Who is your competition

In marketing we always talk about the competition. The competition for Coke is Pepsi. For Chevrolet, it's Ford, Toyota, Honda and others. For Disney Vacations, it's a trip to Six Flags, a national park or a week at grandmas.

Or is it?

Sometimes the competition isn't so obvious. For Chevy, the competition is also holding on to your existing car another few years or buying one of the millions of late model used cars out there.

For Coke, the competition may simply be water.

And in these tough economic times, the competition for a Disney vacation is also a Blu-ray player, an LCD television and your backyard.

You have to sell the need and desire for your product. Not just its difference from "the competition."