Tactics to destroy competition

[NotSoSmart]

I was on reddit the other day and found out about a company who was signing up to use a competitors classes then using the material from there to teach classes.
Another person I know of was abit annoyed when he herd his competitors telling his customers they was serving out of date products that he started a plan which resulted in the competing business losing there staff.
In all my years of business ive never felt the need to do such things however i notice the younger businessmen seem to be alot more underhand.
What other tactics do you know off and how do you protect yourself.

 

[Bob Morgan]

Predictive Text is one of the most Evil! - Turn it OFF!

 

[nelioneil]

This is very common. E.g car manufacturers buying rival cars and dismantling it to look at certain innovations and processes (assuming not patented)

 

[Noah]

I do not have the energy, time, nor imagination to spare for plotting against competitors (or rather, other businesses currently occupying our market space); just do what you do best and get on with it - oh, and tell everyone that.

 

[Gecko001]

Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

However, I take the point that often it is more than just imitation but theft, infringement of copyright, or patent. There is a culture that anything goes as far as unauthorised distribution off copyright material is concerned. Email forwarding culture for example where intellectual property which cost many thousands of pounds to produce and is confidential can end up anywhere with a few clicks of a computer mouse or a few taps on an iPhone screen.

 

[cal900]

Id argue that if you feel the need to use underhand tactics to "destroy" a competitor then you cant have much confidence in your own product or service.

 

[Cheap Host]

Yes and Karma has a nasty habit of coming back around!

 

[Mr D]

While not seeking to destroy, taking advantage of a competitor can be done.
There was an amazon seller who used a repricer with some very low settings, he intended to be the cheapest seller no matter what.
When his prices dropped below the price I was buying at wholesale I started buying from him instead. An item I was selling at £29 on ebay he was selling to me at £8 on amazon.
I didn't set his price, I didn't even sell that item on amazon at the time. Sure was profitable to use him rather than my wholesale supplier.

For some reason he stopped stocking that line. He's still selling now, rare he even matches the wholesale price though.

 

[NotSoSmart]

Id just like to make clear I don't plan on using these tactics to destroy competition. I just find it an interesting discussion
Like the samsung advert where they take the mick out of apple

 

[ineedadollar]

I've had competitors tell customers my products are fake because im cheaper than them, I've retailited by making sure my customers know my products are genuine.
However i did think about going down the route of doing that sort of stuff back but decided against it purely because thats not who i want to be and id rarther spend time sorting out my own business then ruining theres

 

[ineedadollar]

Found another tactic ebay sellers seem to be using, Reporting your product for bogus trademark violations to get it removed off ebay.
Practically closing down your shop

 

[Mr D]

Found another tactic ebay sellers seem to be using, Reporting your product for bogus trademark violations to get it removed off ebay.
Practically closing down your shop

Amazon sellers do the same thing.

And amazon don't want to become involved in a civil matter between sellers so remove the listing and let sellers sort it out between them. Of course the ones who want to sell will not withdraw objection and allow competitor back selling the item.

 

[ineedadollar]

Amazon sellers do the same thing.

And amazon don't want to become involved in a civil matter between sellers so remove the listing and let sellers sort it out between them. Of course the ones who want to sell will not withdraw objection and allow competitor back selling the item.

It seems ebay will remove the one that has been objected without looking into it

 

[Mr D]

It seems ebay will remove the one that has been objected without looking into it

Not getting involved in the dispute beyond removing their own liability? Smart of them.

Would business owners be happy with a private company deciding important stuff like trademark violations, patent violations, IP etc?

 

[ineedadollar]

Not getting involved in the dispute beyond removing their own liability? Smart of them.

Would business owners be happy with a private company deciding important stuff like trademark violations, patent violations, IP etc?

I think they should have a department that does a better job.
The listing we had removed was for some magnetic balls which have been on the market since i was a kid.
Some guys have decided to create a brand and sell the same balls as that brand of balls.
And report everyone who is selling balls even though they are unbranded.
It would be like nike getting ebay to stop everyone from selling footballs even unbranded ones

 

[Mr D]

I think they should have a department that does a better job.
The listing we had removed was for some magnetic balls which have been on the market since i was a kid.
Some guys have decided to create a brand and sell the same balls as that brand of balls.
And report everyone who is selling balls even though they are unbranded.
It would be like nike getting ebay to stop everyone from selling footballs even unbranded ones

So all that would need doing then is convince the department that the particular seller was right? Give it time people would game the system, same as other systems can be gamed currently.
Like getting ebay suspensions lifted.

 

[ineedadollar]

So all that would need doing then is convince the department that the particular seller was right? Give it time people would game the system, same as other systems can be gamed currently.
Like getting ebay suspensions lifted.

