How to kill competition?

[tloonya]

As you know my Produce and fruit business had been going up steadily for 18 month now.
We ran off competition accross the street and they had closed down before Christmas.
This location is about to re-open by a new people.
We had established a clientelle base and keep growing but I am so nervous now because this re-opening might hurt us if new owner does well. This location is 4000sq.feet in size. We are 4 times smaller. Though it is not nessesary a bad thing because for the produce selling you don't really need a huge place. Rent is going to kill.

So my question is how do I keep my clients from switching to a new place?
Let's say quality of my stuff is superb and prices are low.
So can be my competition's. If they are smart - they know my prices already.
I am selling a lot of other things like fish and cold cuts and groceries so can they.
I must do something to keep people coming into my store.
I was thinking about making 'fequent buyer' card but I am not sure what can I put onto it.
10th purchase free up to $10?
Anything you can think of?

And if you had that happened next to you - what to expect?
Usually people go to see what happened at Grand Opening.
I can't blame them. I'll go:-)

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

For starters, I'd make up a few hundred flyers offering some sort of discount. When the new place opens have someone(a min wage worker) stand in front of the new store and hand out your flyers to people walking in/out of the new place.

[alabamagal]

We go through this all the time with my husband's business and competition (although quite a different field)

Do things to emphazie, "we've been around for..." "great customer service, knowledgeable staff" "family owned business"

You will probably see a drop off at their grand opening. Just understand that hoefully most will come back once the "new" factor wears off.

[reader79]

"How to kill competition?"

Double tap

[tloonya]

Apr 13, 2011 8:30:34 GMT -5 Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ said:

For starters, I'd make up a few hundred flyers offering some sort of discount. When the new place opens have someone(a min wage worker) stand in front of the new store and hand out your flyers to people walking in/out of the new place.

I don't think it is a doable step.
Will you not chase anyone off if they stood in front of your store?

[thyme4change]

The key to outsmarting your competition is understanding your competition. You need to find out what they are about - what are their strengths and weaknesses. Where are you in direct competition, and where are you different? Then, figure out a way to exploit their weaknesses and accentuate your strengths. Until you know what they are going to sell and how they are going to position themselves, you can't really outsmart them.

[hsclassic]

Thyme is absolutely right IMO. As a former small business owner with lots of local competition, each time I: (a) continued providing great service; and (b) did my research on the new (and current) competition so I could exploit their weaknesses and accentuate my strengths. Always seemed to work as I outlasted them all.

Yes, there will likely be a dip in your revenues when they open and for some short period of time thereafter. Use that time (and pre-competition opening) to make your customers feel extra special (samples anyone?) to grow their loyalty to you. Sure, they may still check out the new guy, but you will be tried and true to them and most will stick with you.

Do you use any social media to keep your customers informed? Simple things like email blasts or tweets about what just arrived on your shelves are low- to no-cost ways to keep your customers educated about not only what you sell, but share ideas on how to use one of the delicious offerings from your store. Who wouldn't appreciate having a new recipe on how to use ______ for a quick and easy meal/side?!?!?!

[ssdawood]

Hey loony heres what you do

Hang a big sign outside your store saying that you will beat any competitors price.
Be ready to share your customers, not everyone will like you even if you are doing everything right. So some people will still go to that store .

In the end its money game the more money you have the better you can compete.

[tskeeter]

Rather than giving away my profit with discounts, I'd work even harder at being the best I can be.

The competition across the street will probably look fresh and new. I'd try to look even better. Windows sparking, maybe add a bit of lighting so the store is brighter if you've got a couple of darker spots, make sure floors, counters and displays are always sparkling clean and looking their best, maybe freshen some paint where it is showing some wear. (When I was younger, I worked at hotel where some guests told me they always stayed at that hotel simply because the towels were always sparkling white. To those people, the towels told them everything else would be absolutely clean, comfortable, and well maintained.)

Make an even greater effort to be the friendliest place to shop. People prefer to shop where they get treated a little special, like a valued customer or friend. Emphasize that you are small shop friendly. How about something like this? If you have some bananas that are getting past their prime, ask a good customer if they bake. If the response is yes, tuck some of the ripe bananas in their bag at no charge, and suggest that they might like to make some banana bread.

