What times we live in when all business find themselves fighting for survival. Even honest business office services find that they must apply themselves with great vigour not to turn a profit, but just to keep their heads above water as people begin to spend less. You might be a travel agent or a restaurant owner; what you need to know is how to survive. And one way is to understand the way your competitors do business.
We're not talking corporate espionage here. We are talking about observing the way your competition works; designs a campaign which continues to draw in new customers, or pitches their products to others. Most of these strategies are not really even secrets, it is really just a matter of paying attention to what is around you.
A good place to start is the Internet. All businesses are reeling in business from the Internet more than ever before. They use a number of different strategies, all measurable in their effectiveness. Find out what type of strategies they are using. If you are trying to crack your way into the market, that is a great place to start. Just type that key phrase into Google, and see which names come up. These are the people that are doing the search engine optimization angle right, and believe us that is turning into big dollars for them.
Next, find out what your competition is doing as far as brick and mortar campaigns. Most businesses can forget about competing in the media right off; not only is it expensive, there is little to show that radio or television advertising has really worked for any business. What is more important, and you will see this as your sense of competition sharpens, is visibility. The good agents have their names on a great percentage of the real estate listings; they just can't be ignored. Go ahead and try to drive through a big city without spotting a bus ad or bench sign for "self storage in Strathroy" for example! Their names are printed inescapably on the subconscious of the readers, and when the time comes to sell that is where they will turn.
Make sure that you also pay attention to what your competition is offering to get clients and customers through their doors. Do an analysis of a similar strategy for your own business. Is it cost effective? If you realize it isn't affordable for you as a real estate agent, the truth is it probably isn't for the competition either. Skipping this kind of strategy might mean you have the edge on paper, even though you might not feel as though you are keeping up.
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