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Competition, What Competition?

July 26, 2010 by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

Fantasy?

Or reality?

I had the opportunity to discuss pricing with a classroom full of entrepreneurs at Washington University in St. Louis. Two of the students said that they were struggling with pricing because they didn’t have any competition.  Are they delusional?  Is it possible that they don’t have any competitors?

They were not delusional.  Both had created offerings that were significantly different than what the market was offering so they, indeed, did not have any competitors. Unfortunately, that means that the remainder of the class had not developed an effective strategy - at least according to my definition.

It’s been my experience that companies excel only when they provide something the market wants or needs that it isn’t getting.  If your strategy doesn’t do that, what reason do buyers have to buy from you?

It’s counter-intuitive, but if you feel that you have competitors, you don’t have an effective strategy.  Discover what the market wants or needs that it isn’t getting, then provide it.  You, too, will be saying “Competition, what competition?”

For more pricing tips visit http://www.pricingforprofitbook.com.  

About Dale Furtwengler

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