Founder Fundamentals – Competitors

A competitor is anyone who targets the same customer group as you and who your customers could spend their money with other than you for the same product or service. The product or service may not be identical, but if it solves more or less the same pro0blem for the customer, they are a competitor.

To put it simply, to bring a new product or service to market, it needs to meet at least one of the following criteria:

A) Provides something new – that meets a previously unmet need.

B) Provides something better – that improves on existing solutions.

C) Provides something cheaper – that has cost advantages for customers.

When you have a business idea, take a look at the market that product or service would belong in. It may have applications in several sectors, so make sure to research all of them.

Consider the following questions to help you understand the market:

• What currently exists in this market, locally and nationally?
• Is what you’re offering better? If not, how can it be made better?
• What is your identity/ brand personality? What do you want customers to associate your business with, for example, locality, eco-friendly or accessibility.

You can use these findings to help guide your product design, marketing and all other aspects of your business strategy moving forward.