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Hi there.
Speaker:It's Sue.
Speaker:And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.
Speaker:These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and
Speaker:things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.
Speaker:If you'd like to submit a topic,
Speaker:DME, over on Instagram at gift biz unwrapped,
Speaker:let's have a heart to heart conversation about competition.
Speaker:Yes, this breadth stopping gut wrenching topic.
Speaker:None of us get a pass from experiencing our physical and
Speaker:emotional responses.
Speaker:When the subject of a competitor comes up just like others,
Speaker:you probably compare the quality and the prices of your products,
Speaker:your social media following counts,
Speaker:and then many other unconfirmed stories you make up about all
Speaker:the ways they are more skilled,
Speaker:knowledgeable, or personable than you are.
Speaker:Here's the truth.
Speaker:No matter how successful you get,
Speaker:you'll never truly escape.
Speaker:Comparisonitis I recently had a conversation with a well-respected much admired
Speaker:powerhouse of a business owner who shares the same emotions that
Speaker:you probably do about some of her competitors.
Speaker:I was shocked to hear her talk this way,
Speaker:but it reinforces that this is something that doesn't go away
Speaker:with time or with increasing sales or reaching major professional recognition.
Speaker:Given this,
Speaker:you really only have three choices.
Speaker:I bet you thought I was going to say to,
Speaker:Nope, I'm giving you an extra choice here.
Speaker:So three choices you can decide to accept the fact that
Speaker:this is part of the gig.
Speaker:It's what you buy into when you start a business and
Speaker:you're ready to play big,
Speaker:all in,
Speaker:bring on the competition,
Speaker:or you can start your business in play small,
Speaker:stay under the radar and reduce your vulnerability,
Speaker:but also limit your potential.
Speaker:Or you can decide not to join in the game at
Speaker:all. I don't know about you,
Speaker:but I'm an advocate for only one of these options.
Speaker:The first one taking the chance and going all in.
Speaker:I decided a long time ago for all three of my
Speaker:businesses to give it all.
Speaker:I have take the hits deal with the emotional impact and
Speaker:revel in the successes that come my way.
Speaker:I encourage you to do the same.
Speaker:It really is worth it because the truth is if all
Speaker:you want to do is carry around a business card and
Speaker:say, you own a business.
Speaker:Are you really a small business owner?
Speaker:Or are you just pretending a facade of sorts,
Speaker:ouch, to truly work and grow a solid profitable income generating
Speaker:business. You have to take chances and accept risk,
Speaker:but when it comes to the competition,
Speaker:there are things that you can do to work through whatever
Speaker:comes your way and address the topic of competition.
Speaker:Head on first,
Speaker:accept the fact that it is not only possible,
Speaker:but likely that you'll be copied.
Speaker:I'll tell you a scary story.
Speaker:Have I told you this before?
Speaker:I don't remember if I have,
Speaker:but it's well worth repeating about 10 years ago or so
Speaker:I was at what was then called the craft and hobby
Speaker:show in Anaheim,
Speaker:California. We were exhibiting for the ribbon print company.
Speaker:So this was way before I even started gift biz on
Speaker:wrapped at breakfast.
Speaker:I got into a conversation with the woman next to me
Speaker:who was attending the same show over the next few days,
Speaker:I got to know her better.
Speaker:And as time went on,
Speaker:she confided in me why she was at the show,
Speaker:prepare yourself for this.
Speaker:She went up and down the Isles identifying products that could
Speaker:be easily replicated.
Speaker:She'd take a picture inconspicuously,
Speaker:I guess,
Speaker:and then send it off to China that night.
Speaker:If you can believe it.
Speaker:By the next morning,
Speaker:a Chinese factory already had a prototype and was selling it
Speaker:online for,
Speaker:of course,
Speaker:cheaper than the original designer,
Speaker:all within less than 24 hours.
Speaker:Honestly. True story.
Speaker:You can bet this is still happening and on a bigger
Speaker:scale today.
Speaker:How about what Amazon has been seen doing these days?
Speaker:It's not right.
Speaker:And depending on your legal protection,
Speaker:it may or may not be lawful,
Speaker:but it's out there.
Speaker:Sometimes it's not as deceptive and sneaky as this.
Speaker:Have you seen the new Dunkin donuts,
Speaker:omelet bites.
Speaker:They come in two flavors,
Speaker:bacon and cheddar and white egg and veggie,
Speaker:Hmm, looks suspiciously like Starbucks,
Speaker:egg whites,
Speaker:starring bacon and Greer,
Speaker:cheese and egg white and roasted red pepper.
Speaker:They even come in the same base,
Speaker:cardboard tray besides one tasting decidedly better than the other.
Speaker:My opinion,
Speaker:of course,
Speaker:I first glance,
Speaker:the only difference is Duncan's are shaped with a little hole
Speaker:in the middle,
Speaker:kind of like a donut.
Speaker:I'll give them a small little point for being clever there.
Speaker:My point is,
Speaker:no matter how big or small your businesses you are exposed
Speaker:and may be copied for you,
Speaker:the copying will probably be done by a smaller business competitor.
Speaker:And you can deal with this.
Speaker:I say,
Speaker:decide now that you know that it will happen.
Speaker:So you're not surprised when it does.
Speaker:And you already have a plan to address it.
Speaker:I had to do just that with the rip and print
Speaker:company, my biggest competitor stopped my website and copied my every
Speaker:move where product was concerned.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:seriously, he'd been in the business for decades before I showed
Speaker:up, but not until I started adding creative products to the
Speaker:mix to serve my customers needs and requests.
Speaker:Did he start doing the same infuriating?
