Indirect competitors compete for the same customers within the same market with alternative products and services.
Primary Implication
Failing to know the readily available alternatives to your products and services robs you of the opportunity to position your products and services as a better solution to satisfying a prospect’s need or serving their want. Do this well, and you will have higher sales with better cash inflows than those who don’t recognize who their indirect competitors are.
Overview
Indirect competition occurs wherever your products or services can satisfy a need or serve a consumer’s want in a similar but not the same way. For example, Mexican and Chinese restaurants in the same neighborhood are indirect competitors. They both offer similar solutions—food for hungry customers, convenience, and proximity—but how they satisfy your hunger is different.
The primary challenge with indirect competitors is their ability to offer a similar yet different solution than yours, making that target customer unavailable to you until their need or want reemerges.
When a potential customer elects to spend their money on a similar solution, that means they won’t spend their money on your solution representing zero in cash inflow.
