How close is your competition?

briank

CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
Joined
Apr 25, 2005
Posts
110
Loc
san francisco
I had a shop open up very close to mine in the last year. I was wondering how close your competion is and how you deal with it? Do you ignore it or do you fight it?

So far we have relied on our reputation but it does feel like they are pulling some their way.

Sorry if I should have posted this in the business section.
 
Restaurants commonly locate next to other restaurants for that very reason. I would think it could help you both. It will probably help them a little more than you at first but eventually their advertising dollars might bring you customers and the other way around.

I wouldn't be afraid if another shop were to locate close to me.

I opened my shop about 5 blocks from the nearest competition. I don't think we're close enough to pull off each other much.
 
I don't know because I'm afraid to look back, but I do keep hearing footsteps.

:rolleyes:

Dave Makielski
 
Brian ;if you mean my closest competition ,it is just blocks away and if you mean any competition it is all over the area. I have said before in the New Orleans metropolitan area there are appx. over 100 shops listed that do Framing in the yellow pages . That doesn't take into account HB shops that aren't in the YPs.However that doesn't frighten me when they open .But I wouldn't look for a saturated area to locate, unless I felt what i offered was in some way UNIQUE.

I do disagree though with Jay to some extent. I disagree about not drawing from close competition's base ,based on how large the terget market is in the area.If you and the competition or the only two in the area you probably don't draw from one another. If the target clientel is hughe it probably is also true.If the two shops offer completely different niches it may be true again.

However if you are in a lightly populated area and you both offer the same style services you can count on there being customer cross over shopping.

I vaguely remeber reading a survey that suggested that if you open a second shop to not open it within a minimum of a 6 mile radius of your existing shop or you would most likely be drawing from the same customer base.With that in mind if there are two or more competitive shops located as close as blocks away you can be assured that they are drawing from the same customer base unless something seperates what they have to offer. To that extent most closely located competition will high light any and all marketable differances between them and the competition. If they weren't drawing from the same base why would this work or be attempted?
BUDDY
 
It was a hard lesson to learn but people's curiosity will beat out their loyalty and they WILL go check out the other guy. The best thing to do is stay consistent. Don't worry about what you can't control but use that energy to make your place the best it can be! ;)
 
I have a competitor less than 1/2 block (across an alley) from me. Another is about a block away. Another is a block the other way. A couple more are within a mile.
We all seem to be doing okay. My business is up over 50% from last year, so I don't think any of them are hurting me.
I also don't think I'm hurting any of them, they all seem well established. I'm the new kid on the block & have been growing very well these last four years.
I like competition. In fact several of the others are very cordial with me & we speak frequently.
I sure wouldn't worry about competition. What do you offer that's different? What do you do that's better? How does your location compare with the others? Is it cleaner, friendlier, etc.?
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Lets just say that the new shop is specificaly going for my client base. Similar company model, services, etc. Do you still sit and assume that your product is the better of the two? I know it is but how do I let clients know this that may not without comparisons?

Randy,
It sounds like your the guy taking the business away LOL.
 
"...if you open a second shop to not open it within a minimum of a 6 mile radius of your existing shop or you would most likely be drawing from the same customer base."

Mr. Tucker would have something to say about that. His two are around a mile apart and were busy as a beehive while I was there.
 
But I wouldn't look for a saturated area to locate, unless I felt what i offered was in some way UNIQUE.
That's why, no matter where I work, I don't worry about competition! As framers, the best way to keep ahead is to never stop the learning process. I read PFM and DECOR cover to cover every month, and also constantly work at honing my skills. It makes me a better framer and a more valuable assett to my employer and my clients!
 
Worry might not be the word of choice, but I would definitely be aware of what others in my area were doing. I think it is foolish to just think they don't affect you. Now saying that I do understand that there are different shops-cheap-middle-high end. Most shops go for the middle to upper end. There are going to be some customers that are harder to get-say you are the upper end guy and it is a lower end customer. That is going to make it hard, but as Bob saids if you get them in the door make the sale.

With that idea you do need to keep a close watch on the folks competing with you. I had a conversation about this just the other day. The lady I spoke with thought she did not need to worry about the cheaper place. We did disagree, but found value in what each other had to say.
Patrick Leeland
 
I think once agin my points may be being misinterpeted. Some keep saying you shouldn't worry about competition when takeing what seems like an opposite approach to mine. However I would suggest that the sentance " However that doesn't frighten me when they open ." says the same thing. I don't worry but as Patrick pointed out ,you do affect each other and we all should be aware of what the competition is doing to our business,even if we weather it just fine.

Jay also pointed out that Mr. Tucker has two shops within a mile of each other and they are both busy. Yes and many of those shops in the French Quarter down here in N.O. are also all doing business. But do they draw ustomers from each other ,even if they are owned by the same person? I'll bet they could be.
Maybe you could run the same business from one larger or better manned/equipped shopped with out the extra cost of two outlets. In the case of the Quarter shops they draw from outside their geographical area( very few people actually still live in the Quater. )So this and other comparisons like it are more like shopping centers not stand alone store fronts that rely on customers that travel to the nearest Framer or their competitor.

Fear?NO! Worry ?SELDOM! Watch ?Always.Run from competition?Never. Do we draw from those close to us even our own stores? I'll bet we all do,but maybe we can tolerate that just fine.

Maybe I have misunderstood ,I thought the question was do we draw from shops close to us ,cometitors and even our own.
Now I get the feeling Brian is asking how to compet against them . My answer can be found in my original post. Advertise what makes you different/Better then your competition,maybewithout mentioning their name.You probaly won't need to use names ,your's or their's. If you don't ,Dont't be surprise if they try.
BUDDY
 
I have one frame shop across the street from me, and another four shops 3 blocks away (it's really crowded here) We also have another photo shop 2 blocks away and 1 across the street in the mall.

Oh, and also in Chalmette ;)

I don't think the proximity really hurts at all. As long as you offer superior products and customer service, I think you could have a shop right nextdoor and still do well.
 
Oh, and just FYI, I do go into other shops and check out their selection, customer service, etc... Plus, having worked in 3 different shops before settling in my current position, I know a bit about the competition from the inside. I use what I find to improve the way I do business and distinguish myself from others.

It doesn't hurt to have a built in clientele from the photo business either...
 
My shop is located in a mall. Our closest competition (Deck the Walls) was at the other end but, they closed. The a Wooden Bird opened up here, but they closed too.
Now our closest competition is Michaels. It's down the street not even a mile. We don't have much real competition with them, though. They send people here for "specialty" stuff and we send people there for cheap photo frames.
We fight back by having great pricing and a relatively fast turnaround. Its good for us, that competition is.
 
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