Would You Advise Your Competition?

[espmartin]

Within Google's Webmaster Tools, you have the option of "ratting
out" your competition by submitting a form to Google regarding
link sales and such that your competitors (or anyone for that
matter) are doing - or not doing, but you want to be malicious

So let's spin that around...let me ask you all if you would
help out a competitor by advising them on some technique you see
them doing, or not doing? Would you help them?

 

[temi]

I would not go out of my way to help a competition (that will be at my expense) but I will not go out of my way to harm competition either. I will certainly not report a competition to Google for link selling

 

[SkinnerW]

I heard another funny thing regarding Adsense...

Lets say you are bidding on the keyword $5 a click and there is one more advertiser above you who bid higher...

People would do a google search for this term and purposely click on competitors ad with the intention to spend his daily ad budget.

Competitors ad goes off line - you are in the first spot...

 

[espmartin]

It's a dog-eat-dog world out there I agree with Temi. But, if I was
approached by a competitor personally, I would help...

 

[temi]

I think I may help if approached by competition as well, but it depends on what he/she wants me to help with.

 

[espmartin]

Yes, it totally depends... If they came to me asking for a site review or something like
that, I'd help. If they, however, came to me and asked, "How can we kill our competition
and shoot up to #1" - I'd just laugh and wish them well

 

[streetslocal]

I Offer advice where possible where it would not directly affect my profits:dancing:

 

[Eagle41]

I would help a competitor (and have done). It's not as if they can compete on quality! :longtongue:

Seriously, I'd gladly help any of my industry peers.

 

[Jobbertown Media]

I have helped out competition, and the competition has helped me out on numerous occasions. I have found some strange friendships in the wake of that, and I believe it to be a good relationship builder. If at the end of the day all we value is money, how good are we? If a client comes my way that I know I can not handle or satisfy, then I gladly refer them out. Sometimes, that referral may lead to another lead from the other guy. I do not profess to know everything, and believe that the customer should take a priority in the order of satisfaction. I have found also, that when I refer out, the client is happy, the competition is happy, and it comes back to me in the end

 

[Acs]

I cant speak for all industries but in IT helping the competition can come back to help you out. Obviously giving away your method of getting the best clients wont be productive but if they are stuck and you help them out of a hole it often brings revenue back, eventually.

 

[temi]

I cant speak for all industries but in IT helping the competition can come back to help you out.

How can this help you ou Acs?

 

[Acs]

Because they will often refer customers on to you if they cant help (not something they do or no capacity to do a job) if you have shown you know what you are doing.
There is only one thing worse than not being able to do something for a regular customer, and thats suggesting them to use someone else and it go bad.

An example with me was a company was let down for getting some servers delivered. I had some racked and ready to go quick. They hired the servers (paid normal prices) and eventually moved the customer to their own servers. Later on that customer wanted managed spam filtering at their premisis. The other business would only do that in their own racks, it was in a location my business covers for onsite support so I got the contract.

Another one is where I helped a competitor out with a DNS issue. Didnt make any money from that but built a good relashionship. Eventually we ended up sharing a box in New York used for off site backups and we both saved money by doing that.

 

[temi]

I see you point and agree that helping some competition could be beneficial, nice strategy

Because they will often refer customers on to you if they cant help (not something they do or no capacity to do a job) if you have shown you know what you are doing.
There is only one thing worse than not being able to do something for a regular customer, and thats suggesting them to use someone else and it go bad.

An example with me was a company was let down for getting some servers delivered. I had some racked and ready to go quick. They hired the servers (paid normal prices) and eventually moved the customer to their own servers. Later on that customer wanted managed spam filtering at their premisis. The other business would only do that in their own racks, it was in a location my business covers for onsite support so I got the contract.

Another one is where I helped a competitor out with a DNS issue. Didnt make any money from that but built a good relashionship. Eventually we ended up sharing a box in New York used for off site backups and we both saved money by doing that.