As a business, it is important to know what your strengths and competitive advantages are. If you have any sort of advantage over your competitors, you really need to make the most of it! An advantage could be anything from a lower price, to a specific product feature you offer that your competitors don’t, to the variety of products you offer, to the creativity of your advertisements. No matter what it is you do best, we’ve laid out a little roadmap below for how to recognize and take advantage of your strengths as a company.
Before you can make the most of your strengths, you of course have to be aware of what they are. Know your business well, run analyses of your industry, and ensure you know exactly where you stand and what you are best at. Compare yourself to your competitors in various aspects, and make note of the areas in which you stand out. These are the aspects you will want to capitalize on and highlight most in your marketing and sales efforts, because these are likely the aspects that attract the most customers for you.
It is important to note that research and data is ESSENTIAL to realizing what your strengths and advantages are. You need to know not just what you had intended to be a differentiating point for your company, but what your customers actually see as setting you apart. Do not rely on your own ideas alone: make sure you are actually speaking with customers and analyzing any relevant data to ensure that you and your customers are in agreement about what your company’s strengths are.
Now that you’ve established what your advantages are, let’s start with your marketing efforts. Whatever it is that you excel at, be it your pricing, your stellar customer service, or your product features, make sure the majority of your marketing time and resources is dedicated to this. A disproportionate amount of your social media posts should highlight the areas in which you outshine your competitors. Since this is what is drawing the most people in to your business, you will want to talk about it a lot.
In addition to social media spotlights, be sure your other marketing and advertising also focuses heavily on your competitive advantage(s). If your customers are more focused on the low cost your products are offered at than the specific features they have, make sure you are talking about cost more than functionality. If what sets you apart is the wide variety of customization options you offer, spend the majority of your time and effort touting these custom options, and don’t dwell too much on other specifications that are less appealing to your base.
Beyond marketing, you should also keep your competitive advantages in mind when it comes to business growth and expansion. Any time you plan to release a new offering, update a current offering, expand a product line, etc., think about your strengths and build off of them. Maintain any aspects where your business has an advantage-these are things you do not want to change as you grow and expand.
For instance, if you have established that your biggest competitive advantage is your low pricing, you probably do not want to release a new item in the luxury category. Stick to your brand’s strengths by releasing other budget or mid-level priced offerings.
Thus, in both your marketing and advertising efforts, and in your growth as a business, always keep your competitive advantages in mind. Do not stray too far from what your customers think you do best. You can miss out on a lot of potential sales and growth if you do not appropriately make use of the edge you have within your industry. Take the time to really learn what customers and potential customers see as your strengths, and use them to guide your business decisions.
