To generate profitable growth over the long
term, a company must
focus on creating a sustainable competitive advantage. It must
clearly understand the industry - direction, size, segments, and
growth rates - and have a detailed understanding of each
competitor’s strengths and weaknesses and their perceived or real
competitive advantages.
What is unique about you? What makes you stand out in the mind of
your customer? Differentiation and positioning is key here. To
survive and thrive in today’s economy, there is a great need to
focus and specialize. Much of the wreckage in corporate history has
proven the less focused you are the more vulnerable you become.
According to marketing guru Jack Trout, there are many ways to
differentiate and gain a strategic competitive advantage:
- Be first
- “Own” an “attribute” of your product or service that is
key in the mind of your customer
- Differentiate through leadership in sales, in performance,
in technology
- Differentiate through heritage (family heritage can be
powerful)
- Differentiate by how the product is made (magic
ingredient, the old fashioned way)
- Differentiate by being “hot” – through sales, industry
ratings, industry experts, or the press
I we believe strongly in differentiation as
foundational to business competitive
advantage. My coaching can help to update or refine a thorough
market analysis, understand your competitive position, and define a
point of differentiation that really matters to your customer. This
market intelligence serves as the foundation and fuel for the
development of the right market strategy.
For more information on how to create or strengthen your competitive advantage, please fill out the request form below:
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