The phrase "indirect competitors" is correct and commonly used in written English.
It refers to businesses or products that are not direct competitors in the same industry, but still compete for the same customers or market share. Example: "Although they operate in different markets, Apple and Amazon are indirect competitors for consumer technology products, such as tablets and e-readers."
Who are your indirect competitors?
Another nice touch is Mr. Steinberg's description of the details of the admissions process at Wesleyan, in Middletown, Conn., and the ways it is similar to or different from that of its direct competitors (Amherst, Hampshire, Williams) and indirect competitors a notch higher in status (Harvard, Yale, Stanford).
And while BMG's indirect competitors will be the music publishing titans of the world, like EMI, Warner Music, Universal and Sony — companies that market the immense catalogs they own — BMG is counting on signing artists who are seeking someone who will administer their intellectual property without actually owning it.
He said they also have some indirect competitors that offer similar services, such as CloudBees and CISimple.
"We are very different from our indirect competitors because we have started making books from people's email conversations," says Memeoirs COO Fred Rocha.
Kim says that Soterix Medical, another wearable device maker, is Ybrain's closest direct competitor, while global pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Novartis are indirect competitors.
Sherpa, the virtual personal assistant for Android (and indirect competitor to Apple's Siri), has launched in the UK, albeit in requisite Beta.
And water is an indirect competitor to both Sprite and Pepsi.
An indirect competitor is a company that offers a different type of product to serve the same need.
While I give Mr. Swanston credit for at least showing a cursory understanding of indirect competition, he should have devoted some time to talking about where these competitors fall short and how his solution is different.
That's not dissimilar to how many professionals use Twitter or the Q&A aspect of LinkedIn, two potential indirect and direct competitors.
