Track Competitor Displacements

Earlier today we had a good conversation about the recent trend we’ve seen where new customers were already vended and came over to us from a competitor. Traditionally we haven’t seen too much competitor displacement as our market is small but growing fast. This might be a sign that our market is maturing but I wouldn’t give it too much credit. Rather, enough companies have had a chance to use our competitors and we’ve come in with the right value proposition at the right time.

New customers, once they’re smiling and satisfied, are a font of information about their previous vendor. Here are a few reasons why it is important to track competitor displacements:

• Understand if there are any trends e.g. a certain competitor’s customers seem to be switching so you should focus on reaching out to more of that competitor’s customers
• Learn what the competitor doesn’t do well and exploit it as a weakness
• Figure out what the competitor does do well and incorporate it into your strategy, if applicable
• Inquire if there’s anything about the customer experience you provide that was better or worse about their experience with your competitor

My recommendation is to track competitor displacements and spend time understanding the nuances of the deal as it will provide significant intelligence for your company.