Competition = Interest = Profit!

There are a couple of very distinct stretches on two particular roads in the United Kingdom which are most famous these days for one thing… curry!

One is on Brick lane in London, the other Wilmslow Road in Manchester (in fact the stretch on Wilmslow Road is known as The Curry Mile and Brick Lane has been dubbed London’s Curry Mile)!

Both these vibrant, bustling sections are lined, pretty much along their entire length with a colourful array of Indian restaurants and Asian cuisine outlets, all competing with each other…

… which means anyone who fancies a decent curry always know they can find a good place to eat if they go there!

Brick Lane and Wilmslow Road – London’s Curry Mile and The Curry Mile

Of course knowing there’s plenty of choice means people come from all over the world and the busier these roads get, the more their reputations attract even more customers!

Now while some curry houses might appear to be busier than others, especially if they’re well established, because there are always so many people around who are specifically looking for a curry, in general even the smaller restaurants get their fair share of business.

In other words, although they’re in direct competition with the more established outlets, they’re still very much in demand.

Do you reckon they’d get the same number of customers if they were the only curry house in town?

There might no competition, but unless people KNOW about them already, they may struggle to get new customers because there just isn’t the volume of people actively looking for their ‘product’!

This is a classic example of where competition is a good thing because the more of it there is, the more potential consumers there are for everybody.

But what’s it got to do with a handmade suit?

Well, it’s the same with Savile Row, in London, a street famous for bespoke tailors.

Most of the businesses here are dedicated to making fine suits for gentlemen and because of all the choice available, if you’re in the market for a handmade suit, you know that Savile Row is the ‘go to’ place and you WILL find what you’re looking for.

Savile Row – The ‘go to’ place to get a handmade suit where bespoke tailors are in competition with each other!

If there was no competition, a lone business would have to work much harder to drum up business because they’d have to rely on finding specific ways to attract customers directly to them, which is much more difficult than taking advantage of crowds of customers actively looking in their direction!

So what about online?

If you ask most successful entrepreneurs they’ll almost certainly tell you competition is good.

So why do so many people fear it, especially if they’re starting out online?

It seems that because everything appears to have been done already, most internet newbies are so worried about never making in-roads into their chosen niche, they very often change direction and do something completely different…

… or worse still, give up without even trying!

Of course when you’re up against highly established businesses with a large number of customers, followers, readers, whatever, it’s only natural to wonder whether it’s possible to compete… but the good news is, play your cards right and there’s no reason why you can’t!

Competition generally means striving to sell or supply the same (or similar) type of products or services in the same field as others and trying to do it better!

If consumers receive high quality goods, services and/or information, especially at affordable prices then they’re going to want more of whatever it is, which leads to an abundance of customers or a greater audience.

And just as in the Brick Lane, Wilmslow Road and Savile Row examples, if you put yourself infront of a large audience and you provide value, you will get your share!

Let’s break it down further…

Competition = Interest = Profit!

I’m sure you’ll agree that if there are plenty of sites in a particular niche we can safely assume there’s a lot of interest in the subject.

We can probably also deduce that somewhere along the line profit is being made…

Often a lot of it!

Otherwise why would so many people take the time and effort producing the relevant content for the niche?

The thing is, you can use information from competitive sites in a profitable niche for your own benefit.

For example, you don’t have to look too far over their pages to find adverts, affiliate links, email capture forms, all of which are generally put there to create revenue.

By seeing how the competition is making money, it shouldn’t put you off, but instead encourage you to emulate what they do!

Of course once again it may be tempting to think they’re just so far ahead that it’s not worthwhile even starting but don’t forget, everyone has to begin somewhere and at one time they were probably in the same position as you!

Perseverence is the key and as long as you offer genuine value, there are plenty of ways you can get your share of the large audience that a profitable niche WILL generate.

Have a nose around their business model!

Another fantastic reason why competition is a good thing is because you can analyse your competitors’ business models, especially if they’re well established, and use the bits that make the most sense in your own efforts.

By doing this you’ll be surprised how often you can leapfrog some of the hurdles that may have held you back because you’re not sure how to address something or other.

Maybe you love their presentation or the way they’re doing something particularly well (or they’re doing it badly and you know for sure you can do better)!

• Do they sell products or services?
• Do they major on email capture pages or are their adverts the main source of revenue?
• Do they sell online courses?
• Is their site navigation easy to follow and are the webpages easy to access?

By understanding how and why your competitors’ businesses work so well (or don’t), can only be a good thing for your own success.

Having a good nose around their websites to get a glimpse into their strategy is nothing to be ashamed and is something you should definitely do (in fact once you start gaining momentum yourself, you can be assured they, and others will be doing it to yours)!

Bottom line, if you want to be one the best in your niche, you have to understand what makes the best the best!

Leaders in the field aren’t at the top for no reason.

Something makes them what they are which is why you can always learn from them and strive to be better.

And if you can find opportunities in a niche that other site owners aren’t doing, that’s even better still!

Copy them!

Ok, not literally.

Not for a second am I suggesting plagerism or duplication which is the quickest way to get blacklisted in the search engines.

But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using competitors’ content as a structure for your own subjects.

Bearing in mind it’s very rare nowadays to find anything online which hasn’t been done before, which means the chances are, your competitors may well have done the same with their competitors’ content!

Join their mailing lists!

So many people hate junk mail… but I love it!

Others hate marketing emails…

But again, I love them as well!

Why?

Because it’s the quickest way to evaluate what’s working (or what’s not)!

By joining your competitors’ mailing lists you can see how the competition is getting things right or wrong.

If something appeals to you, the chances are it’ll appeal to others, so why not try and develop your own version of it?

If you’re put off by something, again it’s very likely others will be too so you know not to include whatever it is in your efforts!

Digging deep into your competitors’ businesses like this can really help on so many levels, even if it does sometimes appear to be a little ‘below the belt’ (but again, even the best of the best do it as well)!

Competition is good for consumers

In general, competition pushes people to do their best.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be the absolute best there is in any given market (although you should strive to be) but whatever it is you’re offering – goods, services, information – it has to be at least good enough to make it worthy of your target audience’s attention!

In other words it’s good for quality… and quality is good for the consumer.

It’s also good for the economy!

In the same way competition incentivises companies to provide better products and services, it also encourages them to innovate in order to stay competitive.

This in turn gives a great opportunity for growth.

And what comes with growth?

Well if enough businesses continue to grow, then over time the economy benefits as well, which is good for everybody!

Conclusion

Competition is a good thing, and definitely not something to be scared of.

If you’re in the thick of it, generally it means there’s a lot of interest in your field.

In turn, this means there are many more customers searching for something you can offer and as long as what you give is worthy of their time, effort, inclination or budget, there’s no reason why you won’t end up with your share!

It really does come down to a few basic principles.

Being competitive drives businesses forward, it can be used as a metric for success and helps quality and growth.

In other words embrace it.

Use it and thrive… after all, as you can see from this post, what’s not to like about competition?!