Building your Competitive Advantage
Identifying your competitive advantage and value proposition
To stay ahead, you must be able to show the unique value your business offers. Understanding your customers and your competitors can help you develop your value proposition. A brand promise, customer commitment, its people and an accessible logo are often overlooked when trying to determine the value of an organisation.
Find your competitive advantage in 3 steps
Your competitive advantage is the combination of marketing, people, product, service and perceived value elements that sets your business apart. It's about the unique benefit customers receive when they do business with you.
Practical examples include:
* Local community sponsorship
* Niche products and boutique services
* a money-back guarantee
* personalised service.
Finding your competitive advantage will help you to make the most of your existing strengths and to prioritise improvements.
A strong competitive advantage will:
* highlight customer benefits
* reflect your business strengths
* be clear, simple and unique
* change over time to adapt to new conditions.
The following 3 steps can help you find your competitive advantage
1. Review the market and competition
2. Focus on the benefits
3. Innovate and change
Clarify your customer value proposition (CVP), Do you?
* know what your competitive advantage is
* have a unique & relevant brand position.
* Understand your niche market
* Know your main competitors CVP
* Know what your “HERO” product or service
Improve this further by being clear about your customer value proposition (CVP) & how you are going to market it. More importantly also consider how this relates to your current competitors and will this attract their consumers to try something new.
Create unique selling points (USPs)
Based on your competitive advantage, you'll have one or more unique selling points. It is imperative you create a marketing strategy to capitalise on this, is it your company motto/promise/pledge or is it just simply how you give back to the community?
Never underestimate the value of creating your “Hero” service or the product you are known for, it can also be an employee. Always remember that whilst brands are important customers will always look to follow or support people they believe in. Many organisations fail to remember the value, benefit or the foundations in which the business started. Never lose sight of this especially if you are embarking on a strategic direction of M&A.
Maintain your relevance
The only constant in business is change. That's why it's important to regularly review the trends that are shaping your market.
These could include things like new:
* behaviours
* technologies
* competitors
* solutions.
You may need to evolve your business, but change also creates opportunities. This will require change management. You can’t do this alone and in an ever changing world, time and resourcing is critical.
Why not enlist the help of a customer experience expert like us who can help you delve into the spirit of the organisation & find or recommend what your point of difference could be!
