Beating the Competition….

Written by Alison Kennedy FIRP DipRP, Director of Recruitment Business Solutions Ltd

How well do you know your competitors?

When starting up a recruitment business it is important that you have a conducted a good appraisal of your competition as a part of your business strategy. It is a vital part of setting up to know and understand both the strengths and weaknesses of your potential and current competitors.

Not having an appreciation of the profile of your competitors can leave you and your business wide open to competitive “blind spots”. By conducting clear, structured analysis, you can establish exactly how your company will slot into the market place and will ensure you place your business in a competitive light, regarding both your fees and the actual product or services you are offering.

Your analysis may come in the form of conversations with local business or candidates over the phone, via postal or on-line surveys or even via mystery shopping of your competitors. How ever you chose to obtain your information is up to you but make sure you take a structured and well-planned approach. Choosing a more simplistic and “informal” view of matters (gauging your competitors based on conjecture, personal opinion and intuition for example) simply isn’t enough. Many business fail as a result of following this rather than a more robust form of analysis. It is important that you get your facts correct and accurate.

The more knowledge you have regarding your rivals the more of a competitive advantage you will have.

What information do you need to establish?

• Who are your competitors?
• What are the customer needs you are looking to meet?
• What are the similarities between their services and yours?
• How do their prices compare to yours?
• How well are they doing overall?
• What are they good at?
• What is the general perception of your competitors in the market place? (From the point of view of candidates, clients and suppliers)
• What are their USP’s and how do they compare to yours?

For further information regarding techniques in extracting information from client over the phone, please refer to our earlier article regarding Market Intelligence.