A quick recap of our understanding in competition part 1, successful business will have competition and they come from unseen angles don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

There are several types of competition Direct competition / Secondary competition and Indirect competition.

DIRECT COMPETITION.

As a start-up founder/product owner of a start-up, we need to constantly watch out for these guys. Because we would need to out-innovate and outrun them to succeed. They will be the ones trying to take your lunch money from the same target customers. The easiest way to identify direct competition is they are offering the same product / solving a problem in the same way as you are. And let’s face it sometimes you might even have to copy their product features.

An example of this type of competition is Adidas vs Nike.

SECONDARY COMPETITION

These guys are the ones you and your direct competition need to constantly fend off because they are solving your customer’s problems but differently, in another word they are trying to take your lunch money by offering another solution, an example of this could be catching a subway vs catching an Uber to get to your business meeting. Customers would choose a solution based on their needs and circumstances.

INDIRECT COMPETITION or SUBSTITUES

TThis type of competition is referring to businesses with products or services that are different to yours but potentially could solve the same need or reach the same goal. A classic example of this is a date night with your significant other or friends. As a restaurant, you would think you are directly competing with other restaurants to attract people who are going on a date right ?. Not so fast, have you as a restaurant owner ever thought of mini-golf courses/cinemas / or even trampoline parks are competing for the same customers since people do think of those as options for their night out.