I used to be one who views competition as something that drives down prices, profits and takes away business. Although competition runs at various levels, every now and then I would see the occasional company that had a very unique market with no competition. Needless to say, these businesses were very successful. On the surface they seemed to have very clear sailing in a market driven by demand for their products. It really does sound pretty good, doesn’t it? But what happens if a competitor moves in; will they be mentally prepared for it?

Assuming your competitor is ethical, competition can be good for both businesses. Even if the competitor is unethical it can still be good for you, not for them, in the long run. So how can competition be good?

One of the elements of the law of use says that growth comes from use. The opposite side of that is “use it or lose it.” Anyone who works out knows exactly how that works. Anyone who has not been able to walk for an extended period of time knows how hard it is to get the legs going again. The Bible says in Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron.” Can it be that competition toughens you in a way that nothing else can? The University of Tennessee women’s basketball program has been one of the premier programs since the 1970s. Every year the head coach, Pat Summitt, schedules her team to play the best teams in the country early in the season. She says playing that level of competition early in the season makes the team better late in the season. Tennessee is always in the elite eight and usually in the final four.

A Lesson from Nature

Can a struggle help you be stronger? Look at the butterfly who struggles to free itself from its cocoon. If anyone were to see that struggle, they would be tempted to help the butterfly out. Even though it would relieve it from the struggle, it would be very bad for it. In fact, the butterfly’s struggle to push its way through the tiny opening of the cocoon pushes the fluid out of its body and into its wings. Without the struggle, the butterfly would never, ever fly.

A Lesson from Business

Do you ever outgrow the competition and get so big that you don’t have any?  If anyone would ever be in that boat it would be Donald Trump. Say what you will about the man and his personal life, but he does know business. Here is what he has to say about competition: “I like competition. I think it's healthy. More importantly, it has a lot to do with who I am today. My battles have always fired me up; they push me to expand and extend my efforts beyond what I thought was possible. They force me to outdo myself. Ultimately, they have made me bigger.”

A Lesson from Guerrilla Marketing

So, if the struggle will make you stronger and the battles help you grow, do you stand toe-to-toe and duke it out with your competitor? If you are not a Guerrilla and don’t know about Guerrilla Marketing, you may do just that. You win some, lose some, and you get beat up a lot.

So how does Guerrilla Marketing help this situation?  Instead of lining up against the competitor and going head to head, the guerrilla simply takes a step to the side and carves out their own niche. The competition can be good for the guerrilla by forcing them to them to fine tune their Guerrilla Marketing Plan, especially Benefits, Niche and Target Markets. If you find yourself in more and more competition, it may be time to revamp your marketing plan. Look at every area of your plan: have your benefits changed, are there new ones, is there one that really stands out as your Strategic Competitive Advantage? Does your niche needs to be more focused, is it defined accurately? Do you need to expand your target market?  If you have an increase in competition, you can count on the fact the market landscape has changed. It may be the only changes that need to be made are the weapons you are using.

So competition can be good, it can toughen you, your business, and your marketing plan.