Uber Faces Competition From Google's Waze, But Could There Be Room for Both Services? (Watch)

Google is trying to cut into Uber's Bay Area business. But its offering is just a bit different.

First of all, Google is offering the service through Waze, a popular traffic app among commuters and a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet. Secondly, instead of focusing on offering rides on demand, the service will allow daily commuters to simply offer rides to others travelling in the same general direction.

Drivers can still earn a bit of extra income from the service, but the idea is that they shouldn't have to travel too far out of their way to offer rides to fellow commuters. And it seems that the fares for travelers using Waze are cheaper than Uber's fares at this point too.

Overall, the services seem fairly similar to one another. But Waze's offering seems to be geared toward a slightly different audience. Where Uber would likely appeal more to people who want to earn an extra income by driving commuters to their destination, Waze could be more for those who just want to recoup a little extra cash on their commute. And those riders who want to save some money could also veer more toward Waze, while those who want to summon transportation on demand would likely stick with Uber.

It will take some time for this competition to play out, especially since Waze's service is still in the testing phase. But it could be that there's plenty of room for both services in this growing market.

Use Market Differentiation to Find a New Niche to Serve

It may be the same with your small business. Never assume that just because there's someone else in your market offering a somewhat similar product or service there's no  room for you. Also, don't assume it's either got to be you or your competitor and that both of you can't survive. Instead look for the niche your competitor can't or isn't filling. You may just find there's room in the market for both of you.

Image: Waze

This article, "Uber Faces Competition From Google's Waze, But Could There Be Room for Both Services? (Watch)" was first published on Small Business Trends