If you have competition in your business then join the club.

Financial planners, IT consultants, branding and marketing gurus, providers of promotional products and the list goes on and on. You name it, well in New York anyway, and there’s REAL competition in your space.

So, what’s REAL competition? Real means that your competitors are smart and qualified, credible and visible and are not some bottom feeders just looking to feed on scraps after the rest of the crowd is sated with the best of the best.

So, if you accept the fact that you’re not going to relocate to one of the least populated cities in the United States, in which competition is probably not an issue, then you should be doing / thinking about the following:

• Know what makes you/your business different, and how does this difference equate to an improvement in your client’s situation. (Notice that I said different and not better. There is a quantum difference!).
• Understand that you must be visible in the marketplace or your competitors will simply surge ahead of you and oftentimes will do so regardless of your competencies. (Engage in networking, marketing, PR, advertising, etc.)
• Realize that sales and marketing go hand-in-hand and that you cannot sacrifice one for the other. Social media WILL NOT be the panacea and a great website must go along with strong sales skills and a sales process to match. Pay attention to both.
• Make certain that what you have to offer is truly competitive in the marketplace. We live in a world where everyone is a SHOPPER. The Internet has given all of us the ability to shop, compare, contrast and bargain and you must be able to exist and even thrive in this environment.

Too many folks forget that strong competition should make you stronger, more agile and creative but that’s only if you attend to the key points above. If not, well, that competition just might prove too strong for you to survive or at least be able to do so profitably.