Staged Makeovers continuously keeps an eye on the competition. In Ohio, staging has not yet become a huge industry and many still have not heard of it.  The bad thing is that we still have to educate many of our clients, but the good thing is the competition isn't strong. Some of our tactics for checking out the competition include:

• Reading newspapers and cutting out others ads
• Visiting local competitors websites
• Surveying competitors pricing locally and throughout the country
• Forming alliances with competitors

What we have learned is that at least half of our local competitors have gone out of business in the past year. Many lack websites. Pricing in our area is comparatively low, especially when compared to other states and metropolitan areas. And more and more realtors are also attempting double duty as stagers.

How is your competition doing? How do you keep up or go beyond the competition when they are dropping out? What makes your company stand out?