All companies and business leaders aimed to be on the superior spot in the business world competition. Given that this is a competition, there are a lot of challenges that come along the way, and these are tough. To be ahead of the competition, you should have something that makes your company and products stand up. Once you determined the strategies and tools you are going to use, then you have a bigger chance of securing a great competitive advantage.
In this post, we discuss the benefits of the Competitive Advantage and why it matters to the company as well. And it is best to gain knowledge about this from people who have first-hand experience in making a business and/or company successful– they are the business’ top executives.
5 Benefits of Competitive Advantage
1. It helps in building customer brand loyalty.
“It is important for companies to gain a competitive advantage because it helps them build brand loyalty amongst their customers and make more money in the long run since they will be able to set higher prices for goods or services than other businesses,” says Denis Ristic, Vice President Global Brands Division at AskGamblers.
1. How to make your customers loyal to your brand?
- Let the customer understand the worth and aspects of your brand.
In aiming for customer loyalty, it is very important that you communicate to the customer what your brand is all about and how it is going to benefit the customer in so many ways. Think and decide on what would be the purpose of your service or brand and how it will correlate to the values of the customer.
- Establish an exceptional and accommodating customer service team.
Providing the best customer service experience to both new and existing customers should be a priority. Customers should feel valued when they reach out to you with regard to the service/s offered. There are a lot of tools and ways to use to establish exceptional customer service and you can navigate these tools to make use of them to help your customer along with your customer service team. These tools will help you build a relationship with your customers.
- Offer special discounts.
Consumers love discounts. And with no doubt, this is one of the very reasons why customers stay. Aside from the save from it, they will feel like they are being rewarded for being a consumer. It will make them feel good that they purchase the product and will surely keep on purchasing because of this.
- Always ask for feedback.
If you are looking for ways to increase customer brand loyalty, ask the customers. They are the experts of feedback since they are the ones using your product and services. Their feedback matters the most. When you listened to their feedback they will feel that you care about them. This will increase satisfaction and brand loyalty.
Making a customer loyal to your product is not an easy task. You need to establish a stable connection with the customer to make them stay regardless of what would be the changes in the service or product in the long run. And so, one of the fastest ways to do it is to have a competitive advantage.
2. It provides higher value to your brand.
When you are ahead of the competition, your brand will be known to consumers and so it provides higher value to your product compared to when you are not yet competitively advanced among your competitors.
According to Steve Elliot, franchise owner of Restoration1, “It seems to me that having a competitive edge serves the objective of differentiating a business from its rivals by providing something distinct and of higher value to the clients of that business than what those rivals can provide,” he says. Aside from gaining a higher value for your brand, it will also establish a great impression on the clients that makes you ahead of your rivals.
2. How to provide value to your brand?
- Consider yourself as a customer.
If you want to understand your customers, put yourself in your customer’s shoes. View things from a customer’s point of view. With these, you can think and consider what they might want and need from your company. This way, you can know and learn more about your customers.
- Offer high-quality products.
If you aim for a higher value for your brand, naturally you must provide high-quality products as well.
- Offer unique yet useful products
A unique product can attract your customer but what makes this product stand out is usability. It is like you are thinking outside the box but it does not compromise the quality and usefulness of the service or product.
- Only focus on what you can do.
One of the useful ways in adding value to your products is being focused on the things that you can do, not on what you can’t do. This is about your mindset in doing things, always thinking positive things to achieve positive results.
3. It monitors company performance.
This is one of the benefits of competitive advantage according to Andrii Pominov, CEO of Digital Skills Blog.
“A company’s competitive edge can be increased by monitoring the strategy it employs, making adjustments to areas that aren’t as effective, and concentrating more resources on those that are. For instance, a company selling cosmetics and hair products whose social media presence gives it a competitive edge might keep track of how many new clients are coming from those channels. By keeping track of this data, the business can offer more opportunities, such as bonuses or referral programs, for potential customers to join up for their products,” he says.
