Compete using technology - includes related articles on Web site usage and nontechnical business strategies - Industry Trend or Event - Cover Story

Home Office Computing, Feb, 1997 by Francy Blackwood, John Moore, Bernard Yee

50 Tactics to One-Up Rivals You Can Profit From Today

Time was, all an entrepreneur had to do was christen his or her company Acme Co. to beat out adversaries in the yellow pages. But today, consumers are too savvy for such strategies. To make matters worse, there are more self-employed people in this country than ever before, which means many markets have become saturated.

The good news is that by tapping technology, you'll gain the leverage you need to succeed: You'll be able to ferret out prospects your competitors haven't, respond faster to clients' requests, and distribute marketing materials that more than rival your rivals'. So follow these high-tech tactics--and make it hard for clients not to give you their business.

Know Thy Enemy

The first rule of business is: Don't copy competitors. Instead, find out where they've left unfilled niches, why their sales are down, and what they're doing right--and wrong.

You don't need to hire a private eye to keep track of other companies' activities. Instead, tap a database filled with information about competitors. For a single-company summary, log on to Dun & Bradstreet's Web site (www.dbisna.com) and order a Business Background Report, complete with sales figures, employee information, target markets, even special promotional events. Let's say you discover a competitor is about to launch a huge ad campaign. With this intelligence, you can immediately fax or e-mail discount offers to existing customers. That way, you'll keep some business and there will be less for your rival to reap. Touting a database of 10 million U.S. businesses, D&B will get you the lowdown on just about any public company you choose for $20 a pop.

For those who want constant access to more detailed and costly electronic surveillance, log on to CompuServe's IQuest (go IQuest), which accesses more than 450 databases. Each search costs $1 for up to five items. And for full market analyses that can run hundreds of dollars, Profound (www.profound.com) may be the way to go. It contains more than 42,000 research reports, articles from 4,000 newspapers, and financial backgrounds on 4 million companies around the world.

Depending on your business, staying on top of the news may be the best way to get a heads-up on your market and its major players. PointCast Network (408-253-0894, www. pointcast.com), for instance, offers customized news feeds that are delivered directly to your screen when you dial in. Or, if you have a permanent connection to the Net, leave PointCast running all day and schedule when you want to receive up-dates. A free download, PointCast hunts down news from more than 35 industries, such as telecommunications or electronics, and tracks company stock performance and price. If timing is essential in your business, PointCast is like having your own newswire, customized to track competitors. For more refined news searches, install other agent software such as Autonomy Agentware (415-326-6300, www.agentware.com; Win 95, 3.1; $49.95) on your system. Acting as a filter for information, these programs seek out and deliver information that relates to only the topics you select.

With search engines such as Lycos (www.lycos.com) and AltaVista (www.altavista.com), you can zero in on your competitors' Web sites to find out how they position themselves. If you're, say, duking it out with a technology business, scout for white papers or detailed technical information on products.

In fact, one high-tech company posted news on an upcoming product that its public relations folks didn't even know to release. To hear direct feedback from competitors' customers, hang out in rivals' chat rooms. While you're there, take note of complaints about price, service, and support.

Get the scoop on rivals through usenet newsgroups. Although some may be filled with minors, good business intelligence can be found there. Who knows? Someone might post information that was under a nondisclosure agreement or a disgruntled employee may use an anonymous remailer to vent his or her spleen. With an Internet service provider (ISP) and newsreader software such as Forte's Free Agent (Forte Inc., 619-431-6496, www.forteinc.com; $29 if ordered electronically), you have access to hundreds of megabytes of messages each day. But how do you ferret out specific competitor information? Go to a usenet search engine such as Excite (www. excite.com)--just make sure you select the usenet option before clicking the search button--and find a single newsgroup or all newsgroups with keywords that identify your area of interest. Also check out Deja News (www. dejanews.com). It covers large newsgroup headings, such as the many topics under alt.news. Remember, newsgroups are popping up regularly, so it pays to look into each to see if competitor information is available.

Promote Yourself and Pummel Adversaries

Even if you don't have a marketing budget that's busting at the seams, you can outsmart competitors with these ideas.

Wow clients with a marketing video. Make your small business appear spectacular on the silver screen with your own videotape that you can send to clients, run at trade shows, and hand out to salespeople and suppliers. With prices on digital videocameras, animation and graphics programs, and desktop editing becoming more affordable, making a three-minute spot costs roughly $3,000. But, unless you're in the business, we recommend that you hire a professional to produce it by calling the International Association of Business Communicators (415-433-3400, 800-776-4222) for leads.