I’m not a big fan of inspecting your “competition” in order to figure out how to “position yourself in the market.” It just doesn’t make any sense to me.

You are marketing your own company, products, services, information or storage space.

Does this deep investigation of other people, who are not doing exactly what you do, help you share with others who you are and what you do? I think not. I believe it actually gets you started off on the wrong foot altogether.

Your Niche

I am a HUGE fan of getting to know your customer and knowing who you want to have more of as a customer.

It is far more useful to know who you are, your company, your services, products, etc. I’m not talking about being able to recite your company mission or knowing your address. I’m talking about the kind of self knowledge that supports consistency.

And remember consistency is the foundation of integrity. Integrity is what makes your company real. Integrity feels solid, reliable, long lasting, trustworthy. How does self knowledge bring integrity? When you know who you are, you are unlikely to over-promise. You have accountability with yourself. Your customers can count on you to hold yourself accountable for your actions.

Remember when you were a kid and you would whine to an adult and say, “Billy’s doing something …” Do you remember the response? “Quit focusing on him and pay attention to yourself.” This advise still applies.