Speaker:I share this because I'm right in there with you.
Speaker:I've experienced what I'm talking about in regard to competition,
Speaker:but did I close up shop and back away,
Speaker:not a chance game on this leads me to how you
Speaker:deal with competition.
Speaker:What you do to keep a unique identity for your brand,
Speaker:retain customers and build loyalty.
Speaker:I'll start with the hardest one first create product individuality.
Speaker:Something unique about your product that when seen or experienced is
Speaker:identifiable back to you.
Speaker:I say this is the hardest because it is really hard
Speaker:to find a product characteristic that isn't able to be replicated
Speaker:in all my years.
Speaker:There's only one company I found who has truly kept their
Speaker:product from being copied.
Speaker:This is the Zulu grasp beaded necklaces from the leaky collection.
Speaker:Katie leaky talks about this way back in episode,
Speaker:number 49 of the podcast to summarize Katie lives in Kenya
Speaker:and employs the Mussai women to make these beaded strands from
Speaker:the Zulu grass that only grows in the rift valley.
Speaker:China did try to copy and sell her product,
Speaker:and guess what?
Speaker:It couldn't be done.
Speaker:The Zulu grass has such unique qualities and when died takes
Speaker:on a special effect,
Speaker:all that China was able to do is recreate what looked
Speaker:like a little child,
Speaker:plastic toy necklace.
Speaker:It disappeared from the scenes pretty quickly because nobody was buying
Speaker:it. Now I know that pretty much all of us can't
Speaker:have a special,
Speaker:almost unattainable element like Zulu grass to work with.
Speaker:But another approach to the same idea is what Mike Lindell
Speaker:of my pillow does with all of his products.
Speaker:He calls out a characteristic that is part of his product
Speaker:that makes it special.
Speaker:And then he attaches it to his brand.
Speaker:His pillows have a unique fill that allows them to quote
Speaker:unquote, give you the best night's sleep.
Speaker:And they're also washable.
Speaker:Do other pillows have a field that allows for a great
Speaker:night's sleep and our other pillows washable.
Speaker:You bet some are,
Speaker:but only Mike pointed out.
Speaker:He also does the same thing with his Giza sheets made
Speaker:from the finest cotton in the world.
Speaker:Giza grown only in a region between the Sahara desert,
Speaker:the Mediterranean sea and the Nile river sounds exotic.
Speaker:Doesn't it?
Speaker:It makes you think it's exclusive only to my pillow,
Speaker:but is it?
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:but I do know he's the only one who pointed out
Speaker:and has connected it to his brand.
Speaker:Listen closely.
Speaker:The next time you see his commercials on TV and you'll
Speaker:see what I mean.
Speaker:You can do the same thing.
Speaker:What is it about your product that you can call out
Speaker:and connect with your brand Sheila of heavenly treats for you
Speaker:own to gift business in Nashville?
Speaker:She has claimed a chocolate guitar along with a huge guitar
Speaker:case gift basket as her own.
Speaker:The cookie joint makes a product called cookie fries,
Speaker:which are cookies shaped like French fries,
Speaker:complete with dipping sauces.
Speaker:So just like fries and ketchup,
Speaker:cookie fries and dipping sauces.
Speaker:You can bet this.
Speaker:One's got a lot of legal protection,
Speaker:but my point is pick a specific feature of your product
Speaker:that provides a benefit that your customer desires and pointed out
Speaker:over and over again.
Speaker:Another way to reduce the impact of your product being copied
Speaker:is to add a virtual product option to your business.
Speaker:This is what I did with the ribbon print company in
Speaker:response to the story I was sharing a minute ago about
Speaker:my competitor,
Speaker:besides our software being one of a kind,
Speaker:I also created training programs,
Speaker:special downloads,
Speaker:and a private Facebook support group only available to our customers
Speaker:that sets us apart and still does to this day.
Speaker:The funny thing about this is I wasn't doing it consciously
Speaker:as a reaction to the competitor.
Speaker:I was doing it because it served the needs of my
Speaker:customers. And that is always where you should focus your energy
Speaker:to serve them.
Speaker:In your case,
Speaker:you may create virtual classes,
Speaker:teaching the basics of something.
Speaker:You can make that way.
Speaker:Your customers have the option of buying a finished product or
Speaker:trying their hand at making it themselves,
Speaker:or provide virtual cooking classes that include products.
Speaker:You sell,
Speaker:you get the idea a third way to insulate yourself from
Speaker:the impact of someone trying to copy your product and stealing
Speaker:your customers is to create a personal bond between you and
Speaker:your customers.
Speaker:As a small business owner,
Speaker:you are the face of your brand.
Speaker:These days,
Speaker:it's easier than ever to present this to your audience.
Speaker:You can go live on social,
Speaker:create videos you include in your emails and interact with your
Speaker:customers via direct messages.
Speaker:The only hard part is for you to actually do it,
Speaker:which is an entirely different podcast topic.
Speaker:However, bringing forth your personality is the one true thing your
Speaker:competitor can never,
Speaker:ever copy.
Speaker:And it's something you don't have to spend time creating.
Speaker:You've already got your personality and style.
Speaker:You just have to let others see it.
Speaker:So in summary,
Speaker:as a serious small business owner,
Speaker:I want you to stand tall with confidence,
Speaker:present your handmade products boldly and with pride and where the
Speaker:competition is concerned.
Speaker:Glance back at them,
Speaker:knowing you have a plan in place your in control to
Speaker:attract and retain your most loyal customers.
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl.
Speaker:And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream
Speaker:of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.
Speaker:We want them,
