The first real step to overcoming your competition is knowing and understanding how they think and how they work and this is particularly true when running a courier company. Your competitors’ strategies, pricing and other factors can help you formulate your own strategies, grow your company and stay one step ahead of your competitors.

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Targeting a Niche

By looking at your competitors’ figures and pricing you may also be able to glean other vital information, such as the ‘neglected niche’. By definition, a niche market refers to a narrow market segment with specific needs or preferences. Traditionally, businesses target their market in the same way a hunter uses a shotgun, ensuring a wider firing range and maximum impact. These days, however, targeting a specific niche, especially for a courier company can also be profitable as it encourages long-term business relationships to form with those who may spread information through word of mouth about your services. It is possible that your rivals may have been heavily favouring certain types of customers and unwittingly neglecting some other customer categories. For example, if you are operating in a part of the city dominated by arts and crafts stores, you may tap them by offering them specifically special rates for your services.

Proactively Formulate Your Prices

It used to be so simple: look at your competitors’ prices and offer lower prices to undercut them. These days, however, it has become a bit more complicated as customers do not respond to lower prices in such a predictable fashion. First, you must realise certain facts, the first being that your courier company is operating amid a market where several more established competitors have already been doing business for years. You cannot ignore the fact that there are customers that prefer your rivals based on the fuzzy logic of price-versus-reputation for reliability-versus-speed. That is why if you believe you can match the quality of a certain rival’s service, then it is all a matter of offering a much lower price if your company can afford it. Look at your competitors’ prices and then weigh your own prices against factors such as your company’s reputation and your own marketing efforts. Moreover, sometimes customers are willing to pay a higher premium price for a service they know is better or faster, so that is also worth considering.

Make a Familiar-Looking Logo Without Actually Copying That of Your Most Famous Competitor

The role of the brand or company logo for a courier company is important and if you do it right you can convey the message that your service is lightning fast, reliable, and always low-priced. A good shortcut, however, is by ‘adopting’ the logo of your most famous competitor without actually breaking the law by blatantly copying them. You can tweak certain elements. The familiar image of a man wearing winged boots is a common visual for couriers, but maybe you can stylise the whole thing or instead simply use only winged boots. The point is to subliminally put your message across and associate your company with all of the positive service-related values. You may need to hire a professional art designer for this, but the effort should pay off in the long run.