Skills and the Entrepreneur: Chapter 6

Investigating competition using various tools

 For an entrepreneur to be successful it is important to watch the market by investigating competition within the market of operation. There are two types of competition close competition and secondary competition; entrepreneur would have to study the close competition closely in order to find means of how counter compete. The secondary competition is more broad and divers so entrepreneurs would study these more on a term of getting information out of them and understanding different ways in which they could improve on their business and it is important to analyse what the competitors are doing so that you can either implement their strategies or improve on them to gain more market share. It is extremely important that an entrepreneur dose so when starting up a firm. This could include internet electrical competitor watching, I could for example look up details of my competitors online to get a feel of the market. For example with my fashion label:

Mystery Shopping

Mystery shopping is a tool used by market research companies to measure quality of retail service or gather specific information about products and services. Mystery shoppers posing as normal customers perform specific tasks -- such as purchasing a product, asking questions, registering complaints or behaving in a certain way and then provide detailed reports or feedback about their experiences.
Buying and returning goods: there are many ways in which an entrepreneur can develop an idea, this can be done by buying and selling. Some entrepreneurs would by a product take a picture of it and develop a better product for the market, other may purchase a product and keep it and use it until they realise that they could do with something better. A good example of an entrepreneur that has gained success this way would be:

“I’m making babies smile and giving parents fun ways to interact with their children,” says Aigner-Clark. “What could be better than that?” Aigner-Clark loves what she does because it was something that sprung from her own needs. She did not spend years seeking out fruitless business ideas. She noticed the opportunity right under her nose and jumped on it.

Stealth:  

when investigating competition it is important to be undercover this is to avoid competitors becoming aware of your presence in the market especially if you are new and you’re trying to penetrate a market. An entrepreneur should never compromise their ideas or else other businesses could take the ideas and place in the market be fore you this would have an enormous negative effect to towards the market. Firms such as Nando’s has made policies that prevent anyone form getting hold of their ingredients for their sauces. Coca-Cola is another example that has a secret recipe for its unique cola taste.