SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE - Swim with the sharks

Sharks school together when there’s food to eat – the feeding frenzy! Your competitors can act just like that. So prepare yourself before you dive in with your competition. When you turn your ideas into reality, always test the water first. Gain a sustainable competitive advantage to be prepared for a shark attack!

Entrepreneurs like you are usually the first in the water with a new idea. And sometimes, there will be no competition at first. But sharks will notice that you’re feeding. They’ll attack you from every angle. And big sharks can swallow you whole.

Develop a sustainable competitive advantage

Arm yourself with knowledge and strategic thinking by studying your competition carefully. Then, learn the nitty-gritty details about your target market. After that, narrow it down as much as possible. Make sure you differentiate yourself. Finally, establish your marketing message that promotes YOUR angle to your solution.

Rinse and repeat to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage

I’ve put these important points in simple terms, to start with. But, when you perform all of them effectively, you WILL gain a competitive advantage. And, when you rinse and repeat, periodically, you’ll maintain a sustainable competitive advantage and win a great deal of market share.

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Know your competition

Investigate your competition – perform a competitive analysis. Find out who their customers are. How loyal are they to your competition? And, investigate and calculate the yearly sales volumes of your competitors. Then, document THEIR strategies. Also, read and document their customer feedback. Finally, gain insight from resources like Better Business Bureau about your competition.

My personal experience establishing a sustainable competitive advantage

When I was ready to launch my latest business startup eight months ago, I hired a reliable person to perform the competition investigation groundwork for me. He was my spy, so-to-speak. And he retrieved some great information for me – pictures too!

Some key data points

The following are examples of key data points you should attain from your competition:

Gather information about the owner
How long have they been in business?
What is their capacity?
How many regular customers do they have?
What are their price structures?
Do they have certifications?
What are their market strategies?
Do they posses patents?
Study their product technical information

Document your competition

Keep files on all of your competition. Then, investigate them regularly to always stay aware of what they’re up to. If they launch a new ad campaign or offer a new special, you’ll be aware of it. Then, you can answer it with something better in order to maintain your sustainable competitive advantage.

Research the relationships between your competitors to see how they act toward each other. Some sharks feed together in harmony, but not always. So be prepared for how they’ll react to you entering the marketplace.

Change the status quo in your target market. Be a game changer by making your competition trip on their own infrastructure, which is based on the current status quo. For a good explanation on how to change the status quo, click on the link at the beginning of this paragraph to read my blog post about it.

It’s time to swim with your competition

Some entrepreneurs are able to build a shark cage out of patents and copyrights – this is always recommended. And some of those end up swimming in harmony with sharks by licensing their IP. But you can always swim with them if you fear them.

Fear your competition without being afraid

Never panic. Just maintain a healthy fear of what they’re capable of. Remember: you’re much smarter than sharks!

Product differentiation

How are you different from your competition? What makes them successful? If you plan to enter a target market with another version of an existing product, there must be an advantage to yours. Quality, functionality, price, or appearance, are all examples of factors that will help you build a sustainable competitive advantage against your competition.

Comparative analysis provides insight for gaining market share

First, identify the existing product differentiation among those already in your market. Then perform a good comparative analysis to be sure there’s ample differences or advantages. The insight you gain from this will allow you to develop strategic moves that’ll help you gain more market share.

Narrow your target market

Believe it or not, the narrower your target market, the more you’ll sell. So narrow down your target market to only those who are seeking what YOU provide! Marketing is much easier when you know who’s looking for what you have to offer. And remember, marketing to a broad audience will actually bring you less customers, overall.

Target those customers who have enthusiasm for what you offer

Your message must be tuned to resonate with specific people. You MAY capture some of those who are not in your narrow target market. But, those within your bulls-eye will come running to you with enthusiasm.

So tune your marketing message! And don’t worry about neglecting those who are outside of your bulls-eye. It’s much better to have a narrow, excited target market versus a sprinkling of customers from a broader market. The broader market will rarely buy from you.

Competitive analysis

How competitive is your industry? Analyze what makes the successful businesses tick. Understand exactly what the poor performers are doing wrong. Really dive into expected profit margins in your industry. Tough competition tends to drive those margins down. Learn how profitable your competition really is.

What is the market structure of your industry? Determine the number of firms that exist in your industry and how large they are. Your market entry conditions must be fully understood. That’s where and how companies typically do business (meet and connect) with their customers.

Sharks can strike without notice

Always be prepared for a surprise attack. One minute, all of the sharks are swimming by without incident. But then, all of a sudden, a shark can turn on you and attack. Don’t ever let this happen. Be the attacker! Be a shark conqueror.

Go after as much market share as you can gain. And always be prepared for growth spurts. Every market-share consumption requires growth in production. So good luck!

Thank you for reading:
SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE – Learn how to feed with the sharks

I’ve included clickable links on certain words and phrases in my blog post to help you find other useful content that I’ve written or content from trusted sources. Please check those out too and have a great rest-of-the day!

SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE – Swim with the sharks

Develop a sustainable competitive advantage

Know your competition