By Edward Deeb, Editor-in-Chief
October 1, 2007
In today’s business world, the existing rules of competition no longer apply.
Today, businesses must compete with more than just the guy or gal down the street. They must compete on the Internet, e-mail, eBay, Google, Yahoo and various companies in their industry.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell once said, “There are no secrets to success: Don’t waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work and persistence.”
But the most important thing is to know your competition.
Who are they? What makes them successful? What do they have that you don’t have? Are their employees pleasant? How does their service rate? Do they carry a full line of merchandise? What perks, compensation and benefits do they offer employees that you don’t have?
To what extent are you or your competition committed to improving the local community? Do you encourage people of differing human qualities (diversity and multiculturalism)? Do you reward your employees for a job well done, or through an awards program? Are you marketing, merchandising and advertising your products and services to best attract and keep customers?
Over the years, we’ve seen various technologies emerge, including the telephone, the telegraph, the mimeograph machine, the photocopy machine, the fax machine, the calculator, the computer, cell phones, the BlackBerry and teleconferencing, etc.
But what will bring customers back more than anything is to have the best personal service unmatched by your competitors along with quality products. Remember, business success is a long-term thing, not short-term.
