Keeping a Close Eye on the Competition
For many IT companies and MSP’s, competition can be a big threat to business and bottom line revenues. Local competition in some areas can be so fierce, that strong territorial lines are drawn and owner wars are waged. These may be extreme cases but the threat of competition and an ultimate plan of offense and defense should be in every business owner’s strategy.
The more information that you can gather about your competition, the better; some things you will want to know:
*Hourly Rates
*How Managed Services are priced (Flat Rate, Per Seat, Block Time)
*Estimated Number of Employees
*Years in Business
*RMM and Ticketing Platform Used
*Solution Stack and Product Portfolio
*Certifications Held
Most of these can be found by doing some Internet research and checking the competition’s website. By gathering the above information, you can provide sales staff a solid foundation for combating potential competitive objections, you can gear marketing efforts towards products or solutions your competition doesn’t have, and most of all you will know a lot more about your competition than you do now.
Local competition is one thing but in the managed services world, national competition is becoming a really big threat for some. Large national companies are buying up MSP’s, cloud services, and remote monitoring companies in an effort to manage your customers. This threat may be even more severe than local competition in that these large corporations have big money behind them, large sales teams, and a drive to penetrate the space.
Many of these companies have trusted brand names and are easily given opportunities to speak directly with customers. These threats must be treated in a similar manner as local competition. It is important to gather as much information as possible about potential national companies that may be trying to move in on your market.
As much as information gathering is important the most important part of any competition defense is offense. It is imperative that you meet with and speak with your customers regularly. Building loyalty and making sure your customers know about the competition and the differences in what you provide, is another critical part of a good offense. Market yourself as the local hands-on service with a smile company to combat national faceless competition, and be on the constant lookout for potential threats moving in on your business. By having as much information as possible and creating an actionable plan to deal with competition, you will be much more likely to come out on the winning side of any competitive situation.
Frank Gurnee
VP, Channel Services, ExchangeDefender
(877) 546-0316 x4777
frank@ownwebnow.com