Unbelievably there are actually people out in the world that think it is a good idea to knock the competition. They say things that are not true, criticize others, and bash their products and/or services. It is never a good idea to knock your competition. If you do, you are just challenging your customers to check out the people or company you have knocked.

Why do companies or individuals think it is necessary to do this? It could be out of greed because they want it all. It could be jealousy; deep down they do not feel their product or service measures up with the competitors. It could be desperation; they are struggling to survive, possibly with an inferior product or service. It could be a lack of confidence in what they are doing, or selling or they lack ethics and integrity, both personally and professionally. It could simply be stupidity or a total lack of class.

I do believe that you need to keep up to date with your competition. One way to do this is to mystery shop their operation or survey people that have used their services. You need to know what your competition is doing to stay ahead of the game. You need to constantly look at yourself and improve areas where your competitor may be better than you. I know that your customers are shopping the competition and the last thing that you want is your customer knowing more about what is happening in your industry than you do.

Further, should you be a company that this has happened to, I believe you would certainly want to defend yourself and your products or services. For example, if others say that you do not certify your diamonds but you do and have three GIA Certified Gemologists on staff and every diamond you sell is confirmed for its grading, independent of the grading laboratories, then this is your defense. In addition, I would not give the company or person knocking you the mention of their name.

If you are one of those people that practices competitor bashing, or think you need to knock the competition to maintain or grow your business – I suggest you cool it – you are only hurting yourself.

FINAO - Brad Huisken