What's Your Competitive Advantage?

In our morning meeting we talked about competitive advantages. We've all heard it, but I found it refreshing to review and take stock and think what our competitive advantages really are.

What is your company's competitive advantage? What do you have that nobody else has? Why would someone choose to do business with you rather than someone else?

Then, take a look at your competition. What are their competitive advantages? If you can offer the same thing they are offering, you in essence take away their competitive advantage, making your offering better.

On the web, this is very critical because there is so much competition! I have had calls from people in the past asking what they can do to increase sales. The discussion too often jumps to "methods" of marketing online (such as Search Engine Optimization) before seriously discussing why people would want to buy in the first place. Here are some ideas on ways to be different from the competition:

Specialize in a certain type of product (e.g. downloadable quilt patterns)
Have different shipping policies
Rewards Programs
Better website search functions
Flexible payment terms
Price (you can get creative with this)
Refer-a-friend bonuses
Spend so much and get X free offers
Fast response (e.g. same day shipping)
Toll free phone number
Free return shipping
Follow up a week after the order was shipped
Rewarding customers for their suggestions

There are many other ways to be different from the competition. The goal is to provide something that is very difficult for others to copy. The more unique (and difficult for competitors to copy) your advantage is, the longer you will be in the forefront in your field.

Categories: Business Tips, MMM

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