A guest post by Janet E. Leach.

… And I mean this, in the nicest possible way.

There are many different ways to improve your business, by understanding your competitors’ businesses.

For example, you can gain intimate information about your competitors, and where your own business sits in your industry, by putting aside some hours for research and simply browsing.

I like to see what other stores are up to. Every month I might spend an hour or so looking at Google listings under keywords I’m going after.

I can learn a lot from keeping an eye on what others are doing or not doing, their approach to similar problems I’m facing, where they are investing in their businesses, their marketing strategy, what their stock breakdown is, what’s in their sale category, even.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a stalker, and I’m certainly not a follower. No business owner can afford to have his or her head in the sand, so you need to make it your business to come up for air every now and again.

If you dare, go one step further than this, and become one of their customers.

That’s when you really get to know your competitors, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and at the same time, your own.

I’m not the only one who can see value in this exercise.

Recently I had an owner of a very prominent Australian online design store buy an internationally known design item from me, then ask for a refund upon its speedy arrival to her. I guess she wanted to experience my shopping cart, order turn around time, freight service, packaging, the refund process, and our customer service. Smart lady.

She didn’t want the product anymore because “it wasn’t quite what I expected”, a direct quote from my Returns Policy. She was testing us out.

I didn’t know who she was at the time, and even if I had, I would have let her play out the scenario. She received excellent customer service; as I hope do all our customers.

… Mind you, I draw the line at asking for a refund.

I shop online and support other online businesses. I get a peek into their world at the same time. I know how hard it is to forge this new techno retail frontier and be successful at it. I’m not critical of what that lady did, I just couldn’t ask for a refund in my research, because I know how happy I am when I get a sale.

Actually, being one of my competitor’s customers is one of the reasons I’m an online businessperson today.

I adored the store in question, but, when I finally purchased from them was disappointed with the store’s slow freight, the communication was non-existent bordering on negligent, and no care or ‘sparkle’ came with the packaging. There was no personality. No thought.

I decided I could do it better, and every day I try to.

Janet E. Leach is an entrepreneur and owner/director of ArteryStore.com.

She has fingers in a couple of other pies and is a well travelled mother of three, with a full bodied life story and a rock ‘n’ roll approach to business.

Image source.