{"id":560,"date":"2009-09-18T08:42:36","date_gmt":"2009-09-18T08:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/?p=560"},"modified":"2023-01-31T07:01:12","modified_gmt":"2023-01-31T07:01:12","slug":"uncover-your-competitive-advantage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/uncover-your-competitive-advantage\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Uncover Your Company’s Competitive Advantage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"iStock_000005051077XSmall\"Today’s guest post is by Ivana Taylor, President of Third Force Marketing<\/a> a boutique strategic marketing firm that helps companies become the obvious choice for their ideal customer. \u00a0She runs DIYMarketers.com<\/a> a how-to resource for marketers. \u00a0Her blog is called Strategy Stew<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you know why your customers choose you?\u00a0 You might think that you do, but chances are you would be wrong.\u00a0 Janie L. Smith, author of \u201cCreating Competitive Advantage\u201d discovered that only two CEOs out of the thousand that she asked could clearly articulate a competitive advantage.\u00a0 This is a critical point because understanding why your customers choose you can mean the difference between getting or losing the sale.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Competitive Advantage?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A solid competitive advantage has four attributes:<\/p>\n

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  1. Must be objective<\/strong>. \u00a0This means that it’s a statement of fact; 3 locations, open 24 hours, etc. \u00a0If you think about it, it’s kind of like a “feature” of your business.<\/li>\n
  2. Must be quantitative.<\/strong> Specify how much, how many of anything you’ve got as a feature. \u00a0In the example above we made some specifics here are a few more: each service representative has at least 20 hours of training (specify what kind), your pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less or it’s free.<\/li>\n
  3. Not claimed by any other competitor<\/strong>. \u00a0This is where it gets tricky, \u00a0your competitive advantage could truly be something that no one else is doing OR it can be something that they are not claiming – or focusing on. \u00a0This gives you a lot of creativity.<\/li>\n
  4. No cliche.<\/strong> Stay away from empty phrases like “your solution provider.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Now that you know what constitutes competitive advantage, it\u2019s time to start a list of what you think your company\u2019s competitive advantages.\u00a0 To get your brain bubbling, take a moment and list as many “factual features”<\/a> of your business. \u00a0Aim for a list of 49!<\/p>\n