Don't Chase Your Competition

I've worked for more theme park and resort companies than the average person.

I've seen what works, and what doesn't.

One behavior that slows down companies, despite having good intent, is this constant comparison to the competition.

I'm not saying you shouldn't know what's going on next door. Disney of course is going to keep tabs on Universal.

The problem is this almost knee jerk reaction that I've seen operators take to try and match, or beat the competition with whatever shiny new offer or announcement just dropped.

My challenge every time is this: how do you know your competition is right?

How do you know X park is making the right move by doing X?

You don't. You never will.

Instead of following someone off a cliff, why not steer the car in a direction that makes sense for you. Why not establish a strategy, STICK TO IT, and try and become a leader, not a follower.

I was working for one company that had very small market share in a particular region (like around 2%) and was overly concerned about the moves the leader in the area was making.

We changed our promotional approach to chase them. Bad business.

You want to attract people in this game, you have to do something better, something different. Copy and pasting doesn't give consumers a reason to spend money with you, it gives them a reason to forget about you.

So, the next time you're scrolling your competition's website and thinking "why aren't we doing that?", take your hand off your mouse, remember what your strategy is, and stick to it.

And, if you don't have a strategy, then you have bigger fish to fry. Give me a call and I can help with that.