Any military officer will tell you that to win a battle you must know what your enemy is up to - and to a great extent that's exactly what your competitors are. The enemy!

A bit harsh you may think, but if we assume that the main objective of your business is to make money then you must create sales, and to create sales you need to establish (and usually increase) your Market Share, and that means you need to achieve sales that your competitors are also after. Assuming the market is stable, if you increase your Market Share by 5% then your competitors have collectively lost 5%. Every sale you make is one less for your competitor!

However, in some industries there is an almost 'honour amongst thieves' attitude between rival companies who quite happily chat between themselves, meet up at exhibitions, trade fairs and seminars (even have each other round for dinner!) and then toddle off back to their offices to plot each other's downfall. Hardly friendly, is it?

So, whilst still retaining one's integrity, professionalism and sense of fair play - this will help you compete!

Their strengths & weaknesses. What is special or exceptional about their product? Is it better than ours? Where are they better than us? What are their weaknesses? Are they misleading themselves about the quality of their product?

Their Market Position. Where are they in the market? Is their market share increasing or decreasing? Have their regional trends changed?

Their Target Audience. Are they targeting correctly? Has their audience changed at all? Are they instigating any Market research or have they recently?

Their future. Has their product got a future? (both short and long term) Does their product need any re-development or
re-designing? Do they have any interesting (or worrying) new developments or trends on the horizon?

What benefits do they give their customers? What do our customers say about them? What does the industry say about them? Is there a benefit they have that they haven't taken full advantage of?

Their staff and management. Are all their staff as good as can be?
Are they (and their related systems and management) working well?

Their Customer Relations. Are they communicating with the public and/or their clients well? Are we getting regular, positive feedback about them?

Their Market Perception. How is their product perceived by the public or by their customers? Have we adequate and current research feedback about them? Do we need to do anything to match their perception of their product?

Their competitors. Who are they? Have they changed? Is that us? Can they threaten our business in the future? How can their success affect our business?

UNDERSTANDING YOUR COMPETITOR'S BUSINESS IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS UNDERSTANDING YOUR OWN!