You think: I am #1 in my market area, or, just a little, or, a lot and I am concerned. The answer is:

You’ve got an active pre-need program? Sure you do, just like your competition. You’ve got an active after-care program. Just like your competition. You’re involved in the community and provide community-interest programs and events. Sure you do, just like your competition.

Your competitors are making strategic moves to take your customers away from you. Right now...as you are reading this. Give this some thought...have you ever taken a client family away from your competitor? Of course you have. Don’t you think they want to do it to you? You can bet your last dollar they do!

In fact, your competition is sitting on the other side of town making plans to kick dust in your face. They are counting on you being complacent about previous successes. They are hoping that you don’t answer the phone with a live human being. They are hoping your website is only so-so. They are hoping your receptionists, arrangers and outside sales team are poorly trained. They are hoping they can lower their price and beat you, because of no differentiated value.

Being vulnerable to competition never goes away. You may not take it seriously enough until you lose one client family to them, and then it’s too late. Why don’t you spend half of what you would have spent to win them back to try and keep them loyal? Invest as much in your existing clients as you do in trying to attract new ones.