how do you find these wizards who can spot another firms weaknesses and strengths, who can plan a sales campaigh thats got power and strength to it, which your STAFF will buy and accept, and how do you acquire the self-discipline to make it all knit together in order to keep the sales- kettle boiling.
How you recognize strength and weaknesses in other companies and people: READ BETWEEN THE LINES
The actual actions will be specific to the type of business your into. Let’s say we are starting a firearms manufacturing company. Our goal is to make something with exceptional reliability, top notch accuracy, cost effective, extremely durable, operable in all weather conditions, well-known, etc.
Now what do the competitors have over us? Brand recognition, government and civilian contracts, money to burn, etc. Specifically:
Glock- Known for it’s reliability, out-of-the-box accuracy, lightweight polymer frame, relatively cost effective, practical safety features. Replacement parts are easy to find. The gun is easy to clean. It’s also heavily used in law enforcement. I know the owner is the richest man in Austria so he’s got money to combat an “ambush” so I shouldn’t be calling him out with my advertising. The companies limitations lie in the design and brand recognition. They are stuck selling exclusively pistols with a certain design. It’s plastic frame is often criticized because well, it’s a plastic gun.
HK- Again, known for it’s spectacular reliablity and out of the box accuracy. Some of the designs are the most heavily tested of any gun. You can put 20-50,000 rounds through it (the entire life of the gun) without having a single malfunction. Heavily used in elite military and law enforcement units which is a tribute to the quality. This is a quality brand, good ol’ german engineering, but the prices are exceptionally high. A pistol with a threaded barrel might cost $1100-1500+ USD. It’s limitations are in cost effectiveness which limits it’s universal appeal.
Kimber- Original designer of the 1911 (formerly used in the US military as the standard issue pistol). With this pistol, you have to break it in by putting 300-500 rounds through it so the mechanical parts rub together to make it all function seamlessly. WHEN a malfunction occurs, you have to send it back to the manufacturer for testing and repairs. The customer service policies are awful. You have to pay for overnight shipping to the manufacturer after spending $100 dollars in ammo to find out it doesn’t work right, then when it get’s “repaired” you have to put another 300-500 rounds through it to make sure it’s in working condition. I don’t need to discuss it’s weaknesses as they’ve already been noted. The strengths of this company and this design are in the 1911. The pistols design has been piggybacked and improved by almost every pistol manufacturer (including the aforementioned) which is a testament to it’s engineering.
All companies have strengths and weaknesses, the evidence is in their products and services. A bad weapon to me means a company has done little testing, it’s engineers are stupid, they have a small R&D budget, they are more concerned with quantity than quality. It also tells me they are short on cash which is why they are rushing an incomplete design out the door. Chances are their previous designs have flopped which explains their lack of current income.
A company with far more strengths than weaknesses you have to move around them instead of through them. I’d tackle the weak company head on, I’d avoid the strong company head on but rather quietly fill their small void with the consumers. Since HK’s only problem is they are expensive; I’d dissect their designs, and try to make a pistol that is very similar in operation but much cheaper to manufacturer. Or even make a product a loss leader to bait customers in to sell them my assortment of other void-filling guns.