Competitive Advantage

Competitive Advantage

As defined by BusinessDictionary.com, competitive advantage is:

“Superiority gained by a firm when it can provide the same value as its competitors but at a lower price, or can charge higher prices by providing greater value through differentiation. Competitive advantage results from matching core competencies to the opportunities.”

This definition might sound a little academic, but competitive advantage is what sets you apart from your competition.

Your competitive advantage could be:

• Price
  
• Quality
  
• Shipping and handling fees (or lack thereof)
  
• Experience
  
• Customer Service
  
• Credibility
  
• Something unique to your industry
  

It is important to understand that having a competitive advantage is not an event, but a process. In other words, making and keeping a competitive advantage is ongoing. It becomes a game of trying to stay one step ahead of your competition. You should never feel comfortable with the status quo, but continue to find ways to improve your advantage.

Determining Your Competitive Advantage

The first step to determining your competitive advantage is to know your competition. Take time to research the main players in your industry. A good way to learn about your competition is to do several product keyword searches on Google. Look at each website listed on the first page of the results, both the sponsored and natural listings, to review their products and services.

Now rate your competition based on the list of possible competitive advantages listed above. One of the best ways to do this is to organize a spreadsheet, listing the possible competitive advantages across the top of your page, and then list the companies down the left side of the page, with your company as the top listing. To make things simpler, you might just focus on one top-selling product per spreadsheet.

Compare price, quality, shipping options, and so on. You should start to see some areas where your product or company outshines you competitors, and some areas where you can make simple adjustments that would give you an advantage.

For example, many years ago, when Heritage Internet Technologies started out in the web design industry, this process was used to determine what we had that was unique and different. One glaring item stood out: pricing. No one in our industry could design a custom website for the price point we were offering. For HIT, price became a strong competitive advantage. It is still used today in all of our advertising.

Understanding What Your Customers Want

The second step is to know what your customers want and find a way to give it to them. Speak with your friends and family about your products or services. Ask them to be honest and upfront as to what would motivate them to purchase from you.

Once you have launched your product, keep in touch with your customers through online and / or telephone surveys. Try to get inside their head to determine what they are thinking.
Perry Marshall, one of the leading authorities on Google’s Pay-Per-Click System said, “There is virtually no marketing problem you will ever face that can’t be solved by knowing better what your customer is thinking.”

One way of communicating with your customers is through HIT Web Design’s Stay-N-Touch Marketing 2.0 software. The program is designed to communicate with your prospective, current, and former customers through an automated e-mail program, also called an “auto responder.”

When you first contacted Heritage, you were automatically added to our auto responder e-mail program, which periodically sent you emails that included valuable information about websites and the Internet. We have received positive reviews from our customers concerning those e-mails and have worked hard to make them as helpful as possible.

Recap

• Research your competition.
• Determine what your competitive advantage is.
  
• Find out from your customers what they want and are looking for.
  
• Match your customers’ needs and you will hit a home run with your marketing.
  

Maintaining and developing your competitive advantage will made you an industry leader and keep you one step in front of your competition.