So you say you are a small business owner, not James Bond. Well if you want to be successful you better get the tools from M, kiss Miss Moneypenny on the check and hop into your super spy car and get the hottest intelligence on your competitors.
Seriously, the best way to find out what the competition is doing is to find out yourself, first hand, personally.
In the allergy control business I routinely made small purchases from all of my competitors. I wanted to know how they interact with prospects and customers on the phone. I wanted to know how quickly they shipped products, how they packaged orders, and if they provided any follow-up to the purchase. I also stayed on the snail mail and email lists for my competitors as well. I knew when they were running a promotion and when they introduced a new products and if they issued a new catalog.
When I called, I made sure to ask the questions that my customers routinely asked us. I wanted to compare our response to theirs. I usually tossed in a curveball question to see how they reacted to non routine questions.
So why do this? You can't beat the competition if you don't know how they are operating. My routine espionage led to the development of "Thank you" inserts to go in each package we shipped. This simple card just thanked them for their order, gave a number to call if there was a question, and a coupon for their next purchase. I knew we were distinguishing ourselves from the competition because we were the only company that was taking the time to thank them for their business. People want to feel appreciated. For a few cents per order we could make people feel special.
Now maybe you sell used cars and it isn't practical to go to the competitors lots and buy cars, but you can visit the lot as a potential buyer and see how you are treated. But if you own a car wash, you better be getting your car washed at every other car wash service in town on a regular basis. If your competition is wily, they are doing the same to you right now. What are they learning from you?
Are they learning that you are intent in providing your customers the best service possible as a price they are willing to pay? Or are they learning that you just whine about your lack of success and never do anything to improve your situation?
They money you spend making purchases from the competition is one of the best investments you can make in business intelligence. Then once you see what they are doing you figure out how to do it better. Because success works at improving all the time.
Now quit whining and succeed
