How to Destroy Your Competition

byAJTrimble1

9.1K followers

Updated 5 years ago

“If you do what everybody else does, and you do it better than everybody else, you get a tiny competitive advantage. But if you do something no one else is doing in your space, you get a geometric advantage.” — Tony Robbins

Most people see the marketplace as just one large pie, and we’re all fighting to get our little slice. But is that really the best way to go? Is there a way that, instead of wresting a tiny piece away from a competitor, you can dominate the market, making the competition chase you?

First of all, you must consider what business you’re actually in. It is natural to think that because you are a member of Wealthy Affiliate and following our model you are an affiliate marketer or in the affiliate marketing business. But is that really true?

Consider this: affiliate marketing is merely the process. It is not what you “do”. What you really do is benefit your audience in some way.

Previously I had mentioned that we all listen to the same radio station: WII-FM… What’s In It For Me?

With that in mind, what benefits do you offer? What is it about what you offer that is compelling? In other words, what’s in it for your reader if they stick around and consume your content?

Good Food vs. Good Time

Have you ever been to a restaurant? Of course. Most of us have. And, like any restaurant, you can eat a meal there. Not bad, but nothing special.

Now, have you ever been in a restaurant where not only did you get a good meal, but you actually got an experience? It wasn’t just the food. It was the people, the atmosphere, whatever. You walked out of there just blown away by the entire experience. Perhaps you even told all of your friends and family, “You have just got to eat there. It’s amazing!”

Keep this idea in the back of your mind as we continue; we’ll come back to it.

Swimming in a Blue Ocean

In 2004, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne published their book, Blue Ocean Strategy, which has since been updated several times, and is a must read for any entrepreneur.

The premise behind the name (and theory itself) is that you can think of business as existing in an ocean. And within that ocean, there are certain boundaries and expectations, and — dare I say — rules that you must abide by.

But therein lies the challenge…

As long as you are working within those parameters, your only option is to try to beat the competition by taking a piece of their share. Naturally, as more and more people enter your market, your product or service quickly becomes a commodity, which leads to fewer and fewer profits for you. In other words, much like bloody shark-infested waters, you are operating in a Red Ocean.

If you want to live and swim in a Blue Ocean, meaning waters that are crystal clear and untainted by any competition, you can… you just have to operate in an area where no one else is competing. In a Blue Ocean, demand is created rather than stolen from the competition.

But how is that done?

Consider Netflix.

When Netflix came along the home movie rental industry was extremely cutthroat. Although Blockbuster dominated the market at the time, there were hundreds of retailers you could go to rent a movie — thousands if you include all the little mom-and-pop rental stores throughout the country. This was the textbook definition of a Red Ocean.

Netflix changed the game. By offering consumers the ability to receive DVDs at home through the mail, and later through online streaming, Netflix created a Blue Ocean. No one else at the time was offering what it offered and, thus, there was no competition.

In fact, in a recent interview, the founder of Netflix stated that he offered Blockbuster the opportunity purchase the company in its early stages for $50 million and he was laughed out of the room. Within a few short years, Netflix had put Blockbuster out of business.

How about Starbucks?

I am showing my age here, but I remember growing up in the era known as BS… Before Starbucks. lol

At that time the definition of a coffee shop was a place where my mom worked as a waitress, serving bacon and eggs, pancakes, burgers and fries, steaks and, yes, the occasional cup of black coffee.

In 1971, three former University of San Francisco students joined forces to sell high-quality coffee in Seattle. But that’s not where the story gets interesting, because as just another coffee shop, they were, for the most part, still operating in a Red Ocean (albeit a high end one.)

In the early 80s, Director of Marketing, Howard Schultz, had been on a business trip for Starbucks in Milan, Italy. While there, he noticed an abundance of small espresso shops on practically every street corner. However, these shops didn’t just serve coffee, but acted as meeting places for customers. Often the coffee was secondary to the experience (see, I told you we would come back to the restaurant analogy earlier.)

Upon his return, Schultz tried to convince Starbucks’ owners of what he observed, but they did not see the value in it (Sound familiar? Cough… Blockbuster… cough.)

Schultz quit Starbucks in 1985 to start his own company, Il Giornale, and recreated the experience he had in Milan. Only two years later, Starbucks sold out to Schultz and the rest is history.

By bringing the Milan experience to America, Schultz created a Blue Ocean. Of course, today Starbucks has loads of competitors all trying to take a bite out of its audience (Red Ocean), but there is no denying that by changing what it meant to be a coffee shop at the time, Starbucks held a huge competitive advantage for a very long time.

Apple did it with personal computers, and later with consumer electronics. Amazon did it with books, and later with what was traditionally brick and mortar retail shopping. Uber and Lyft did it with the taxi industry. All of these businesses changed the rules of their niche. They all swam in a Blue Ocean.

How About You?

Think about your niche. Ask yourself:

• Where can I compete where no one else is competing?
• How can I change the rules about how this game (niche) is played?
• What can I do to give my audience not only information, but an experience?
• How can I swim in a Blue Ocean?

Once you figure out what makes you and your business unique, you have potentially entered into a Blue Ocean. You will no longer have to bow to the competition, because you have changed the game. In other words…

Change the game and you change the competition. Change the game and you will have no competition.

Please leave a comment and share your Blue Ocean story.