Recently some local colleagues and I came together to create a one-day training session for local small businesses (www.BrandCamp.ca). Although we are all technically competitors, we have all been talking and sharing ideas for years. Since we enjoy each other’s company and respect the work the others do, it seemed natural for us to look for ways to work together. Brand Camp is one result.
Now many people might think it crazy for me to devote so much time working with other marketing professionals. After all, when it comes to marketing and networking, many small business owners shy away from their competitors. You’re both competing for a slice of the pie, why would you want to connect with someone who wants the bigger slice?
However, particularly if you’re a solopreneur or micobusiness, I’d like to suggest that you can’t afford not to connect, network and work with your competitors – even direct competitors and even if you both market locally.
First of all, if you have a well-defined niche, it’s not likely that you both serve exactly the same customers or provide exactly the same products or services. Therefore, by getting to know each other, you can fill in the gaps. If a customer comes to you wanting something you don’t offer you can refer them to the other business ensuring the customer goes away happy.
If your two businesses have a good working relationship, they’ll return the favor. And don’t forget, if the customer was looking for something you don’t sell, you’re not losing out on a sale anyway.
Even so, some small business owners worry about sending “their” customers to a competitor. But this shouldn’t really be an issue. Bryan Miller, President, Syrinx Technologies said:
“I get really turned off when I hear business owners and account managers talk about “my client”, “my employee”. You don’t “own” anybody. It’s a privilege to work with clients and to employ good employees. Like any relationship, the minute you start to think you own somebody or stop appreciating them you will certainly lose them to somebody who does.”
Good advice.
And this partnering can work in your favor too. Ben Wallace produces custom t-shirts. While at a business meeting he mentioned to a local shop owner that producing large orders was difficult because he’s set up for small runs of shirts. The owner mentioned he also does custom shirts but has a minimum order and won’t do small runs of one or two t-shirts. The result: Ben’s now getting orders the other business doesn’t want. Everybody wins.
But what if you both sell essentially the same things? In that case, you can partner together to promote your businesses, you can make the entire pie bigger so you both increase the size of your slices.
How does this work? I live in Owen Sound, a city of about 23,000 people. Downtown, there are five independent bookstores, quite a lot for a town this size. Their biggest competitor is the chain store in the mall. The downtown bookstores partner together every year to promote a downtown book walk.
They highlight the fact that downtown has an amazing selection of books all within easy walking distance. They are working together to draw customers away from the mall and into downtown. By working together, they are increasing the number of total customers buying books downtown.
But that’s not the only reason for partnering with competitors. Jeri Vespoli, Owner at Collaborative Marketing Services said, “Given the current economy, it is natural and very smart to look to collaboration for shared costs, office space, sales opportunities, human resources, buying power and more. I’ve talked with several potential partners in the last month, all who compete with my business on some level, but all who are excited to work together.”
This makes excellent sense. Sharing costs and ordering in bulk can save money and helps keep you lean and mean. It can also help small companies and solopreneurs compete with larger organizations.
My brother-in-law supplies equipment to film productions. One piece of equipment he owns is worth tens of thousands of dollars. As a solopreneur he normally wouldn’t be able to afford to own this item. However, he’s partnered with a competitor on the other side of the country. They share the item and ship it back and forth as needed, allowing them both to compete with larger companies in a way neither of them could alone.
Clearly there a lots of reasons to partner with others in your industry. Whether it’s a formal strategic alliance, a referral network or just sharing your problems over coffee, getting to know your competitors can be a winning solution for all.
Andrea J. Stenberg
Do you have a story of how you have successfully worked with competitors? Please leave a comment and share your experiences.
