There are several advantages to targeting your competitors' customers. But there are principles to follow for the strategy to be effective.
This approach can give you access to an already educated customer base, rapid growth, and competitive data.
Therefore, trying to win market share from your competitors can be a good idea. But before moving on to approach tactics, you need to ask yourself what might motivate companies using your competitor's service or tool to choose yours.
Indeed, this can be interesting if there is a very good reason for the company to turn to you.
For example, does your company offer:
- Better service?
- better support?
- Better pricing?
- The possibility of saving more time than your competitors?
You need to have something significantly better than your competitors.
Otherwise, it will be a waste of time, as the costs of changing suppliers will be prohibitive.
So, if the answer is YES, the next step is to develop your prospect.
To do this, you need to look for specific trends.
1 – Target only easy victories
Try to find out if there are users who constantly switch between competitors and if they have any commonalities. Also, ask yourself what the reasons are for this switch.
For example, if a large number of your customers previously used the same customer relationship management tool and they adopt yours, ask them why.
You could ask your sales team to ask these questions when onboarding new clients:
- Had they been using a CRM before?
- What tool was he using?
- Why did they choose to switch to yours?
- What do they prefer about your tool compared to the old one?
Don't attack all competitors or all users.
To optimize your results, identify the prospects that will lead you to easy wins.
If you know you're going to win the case, all you have to do is go after them.
These decisions should be based on data and trends already observed in your company.
2 – Look for certain signals
Besides easy gains, you can also observe other signals that will help you determine which competitors to target.
For example, if you know thata competitor is going to cease operations, you can send a cold email or contact all of its current users on LinkedIn.
In this type of email, mention the user's problem areas and arrange a meeting with a CTA.
Mention one advantage of using your service/tool compared to that of a competitor.
3 – Does your company fill a gap in the market?
If your company fills a specific gap in the market, attack competitors who do not have a solution to that problem.
Attract their audience to get the best results.
This may not work every time. For example, if it's a minor feature, don't waste your time. It all depends on how important the issue is to your target audience.
4 – Search for “untapped users”
Therefore, you can use your competitors' data to determine the profile of the ideal B2B prospect who is most likely not to have your solution or that of your competitors.
Next, identify all the players in this market, analyze each of them and find those who do not yet have a solution.
If someone is still using spreadsheets as a CRM, for example, you can determine if they do not yet have a solution and if they meet all the other suitability criteria.
This then presents an easy opportunity for an effective sales approach.
READ ALSO: 5 best practices in B2B sales prospecting used by experts
5 – Adopt a different approach from your competitors
It's possible that all your competitors offer a technical solution for individuals, while your tool offers a solution for both individuals and teams. In this case, you can leverage this advantage to attract users who prefer a team-based solution to your service.
If you manage to position yourself differently in your market, this will have a greater impact. It's also a good strategy to explore.
You just need to make users realize that you offer a unique perspective compared to your competitors.
You can now develop your strategy based on your business objectives using this guide.
If needed, here's how to write prospecting messages for email and LinkedIn.
Tip: Mention only one positive aspect of your product at a time in each follow-up message. For example, if your technology is faster, more affordable, and has a better dashboard, mention each positive aspect in a separate follow-up message.
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