Small Business Branding, by Drew McLellan: Have you ever had the experience of driving along, paying attention to something off in the horizon and next thing you know, you’ve driven to that spot? And it wasn’t where you meant to go?

The same phenomenon can happen in your business. Most business owners I met pay a lot of attention to what their competition is doing. We definitely need to keep an eye on the competitive landscape. But there’s a very fine line.

The danger in keeping track of the other guys is that you lose track of your own path. We tend to move towards what we pay attention to. And you don’t want to let your competitors determine your marketing strategy. That’s a quick way to:

* Deplete your resources
* Look like you’re playing the “us too” game
* Lose the momentum of your key messages

You want to be the leader in your industry, not follow someone else. The best way to beat your competition isn’t watching what they do. It’s doing what you should be doing.

If you have and follow a marketing plan — you can enjoy the best of both worlds. The marketing plan keeps you on your course. Heading in the direction you have determined. When you know where you’re headed and keep checking the map to see that you’re on course, you can afford to peek at what the competitors are doing.

Just make sure you’re following your course, not theirs.

Is your competition luring you off-track? [Small Business Branding]

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