Navigating the treacherous sea of competition.

• Author: Graham, John R.

"Survival depends on looking ahead, perceiving new opportunities, and being flexible enough to make moves unencumbered by ideas that inhibit change."

Seizing the initiative is the primary goal for businesses on the move. Taking the lead and leaving the rest behind is the success formula--just take a look at the telecommunications and health care industries. It's far easier to talk about taking the lead, though, than actually to move out in front of the competition.

Because most attempts at grabbing the brass ring fail, many business owners and managers are cautious. Having employed one useless gimmick after another, they are wary of being burned again. Becoming cynical, they reject everything that promises success. Separating the good from the bad is so difficult, it is not worth the effort.

Putting all the gimmicks and quick fixes aside, there are seven guidelines that make it possible for a business to move ahead aggressively in the current economic environment:

Get out on the cutting edge and stay there. Over the years, much of marketing has focused on positioning--the issue of how a company, product, or service is viewed and valued by its customers. When it comes to perception, there is just one place to be today--out in front of the pack. Whether you call it leadership or call it innovation, this is all that counts. Copley Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the acknowledged leader in the manufacture of generic drugs, is a prime example. Being number two may be acceptable to Avis, but it doesn't work when it comes to either survival or growth.

If a company is perceived as being somewhere back in the pack, it lacks leadership opportunity. No one pays attention. As a result, price is its only edge, the only claim on the market--and this is no way to stay in business.

Make sure you have a proprietary concept. Whether you are in the product business or in a service field, look for what is unique--what is specifically yours. It may be giving a name to a process, a way of doing business, a product, or even a concept. The goal is to quantify what you are doing so it can be packaged for presentation to customers, prospects, and investors. For a company to stand apart from the competition in the minds of the customers, it must come to be associated with a specific idea or concept.

Work hard at being ubiquitous. There is nothing worse than being somewhat or slightly visible. Low visibility is no visibility. Impact is everything. This is why major companies commit major resources to making certain they are quoted in the press and that news stories about them appear regularly.

A corporation like Coca-Cola never is satisfied with depending on its omnipresent advertising to carry its message to consumers. It spends millions more on events and public relations programs to be everywhere all the time. Coke is ubiquitous. Wherever the consumer turns, Coke is there.

Visibility is the power that triggers the mind to action. When the moment of need or desire arises, will customers think of your company? This is the key question.

Place no limits on your territory. Too...