By Ed Avis
Do you brag that your reprographics shop is a family-owned business? Maybe you should think of another point to emphasize.
Jaynie Smith, who gave the keynote address at the ERA/IRgA Convention in Atlanta, explained that research has repeatedly shown that customers rarely care whether or not a business is family owned. Smith said data should drive what you choose to emphasize in your advertising and other promotions, not just your gut feeling about what customers value.
“Most companies only give about 20 minutes thought do determining their competitive advantage,” said Smith, a marketing and management consultant. “You need a clearly defined, relevant, and measurable competitive advantage.”
What Do You Do Better?
Smith said a company’s competitive advantage should be something that it does quantifiably better than the competition. That’s why using worn-out phrases like “quality and value” are useless, because anyone can claim such characteristics and they are difficult to measure.
On the other hand, if you have data that reveals that your jobs are delivered on time 99 percent of the time, that’s worth mentioning. Other potential competitive points in reprographics include a low error rate or a high customer-retention rate.
“You need to be able to measure your competitive advantages and state them,” Smith said.
Another important characteristic of competitive advantages is relevance to the market, she said. What’s important to your customers? When you know that, you can zero in on the characteristics they care about and invest in those areas.
“Put your money where it matters,” she said.
Smith said valuable competitive advantages must be:
* Objective, not subjective
* Not claimed by the competition
* True and provable
* Quantifiable, not arbitrary
* Not a cliché or a given
* Stated in the past tense or as a fact
* Relevant to the customer
Once the competitive advantages are established, they need to be transmitted to potential customers. For example, Smith said your website should contain four bullet points based on your competitive advantages that explain to prospects why they should choose your business. Similarly, your salespeople should be armed with your competitive advantages and the data that support them so that every sales call reminds customers why you are the best.
“What is your target-seeking missile?” Smith asked, referring to competitive advantages. “And are your competitive advantages known by everyone?”