In the immortal words of General George Washington (as quoted in the musical Hamilton): “there’s only one way for us to win this…outrun, outlast… stay alive ‘til this horror show is past.”
He’s referring to winning the 18th-century American War of Independence, but the same advice applies to all you 21st-century business-owners. Once you start a company, you’re competing with hundreds if not thousands of others—all offering similar goods and services to yours. Your only hope is to stay alive longer than them.
So how do you do that? Here are four methods.
-
Give Jeff Bezos a run for his money
In an age where people can instantly pull up thousands of blockbusters available for streaming, or order groceries in a few taps and get them delivered straight to their front door in a matter of hours, you’ve got to do more than just roll out a great product. You’ve got to make that product readily accessible and so convenient customers can’t stop themselves from ordering it.
Having a lightning-fast, ridiculously easy online payment system will go a long way. Ideally, you want customers to be able to purchase your product or services in seconds after viewing it for the very first time. If you’re selling a product that needs to be shipped, partner with a logistics provider who can deliver speedily so your customers aren’t kept waiting.
-
Brush up on your fortune telling skills
How will the demand for your product or services change in 10 years? If you want to remain competitive in a business landscape that seems to be shifting like the San Andreas Fault every few hours, you’ve got to stay ahead of the curve.
No, you can’t predict exactly what will happen in 10 years, but if you stay on top of current trends and research, you can get a pretty good idea of which direction your industry will be heading in in the near future.
-
Beg your customers for feedback
One of the best ways to determine whether or not you’re succeeding is to read reviews. Your customers don’t lie, and if there’s a problem with your product or service, they’ll be quick to point it out. So send out customer surveys, offer rewards for honest feedback, and do whatever else you can think of to find out just what people really think of your brand.
Acting on that feedback will help you improve faster than just about anything else. Addressing customer concerns and honing your business model until it’s smooth as glass is the best way to outpace all your competitors.
-
Take a page from Kinky Boots
To borrow from another musical, Kinky Boots, the main character finds himself in a slump when his multi-generational family-owned shoe factory fails—that is, until someone saves the day with a wild yet brilliant suggestion: shoes for drag queens. It turns out there’s a huge demand and no supply. The new business model takes off, and everything ends in a big feel-good number featuring the whole cast parading around in shiny knee-high boots.
Let this be a lesson to you: don’t stay stubbornly married to your original product if it’s clear the times are changing. If customers just don’t seem interested in your traditional line of products or services, try finding a niche or supplementing them with something else—but do your research first so you can be sure to offer something customers want.
Don’t throw away your shot
Your best bet isn’t to rely on a single one of these methods, but to use all four as tools in your arsenal to wage war against your competitors. Then, in the immortal words of Alexander Hamilton, you won’t throw away your shot.