Review how you set your displays. Are they absolutely beautiful? Do they look like a picture in a magazine? If you are aesthetically challenged, like me, spend a bit of your money on some lessons from a designer on how to better display your merchandise. Think about things like displaying products in baskets rather than in piles in bins. Baskets imply "homey". Baskets that could be used in the garden imply fresh picked. Think about displays in higher end shops vs. WalMart. They are very different. Each sends a subtle message about the store.

Competing on price is really hard. When my parents had their business, they decided to quit competing on price and focus on providing the best quality with the fastest response time. Dad tells the story about the customer who was complaining about the price of color copies. The customer said that the competitor a couple of miles down the street was cheaper. Dad responded that the competitors price sounded like a good deal and maybe the customer would like to go down to the competitor's shop. The customer said "I can't". When Dad asked why the customer couldn't go to the competition, the customer told him the competitor had gone out of business. To this news, Dad wondered aloud if the price of color copies might have had something to do with the competitor not being able to stay in business. The moral of this story? Some people will always buy cheap, regardless of quality, etc. If your competition is too cheap, the very price sensitive customers will help drive them out of business in fairly quickly. My folks, on the other hand, ran their business for more than 20 years, then sold it for a good price when they retired.

[runewell]

I think a revolver would do the trick. Be sure to wear gloves.

[NancysSummerSip]

Hiya, Loony!!!!!!

I do a lot of freelance food writing, and I seem to be coming across new produce markets every week. What I look for in the best:

* The unique aspects: what makes them different from each other. They all sell much of the same produce, but what does each one do that is special to that store - recipe cards, salads/smoothies/drinks from the produce they sell, Asian/Latin produce, etc.

* Customer service: who is in the store, and how they interact with customers. Do they know their customers like family (by first name) and treat them like family, asking how they are, etc.

* Carrying what customers ask for: Does the store owner maintain a list of products customers are asking for, and is the owner trying to obtain these items?

* What things make the place attractive that have nothing to do with the food: the displays, cleanliness, how easy it is to find and reach for things on shelves (I am very short, so high shelves really bug me). Types of payment plans: cash, credit, food stamps.

[thyme4change]

A boutique market around here offers classes such as knife skills and other little demonstrations.

[cronewitch]

If you cater to an ethnic group make sure your other customers don't feel lost in a sea of foreign items.

I shop at a store selling many Mexican foods but they don't tell you why you would buy them. They have Mexican pastry but don't say why it isn't like regular pastry or what the different shapes mean so no idea what any of it taste like. Mexican beverages and sour cream and even mayonnaise that is different but don't know why I would want it. They sell some regular steak but the sign says for Carna Asada but not what Carna Asada is. Vegetables like cactus leaves and other strange things I might try if I knew how.

If they had recipes or descriptions introducing people to the odd products maybe we would buy them. A free sample of the pastries or something made with odd vegetables would be pretty sure to get a sale. I love Mexican food and buy things like jicama all the time and share it with people who don't know what it is or how to pick a good one.

[Regis]

As a business owner I do two things:

1. Take care of my customers.
2. Pay no attention to my competition.

We've been very successful using this model for the past 10 years.

[gsbrq]

tskeeter's advice is excellent. Make sure yours is the better store and you won't have to cut your prices to rock-bottom levels.

[tloonya]

Good. Thanks to all.

I have all mentioned taken care of:
Customer service: we know ours customers like family (by first name) and treat them like family, asking how they are, etc.

* Carrying what customers ask for: we do maintain a list of products customers are asking for, and we trying to obtain these items and we have them in stock in a day of 2.

* ...things make the place attractive that have nothing to do with the food: the displays, cleanliness...we have a beautifull store. Bright and pretty.

So I hope we will be fine. Thanks to all.

[TD2K]

So my question is how do I keep my clients from switching to a new place?


Holding their kids or pets hostage?

[chocolat]

If you realise that you are losing a lot of customers after the store opens, there is one strategy: lower the price on the items that make people go to the store like coke, meat, milk. And then increase the price on the items that they will want to purchase once they are in the store (candies, snacks, ice cream).

[zibazinski]

Also, a free cookie to the kids. Publix does this and besides a nice place to shop, kids like to go which makes shopping there easier on adluts.

[tloonya]

I took advise and neverminding my competition with addition of a great job doing. Thanks