Spying on competitors: yes or no?

Competition is one of the key sources of stress for any entrepreneur. The case can reach paranoia and total surveillance of each step of the "enemies": new functionality, another partnership or a published article. There is a surreal feeling that you are in a besieged castle, which is about to be burned and leveled. Common situation? How do you act in this case? And is it worth doing anything?

Changing attitudes towards competition

The story of Josh Pigford, the founder of the Baremetrics analytics service, is interesting. In 2008, he developed an advertising platform. Users ran and ran advertising campaigns, and Josh received commissions. However, a week later, Google launched Ad Manager, which solved the same problems as Josh’s service. What did the entrepreneur do? He sold the startup and began to move on. The very thought of competing with Google had a depressing effect on him.
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In 2011, Josh developed a survey service. If competition in the niche of advertising platforms was initially zero, thousands of rivals literally crowded here. However, this time he was not afraid.

What has changed in three years? There was an understanding that competition does not mean anything . The entrepreneur went even further - offered to completely ignore competitors. Too categorical? Yes, but the opposite situation is more dangerous.

What happens when you watch the competition?

Getting in the habit of tracking competitors is extremely easy. You read other people's blogs to find out about new offers, add site names to Google Alerts, follow them in social networks - do not miss a single detail.

One trouble: this behavior constantly leaves you a step behind . From now on you are not a locomotive, but the last car.

You created the product because you knew a simple and elegant solution to the problem. Customers also believed it and came to you. When you try to copy the functionality of a competitor service, you stop solving the tasks of your users. Instead, fight over the problems of your competitor's customers. And hardly do it at the proper level.

Do not work for other customers . Of course, you will have common features with competitors, but the time and method of innovation should be determined solely on the basis of the needs of your customers.

When to pay attention to competitors?

The meaning of studying competitors appears only in one case: solvent customers go to them, and this process becomes regular.

It is important to interview the “refusers” in order to understand the reason for leaving and get to the advantage of competitors. However, approach this issue with caution. Do not introduce new functionality to save a couple of customers. Such a solution will give short-term benefits, but in the long run you will get a negative result - a “bloated” and poorly managed product.

The key to success: find common reasons that encourage users to leave, and understand how to improve the service you offer.

Maximum focus

Believing in your own product and its benefits helps to focus on the essentials. Customers only benefit from this.

Service for 5+ does not immediately do - the process lasts for years. And decisions made at the beginning will certainly differ from those on which you will stop in two or three years.

Competitors come and go. The longer you are in business, the more your chosen paths differ. If your goal is a long-term perspective, focus on solving customer problems and forget about the rest.