The very nature of business and commerce suggests competition.
Competition is the very reason for our existence, one could argue. Throughout our lives, we continuously compete with others and ourselves. In our personal lives, we compete for companionship, we compete in sports activities, we compete with the person in front of us trying to grab whatever it is we want that’s on sale.
In our world, at least to some degree, we experience varying levels of competition on a daily basis. When you truly begin analyzing your thoughts, competition comes up time and time again – because we are competing for the basics of life, as well as those things we believe we want and need.
Basic needs such as shelter, food, water, and sunlight feel as if they are available in unlimited amounts. On a business level, we compete for customers, clients, products and services. These needs to a business are similar to our basic needs as human beings, though they certainly cannot be seen as unlimited.
Competition can be viewed both positively and negatively. Most people consider being competitive as undesirable, but that’s not necessarily true. If we did not have a competitive nature, there would be no sports. And if there were no competition in business, commerce would fall flat. Competitive pricing, the desire for a business to offer better service than another, and a business’s ultimate goal of customer retention are ways that competition help us, as business owners, survive and thrive.
Competition should be seen as a turning point to positive change. The consumer is able to feel secure in purchasing decisions simply because competition exists, and they realize that we, as business owners, want them to come into our doors, buy our products, and utilize our services.
Because of competition, we must constantly strive to be better businesspeople. We must constantly strive to offer more services, at less cost to the buyer. We must constantly strive to lower prices, but increase variety. This is our job as business owners.
Competition suggests assertion, and to a certain point, being assertive in business is simply a necessary thing. “May the best man (or woman, or business) win.” But we need not be overly-aggressive in nature in order to be assertive for the good of our own business needs. If seen as a positive measure of growth, competition can and should be a healthy addition to our daily business lives.