Talking to your competitors

Talk to your competitors


Liam Horan

Why not?
It’s good to talk.
Let’s start again: do you know who your competitors are?
You might think it’s that other corner-shop down the street. But maybe it’s not. Maybe your real competitors are 20 miles away or more – Maplin, Tesco, Dunnes, whoever.
There might be a lot of reasons to talk to your competitors. And I suspect the instinct of most people in business is NOT to do so.
Permit me then to make a case for the concept of talking to your competitors. It needs someone to speak up for it.
I know a businessman who recently talked to his competitors. After the initial sussing-out, soft talk, and dummy runs, both sides gradually opened up.
They discovered they could help each other quite a bit.
They were both spending money on the exact same thing – without any significant commercial advantage accruing. It was a lose-lose scenario.
So they decided that rather than the two of them duplicating the work and cost, they would share it between the two of them. The result? A 50 per cent cost saving for both sides straight away. As the comedian used to say, just like that.
Life went on.
They still keep in touch. They are now looking out for other areas where they can help each other. They believe there is room in the industry for the two of them. The 50 per cent cost saving on the function mentioned above has more than justified the decision to talk.
I know another businessperson who decided this year to talk to his competitors. He knew that many of them – like himself – were facing uncertain times. So he trawled around, put out some feelers, did some talking.
He discovered a great secrecy among most of his competitors. “It was like they were all guarding what they had,” he said, “though I think they had nothing. I felt it wasn’t the time to put up the shutters.”
Undeterred, he kept putting the word out. He kept flying kites in the hope that someone would pick up on them. He had a strong sense that, as he put it, “only good could come out of it – we were all in the same boat.”
As it happened, his instinct was right. Finally, one competitor picked up on his vibes. Their eyes met across a depressed business environment. It was caution at first sight. Slowly, some trust was built up, they began to see ways they could work together.
“We were competitors, but not really. The more we talked things through, the more we realised we were stronger by teaming up together on certain projects – as a result, I was able to get some work I would not have got on my own, and likewise for them,” he said.
“It was the best thing I did in years. My sales are up and I’m confident about the future. I look on my other competitors and see them all scrambling around trying to get a share of the pie.
“If they would only stop, talk to each other, and get clever.”
So there you have, a case for talking to your competitors.
Maybe it’s still not for you. But I would posit that it’s no harm to think about it.
There could be savings and – full-scale buzzword alert – synergies. There could be new contracts to win, experience to share, and another crutch to help you navigate these tough times.

Liam Horan
runs www.SliNuaCommunications.com , a communications consultancy based in Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo.