How Do Businesses Compete for Customers in 2025: Insider Guide

How do businesses compete for customers? I’ve pored over various business strategy readings and case studies to present to you 11 ways B2B businesses can attract customers from competitors.

1. Identify your ICP properly
2. Doing competitor analysis
3. Be early to market trends
4. Be a late mover
5. Decision-stage content
6. Digital advertisement
7. Spot buying signals
8. Poaching/Stealing clients
9. Consider a buy-out deal
10. Email campaigns targeting your competitors' customers
11. Account-based marketing

Types of business competitions

There are three main types of competition that determine how businesses compete:

Direct Competition

This happens when companies sell similar products or services to the same target audience. Think Coca-Cola and Pepsi—both compete head-to-head for soft drink lovers.

Indirect Competition

In this scenario, businesses offer different products or services that meet the same consumer needs.

For example, platforms like Udemy and Coursera compete with universities and colleges by providing alternative ways to gain knowledge and skills.

Replacement Competition

This type of competition involves businesses offering alternative solutions that can replace existing products or services. These competitors may belong to different industries but still compete by addressing similar needs in new ways.

For instance, mobile phones have largely replaced traditional landlines, thanks to their portability and added features like texting and internet access.

Which competitor is worth pursuing?

Going after both direct and indirect competition is super important for growing your market share. It’s how you win over customers, boost sales, and stay on top.

But don’t sleep on replacement competition. Those alternatives can shake up your industry and steal your spot. If you’re not paying attention, you could get left behind.

So, focus on beating the competition head-on, but also keep an eye on the disruptors to stay ahead and keep your business thriving for the long haul.

Now that you know, l'll share my full, top-secret list of business competition strategies.

Identify your ICP properly

Defining your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a crucial first step for any B2B business aiming to stay competitive in today's intense business competition.

Your ICP outlines the type of customers that are the highest value, usually based on existing customer data or from taking notes of what ICP similar businesses/competitors typically target.

Most businesses build their ICP through gut feelings. But here’s how to build a solid one based on data.

1. Analyze your best customer

Defining your 'best customer' depends on your business goals. They might be the ones who spend the most, stick around the longest, or send the most referrals.

You can use our free ICP template to help you.

When you understand who your best customers are, you can be more personalized in your sales and marketing efforts to serve them better than your competitors. If you're a new business without any customers, then you can look at who your competitors are targeting.

Speaking from experience, the lead generation industry's ICPs are typically sales, marketing, and hiring teams. I mean, just look at Sapiengraph's competitors and their target customers.

2. Find common attributes

Next, identify common traits among your best customers, using firmographic data like their industry, average team size, or whether they’ve received funding.

These allow your campaigns to resonate more deeply with your potential customers because you get to address specific needs and priorities. Competitors who take a blanket approach won't connect as effectively with these prospects. That's what gives you a significant edge.

Tools like Sapiengraph can help you gather this data– it lets you enrich customer data directly in Google Sheets. All you need is their LinkedIn profile URLs.

3. Know their challenges

Once you’ve completed the first two steps, ask your customers what triggers their need for your product or service. What problem are they trying to solve?

Knowing the challenges and triggers that lead customers to seek your product allows you to position your offering as the best solution. This is where you can fill the gap your competitors may overlook.

Then, follow up with a question based on your definition of a 'best customer.' If it's those who spend the most, ask what gives them the confidence to invest in your product. If it’s those who stay the longest, ask what keeps them loyal to your company.

The simplest way to reach out is via email. For a more personal touch, schedule a video call or meet them in person.

If you want to learn more about how to properly find your ICP, I gave detailed tips and tricks in my recent article, How to Make Your Business Stand Out From Competitors Building Similar Products.

Pros

• Focuses marketing efforts on high-potential leads.
• Increases the efficiency of sales outreach.
• Helps tailor messaging to resonate with target customers.

Cons

• Requires time and effort to gather and analyze data.
• May overlook potential customers outside the defined profile.

Doing competitor analysis

Competitor analysis helps you understand your competitors' strengths, weaknesses, and strategies so you can spot market gaps and refine your marketing and product offerings to fill those gaps.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Identify your competitors

Make a list of your direct competitors—those offering almost identical products or services to your target audience.

• SimilarWeb’s Similar Sites Report feature lets you compare your website with others in your industry. They do this by analyzing content, audience demographics, keywords, and referral sources.

• You can also try a quick Google search by typing your product name followed by "vs" to see popular competitor comparisons.

2. Make a positioning map

Explore their websites, product descriptions, and customer reviews to uncover their Unique Selling Point (USP) and identify how their products stand out. Look for their strengths and weaknesses compared to your own offerings.

Check out their pricing and what they offer at each price. This can give you a better idea of how to position your own pricing and make your value proposition stand out.

I made one of Sapiengraph’s competitor businesses so you can steal from my playbook.

Then, I drilled down to my best competitor.

Take my Sapiengraph vs UserGems comparison as an example. Both help with sales intelligence and lead generation, but take different approaches.

I found that UserGems is designed for enterprise-level teams like marketing, sales, and RevOps. It focuses on tracking buying signals and automating workflows but needs a big budget and lots of data to be effective.

That’s why I position Sapiengraph differently—as a quick solution for individual sales reps, recruiters, and small to mid-sized businesses that don’t have tech-heavy teams.

For the curious, I've got my full Usergems review here.

3. Perform a SWOT analysis

Break down their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT). It’s a great way to spot where you can exploit their weaknesses and gain advantage.

Here’s what I did for UserGems.

Pros

• Gain insights into what works and what doesn’t in your market
• Find gaps your business can fill.
• Improve your own marketing and product offerings based on competitor weaknesses.

Cons

• It can be time-consuming to gather and analyze all the data.
• Competitors change their strategies often, so you’ll need to stay on your toes.

Be Early to Market Trends

You have to identify market trends and act early to gain an advantage over your competitors. As the saying goes, “early bird gets the worm.”

Here’s how to identify the trends:

1. Follow industry news

Subscribe to industry publications, blogs, and newsletters, or listen to podcasts to stay informed about the latest news and trends affecting your market.

I asked Sapiengraph sales reps, Shawn and Kevin, what resources they use to level up their sales game. I’m sharing their treasured sales podcasts with you:

• Sales Success Stories by Scott Ingram 
  • In-depth interviews with top sales performers who share their strategies, routines, and insights

• 30 Minutes to President’s Club by Armand Farrokh and Nick Cegelski
  • Delivers concise, actionable sales tactics derived from the experiences of the top 1% of sellers at major companies.

Personally, I listen to

• My First Million by Shaan Puri and Sam Paar
  • The hosts discuss various business concepts, interview successful entrepreneurs, and brainstorm potential business ventures.

Our CEO, Steven, reads Hacker News and Twitter/X.

2. Use social media

Platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter are great for following industry leaders who often share the latest insights and trends. It’s an easy way to keep your finger on the pulse.

For example, 

• Guy Kawasaki
  • Former chief evangelist of Apple, currently at Canva. He shares marketing insights relevant to businesses of all sizes.
• Beth Comstock
  • Former CMO at GE, she focuses on innovation and the intersection of design and technology.
• Jill Konrath
  • A thought leader in sales strategies, her content covers marketing trends and effective sales practices.
• Mark Roberge
  • Managing Director at Stage 2 Capital and a Harvard lecturer, he provides data-driven insights into sales acceleration.
• Kelly Riggs
  • Founder of Business LockerRoom, he focuses on helping organizations enhance their sales strategies.
• Koka Sexton
  • A recognized expert in social selling, he shares valuable tips on lead generation and B2B sales strategies.

3. Use analytics tools

Use analytics tools such as Google Trends or Exploding Topics to see what topics are gaining traction in your industry over time.

Google Trends has a comparison feature to analyze multiple search terms side by side. You can view at a glance which topics are more popular over time.

For Exploding Topics, you can browse through their database, which includes thousands of vetted topics across various categories (e.g., Fitness, Technology). Each topic includes historical growth data and how the topics have grown over time.

4. Attend events

Conferences, webinars, and industry events help you stay ahead of the curve by giving you a first look at new ideas, trends, and strategies straight from the experts. These events often showcase emerging technologies, shifting customer demands, and industry challenges before they become mainstream.

Plus, networking with other professionals lets you share ideas and spot opportunities early, so you can adapt before everyone else does.

My marketing team recently attended the Ahrefs SEO Evolve conference and met someone from PhantomBuster. Even though we're competitors, they were super generous with content marketing tips and shared how to boost our SEO efforts. So shoutout to them.

5. Analyze competitor's movement

Keep an eye on your competitors. Are they launching new products? Changing their marketing game? This can give you some valuable insights into where the market’s heading.

You can use Google Alerts to receive notifications on competitors’ new product launches or significant announcements.

You can also sign up to your competitor’s newsletter for updates on product developments. Sapiengraph has its own Product Updates section too ;)

6. Join industry association

Being part of associations gives you access to exclusive research and reports, which can be super helpful when shaping your business strategy.

Here are some examples for each industry. 

• B2B eCommerce Association (B2BEA)
  • Members can leverage resources to improve their eCommerce strategies and connect with industry experts
• American Marketing Association (AMA)
  • Members gain access to research reports, webinars, and conferences that focus on B2B marketing trends and strategies
• International Business Brokers Association (IBBA)
  • Provides training, certification, and resources to help members navigate the complexities of B2B transactions
• Marketing Research Association (MRA)
  • Offers access to research tools, data analysis techniques, and industry standards relevant to B2B market research

Pros

• Helps you adjust your products and services to meet changing customer needs.
• Keeps your business ahead of the curve with proactive strategies.
• Positions you as a thought leader in your industry.

Cons

• Trends can shift fast; what’s hot today might be old news tomorrow.
• Constant monitoring and adjusting can be time-consuming.

Be A Late Mover

Although being early to a trend helps, sometimes jumping into the trend a bit later can actually be a smart move. 

By watching what early adopters do, you get a chance to fine-tune your strategy and avoid some rookie mistakes. Waiting also gives you a chance to see if the demand is really there and tweak your products to fit what people actually want. You're letting your competitors do the experimentation for you.

You can also build on what’s already out there by offering better features and a smoother experience. Plus, you’ll spend less on awareness marketing since the first movers already did the heavy lifting.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Monitor early movers

Keep track of competitors’ product launches, marketing strategies, and customer responses. 

You can do this by following their social media and subscribing to their newsletter. See what users are saying when talking about them on forums. 

Identify what worked well and what didn’t, and note any gaps in their offerings.

2. Validate market demand

Use analytics tools to assess trends in consumer behavior. Look for signs of sustained interest rather than fleeting fads.

Tools like Google Trends’s search volume analysis can help you differentiate sustained interest compared to fleeting fads. A sustained increase in search volume for a particular topic indicates ongoing interest, while spikes followed by quick declines suggest a fad.

For example, here’s a comparison between dance studio (sustained interest) and dancing challenge (fleeting fads).

You can also review industry reports and whitepapers that provide insights into market trends over several years. Look for consistent growth patterns rather than short-term surges.

You can also observe whether competitors are investing in the same area. If multiple companies consistently launch products or campaigns around a trend, it’s likely indicative of sustained market interest.

Check if industry events are focusing on the trend. Regular topics at conferences suggest that the trend has staying power. For example, there are 41 AI conferences in 2025 worldwide. This shows that AI should be taken more seriously.

If you’re not joining in, you’re losing out.

3. Innovate and differentiate

Based on your research, develop enhancements or unique features that address the shortcomings of early movers. Focus on delivering superior value that meets customer needs more effectively.

For example, after a year of R&D, Sapiengraph has developed private customer datasets for the top 1 million companies online. This is because, through our research, we found that the closest you can get to customer data today is through web scrapers like BuiltWith, but its tech stack data has become commoditized since anyone can scrape it.

Pros

• Learn from early movers' successes and failures so you can navigate business competition more strategically
• Validate market demand before entry
• Improve upon existing products
• Benefit from established consumer awareness

Cons

• Risk missing out on initial market share
• Potentially face stronger competition
• May need to invest heavily in marketing to catch up
• Consumer loyalty may already be established

Decision-stage Content

The decision stage is when a prospect:

• Knows the problem they’re dealing with (awareness stage).
• Has figured out what kind of solution they need (consideration stage).
• Is now deciding between vendors to find the best fit for their needs (decision stage).

Why it matters?

If you’re a smaller player in a crowded market, where business competition is fierce, you’re probably not the first choice people think of. But when they’re unhappy with current solutions, they start looking for alternatives—that’s your moment to stand out.

Decision-stage content helps you do just that by showcasing your advantages and positioning you as the better choice.

Here are two types of decision-stage content:

1. Landing page

For example: Proxycurl is a Clearbit alternative

2. Articles

For example:

• UserGems Vs Sapiengraph - Full Review And Comparison
• People Data Labs vs Proxycurl
• Proxycurl vs Coresignal

And it really does work. Our Marketing Lead Joseph shared this fun little tidbit with us:

Pros

• Decision-stage content is tailored to prospects who are ready to purchase. So, convincing would be easier than when the prospects are still in the awareness phase.
• Establish trust and confidence in your product.

Cons

• Excessive information can confuse prospects.
• Requires significant time and resources for research, writing, and design to convey relevant information

Digital Advertisement

Digital advertising can help you grab attention from your competitors’ audience and turn them into your own customers. By showing your ads in the right places at the right time, you can boost brand awareness and attract new leads. 

Here’s a simple guide to getting started:

1. Identify your competitors

Make a list of your top competitors. Learn what they do well, where they fall short, and who they’re targeting.

You can refer to my sample Competitor Analysis above.

2. Understand their audience

Use tools like LinkedIn Analytics to dig into your competitors’ demographics and determine which types of posts (videos, images, links) perform best with their audience.

3. Choose the right advertising platforms and create compelling ad

• Google Ads for search-based targeting.

You can run search campaigns using competitor keywords. For example, if you sell project management software, bid on terms like “Asana alternatives” or “Trello reviews” to catch users actively exploring options.

Use headlines such as "Tired of Asana? Discover [Your Product] - Better Features at a Lower Price!" This directly addresses users searching for your competitor, enticing them to consider your solution.

Or, you can do what HoneyBook does.

• LinkedIn Ads for professionals

You can leverage LinkedIn’s precise targeting to connect with specific roles or industries. If you sell HR software, target HR managers or recruiters.

Create sponsored content that highlights your case studies or testimonials. For instance, "See How [Your Product] Streamlined HR Processes for [Competitor's Client]."

• Meta Ads for broader reach

You can use Facebook’s audience tools to target users based on their interests and behaviors. For instance, if your product is a project management tool, target people interested in similar solutions.

Use engaging visuals and copy like, "Join 10,000+ Users Who Switched to [Your Product] for Better Project Management!" This encourages users to explore alternatives.

Or, check out how monday.com does.

4. Implement retargeting strategies

Stay on your audience’s radar by running ads for people who’ve already visited your site or engaged with your content. This keeps your brand top of mind as they consider their options. 

All three platforms I mentioned (Google, LinkedIn, Meta ads) allow you to retarget.

Here’s a copy for your inspiration,

• "Still Considering Your Options? Check Out Our Exclusive Offer on [Your Product]!"

5. Track and tweak

Check your ad performance regularly with tools like Google Analytics. Look at metrics like click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and return on ad spend (ROAS). If something isn’t working, adjust your targeting or messaging.

Pros

• Digital ads can generate quick traffic to gain exposure fast.
• You can reach specific audiences based on detailed criteria, ensuring that your ads are seen by those most likely to convert.
• With analytics tools, you can track the performance of your campaigns in real-time and make data-driven decisions.

Cons

• Depending on the competition for keywords or audience segments, costs can add up quickly, especially in competitive markets.
• Audiences may become desensitized to ads over time, leading to decreased engagement if not refreshed regularly.
• Be cautious about directly referencing competitors in your ads; this could lead to legal issues if not handled properly.

Spot buying signals

Catching buying signals isn’t just about good timing. It’s about staying a step ahead of the competition. 

When you spot and act on these signals faster and smarter than others, you become the clear choice for prospects already weighing their options.

Here are several ways to spot buying signals.

1. Track content engagement

Pay attention to how prospects interact with your content. Did they react to your lead magnets? Downloads, webinar sign-ups, or newsletter sign-ups? These are all signs they might be ready to buy.

Follow up promptly with tailored messaging that highlights what sets you apart from competitors.

2. Use your CRM

Your CRM is your best friend for tracking interactions. CRMs enable businesses to track all interactions with customers across various channels, such as emails, phone calls, and social media in one place. Questions about pricing or requests for demos? Huge green flags.

This data helps you create hyper-relevant pitches before your competitors can make a move.

3. Watch social media and email enquiries

Comments and DMs are signals that prospects are interested in your brand. While your competitors ignore prospects, responding shows you care. When customers feel heard, it boosts their trust in your brand.

In fact, our Sapiengraph customer rep team has gotten quite a few compliments for our quick replies.

4. Notice competitor research

If they start mentioning your competitors or digging into options, they’re likely comparing and getting closer to a decision.

You can use a social listening tool like Sprout Social or Brandwatch to get notifications when your brand and your competitors are mentioned together on social media or online forums.

5. Stay alert to organizational changes

Changes like new leadership can shift priorities and open doors for purchasing decisions. Act quickly to build relationships and keep you on top of their mind.

You can do this with tools like Sapiengraph. It has a Job Change Monitor feature to track key leaders' job changes.

Once you create a Sapiengraph account and activate the Chrome extension, a green "Monitor Job Change" button will appear on every LinkedIn profile you view.

By monitoring a profile, you’ll receive an email notification whenever there’s a job change.

Additionally, all monitored profiles will be added to the Job Change Monitor List within the dashboard of your Sapiengraph account.

Pros

• You can jump in at just the right moment.
• Personalize your pitch to what they actually care about.
• Boost your chances of closing the deal.

Cons

• Keeping tabs on everything takes time.
• If you misread the signals, you might waste your efforts.

Poaching/Stealing clients

When it comes to business competition, going after competitors’ clients might be the most common thing that comes to mind.

"Poaching" may sound bold, but it can actually be a smart growth strategy for B2B businesses. Just make sure to do it in a way that's ethical and professional.

I wrote a detailed step-by-step guide in my recent article about finding competitors' customers, but here's a quick summary:

1. Look for customer testimonials on websites

The simplest way to spot your competitors' customers is by browsing their websites.

This approach works especially well if your competitors have a solid online presence or are well-established.

Businesses often showcase social proof to highlight customer satisfaction. You’ll typically find testimonials and case studies, and many websites even list customers' full names, job titles, and company names.

2. Search for competitors’ customers using web-scraping tools

This method works best if your competitor is a SaaS company that integrates with customers' websites via code.

SaaS tools often require a snippet of code to be added directly to the customer's website, making it visible in the site's source code (right-click and 'Inspect'). 

Tools like BuiltWith and NerdyData make this even easier by scanning millions of websites to identify the software being used, based on their source code.

3. Look for customer reviews on review websites

If your competitor is a well-established company, they’re likely to have more testimonials and case studies compared to startups or early-stage businesses.

Platforms like G2 and Featured Customers can help you find their customers easily. These tools feature reviews and testimonials from actual users or ones shared directly by the company.

