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One way of determining the best path for a business to take is through competitor awareness.  Competition encourages businesses to do better.  The goal is to find out competitors’ strength to emulate or even top it.  Weaknesses of competitors allow a business to penetrate their common market while having the chance to be the one to fill in the gap being experienced by the other. 

It is natural for consumers and customers to notice a product or service that addresses a specific need which cannot be provided by another.  A new brand can upset the standing of a long-established brand if it is able to manifest its ability to perform better.  Its success of penetrating a leading brand’s market may be impossible to attain even if offered at a lower price if quality comes out lower as well.  The task may be more attainable but still difficult when a new brand offers the same quality for a lower price.  Chances for success are greatest when a new product comes in the competition with offered advantages over the others. 

It is never a good idea to ignore competition.  To do so would result to marketing efforts that may not be exactly apt for the company’s aim to prevail over the target market.  This is why all start-up businesses are advised to conduct a market research.  Information derived from market researches will show what type of competitors a new business is expected to be up against.  It should also reveal the potential profitability of the proposed businesses in relation to the existing market.  When data tend to provide a picture of potential non-profitability, budding entrepreneurs should consider coming up with an evolved form of the original product being considered.  This is because it is highly possible that a market for an existing product has already been fully saturated but another potential market can be created when a product is reinvented successfully. 

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