My competitor just paid $5,000 for something that took me 30 minutes to do – Search Engine Optimisation.

It always surprises me that some business owners haven’t realised that they don’t operate in isolation and really your business is part of a bigger ecosystem. I think it is vital for us business owners to get out there and meet with our customers and yes, engage the competition through networking and even shared interviews and discussion.

Just recently I had a great interview lined up with a conversion optimisation specialist based here in Brisbane. On the morning he called me up and very graciously said that he couldn’t do the interview anymore because one of my competitors had just hired them to beat my ranking for several search engine keywords. I know that they would have paid in the area of $5,000 for a basic SEO package, and that makes me smile because honestly, I set up my on-page SEO in less than 30 minutes and I am still number one on Google in one of the most competitive categories!

I know that I will always be a flexible and approachable option for my customers and I will always remain competitive when my ‘competition’ (a marketing agency) is hiring another marketing agency to do their marketing and that agency is outsourcing their SEO work. Guess what they do with their clients’ work?

Business owners tend to spend a lot of time trying to stay ahead of the competition. And in my opinion, we spend way too much time watching people that have never taken a customer from us. Unsubscribe from all the emails and rather spend your time focusing on growing your business. I would love to see a business environment where competitors actually grow and learn from each other. There are plenty of fish in the sea and wise collaboration will place you as an expert in the industry.

As a marketing agency, I have found that doors tend to be closed and it’s very much a dog eat dog environment. I would love to see the barriers lowered, and business owners being more open with their expertise – give clients so much value that they choose you for your speciality over competitors.  It is important that we know our strengths, know who we are as business owners and know exactly how to speak to our customers’ hearts.

That’s the sort of business I want to build and I hope that is the sort of business that you want to build. If you want to learn how to attract customers because they choose you over competitors instead of them choosing you because that’s all they know, then please contact me below and I will happily give you a few pointers.