A Major Competitor has Made a Purchase from Me!!

[MarkPearson]

Hello All,

Got a bit of a strange situation and unsure how to play this one...

Firstly, did anyone see our 2nd feature today on ITV's This Morning Show?

Was very good for business, with our personlised roses featuring alongside products from Harrods and Lastminute.com and we had pride of place in the centre!

Anyway, after a very busy days of order, it seems that someone from a Major online flower retailer (one of the big boys) has ordered a personlised rose to be delivered to their business address (The Head Office)

It seems from what I have found out that the recipient of the rose will be the chief executive of the company which is nearly 18 years old. And send from his wife....

Should i be concerned?

Potential competition?

Or just a friendly order to see what it is we are doing....

I guess there is not much I can do.

[LindseyMHC]

I see it as flattering.

L.

[DuaneJackson]

Do they offer personalisation too?

[MarkPearson]

Hi Duane,

No other company in the UK or Europe currently offers personalised roses were the customer can add a message or image to the petals of fresh roses.

[MinuWeb]

if they wanted to be sneaky and hide it from you it would not have been hard.

Take it as a compliment

[MarkPearson]

Yes, thats my thought!

It's easy to hind your identity when ordering.

I have just been informed by my more knowledgeable that they are a franchise style florist like interflora, and the florists throughout the country who produce their orders taken via their site are independents, so in reality it would be very difficult for them to introduce, impossible infact without upsetting their franchisees.

So maybe it was a purchase made out of curiosity.

[crus]

Mark,

this could be very good news, as I am sure you will dot the i's and cross the t's demonstrate just how tip top your service is.

Good work fella!

D

[DuaneJackson]

I agree with Crus, I think this could be a good thing.

Make sure everything is perfect as I'm sure you always do, sit back and see what, if anything, happens.

I hope you've got exclusive rights to this in the UK

d

[Alpha]

Mark

Some companies that I have worked for have done similar things in the past.

the main reason is to get a sample of the product, check out at first hand the quality and then to see if we wanted to enter the market and whether it fits in with our strategy.

They may of course do some further reasearch on your company (admittedly they are not going to find much which could be an advantage if they intend to compete or a disadvantage if they feel that they wish to set up a supply contract with you).

Either way there is no reason to feel worried, you will inevitably get competition as time goes on. The reason that you will get competition if/when it happens is that there is a big enough market for the product.

At the moment you have a head start and need to consolidate the advantage you currently have. Stop planning or take your eye off the market place and/or potential competitors and you will very soon become an 'also ran'

[DuaneJackson]

Now these forums are nicely indexed by Google it's very easy to find lots of inside info on any of us.

I've had to stop myself posting a few things because I realised they could be useful for any future competitiors.

A recent KashFlow user searched Google for
kashflow "promotional code"

Something I often do when buying something, and he easily found the code I posted here recently when asking for feedback on a planned advertorial

[SillyJokes]

oooh, good shopping tip there Duane.

Yes, I am rather sad this forum gets spidered now. See why I post so much less?

[Steve Roberts]

If I were you, rather than being concerned by competitors I'd be keen to be an "irritant" to them - by punching above your weight, so to speak. The reason being, these big boys tend to deal with such "irritants" by buying them out at some stage - by making the owner an offer they can't refuse.

A friend of mine operates a car hire company and is deliberately winning business from, let's say, a household name, and this large company is now making discreet enquiries as to how much it would cost to buy him out. I've advised him to say "well if you don't buy me I might sell to one of your MAJOR competitors". As such, the price gets leveraged up.

[Magsite]

If it is the Wife of the Director thats ordered it, that may of followed an argument where she has thought 'RIGHT' I'll get ya!

Lisa

[Ozzy]

Hi Mark,
THis is a common thing in business, where competitors buy products from each other to not only test out the competition but also see if the might be an opportunity for either synergy or acquisition.
I would not be concerned and instead ensure you delivery a first class product :)

BTW, I got you a mention in the papers up here which I'll put a post about in a minute ;)

[JoyDivision]

It sounds to me like they are looking to see what you are doing with a view to offering a similar service. That is no bad thing though as competition is always healthy.

I like to use the night out scenerio when he go drinking we go to areas where the are lots of pubs next door to each other, we would never go drinking some where there is only one pub.