Creating Competitive Advantage
Creating Competitive Advantage by Jaynie L. Smith
Smith’s thesis is just as relevant today as when Creating Competitive Advantage was published in 2006. In fact, it may be even more critical in today’s increasingly competitive environment.
One of Smith’s most important points is that companies often confuse strengths for competitive advantages. They focus on strengths such as integrity and client trust, which are great and essential to business. However, these strengths are not competitive advantages. Some of your competitors likely have these strengths.
Her definition of competitive advantage is the “reason people do business with you.” It’s what your competition doesn’t have, what allows you to close the sale.
A competitive advantage must be quantifiable, i.e. it must have supporting proof points.
The following statement is not a competitive advantage: “Our people are the best in the industry.” However, it become a competitive advantage when you add: “Our engineers have a minimum experience of 15 years in the business, twice that of our nearest competitor.” It gets even better when you can add the customer into the mix: “Our clients realize a 4x return on investment because our engineers average twice the experience of our nearest competitor.”
Smith cautions the reader, “Remember that competitive advantages are always moving targets. You have to review your own, and your competitors’, at least quarterly. Business is a chess game. You need to think two or three moves ahead if you expect to win.”
YOUR TURN: What book helped you get a competitive edge in business?
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