By Jason S. Thompson, CPA/ABV, ASA, CFE, CFF
Partner, Director of Valuation and Litigation Services
I have often heard that it’s difficult to see your own weaknesses – especially in an organization of like-minded people. When everyone is committed to a common set of goals, there’s a tendency to overestimate strengths and downplay – or even ignore – weaknesses.
If you want your company to improve in what it’s doing, take a look at the blind spots. One mechanism to do this is to ask yourself what makes your organization different from your closest competitor.
As a business owner, you may constantly compare your business to other organizations in the marketplace, though usually from the perspective of: who’s landing the top clients, who attracts the top talent or who’s got the most revenue, etc.
Drilling down on this comparison a little deeper may shed some light on what makes your company different. As a business owner, it shouldn’t be difficult to identify your biggest rival (closest competitor). Next, make a list of the differences between your company and theirs. Ask questions like:
- What do they do better than us?
- What do we do better than them?
- Why/how are they adding customers?
- Why/how do their costs compare to ours?
- Do they have a market niche we don’t?
This exercise can be humbling if your competitor is a larger entity with access to a broader range of resources. If this is the case, you are the small fish and they are the big fish, asking these sorts of comparative questions can help you identify opportunities you might not have previously explored. Keep in mind, a smaller enterprise is often more nimble, entrepreneurial and closer to customer relationships than large companies.
As you identify your differences, don’t be afraid to emulate the things your competitor does well. In areas they are weak, consider ways to develop your team’s expertise and offerings and fill that gap or be the “better” option!
Ego can sometimes get in the way of an exercise like this. It’s healthy to take pride in your business’s capabilities and accomplishments. Just don’t let ego get in the way of improvement.
Challenge everyone in your office, especially younger team members. Make sure their 30 -second elevator speech emphasizes how your company stands out in the crowd. Simple things like a consistent message go a long way toward building perception.
Weaknesses within your business may be difficult to see, but if you ask the right kinds of questions and make the difficult comparisons, you’ll soon recognize weaknesses as opportunities to improve. Then maybe one day in the future, your company is the standard others compare themselves to.
It is OK to be a “secret admirer” of your competition. Use that admiration to make your company BETTER!!!
If you have questions or comments, contact Jason Thompson at (317) 608-6694 or [email protected].