And so it is very crucial that you know what monitoring strategy you are going to use.
3. How to monitor performance to gain a competitive advantage?
Benchmarking is one of the best ways in monitoring your business or company’s performance. Benchmarking is a process that involves measuring the performance of your business against a competitor in the same market. This will give you a better understanding of your business performance and potential. So how to benchmark your business? Check the following important tips:
- Use accounting ratios and a calculator to know what particular area of your business need benchmarking.
- Collect benchmarking data that helps you compare different aspects of your business against your competitor.
- Compare your products and analyze them from the competitors of your given industry.
4. It can lead to increased profitability and market share.
Market share is the company’s total market for its products and services. This is also a very important way to measure the success of the business as it indicates whether or not a company has increased profitability.
Co-founder of Compare Banks Percy Grunwald says, “Gaining a competitive advantage is important for a company because it can lead to increased profitability and market share. By having a unique advantage over its competitors, a company can differentiate itself in the marketplace, attract more customers, and generate more revenue.”
“Additionally, having a competitive advantage can provide a company with a barrier to entry, making it more difficult for new competitors to enter the market and erode its market position,” Percy Grunwald added.
4. How to increase profitability and market share?
- Be innovative.
Discover innovation that can attract target and potential customers. One of the most common and effective ways to innovate is by using Artificial Intelligence. The use of technology is one of the easiest way to be successful in the business world. So, then make use of it to increase your market share.
- Build relationships with your customers.
When you connect and build a strong relationship with your customers this will help you increase your market share. Why? Because aside from they will stay with you as a loyal customer, they can also be the ones who will endorse and attract new customers.
- Focus on keeping and hiring a talented workforce.
Skilled workers are most likely are the dedicated ones. Focusing on keeping the talented workforce helps increased profitability and market share because when they become long-term employees, the hiring and training costs will lessen. Also, with excellent employees, you and them can focus on producing exceptional products to boost the company’s sales.
- Effective advertisement.
There is no doubt when the PR team is good at advertising and promoting the products, this will surely increase your market share. Effective, means that you make sure that whatever ways of advertisement are used, the message and the purpose of the brand should never change.
- Lower product prices.
This is also a smart strategy to help the company top on market share. Lower prices attract a large range of customers.
Overall, gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage is crucial for a company’s success and sustainability in a competitive business environment.
5. It makes you stand out from the other competitors.
“Gaining a competitive advantage is crucial for companies looking to succeed in today’s fast-paced business environment. It allows you to differentiate your business from the competition, capture market share, and drive growth,” says Founder of Bingo Card Creator, Sam Underwood.
A corporation can stand out from its rivals with the aid of competitive advantage, which is important in highly competitive markets. A business can stand out and draw customers willing to pay more for its offers by providing distinctive and valuable goods and services.
5. How to stand stand out on the competition?
- Know your target market well.
It is essential to know your target market, like their preferences and expectations so that you can serven them the products and services that they want and this will help differentiate yourself from your competitors.
- Know your competitors.
Do a research, discover and understand their position in the market and find opportunities you can incorporate to your company to make you stand out.
- Offer a higher value to your brand.
Understanding your customers and meeting their needs is a way of standing out from the competition because customer are the determinants whether ir not you have a successful brand.
In the cut-throat world of business, gaining a competitive edge is like being the one with the biggest sword in a medieval battle. It’s crucial to stand out from the crowd and to have a clear differentiator that sets you apart from your rivals.
In conclusion, gaining competitive advantage allows business to venture out on creative ways in making their brands be the best among the rest. With the benefits we discuss, we can know and understand how it works and how it would greatly benefit the company in the long run.
Being on top on the competition doesn’t mean you are free stop developing and improving, because being on top will not last if you stop working and growing. A company will last when innovation doesn’t stop. Lastly, focus on satisfying the important people of the the business which are the employees and the customers, because aside from yourself, they are one of the key players that contribute to the success of your business.
