Who Is Better?

Businesses compete because people compete. Some see competition as the driving force of adaptation, and ultimately, evolution. Apart from being part of human nature, competition is also a well-established effort to perform better than or sometimes even to eliminate the competition. Only the fittest survive. Unfortunately, the fittest are nowadays often synonymous with the richest, or even the most corrupt. However it may be, competition is the essence of capitalism and essentially a good thing. Due to fierce competition, companies are forced to innovate, to improve the quality and choice of their goods and services and to reduce prices.

All businesses face competition, so it is essential for any business to monitor its competition and be ready to react appropriately. You should know who your competitors are and what they are offering. This can be learned from their promotional materials, websites, exhibitions and trade fairs, and by talking to the customers and suppliers. You should also take interest in the type of products or services your competitors offer, in the way they market them and how they deliver them, the prices they charge, the ways they win customer loyalty, what calibre of staff they attract, whether they innovate, how much publicity they are getting and where, etc. Also, talk to them. Phone and face-to-face contacts at social and business events will give you an idea of your competitor’s style and quality. The information gathered in this way should help you set realistic aims for yourself and decide what direction to take, what goods or services to improve or develop, how to set your prices competitively and how to create a winning marketing strategy. And you should not stop at just checking what is already there – you must be constantly on the lookout for possible new competition.

Businesses compete through performance, head-to-head and predatory types of competition. Most businesses will try to outperform their competitors. Knowing what the opponent is doing, they will simply try to offer better products and services. However, there are companies which not only try to perform better than the competitor, but take steps to prevent the rival from doing well and making sales. They can criticize the other company in their advertisements, locate their store right next to the opponent’s or control the supply of goods. Finally, one company may want to control or monopolize the market and therefore eliminate smaller companies or do everything it can to push them out of business.

The answer to whether competition is good or bad is: it depends. It can bring both the best and the worst in us. The moral value of competition depends on whether it is an attempt to win by performing better than others and enhancing your own level of competence or an effort to win by making the others do worse. Many people agree that a balance between competitive and cooperative activities may reduce the negative aspects of competition. The term co-opetition expresses the possibility of collaboration among competitors, which is based upon promoting mutual survival under the motto ‘Everyone wins’.