There are several sites out there that help the homeowner find qualified tradesmen. We have a guest post today from LocalTraders and although their focus is on the local trades, some of their ideas are not bad ones for manufacturers to consider as well. Enjoy.
Having an insight into how your competitors work is the key to gaining an advantage in the trade industry, after all with the economy struggling, every advantage counts. Using your competitor may seem like a devious way to boost business but trust me you have to beat your competition in order to reap the rewards. Beating your competition however doesn’t necessarily mean being ruthless, instead making friends and gaining common ground could be your key to success…
Embrace the Competition
Firstly identify your competitors and get to know more about them. Focus on understanding your competitor’s strategy and their target customer; during the analysis, look for similarities and differences between your strategy and theirs. Not only will understanding, embracing and almost making friends (or at least becoming acquainted) with your main competitors mean you can take advantage of parts of their strategy that you may have overlooked but it will also give you an insight and a base to build upwards, developing their principles to take the lead.
The Joint Venture
For many it takes a strong stomach to team up with competitors and purposely share your customer base but partnering up with competitors can mean a mutually beneficial end. A joint venture may mean worrying less about sales but it will serve your customer base with ultimate value and give them the firm impression that they are getting the best possible service meaning a higher chance of future business as well as a very happy customer. An example of a joint venture that is particularly prevalent in the trade industry is the sharing of related services. Your competitor may just offer a slightly different service or the missing link for finishing a job for a client so use each other to profit in the long run and gain customer support.
Learn from Their Mistakes
This is another way to make the right decisions for your company based on your competitor’s experiences so follow them closely and learn from them. One of the main ways you can learn from your competitor is by watching out for price changes and looking out for your ‘window of opportunity’. Many customers will want a more cost-effective deal, especially in these difficult economic times, so be on hand to profit from competitor price increases with the right communication and marketing materials, you may just gain a few more customers!
This article was written by LocalTraders, the market leaders in home improvement solutions. Their easy-to-use enquiry system connects customers looking for high quality services with the local trade professionals who can provide them.