Think they should check if any violation is made before removing it.
Whats the best way to get suspensions lifted. i havent done no ebay selling in years so not really up to date with there stuff

 

[Mr D]

Think they should check if any violation is made before removing it.
Whats the best way to get suspensions lifted. i havent done no ebay selling in years so not really up to date with there stuff

Considering eBay's ability to investigate other stuff before banning.... ?
Lets just say their reputation is far from stellar.

Checking and not removing - what impact would that have on liability?

There are plenty of businesses now selling services to sellers who have got into trouble.

 

[blueprinthub.co.uk]

I was on reddit the other day and found out about a company who was signing up to use a competitors classes then using the material from there to teach classes.
Another person I know of was abit annoyed when he herd his competitors telling his customers they was serving out of date products that he started a plan which resulted in the competing business losing there staff.
In all my years of business ive never felt the need to do such things however i notice the younger businessmen seem to be alot more underhand.
What other tactics do you know off and how do you protect yourself.

It's not just the younger people that do this.

When I decided to start up on my own and offer accounting services, a number of my old firms clients came to me.
I wasn't underhand or sneaky about it, but I have a good relationship with them.
But my old firm (a fairly good employer, I'll add) went bitching about me to these clients.

When this didn't work, and the clients told me what was said, my old firm tried to 'overwhelm' me by not finishing aspects of the jobs they had started and been paid by the client to do.
No problem, of course.

It's not just young people, you also get miserable old men.

I'm just thinks Ng about the larger corporate world.
You've heard about Richard Branson Vs British Airways I assume?
When the cheaper supermarkets (Aldi, Lidl) started taking non-negligible market share, the big 4 started singing from the same hymn sheet and accused the cheaper shops of selling very low quality produce.

 

[MEAVO]

Today it's so easy to bash competitors, for example leaving fake negative online reviews, leaving bad comments on social media platforms etc... I was at a start-up where our website was down for a few hours due to technical issues. A competitor took a screenshot, posted it on Twitter ("Hey, seems like you guys are having problems? ") and even tagged our VC investors. This type of behaviour is everywhere, restaurants try to get to the top of TripAdvisor by leaving fake bad reviews at competing restaurants, and in the same way I've come across places giving free drinks in return for positive reviews.

 

[Gavin @ Eooro]

Its amazing how many unscrupulous businesses there are out there.

In the past some of our business users would get fake negative reviews from competitors. We ended up building a system that lets them flag these fake reviews and have them removed immediately, before it done any damage to their reputation.

The system has been live for about 9 months and seems to work really well.

When the review gets removed it produces a dialogue messaging system where the business can talk with the reviewer to see if they are indeed a real customer or a fake one. 99% of the time the fake reviewer does not respond for fear of being found out and the review gets deleted automatically after 30 days.

Regards
Gavin @ Eooro

 

[Noah]

Its amazing how many unscrupulous businesses there are out there.

If one is at all realistic about human nature, it's not amazing at all - it's to be expected. What is unfortunate is how many of such businesses prosper, or at least muck up the marketplace.

 

[Eugene Hill]

Yes and Karma has a nasty habit of coming back around!

Yeah that's true~ No living being can escape the impact of Karma! We all are obliged to the laws of Karma.

 

[NickGrogan]

Its amazing how many unscrupulous businesses there are out there.

In the past some of our business users would get fake negative reviews from competitors. We ended up building a system that lets them flag these fake reviews and have them removed immediately, before it done any damage to their reputation.

The system has been live for about 9 months and seems to work really well.

When the review gets removed it produces a dialogue messaging system where the business can talk with the reviewer to see if they are indeed a real customer or a fake one. 99% of the time the fake reviewer does not respond for fear of being found out and the review gets deleted automatically after 30 days.

Regards
Gavin @ Eooro

Took a look at your review site, amazing how many 5 star reviews everyone has, one company had 61 reviews, all 5 stars, but only 1 review on FB and Google.

The lowest rating I saw was 4 stars.

Does anyone have a 1 or 2 star review on your site?

 

[Noah]

Took a look at your review site, amazing how many 5 star reviews everyone has, one company had 61 reviews, all 5 stars, but only 1 review on FB and Google.

The lowest rating I saw was 4 stars.

Does anyone have a 1 or 2 star review on your site?

I am heartily sick of every service and his dog pestering me to review their services. My standard process :

1) Get annoyed with badgerer
2) Delete request

So in the unlikely event that I am driven to rapturous praise by a particular experience, my review will reflect that; otherwise, no review.

 

[Joe_davidson]

Knowing your competitors is KEY.

Before two fighters enter the ring, they spend months knowing the moves of the opponent.