Competition is inevitable in every industry, and it’s a never-ending race among businesses to stay ahead of their competitors. In the thriving events industry, in particular, newevent planning industry competitors are jumping onto the bandwagon every day, offering fresher ideas or lower price points—you snooze, you lose. As an event organiser, how do you stay ahead of your competitors in this wild race?
How to define your competitors
Since the advent of the Internet, the concept of competition has expanded, meaning that your competitors may be online websites, many of which you don’t even know about, so understanding your event planning competitors is an important strategy to develop. Therefore, the most obvious and simple way, at first glance, is Internet research based on the key users’ queries.
What are some effective ways to quickly recognise your event management competitors and stay ahead of them in the market? You will discover some affordable ways to stay on top of the game in this article.
Stay updated on your industry
Keeping up to date with your industry and field helps you stay relevant and on the forefront of the latest trends. Always catch up to industry news about front runners, changes in consumer trends, business environment, and new technological developments. Subscribe to journals, news, magazines, and follow industry magnates on social media like LinkedIn, Google+ or Twitter so that you are constantly in the know. Reading success stories and different perspectives are always helpful, and you’ll be surprised how much you can learn from these information.
Being one of the first to offer new products, technologies, or services also gives you an advantage over your competitors by attracting customers to try them out while also building credibility for your brand as a frontrunner in the industry.
Know your competition
To stay ahead of your competitors, you need to know your competition. Competitor’s analysis should be nothing new in a business plan, but with an active industry, your analysis should be carried out periodically to stay updated on your peers. This includes both primary and secondary competitors. A simple search on Google should inform you about emerging companies in the industry, their product offerings, and unique selling points. Listed companies may provide information on strategies and future goals or plans, which can give you an idea of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.
Identifying your competitors’ strengths can inform you on areas that require improvement in order to stay competitive, while weaknesses can present themselves as opportunities where your company can fill the gaps and supersede your competitors in the events industry.
Understand your audience
If other businesses are your competitors, then your consumers are the judges of the competition, so always be aware of your target audience, their needs, and their expectations. Consumer behavior can change according to macro environmental factors, such as economic and social conditions, so pay attention to these determinants. Be responsive to your consumers’ needs by establishing communication, whether with prospects or existing customers. Communicating with prospects can inform you of concerns they have in selecting a company to work with and will allow you to adjust your pricing promotional and marketing strategies accordingly in order to tap into potential consumers.
However, don’t neglect your existing customers. Customer loyalty is invaluable, and it is far more cost efficient to retain your consumers than to replace them. Keep in touch with your customers, and constantly ask for feedback that can improve the customer experience. You should also offer perks and discounts for long-term customers to show your appreciation and discourage them from jumping ship to your competition in the events industry.
Keep your employees loyal
Staying competitive involves more than just your competitors and audience, but your staff, who are one of your key assets. As mentioned above, communication between you and your customers are highly important, and chances are that your staff will be bridging the interaction between your business and your consumers. Provide your staff with constant training and skill developments so that they are able to keep up with the latest industrial developments and in turn, offer top quality service to your customers. Well-trained and motivated employees underline an efficient and thriving working environment, which is helpful in attracting new recruits and retaining existing talents.
Like your customers, you wouldn’t want your employees jumping ship to competitive businesses. The talent pool can be limited, so human resource management should be conducted with care. Besides offering a competitive wage, offer a productive workplace culture, employee benefits, as well as opportunities for skills and career development, so that employees will choose to stay and grow with your company.
Use online services for competitor analysis
The peculiarity of such services is that they are looking for competitors based on the similarity of search queries. They help not only to identify competitors in event planning but can also give more detailed data on them, such as the following:
- How competitors conduct contextual campaigns, if any
- The traffic of competitors’ sites
- What key phrases lead visitors to competitors’ sites
- What content is popular with competitors’ visitors
Accordingly, you can also conduct wide market research and find your competitors on different related websites, under the condition that you are a registered representative of the market.
Such services are partially available for integration with our platform for effective email marketing, surveys, and other features.
Conclusion
The events industry can be a competitive field, but you can make your way to the top and keep your place ahead of your competitors in event management by staying updated on the latest developments in the industry and adjusting your strategies accordingly. Determine the market positions of your competitors, and understand their strengths and weaknesses in order to find a gap that your business can fill. Be sure to take meticulous care in customer relations and human resources management.
What are your best tips for staying competitive in the events industry?
Leave a comment to let us know!
