes research easier.

When there are already companies doing what you’re doing, it became easier to do research before making big decisions. Without competitors, you may have to do a lot of primary research and possibly rely on trial and error to see what works.

Related: How to create a new product?

You can use financial services research to get an idea of the financial decisions being made by other companies so that you can budget better.

Meanwhile, when it comes to market research, you can get a better idea of your demographic by observing the type of customer that your competitor attracts.

It spurs you to be innovative.

Without competitors, you’re less likely to be innovative. Having competition forces you to think outside of the box in order to stand out. By becoming more unique, you’ll become more memorable. This is how popular and successful brands are born.

It convinces you to offer good customer service.

Customers are much more likely to put up with unsatisfactory customer service if there are no other options. However, if you have competition, they’ll be less likely to stand for it as they’ll simply be able to try another company or maybe yours.

This might sound like a negative – but in fact, it could be positive.

It encourages you and your customers to be enthusiastic, polite and efficient, helping to create a more friendly work environment. Just do the best things which are possible for you.

It stops you from getting complacent.

Having competitors prevents you from getting too comfortable to the point that you may start to cut corners and slack. This makes it very easy for a new competitor to come in and provide the service that you’re failing to provide. By already having competitors, you always have to be giving it your best. This can also keep you and your staff motivated.

That’s why competition in business is healthy. It enables us to think about various viable solutions to issues, no matter how difficult the issue is. Just make sure it doesn’t get dirtier.