4. Search for competitors’ customers on Twitter/X

This is one of the more hands-on methods, but it’s great if your competitor is active on Twitter/X.

You can identify their customers by checking their followers and comments. Customers often follow brand accounts to keep up with updates or leave comments to share feedback—whether it's praise or complaints.

5. Search using Sapiengraph’s Customer Prospector

Sapiengraph's Customer Prospector helps you discover your competitors' customers in any B2B industry—and even provides their email addresses instantly.

Whether your competitor is in tech, finance, or any other B2B field, we’ve got you covered. Just keep in mind, this tool is exclusively for finding B2B customers, not B2C.

Pros

• Targeted outreach
• Networking opportunities

Cons

• Risk of damaging relationships if approached unethically.
• Potential backlash from competitors could harm your reputation.
• May require significant effort to convince clients to switch providers.

Consider a buy-out deal

Now that you’ve found your competitors’ customers, you can consider a buy-out deal to steal them.

A buy-out deal is when you offer to cover the costs of a customer’s existing contract with a competitor to get them to switch over. 

It might include paying off the remaining contract or throwing in extra perks to make the switch hassle-free. The idea is to remove any financial barriers and make the transition as smooth as possible.

Here are several real-life case studies of buy-out deals.

1. Proxycurl

Proxycurl, our B2B data provider for developers, competes with People Data Labs. We’ve been offering 25,000 Proxycurl Credits for free to People Data Labs users who choose to switch over to us.

2. Beehiiv

Beehiiv is a newsletter platform competing with Kit (previously ConvertKit). Beehiiv offers VIP migration and onboarding, 6 months free, and $500 ad credits.

3. Zoom

Zoom attracts customers from competitors like WebEx and GoToMeeting by offering buy-out deals, such as covering remaining contract costs for customers leaving competitors’ platforms. This reduces switching friction and highlights Zoom’s customer-first approach.

4. Outreach.io

Outreach.io, a sales engagement platform, drives growth through acquisitions of companies such as Sales Hacker and Canopy. 

Sales Hacker, known for hosting conferences and creating sales-focused content, was acquired to enhance awareness of sales engagement and strengthen Outreach’s marketing efforts.

Canopy, a revenue intelligence startup, was acquired to boost analytics and forecasting capabilities. This acquisition paved the way for Outreach Commit, a new product that improves sales forecasting by combining Canopy’s technology with Outreach’s existing tools.

This strengthens Outreach's product offerings and attracts users from competing platforms. This approach has contributed to Outreach's growth to a $1.1 billion valuation.

5. DirectIQ

DirectIQ boosts sign-ups by offering 20% discounts for annual payments or waiving fees of account setup or initial subscription costs for customers switching from other email platforms. This approach makes new customers feel supported throughout the switching process.

Pros

• Boost customer acquisition
• Minimizing the perceived risk and hassle for potential customers. This approach makes it easier for prospects to transition to a new service without facing double payments.
• This may lead to higher satisfaction rates and foster long-term loyalty among new customers.
• In crowded markets, buy-out deals help smaller players stand out by offering real incentives for customers to switch. This can be crucial to compete with bigger brands.
• This can lead to increased lifetime value (LTV) if those customers remain satisfied and continue using the service beyond the initial contract.

Cons

• Offering buy-out deals may impact short-term financial performance as companies absorb costs associated with transitioning customers.
• While buy-out deals can increase conversions, they may also drive up Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) if not managed carefully.
• Relying heavily on buy-out deals can create a culture of discount-seeking among prospects, making it challenging to sell at full price in the future. This could undermine the overall pricing strategy of the business.

Email campaigns targeting your competitors' customers

Reaching out to your competitors’ customers through email can be a smart way to grow your market share. These users already value similar products, so it’s your chance to show why yours is better.

1. Find emails of your competitor's customers

There are several ways to find the emails of your competitors’ customers. But the easiest way is to just use Sapiengraph's Customer Prospector.

