Competition is everywhere. From the sporting world to the business sector, everyone has a competitor on their back. You may not think about your competition every day, but they may gain more attention from you once they start inching ahead.

Seeing that your competitors are doing something better than you or outperforming you from a monetary perspective can be discouraging. That said, there is a place for you at the proverbial table as long as you are willing to put in the work and stay in the game for the long run. Here are three reasons your competition could be outgrowing you and what you can do about each scenario.

1. Authority and Credibility

They say trust isn’t built in a day, but rather over a period of time. Consumers today want to trust the brands they’re purchasing from. They want to feel like their dollar is going toward something that is worthwhile and reputable. If your competitors are more revered in the market, you’ll want to look at your positioning and determine if you’re considered an authority in your industry.

Authority means being known in the industry and having an opinion that others value. From a technical standpoint, it means being at the top of a search results page and having other established brands link to your site. Credibility, in the business sense, is about being reliable. Again, with so many competing brands on the market, a purchaser wants to have good faith that you will deliver the product or service you say you can offer.

If you’re struggling with establishing authority and credibility, it may be time to enlist outside help such as a growth marketing agency. These agencies work with your marketing team to improve your brand’s reputation. They can assist in developing new campaigns while tinkering with your current strategies to ensure they’re working for you. This may mean optimizing your website so that it appears in Google’s search results or getting your company mentioned in reputable publications. The right agency will customize your strategy.

2. Innovation

Being innovative is a critical trait of any successful company. While it can be confused with creativity, innovation is much more than out-of-the-box thinking; innovation involves the usage of new ideas, ones that can solve your consumers’ problems in more efficient ways. It’s all about advancing the status quo, pushing the limits of what can be achieved. Brands that are innovative are not only thriving today, but they’re preparing for their future successes too. If you feel like your competitors are slowly nudging you out of the race, there’s a good chance it’s because they’re leading with innovation.

There are four main types of innovation. Incremental innovation involves smaller improvements over the course of a period of time. Architectural innovation is leveraging new skills, such as AI technology. Radical innovation is offering a new product to the market that trumps anything else currently available. Disruptive innovation changes the market entirely, such as how Tesla is making and selling cars. While innovation can’t happen overnight, stick with one of these four types to move the needle and begin to creep up on your competition.

Being innovative often requires going back to the drawing board and thinking about “who” your brand is and what solutions you’re offering your customers. Think about your underlying business model and compare how you’re stacking up against your competitors. As an example, Tesla is revolutionizing how people drive cars, offering sleek electric vehicles that draw attention to themselves. While other electric cars are on the market, Tesla’s cars are perceived to be different and can be purchased directly from the brand as opposed to a car lot.

3. First-Mover Advantage

It pays to be first. When you’re able to offer a new product to the market, then you’re really onto something. It gives you a competitive edge over any similar companies because you are deemed the first to do it. You’re setting the standard for how something is done, implying to customers that you know how to do it best because you’re doing it first.

Uber wasn’t the first to offer ridesharing, but they revolutionized the industry by being the first to offer a ridesharing app. They were also the first to offer a premium car ride service, appealing to those in the business sector who wanted to look and feel professional. This contrasts with Lyft, which launched after Uber with its whimsical pink mustache logo and goal to appeal to a younger crowd. Both are successful today, but Uber currently dominates the U.S. market share.

While you can’t control what your competitors are launching, you can control what you bring to market. If you know your target audience, think about what you can offer them that others have yet to be able to do. Doing so will help you capture your audience’s attention before others have the ability to do so. With this, you’ll establish brand name recognition, which is a huge benefit.

Takeaways

By sizing up your competition, you may see areas that you’re lacking in. If others are seen as more trustworthy, you’ll likely lose out on sales simply because another brand has positioned itself better. This shouldn’t discourage you. Instead, it should motivate you to think differently about how you can gain more of the market share and focus on what your audience wants and needs. Analyze how your competitors are conducting business and find ways to put your brand in the spotlight.