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The Motivated Marketing Letter |
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June
16, 2003 Bashing My Competition, "Medal of Honor", and the Worst Parking Lot in Princeton |
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Twice in the past few months I was talking with prospects who couldn't decide whether to work with me or another marketing consulting firm. But here's the thing: my competition's tagline is: "Separate Yourself from the Competition, Then ELIMINATE them." Gulp.
Let's face it, eliminating the competition can be highly profitable. Think Bill Gates, Rockefeller, JP Morgan, and just about every monarchy on earth. When you're the only choice, it's pretty easy to become the obvious choice. And let's pretend for a moment that you could eliminate the competition, or to borrow another phrase from my competitor, "beat your competition into a demoralized, quivering pulp." Would you want that? Would you be better off? Would your customers? Would the world? And what's the alternative? Mediocrity all around? Unambitious sameness? Lousy products and services? In this issue, I'd like to share my thoughts about the pros and cons of competition. If you're uncomfortable about this aspect of business, about having to be better than someone else, about fighting for market share, about having "business enemies," then I guarantee you're not being or doing your best. Yet if all you think about is defeating your competition, you're not being or doing your best either. Having a healthy attitude toward competition is one of the most liberating and powerful business tools you can possess. "Competition" Defined The word "competition" comes from Latin and means "to seek together." That's cool, isn't it? You and your competition are both striving for excellence, using each other as motivation. Yet in ecology, competition refers to two organisms who simultaneously demand the same resources from their environment. It's not about love and achievement, but life and death. So which is it for us? Are we trying to better ourselves, or fight to the death? Competition Sharpens Us Here's the obvious good news about competition: it makes us better. The Whole Earth Center in Princeton used to have a monopoly as the only health food market within 30 miles. Then a few years ago, Wild Oats opened half a mile away. The improvements in the Whole Earth Center were rapid and staggering: store expansion, took credit cards, extended hours, Sunday hours, lower prices, more staff, and they finally paved the parking lot so it no longer resembled the set of Dune. Customers had been suggesting and complaining about all these things for years. But it took a competitor to bring them about. A study reported in the May 28, 2003 issue of Nature reports that playing an action video game like "Medal of Honor" for just 10 hours can significantly improve your visual skills. Your brain can process more of the world and do it faster. You can pick out new and relevant items in an ever-changing environment. Does that sound like a useful business skill? If so, maybe you should go home early today and waste a few hundred Nazis at the Arnheim Bridge with your Enfield Mark 1 rifle. Because it seems that video games in general don't have this effect. Only games in which you trick your brain into thinking that you're about to be wasted yourself lead to such rapid learning. At some level, you have to believe that competition is about survival in order to take the steps necessary to grow. Management consultants refer to this as the "burning platform" motivation. The Whole Earth Center changed not because they saw the light, but because they felt the heat. Competition is a Distraction Let's not take this competition thing too far. In tennis, it's good to know what the folks on the other side of the net are doing. It helps you know where to hit the ball. But at the moment of truth, when you're swinging your racket, you'd better be focused totally on the ball. If you're paying attention to the competition at that point, you miss your shot. The best athletes know that the real competition is not external. It's ourselves. Our own doubts, panics, chokes, distractions, false motivations, and overcompensations. Why do I handle all the really fast "fault" serves with ease, but return so many slow "in" serves into the net? It's because of the internal game I'm playing, reducing my effectiveness when the perceived stakes are higher. The true game of anything is the inner game. The outer game is just a distraction. So be aware of your competitors, but don't play the game against them. Play the game to be your best. Observe the competition, develop strategies in relation to them, but when it's your shot, keep your eye on the ball. On how and how well you serve your customers. Think Rival, not Enemy Here's where I part company with my own competition, the marketing firm that wants to "eliminate the competition" and "beat them into a demoralized, quivering pulp." I find that language offensive and counterproductive. I suppose it appeals to some testosterone-driven, club-wielding part of myself, but equating business with war is just bad for business. I prefer metaphors from the worlds of sports and nature. In sports, the best games and the best seasons are driven by rivalries. Think Yankees and Red Sox. Magic and Larry. Martina and Chris. Tiger and, uh, never mind. The thing about rivals is that, most of the time, they really respect each other. Sometimes even love each other. Because if it weren't for Magic Johnson, Larry Bird could never have attained the heights he achieved. Chris Evert made Martina a much better tennis player than she would have been otherwise. Think of the boxers hugging each other after a tough match, one where they've been pounding the stuffing out of each other for 9 rounds. They need each other to achieve greatness. You need your competition too. If you eliminate them, you'll become Microsoft: putting out crappy products that malfunction all the time and satisfy no one. You may even start treating your own customers like idiots and criminals (think "activation codes"). While the wealth of Bill Gates may be an aspiration of yours, I would hope for all our sakes that your commitment to quality and service takes precedence. Think Niche In nature, there are extinctions (where competitors are "eliminated"). But much more common is the driving force of evolution: differentiating into non-competing