It’s our tool that helps you instantly find the email addresses of your competitors’ customers in any B2B industry. While we can help you target customers of B2B companies, it doesn’t work for B2C businesses.

It’s also very easy to use, even a 7-year-old could do it.

Once you’ve signed up for a free Sapiengraph account, you’ll see this dashboard. Click Prospector on the left sidebar. Then, click Customers on the top menu button.

Since UserGems is our competitor, let’s search for them.

And there you have it! I've pulled up UserGems’ customers, complete with LinkedIn profiles, Twitter handles, and email addresses.

How Sapiengraph’s Customer Prospector works:

• Searching is free. You only use credits when unlocking profiles (30 credits each). Whether it’s one profile or all, it’s up to you.
• Free trial accounts can unlock up to 3 profiles.
• To export, just hit the Export button in the top-right corner.

2. Craft competitive email

Write emails that directly highlight the incentive of changing to your product from your current provider.

3. Test and optimize

Use A/B testing to refine subject lines, content, and calls to action (CTAs) based on engagement metrics.

For example, if you’ve sent 90 emails, 20 of your emails are opened but not replied to, which means your subject line is compelling enough, but not the content or the CTA.

Pros

• Targets an audience already interested in your type of product.
• Lets you showcase your unique advantages.
• Can lead to strong conversions when done right.

Cons

• Might seem intrusive if not handled carefully.
• Must comply with email laws (like GDPR).
• Requires solid resources for data and segmentation.

Account-based marketing (ABM)

Account-based marketing is where you target specific high-value accounts as opposed to your competitors who might be doing a spray-and-pray method.

For ABM, getting the email of your competitors’ customers is crucial. From there, you can target them through ads, cold emails, cold DMs on LinkedIn, and more.

Find emails of specific accounts

There are several ways to find specific emails of your competitors’ customers. But the easiest way is to just use Sapiengraph's People Prospector.

Once you’ve signed up for an account, you’ll see this dashboard. Click Prospector on the left sidebar, and you’re automatically shown the People Prospector dashboard.

So, Nordstrom is UserGems’ customer. Let’s find the email and LinkedIn profile of Nordstrom’s CEO and CMO.

Voila! You can now send them emails or use their emails in targeted ads.

Pros

• Personalized customer experience. Personalization helps build stronger relationships and can lead to increased customer loyalty
• Precise targeting of decision-makers within key accounts ensure that marketing messages resonate with the right audience

Cons

• Requires significant investment in time, personnel, and technology.
• Probably higher upfront costs
• Relying heavily on a few key accounts can be risky; if these accounts do not convert or churn quickly, it may adversely affect overall business performance

FAQ

What is competition in business?

Competition in business refers to the rivalry between companies that want to attract the same customers and increase their market share. This contest can take various forms, including price, quality, design, and customer service.

Businesses compete to increase sales and revenue and establish a stronger presence in the market. The competition encourages innovation and helps businesses better understand consumer needs, ultimately benefiting customers through improved products and services.

What are the benefits of businesses competing for customers?

When businesses compete for customers, they often find themselves dealing with leads that are already warm or hot—meaning these potential clients have shown interest in their offerings or other similar offerings and are closer to making a purchasing decision.

This is advantageous because:

• Higher conversion rates
  • Warm leads are way easier to convert. They’ve already shown interest, so it’s just a matter of showing them why you’re the perfect fit. No heavy nurturing needed—just targeted messaging that speaks to their needs.

• Immediate feedback
  • When you’re competing for customers, you get real-time insights from people actively weighing their options. Their feedback can help you fine-tune your product, service, or marketing game plan.

Why is competition important in business?

Competition pushes businesses to innovate, step up their customer service, and offer better prices and quality for everyone.

What are the main types of competitors?

Direct competitors (selling the same products), indirect competitors (offering different solutions for the same need), and perceived competitors (businesses perceived as alternatives by consumers).

Is it ethical to poach clients from competitors?

It’s not illegal, but businesses should stick to ethical practices like highlighting their own value instead of trying to tear down the competition.