The marketplace is a battlefield, and you have two choices: to either compete with the enemy, or make allies!
I always talk about marketing strategies and how to choose the right one in order to beat the competition. At the end of the day, the main purpose of any strategy is to win, and your competitors will, inevitably, stand in your way. What if you could avoid competition, period?
Meet Wealthiest Man in California
In January 1848, the gold rush began in California, causing everyone to dream to dig for gold and become a rich man. By the time it all ended, the wealthiest man in California was Samuel Brannan—who had never dug for gold. Samuel owned a few mining supply shops in California.
Samuel wasn’t lucky; he was smart. When he saw everyone rushing to search for gold, he bought all the mining supplies he could get his hands on, and sold them at a huge profit. At the time, people didn’t mind paying extra for the supplies, because they believed those supplies would make them rich. Samuel didn’t stop there, though; he also opened new supply stores near the gold fields.
Not Another Social Media
When Facebook and Twitter made it, every IT specialist started thinking of creating his or her own social media application. Some succeeded, with applications like Instagram and Snapchat, while many others failed—and paid the price of tough competition.
Others made a smart choice. They chose not to compete in the social media app war. Instead, they chose to supply it with ammo, creating services that now complete the experience of social media: Tweetbot, TweetCaster, Klout, Ask.fm, InstaRepost, Twitlonger, and many others.
“Can you count the number of Bahraini home bakeries on Instagram, let alone other businesses? The number is absurd, and the real winner in this fight is Betty Crocker—for selling them cake mix.
Shopping on Instagram
Can you count the number of Bahraini home bakeries on Instagram, let alone other businesses? The number is absurd, and the real winner in this fight is Betty Crocker—for selling them cake mix (well, I know some of them do use their own recipes.) Bahrainis looking for ways to benefit from the Instagram marketplace boom have found a few, not just one.
Some Bahrainis have started delivery businesses. I haven’t actually come across a reliable one, but some of them are making good money by delivering products to their clients, who can then avoid the necessity of sending out a family member or house driver. Others sell Instagram businesses bags, boxes, and other packaging materials. In addition, a fair number of accounts have been created for the sole purpose of advertising other Instagram businesses. They accept the strangest method of payment I’ve seen so far: prepaid telephone codes!
The Startup Rush
When Tamkeen introduced their schemes to support Bahraini businesses, the number of Bahraini startups has increased at a rapid pace, and people have begun to benefit from Tamkeen, receiving tens of thousands of dinars in support.
Of all the businesses that have popped up, a few have made real money: businesses targeting Tamkeen’s beneficiaries, such as consultancies, advertising agencies, design offices, branding agencies, and event management. These types of businesses have been able to serve all kinds of beneficiaries, whether they needed the services or not. All they did was fill the gap between supply and demand by creating a subtle change in the system during a key time period.
Follow the Money, not the Competitors
It’s not easy to “go where the money is,” because most of the time, we instinctively go where everyone else is headed. Instead of looking at new startups popping up in the market, we should look at new consumer trends, changes in behavior, or changes in the marketplace—then figuring out the new opportunities we can grab or new needs we can fill.
“It’s not easy to go where the money is, because most of the time, we instinctively go where everyone else is headed.
Following competitors blindly can cause us to lose our way. Competitors do not always do the right thing, but they have a way of making us believe that they do. When we follow them blindly, we start creating new market standards that don’t always make sense, because everyone else is doing the same thing.
Fill the Gap
Your role is to look at the market, and all of businesses fighting within it, while asking yourself this question:
What can I do to serve the competition—instead of going against it—and still make money?