niches. If you can develop your business to do things that no one else can, you can own a niche that only you can service. For example, an acquaintance of mine is a financial planner. When she goes to Chamber of Commerce breakfasts, she is one of about thirty financial planners in attendance. She has differentiated herself by claiming a niche: she works with families of children with Downs Syndrome, helping them save for the child's care and for their own long-term security. Here's the thing: financial planning is financial planning. Money doesn't behave any differently if it's going to pay for long-term care for a dependent child or it's going to pay for a condo on the "The World" floating apartment cruise ship. But because my acquaintance targets this niche, she owns it. She's the "go to" financial planner for families with children with Downs Syndrome. They refer and recommend her, and invite her to present at their meetings and write for their publications. When this community thinks "financial planner," they think exclusively of her. Very smart. And here's the good news: you are unique. There's nobody in the world with your experiences, outlook, style, and abilities. Once you realize that your success lies in becoming yourself to the fullest extent possible, it's easy to find and own a niche. Competition is Fun If you accept that competition sharpens you, helps you focus inwardly, pushes you to greater achievement, and encourages you to define yourself more clearly, then you can go out and compete in a spirit of play, rather than grasping survival. People don't generally enjoy feeling like they're under threat. But if we can get out of "survival" mode and play like our lives don't depend on it, we and our customers and our competitors will all benefit. After all, if I can stake out a different niche than my competition, they start to look more like potential business partners than enemies. I can feed them referrals, either for cash or consideration. And they can do the same for me. In conclusion, I'd like to thank my competitor for sparking this issue's topic, and wish them the best of luck. If they don't succeed in eliminating me in the next couple of weeks, I'll be back with another issue of the Motivated Marketing Letter. In the meantime, I'm going to look for a video game in which I drive around a health food store parking lot avoiding the Volvos and potholes.
I love the winning, I can take the losing, but
most of all I love to play.
Focus on competition has always
been a formula for mediocrity. You have no
control over what the other guy does. You only have control over what you
do.
Every man in the world is better
than someone else and not as good someone else.
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1. How do you think of the term "competition?" Does it excite you, scare you, or make your blood boil? How does that affect the way you do business?
2. Who are your main competitors? Actual competing businesses? Inertia? Your clients' internal resources?
3. What's one advantage your competition has over you? How can you sharpen your business to address their advantage? Before settling on an answer, take 10 minutes and brainstorm without judgment. Be wild and crazy.
4. Is there a competitor you can work with to increase both your businesses? What would the arrangement look like? Are there any unintended consequences you need to be careful about? 1. Dan Kennedy's Back-End Marketing and Joint Venture System
Click on the link above and read the long report and sales letter for the
system. Even if you don't buy, you'll be smarter about Joint Venture
marketing. The real problem with having lots of competitors usually isn't how good they are, but how bad they are. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Floors" - how would you choose a wood floor installer/refinisher based on the ads? I have a client who cleans the air ducts in your home or office - he's competing against sleazeballs with bait and switch Val-Pak coupons. Their lack of integrity and quality are his biggest problem. Leads into Gold helps you stand out from the crowd of mediocrity by helping you articulate your message in such a compelling way that prospects chase you to find out more. It's a complete marketing system that uses education and service to help you sell. If you really are different from your competition, it's selfish to deprive your prospects of that information. I'll show you how to do it respectfully and effectively, without being obnoxious or cutthroat. Click here to download 2 Free Chapters of Leads into Gold. The Motivated Marketing Letter Details The Motivated Marketing Letter is published whenever I feel like it (these days it seems to be coming out twice a month), and is a copyrighted feature of howieconnect. For down-to-earth, ethical, and easy-to-follow marketing guidance, visit www.howieconnect.com. I work with businesses and solo practitioners who are great at what they do, and not so great at telling the world about it. What would you like to read about in future issues of the Motivated Marketing Letter? Email me topics and questions, and save me the trouble of guessing. To unsubscribe with no hard feelings, click on the link at the bottom of this email. If you would like to subscribe to the Motivated Marketing Letter, fill out the form on my home page, www.howieconnect.com. You'll get my seven-part lead generation course, and then about two letters a month. I build my business through referral - I'd be grateful if you would forward this email to any associates who would be glad to receive it. Thanks.
If you make every game a life and death
proposition, you're going to have problems. For one thing, you'll be dead a
lot.
What's the use of happiness? It can't buy you
money.
A computer once
beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing. Remember, it
doesn't matter whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or
lose. I failed to make the chess team because of my
height.
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Until next time, all the best, |
The Leads into Gold™ System. A marketing course, toolkit, swipe file and audio crash course & "personal trainer" to help you attract more business than you can handle with no cold calling. Learn how to generate qualified leads who want what you sell. Get them to call you. Click here to download 2 Free Chapters! I'll "bribe" you to tell a friend about howieconnect
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