Even if someone is already in your market space, ask yourself whether you can approach it from a different angle and thereby secure your own customer base.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When you know who your customers are, that can give you an edge on the competition.
Spend a lot of time talking to customers face to face. You'd be amazed how many companies don't listen to their customers.
We need to reengineer companies to focus on figuring out who the customer is, what's the market and what kind of product you should build.
Companies cannot really see beyond their current customer base. They explicitly or implicitly do things to protect their current customers. And the last person to want real change is your customer. This is why most new ideas come from small companies that have nothing to lose.
If the store were your own business, you'd escort the customer to a product's location in the store and refer to the customer by name.
The golden rule for every business man is this: 'Put yourself in your customer's place.'
Once you create a loyal customer base, it's tough for a competitor to take that away.
What you can do is ask: 'What is the value to the customer? What are they willing to pay for?' Then, deliver great products and services.
So I think instead of focusing on the competition, focus on the customer.
Be dramatically willing to focus on the customer at all costs, even at the cost of obsoleting your own stuff.