When consulting with mammoth corporations, I encounter a lot of protectionism. Big brands are fierce guardians of their assets, investments, and position in the marketplace. They are obsessed with competing.

Make that winning.

Major companies are forever striving to be the industry leader. The one on top in terms of attention, share, and sales.

Obviously, businesses are in business to succeed.

The ambition to dominate can be a motivator and rallying cry.

But a preoccupation with competition can also color the way you communicate. Whether the effect is offensive or defensive, either way, you run the risk of alienating customers who feel sidelined or trampled by so much competitive blocking and tackling.

I’ve said before that competition isn’t always head to head. Instead of dwelling on US versus THEM, we might be better off showing customers WHAT COULD BE, compared with WHAT IS or WHAT WAS.

That’s one option. Another is to suspend competitive messaging altogether. At least for a time.

For the past few weeks, my own small business has been the focal point of some decidedly non-competitive business communication. 

My husband and I opened a bookstore this past Saturday. Before, during, and since the opening of Anthology for Books, we have marveled at the creativity and generosity of peer proprietors who have gone out of their way to support and promote our little enterprise as a promising newcomer in our small, rural, Midwestern town. 

The actions we’ve witnessed go beyond co-branding and collabs. In the slideshow below, you’ll learn how a few small but intentional gestures have made a massive difference—not just for the launch of our bookstore, but for commerce and community in our town.

Granted, ours is the only bookstore for miles and miles. With no head-to-head competition, our bookstore isn’t a direct threat to anyone’s livelihood. In fact, I suspect our fellow business owners recognize that a thriving bookstore could bring shoppers who will explore not just our bookshelves, but all the shops in town. That’s why they chose not to ignore or compete with our opening. Instead, they embraced our entry to the marketplace and became vocal narrators and characters in our story.

Not a trace of competition: how other proprietors chose to act for, not against, my new business

Not a Trace of Competition slideshow

Inspired?

I am. And I’d like to see more of this creative, collaborative approach in the world of big business.

Who’s with me? How would that look? Perhaps it’s already happening. If you know of examples, please share!