In my post “How Do I Get My Stuff Into Stores?” a few weeks ago, I talked about knowing your “retail details”. One of the points I made is that you should know what differentiates your product from the competition.
“Figure out what single thing differentiates your product from the rest and then capitalize on that—it might be price, it might be benefits, it might be selection, it might be durability, etc.”
Seth Godin wrote a great post today called “Your Competitive Advantage” that offers even more insight into this. I recommend that you read the full article.
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Your competitive advantage
People are fickle, but we’re generally rational. When someone makes a choice (hiring, firing, choosing a vendor, buying a soda) they’re using some sort of internal logic and reasoning to support that choice.
As a marketer, you win when they choose you.
So, why choose you?
The answer to that question is your competitive advantage. What makes it likely that more than a few rational people will consider their options and choose you or your company or your organization?
Truth: It’s rarely a computerized cost/benefit analysis. Instead, it’s a human choice.
When the factors that matter to me are processed through my worldview and compared against the options I’m aware of, I will choose you when your advantages are greater than the competition, provided I believe that you’re worth the cost of switching.
Key points:
Matter to me: Not matter to you or to the next guy, but matter to me. That’s all I care about. (Example: it might mean more to me that my friends use your product than it does that you’re cheaper).
Worldview: Based on the way I see the world, the assumptions I make, the truth that I believe in. (Example: If I don’t trust young people as a matter of course, I’m not likely to choose you if you’re young, all other things being close).
Options I’m aware of: If I don’t know about you, you don’t exist.
Switching cost: The incumbent gets a huge advantage, especially in high cost/high risk/network effect instances.
Some of the ways you might build or maintain a competitive advantage:
Click here to continue reading Seth’s article.
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