Managing Business Through Human Psychology - “A Handbook for Entrepreneur” by Ashish Bhagoria - HTML preview

PLEASE NOTE: This is an HTML preview only and some elements such as links or page numbers may be incorrect.
Download the book in PDF, ePub, Kindle for a complete version.

Getting Ready for Competition

There are two types of competitions that we face in business, inter-industry and intra-industry. Competition is born when two or more people are vying for the same thing. Either we get into a competitive market which already exists or if we have a unique concept then others create competition for us. In both the situations competition is to win over the customers and become number one in the market. Many companies lose to their competition when their objectives, goals and targets are not clear to them. Also companies believe all these three to be same. Let’s understand what are Objectives, Goals and Targets. Objective is defined as what we want to do, let’s says our objective is to win the world cup. Now, goal is more specific, like winning individual matches during the world cup. Whereas, target is precise and assessable in terms of time and volume, like in every match there is a target for the team to score specific runs in specific number of over. By achieving targets we reach our goals which in turn fulfill our objectives.

Let’s says a company has an objective to acquire maximum land. Now the company will have to set their goal that where they want to acquire the land. Then the company will set its targets to acquire a fixed area of land in certain period of time.

Understanding Choice and Selection

An important thing is the difference between Choices and Selections. When we have logical reason then we make selection and when we like to do something then it is considered as a choice. Selections have parameters whereas choices don’t. For example, we choose our partner but select our staff. Remember, there are staff selection boards not staff choice boards? Love marriage is by choice and arranged marriage is by selection. We choose to be businessmen but we select our industry. However, if we choose our industry we would excel in it and will be able to beat our competition.

Understanding Trust and Belief

In the competitive market we have to understand the difference between trust and belief. To explain it simply, we can say that belief is personal and is developed based on our understanding and facts however trust is based on assumptions. There are many times when we believe in a certain business idea but do not trust that the idea would work in the market. We can believe a person in our first meeting but trust builds over a period of time. While in other cases we have to trust the other person even if we do not believe in their views. In business we can believe in our competitor’s ethics but we cannot trust them.

Being Smart, Careful and Alert

One thing to be remembered always is never to underestimate the competition. All of us are aware of our business and know things inside out, but many do not know what is happening with the competitors. We often ignore the important question, why the customer is going to the competitor. To find the answer we must understand what is it that the competitor is doing to attract the customers, and also what is their business model and policies. Conversely, we must make sure that our information is not reaching the competitor. We can also give out misleading and contradictory information to the market so that the competition is confused. Even if our staff and competition know what, when and where of our idea, no one should know how we do it. The reason for not sharing key information with the staff is that sometimes even our staff can start their own business and become our competition. While at other times staff could unknowingly share the information with the competition.

Another important aspect is to project ourselves as a big and strong organization. To show this we use money, fame and power as tools. Flash money but in a subtle way so that competitors believe that we have more money than them. Become famous in the market by taking club memberships and being in the circle of the elite people. Make sure that everyone is talking about us and our brand. Show power through social circle and move around with powerful people. At times, bad company is also good. The competitors should believe that we are a powerful person with big links. Make competitors feel and believe that we are better and above competition is always them because between equals.

This will intimidate the competition and they will consider us beyond their level of competition.

In today’s market it is survival of the fittest and the fastest. We should not worry about the companies which come and vanish like bubbles. Constant innovation and quick implementation on our part will ensure that we are always ahead of our competition. Make sure that we do not give time to competitors to catch up with us and our activities. The strategy for handling competitor is attack and defense. While going out aggressive in the market we must also make sure that we are not vulnerable.

Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors will help us in formulating our strategies. While knowing their strength will encourage us to make ourselves better, knowledge of their weakness could help us in making it our strength. This will be helpful especially in situations where our competitors are companies bigger than us.

Usually competition is perceived in a negative way. But it is an important factor in our growth and growth of the market. We should take competitors as a challenge and not as rivals. Competition pushes us to do better in our business otherwise we would become stale and stagnant. It is the fear of competition that motivates us to think out of the box and come up with innovative ideas.

A very common mistake made by many entrepreneurs is that they break contact with their competitors. We should work together for the market rather than working against each other. In case there is threat to the industry or market, all the companies can come together to save it. If handled carefully we can share resources.

Hence, competition is necessary for us and for the market because it pushes us to do better which helps in the growth of our organization, market and the industry.