Competitor Research: Don’t Dismiss the Nobody

I got an interesting note from a client the other day:

I just got an email from Awesome Propsect that they went with another vendor. I’ve asked for feedback but suspect I won’t get much but if I do I’ll send to you.  I do know that the other two vendors I had never heard of before so it wasn’t a major competitor they went with.

Here’s the thing to keep in mind: Just because you’ve never heard of the person or company you’re losing business to doesn’t mean the person or company isn’t a major competitor. Heck, there was a time when most people had never heard of Google (yes, really). Anybody you lose business to is someone to watch, to consider, and to see what they’re doing right.

Don’t dismiss. Pay attention. That’s one of the most important things you can do when it comes to competitor research and buyer personas.