Every business needs a competitive advantage to stand out.In today's economy, every advantage counts to establish your business in the top of your industry.Gaining a competitive advantage requires strategic planning, extensive research and an investment in marketing.
Step 1: Understand what "competitive advantage" means.
Customers are more likely to choose your product over the competition if you have a competitive advantage.Without a competitive advantage, your business can't draw in customers.You can create value for your customers if you have a competitive advantage.This may include lower cost, faster service, better customer service and more convenient location.A restaurant with the best food in town would have an advantage over its competitors by offering a higher-quality product.A business could focus on reducing overhead and production costs to offer a market-quality product at a below-market price.Being able to offer this product at a lower price would be a competitive advantage.Creating a competitive advantage involves analyzing your business's strengths and learning how to take advantage of them.
Step 2: Understand your customers.
Do you know the demographic qualities of your customers?What type of businesses do you sell to?Are they young, old, male or female, married or single?Do they live within 4 miles of the business or 50 miles?What is their average income?Are they different from your competitors?You can't determine why your customers are patronizing your business if you do not understand them.If you want to understand your customers on a personal level, take this step further.What are their hobbies?What do they care about?What aspects of your business do they like?Customer interaction, surveys, and analyzing customer information can be used to find demographic information.
Step 3: Take a look at your business's strengths.
A competitive advantage can be created by examining the strengths of your business."Why do customers buy from me?"The answer to this question will help you understand what you give them.If you own a Chinese food restaurant, the quality of food, location, or the speed of the delivery service may all contribute to a customer choosing you over your competitors.Don't be afraid to ask.If you want to discover why they choose you, you can either make a survey for them to fill out, or just approach them.If many customers list location, you can work on other aspects of your business to create an even greater advantage.
Step 4: Look at your competitors.
You need to offer things your competitors don't.You need to know if your competitors do well or not.Think about the products, services, prices, location, and marketing of your competitors.List all the reasons you think a customer would choose your competitors' business.You have a list of advantages.What strengths do you have that your competitors do not?Which strengths of your competitors do you not have?The areas of strength you have should be the focus of your expansion.Don't be a "me too" competitor as much as possible.If your competition has one recipe that many customers come to, simply imitating their recipe will not add to your competitive advantage.Strengthening your own will create a unique set of strengths that can't be duplicated.Remember that your competitors can include more than you think.A Chinese restaurant is competing with other Chinese restaurants and other dining choices.
Step 5: A company that provides business information is a good choice to hire.
Cortera will analyze a competitive landscape of your target market.They and similar companies have large databases that they can quickly access.It is easier to make decisions on what is working and what isn't if you have more information.Customer knowledge is equally important as competitor knowledge.Gaining in-depth insights about your customer portfolio will allow you to maximize revenue potential, increase customer retention and boost prospective customers.A mix of tools and methods can be used to measure consumer insight, your position in the market, and your competitors.Along with traditional company information resources, consider social media analysis tools that allow consumer insight mining.
Step 6: Take a look at your core strengths.
Once you have identified your core strength areas, you can use several market strategies to build a competitive advantage or create new areas of advantage.You might have a major strength in terms of product quality.Try to deliver your product faster and at a lower cost by focusing even more heavily on fantastic quality.
Step 7: The costs should be reduced.
Businesses can use cost reduction to gain a competitive advantage or add to it.Being able to offer your product or service at a lower price is a way to create value for your customers in most markets.Walmart has a competitive advantage due to its low prices.Look at your entire production process.Everything from purchasing supplies to how your workers produce your products is included in this.Consider investing in technology that reduces costs.If you own a restaurant, buying energy- efficient equipment can save you money.You can finance these purchases at a lower cost if your business has an excellent credit rating.Make sure your workers are producing as much as possible by examining how they are doing.
Step 8: The focus should be on service.
Service may be a factor that distinguishes you from your competitors.If your business has a strength in service, you should focus more on it.It is possible to generate an advantage by hiring better staff, improving training standards, managing staff closer, offering rewards and incentives for strong service, and offering more convenient hours of operation.Creating a culture of excellent service is important.Your competition can easily replicate your service advantage if it is based on a few simple factors.
Step 9: The focus should be on the quality of the product or service.
You can always compete on quality if you can't compete with your peers on location or price.If you have high quality as one of your strengths, this is even more true.Customers will often pay more for an exceptional product.Determining what quality means in a market is the first thing you have to do.Do customers want maintenance-free products, better design, or longer life?What do you mean by quality?Look at the best-selling products in your market.What are the aspects of these products that make them desirable?Take your unique talents and background and use them.If you spent three years studying cuisine overseas, you can use your experience to create unique recipes.It is possible to enhance the quality of your product or service by hiring the right people and using higher quality supplies.
Step 10: Make your products and services different.
You should look for one or more attributes that will make you stand out from the crowd.The segment of the market that finds the attributes important and market to them should be found.Do you have a long battery life?Frequent travelers need this.The lowest price?It's important for lower income customers.Is it free shipping?It could attract new customers if you are the only one that offers it.Conducting research to determine which things consumers find most important and then developing a niche market for those products can be done in the other direction.People with arthritis have difficulty opening cans.You could make a device that makes it easier for them to use.It's important to make sure your product has both attractive features and benefits.A drill with interchangeable drill bits is a feature that the product has.A benefit is a positive outcome that the user experiences when using the product.It is possible to gain a competitive edge when a product has both of these.
Step 11: An alliance is formed with another company.
A partnership with another company can help gain a competitive edge.Assume you are a local equipment supply company.If you approach the transportation company, you could offer to give them a discount on products in exchange for quicker or more preferential local transportation.You can give your customers products in a shorter time frame than your competitors, giving you a competitive advantage.
Step 12: An economic moat can be created.
Barriers can be used to deter competitors from challenging your market share.In some cases, an established company's ability to manipulate hurdles to enter and compete in its market becomes an effective tool against new competition, further entrenching the business and preserving its profit potential for the foreseeable future.You can own an Asian-themed restaurant in the mall.It is unlikely that the mall would want to open multiple Asian-themed restaurants in the same area.New business cannot compete with you.If you are located on a multi-business site like a mall or strip shopping center, you may be able to negotiate a site monopoly on your type of business.
Step 13: Don't give up on the cutting edge.
Your work is not finished once you have gained a competitive advantage.You will need to maintain your competitive advantage through pricing, product features, and marketing.If you are in the technology space, you need to continually design products that are faster, less expensive and have moreFunctionality.Your competitors are not going to allow you to steal their market share.Sometimes you need to take chances to keep ahead of the pack and differentiate your business, but with big risk comes big reward.Do your research before diving into new ideas.
Step 14: Predict the future of your industry.
It's a good idea to join a local professional association that offers speakers with expertise in your field and an annual conference.You will be able to see what other people are doing in your industry.
Step 15: Constantly research and watch your competitors.
Get on their mailing lists and watch for new product announcements as well as changes in pricing.
Step 16: Adapt to the needs of your customers.
Online surveys and customer advisory boards can be used to get your customers' opinions.While on sales calls, your sales force should hear feedback from current and potential customers.