“Anytime you find someone more successful than you are, especially when you’re both engaged in the same business – you know they’re doing something that you aren’t.” – Malcolm X
Imitation, according to modern science, “is an advanced behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another’s behavior; imitation is also a form of social learning that leads to the development of traditions and culture.” Modern commerce endorses certain forms of imitation wherein manufacturers, for instance, learn from competitors to design and launch products that resemble merchandise already available in the market. Such imitation could manifest in the replication of features of a popular product, designing service guidelines that closely match those offered by a market leader, effecting intelligent alterations in derivative products with the intent to lure the attention of consumers, etc. These facts represent ongoing phenomenon in modern markets and spotlight the human tendency to examine one’s immediate environment, select desirable traits, learn from competitors, and present a derivative proposition for consideration by the masses. Flowcharts emerge as an interesting platform that empowers businesses to devise the means of commercial imitation, expand the concept of consumer choice, and lend deeper meaning to the paradigm associated with free market or free enterprise.
New entrants in competitive markets could deploy flowcharts in a bid to deconstruct innovative sales campaigns designed by a market incumbent. Pursuant to this strategy to learn from competitors, new operators could examine various aspects of such campaigns in terms of market reach, novel selling points, the unique value proposition, pricing strategies, customer targeting mechanisms, etc. These elements, when scrutinized inside the expanse of a flowchart, allow operators to delineate the moving parts of a successful campaign, and replicate these in an intelligent fashion. The graded aspects of flowchart mechanisms also empowers operators to calibrate the extent of replication; this allows them to output new editions of the original campaign as part of efforts to engage with various markets. Essentially, the derivative campaign presents a fine instance of commercial tactics that hinge on the motto learn from competitors.
Business strategy represents a legitimate target when an enterprise seeks to learn from competitors. A manufacturer of passenger cars, for instance, could examine the business strategy of successful market players prior to entering a new market segment. Such an initiative, when unfurled inside a flowchart, could lead to insights that encourage the new entrant to market its automotive brand aggressively, clearly position the moving parts of product differentiation, offer buyers the benefit of extended warranties, etc. These components of a derivative business strategy can resonate with buyers and customers in the new market segment, thereby allowing a new entrant to court commercial success. The flowchart plays a central role in creating an adaptation of a successful business strategy. Its wide expanse and ability to connect ideas allows market challengers to customize certain aspects of strategy while driving a declared intent to learn from competitors.
The idea of competitive intelligence refers to research about market competitors; such intelligence forms the crux of campaigns that enable operators to find crucial information about the business methods and strategic implementation undertaken by the competition. These lines of data, on subsequent deployment, could shape effective marketing strategies. A content creator, for instance, can gather competitive intelligence through acts that include social listening, SEO analysis, the creation of focus groups, soliciting feedback from users, identifying key customers of the competition, and taking the proverbial hard look at the product features offered by a competitor. Such a strategy to learn from competitors can enlighten the business practices espoused by a modern content creator, illuminate the path to greater relevance in the market, and help develop a signature identity that differentiates his/her brand in digital landscapes. Flowcharts are instrumental in propagating these activities and confer significant power on creators that wish to rise above the mundane.
Further to the above, content creators and digital marketers can survey the content syndication platforms, blogs, and social media posts of competitors in a bid to boost their audience traction. This list could also include an examination of e-books, infographics, webinars, newsletters, podcasts, and case studies positioned by competitors in the digital domain. Additionally, such monitoring can include signing up for email newsletters from various competitors in a bid to decode their work culture, scan business news, assess the modes of their seasonal campaigns, compare the types of content and the frequency of publishing such content, and the techniques used by competition to addresses target audiences. These efforts to learn from competitors can drive the creation of a novel content publishing and marketing technique/strategy that elevates the brand value of the sponsor. Flowcharts can assist in such initiatives by visually describing the benefits that issue from various aspects of such strategy. In time, sponsors could elect to append additional information in pursuit of refining and expanding the ideas that power such campaigns.
Strategic pricing initiatives deserve a thorough analysis when business operators seek to learn from competitors as part of efforts to expand market traction. Such an initiative must resonate with research that indicates many businesses deploy value-based pricing methods that hinge on a customer’s ability to pay for a product/service. In line with this, business operators could arrive at a range of competitive price points for basic services, premium services, follow-on services, etc. We note such price points remain subject to periodic revisions to reflect market realities, as also to secure a certain profit margin for the sponsor enterprise. In addition, swift changes in pricing structures could follow when new operators enter markets; such a stance allows incumbents to preserve their market position and block a potential migration of customers to new service providers. Such maneuvers, when underlined by the quest to learn from competitors, allows business operators to emulate their best practices.
Modern businesses must master the art of designing exquisite strategies and driving hard-nosed implementations in different business environments. Such a stance must combine with a resolve to learn from competitors, leading to high grade micro-strategies that can power commercial success in various markets. For instance, a retail business operation could drive a focus on close conversations with customers as part of efforts to boost conversions, create an augmented reality (AR) version of a retail store, pay special attention to loyal customers, stress on constant innovation as part of reinforcing its competitive advantage, spotlight its bestsellers, and underline company policy of ethical sourcing of its product lines. These activities can combine to fashion a winning proposition that allows the modern business to acquire and retain a dominant position in modern markets.
Every operator in the domain of modern commerce can analyze these paragraphs and forge unique editions and versions of business strategy. We note the art of learning from competitors represents a fine chemistry that should be constantly refined and expanded with a view to bring new products and services to market. Flowcharts enable operators to define the fluid contours of such chemistry, while creating locations of constant inducement to innovate in terms of depth, scale, and the vision that animates the spirit of modern competition. Moreover, manifest strategy that emerges from the expanse of a flowchart could find enrichment through an entrepreneur’s sense of the possible. In addition, flowcharts enable the modern enterprise to frame disruptive strategies that can re-set customer expectations, raise new business operations to the top of entrepreneurial sweepstakes, and open new vistas in terms of sheer commercial achievement.
