If you answered between 1-10, you may be looking at your marketing the wrong way.
The only correct answers are either “zero” or “countless.”
Zero
The answer is zero because you should be positioning your brand as one of a kind for a specific audience who wouldn’t really prefer anything else. We live in a world of abundant choice. Trying to compete is a no-win scenario. Ultimately a race to the bottom. There will always be someone else, who can produce or provide what you have to offer a little bit cheaper, marginally faster, with slightly better quality. You can’t win that game. You can only win by being a market of one.
Market your product or service as completely unique. There may be similar things out there. But show them why yours delivers something that others simply can’t. It’s important to remember that it’s impossible to appeal to the masses with this strategy. When you average out people’s desires in a product, you get average products that no one really loves. Create something exceptional for a small group and own it. Commit to zero competitors.
Countless
The answer is also countless because there is an infinite amount of substitutes people could be doing with their money and attention. In addition to abundant choices, we also enjoy limitless alternatives.
Should I buy this bag of flour or this other one? Maybe I’ll just buy some freshly made bread instead. Actually I have a slight gluten allergy. Perhaps, I should just make something with quinoa. Then again, whole wheat pasta isn’t that bad. But I really should be eating more vegetables. I could just make a chicken salad wrapped in lettuce. But I’m too lazy to do make it. I could just go to Whole Foods for something. Oh, screw it, I’ll do an extra 30 minutes on the elliptical and get Taco Bell.
Ultimately, this leads to the same strategy. You need to get people to want you and specifically you. Knowing that people could be doing virtually anything else than buy your product and service is a huge daunting challenge. A challenge to find as many ways as possible to make your offering irresistible.
Your task: Make your seeming competitors irrelevant.