When it comes to your competition in the marketplace, there are certain etiquettes and guidelines that you should follow.
By Craig Falck for Africa Report
Over the years, I’ve done it all: Mexican food promoter, in-store pool chemical boy, petrol station clown, pizza promoter, and a pool cleaner salesman… Along the way, I’ve seen some very unprofessional things happen in the marketplace, especially in stores with promoters. Here are a couple of tips to being an honest and professional businessperson…
Do
1. Know everything about everything. If you only know what is listed on the side of the box of your product, you can only provide that information to customers. If you know how your competitor’s products differ from yours, you can adapt your knowledge base and provide customers with better information.
2. Give it your all. If you put in a half-hearted showing, your customers will immediately go to your competitors. Do all you can and don’t be afraid to say “This is all I can do”. Rather be honest from the start and give the customers what you said you were capable of.
3. Be the bigger man. If your competition wants to get physical over business, walk away. There is no point in bringing your reputation down and looking like an unprofessional fool for getting into scraps with anyone. I’ve seen promoters fighting in a store and their supervisors did the same later in the day. It does nothing but harm the company’s brand and image.
Don’t
1. Knocking your competition will come back to bite you. As much as you may want to, don’t say negative things about your competitors; rather give customers positives about yours. You never know when the competition will be dressed in plain clothes and ask you questions about the two products, which could turn nasty if you have nothing but bad things to say. A simple “I don’t know their products that well” could save you from a nasty lawsuit.
2. Sabotaging the competition comes across as being petty. If your competition puts up signs all around the neighbourhood, don’t go around vandalising them or stealing them. Instead, look at what they’ve done and do something better. The same goes for in-store activations and stands. Adapt and improve.
The unscrupulous will do anything to get ahead in the business world, including being unprofessional and even deliberate attacks on other businesses. However, when you’re a small business, it’s best to keep your nose clean and be as professional as possible. This will earn you the respect of your customers, and at the end of the day they are the people you need to take care of.
