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Competition occurs in all business environments. When a company or brand has a lot of close competitors it is reasonable, from a business perspective, to think that competition is a threat to the organisation. However, the different areas of competition also brings many benefits to the business and especially consumers. What are these benefits? and how does competition impact businesses overall? Let's take a look.
Competition can be defined as the aggregation of businesses in the same market competing for the attention of consumers.
Competition is the rivalry between these similar businesses aiming to maximise profitability. It is present in all profitable markets, where businesses compete on price, quality, reputation, brand name, etc. Competition can be profitable for businesses, as it encourages them to optimize their resources and strategies.
Competition is also important as it boosts innovation in the market. Firms often race to be the first ones to introduce new technology into the marketplace. Innovation in the industry often leads to better products and more efficient production and use of resources. Innovation also leads to operational and process optimization, such as cheaper or quicker production.
Competition can help businesses identify consumer needs and develop new products or services that meet these needs more efficiently than competitors. It can also help businesses analyze the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, which can therefore be compared with the business's strengths and weaknesses. This can help a lot with overall business strategy
Competition is also beneficial for consumers. As we know, competition often results in innovation. This is also beneficial for consumers, as they get newer, better quality products for better prices. Consumers are also more willing to spend on better quality products, which not only benefits the firm but the economy as a whole. Innovation helps drive economic growth, which increases living standards.
Additionally, as competition leads to a more efficient process - lowering the production and operating costs of businesses - consumers also indirectly save money, as lower costs for businesses means lower prices for customers.
There are three types of competition in business:
Direct competition: direct competitors are businesses that sell similar (or the same) products to the same customer segments in the same market.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
The two companies operate in the same industry, offer very similar products (caffeinated soft drinks), satisfy the same need and target similar customer segments. The two companies even use similar channels of distribution (vending machines, grocery shops, etc.)
Indirect competition: indirect competitors are businesses that sell products that are not the same as yours but still operate in the same industry and satisfy the same consumer need.
McDonald's and KFC.
The two companies still operate in the same industry (fast food) and satisfy a similar consumer need (people who have busy lifestyles and are looking for a quick meal), however, the two companies are known for two different items - McDonald's for burgers and KFC for chicken.
Replacement competition: also known as potential or phantom competitors, are businesses that sell products different to yours but could potentially replace your business's offering due to new technologies. The products sold by these types of competitors are often providing new solutions to a problem as a result of innovation that customers could decide to spend their money on instead.
The introduction of smartphones ultimately replaced digital cameras, even though the function of the product is completely different.
Some of the advantages of competition and understanding your competitors in business are:
Increase in innovation which benefits both businesses and consumers.
Helps businesses understand the needs and wants of customers more deeply, which allows for more and better products.
Helps businesses understand the specifics of the marketplace.
Can boost the efficiency of operations and the production process.
Studying competitors helps businesses understand or find their competitive advantage. By studying competitors' strengths and weaknesses the business can more easily identify areas that stand out from competitors and areas that need strategic improvement.
The business can learn from the failures of competitors.
Some of the disadvantages of competition in business are:
Customers can get confused by the wide range of similar products offered. If the business does not have a strong brand image or is not competitive price or quality-wise, the profitability of the business could be harmed.
Businesses could end up accruing a lot of additional costs by investing too much in innovation and R&D to stand out from competitors.
Businesses might also end up accumulating extra costs because of their marketing and advertising efforts.
An increase in competition could also result in a decrease in market share for the business.
¹ FTC Fact Sheet, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/games/off-site/youarehere/pages/pdf/FTC-Competition_How-Comp-Works.pdf
² Feedough, https: //www.feedough.com/business-competition/
The three types of competition are direct, indirect and replacement competition. Direct competitors sell the same or very similar products to the business, whereas indirect competitors sell different products to the same customer segment in the same industry. Replacement competitors sell products that are different to yours, potentially in a different industry, but they have the potential to replace current product offerings as a result of new technology.
Competitor companies can either be direct, indirect or replacement competitors. These are usually companies that compete in the same industry or market to attract customers that are also in your target customer segment. Who your competitor companies are exactly, depends on your product offering and the type of industry you operate in.
The presence of competition in an industry can be good for a business. Usually, competition means that the industry is profitable and innovation is constant. This can boost the efficiency of production and operations within the business. The competition also helps businesses understand the needs and wants of customers more deeply, which allows more and better products.
Competitors can have various different strategies to attract customers. Two of the most significant aspects businesses in the same industry can compete on are price and quality. For example, if a competitor lowers the price of their product, they will likely attract some of your target customer segment. Similarly, if a competitor has a globally well-known brand name and a good reputation, it will be harder to compete in the same market as them.
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