| Your customers, or would-be customers,
| |
| | them.Information. In business as in war,
|
| need to be informed and reminded of what
| |
| | intelligence can be priceless. In
|
| added values you provide them -- extras
| |
| | Business @ the Speed of Thought (Warner,
|
| that can save them money, time, and
| |
| | 1999), Bill Gates writes: "The most
|
| aggravation. Yet too many business owners
| |
| | meaningful way to differentiate your
|
| and managers can be ignorant of what
| |
| | company from your competition, the best
|
| those competitive advantages are. The
| |
| | way to put distance between you and the
|
| seafood supplier didn't communicate that
| |
| | crowd, is to do an outstanding job with
|
| he was selling fresher salmon with longer
| |
| | information. How you gather, manage, and
|
| shelf life, and thus enhancing his
| |
| | use information will determine whether
|
| customers' bottom lines, until a
| |
| | you win or lose."Knowing what your
|
| competitor threatened his market
| |
| | competitors are doing, and keeping up
|
| share.You could be providing a lot of
| |
| | with trends in your industry, are basic
|
| extras to your customers without
| |
| | forms of intelligence, and essential if
|
| realizing how much you are actually
| |
| | you are going to run a successful
|
| saving them. Or, if you do not provide
| |
| | business. So is listening to your
|
| meaningful extras now, you might consider
| |
| | customers. (Your own and your
|
| adopting them. They can be critical
| |
| | competitors'.)The more competitive the
|
| competitive advantages. Consider the
| |
| | business you are in, the more important
|
| following:Terms. If you are a small or
| |
| | the role of intelligence. You can't
|
| medium-size company up against a category
| |
| | afford to get caught flat footed if, say,
|
| killer, you might have flexible financing
| |
| | a labor strike shuts off deliveries of
|
| terms that the big guys can't match. For
| |
| | critically needed material. Or if
|
| example, a lumber company in the
| |
| | commodity prices suddenly spike or drop.
|
| Northeast enjoyed a robust business with
| |
| | Or consumer confidence sinks. Or if new
|
| little substantial competition until Home
| |
| | products being developed by your
|
| Depot began to close in. One Home Depot
| |
| | competitors threaten your markets.No
|
| box opened twenty miles away, and then
| |
| | matter what business you are in, failing
|
| another just ten miles down the road.
| |
| | to keep a weather eye on changes in your
|
| Observers predicted that the lumber
| |
| | industry can be fatal. A lot of this
|
| company would soon be bulldozed out of
| |
| | "intelligence" is hardly proprietary. It
|
| business.Surely, it couldn't compete on
| |
| | simply amounts to smart business
|
| price, not against Home Depot's buying
| |
| | practices born out of experience. If you
|
| power. Lumber is lumber. So it
| |
| | are a B-to-B supplier who sells to
|
| concentrated on hitting Home Depot where
| |
| | retailers, your customers' success
|
| it was vulnerable. It offered more --
| |
| | determines how well you do, too. Your
|
| flexible credit arrangements for its most
| |
| | experience can help your clients avoid
|
| important customers -- small contractors
| |
| | common mistakes.Small and medium-size
|
| who often lack lines of credit from
| |
| | businesses are often in the dark about
|
| banks. The lumber company didn't have to
| |
| | key developments in their industries.
|
| drop its prices to stay in business. It
| |
| | They lack the time, money, and expertise
|
| adopted new competitive
| |
| | to gather and evaluate that information.
|
| advantages.Guarantees. It is common for
| |
| | But that doesn't mean it isn't important.
|
| attendees at my seminars to tell me that
| |
| | Consider the prices they pay for the
|
| their companies are "the only ones in our
| |
| | goods or services they buy. Advance word
|
| industry offering multi-year guarantees"
| |
| | of radical price shifts, or new products
|
| on their products. But when I ask if they
| |
| | that will make others obsolete, can save
|
| make a big deal about the guarantee to
| |
| | them from missing a buying opportunity,
|
| prospective buyers, most admit they do
| |
| | or from laying in inventory that will
|
| not.The reason is usually the same: "If
| |
| | soon become obsolete.Keeping your
|
| we emphasize the guarantee, too many
| |
| | customers informed of trends can only
|
| customers may take advantage of
| |
| | make them healthier, and in turn create
|
| it."That's a pretty lame excuse. Either
| |
| | more business for you. Word of mouth from
|
| you offer a guarantee or you don't. If
| |
| | your sales force is one time-honored way
|
| you are confident enough in the product
| |
| | to accomplish this. But in this age of
|
| to guarantee it in the first place, make
| |
| | the Internet there are other effective
|
| a selling point of it. Statistics show
| |
| | ways, too, from e-mail to Web sites that
|
| that a very small percentage of customers
| |
| | keep clients posted on prices and other
|
| in any business actually use the
| |
| | industry developments.One of my former
|
| guarantee. But the guarantee takes a lot
| |
| | clients, the Institute for Trend
|
| of risk out of the buying decision and
| |
| | Research, in Concord, New Hampshire,
|
| clinches a lot of deals.Inventory turns.
| |
| | analyzes market and economic trends and
|
| One of my favorite stories about
| |
| | makes accurate predictions as to when
|
| inventory turns involves a clothing
| |
| | those trends will change. Its business is
|
| manufacturer who sold women's clothes to
| |
| | its forecasting expertise in a wide range
|
| boutiques around the country. When I
| |
| | of sectors, from industrial construction
|
| asked him what differentiated him from
| |
| | and agricultural market movement to
|
| his competitors, he said he thought his
| |
| | interest rates, commodity prices, and
|
| clothes were "wearable.""As opposed to
| |
| | inflation.Subscribers to the company's
|
| what?" I asked, trying not to laugh. He
| |
| | publication EcoTrends get an important
|
| began to talk about design, fabric, cut,
| |
| | bonus: a discount on EcoCharts.
|
| and so on. When I queried what his
| |
| | EcoCharts, using raw data that the
|
| competitors we're saying, he shrugged and
| |
| | subscribers provide themselves, tells
|
| said, "I suppose the same thing . . . but
| |
| | them which indicators included in
|
| I know my stuff sells much better."I
| |
| | EcoTrends correlate best to their
|
| asked him what his customer, the boutique
| |
| | specific businesses. ITR has defined four
|
| owner, cares about most. "Whether or not
| |
| | phases of economic movement; if the
|
| it sells," he said. So I asked if his
| |
| | trends that affect your industry are in
|
| shop owners measured inventory turns. He
| |
| | Phase C, then you are expecting a
|
| answered that some did, some did not. I
| |
| | downturn. Your actions might include a
|
| suggested that he teach them how to
| |
| | reduction in inventory and training, an
|
| measure inventory turns and then he could
| |
| | avoidance of long-term purchase
|
| prove to the shop owners his clothes sold
| |
| | commitments, and deeper concentration on
|
| better. My point was that he should stop
| |
| | your cash and balance sheet. On the other
|
| selling "wearable clothes" like everyone
| |
| | hand, during Phase B, an upward trend,
|
| else and start selling inventory turns.
| |
| | you would accelerate training, increase
|
| Moving the goods is what matters.Note: Be
| |
| | prices, consider outside manufacturing,
|
| sure you can back up your boast. Your
| |
| | and open distribution centers. This kind
|
| buyers will know soon enough if you
| |
| | of information can provide companies with
|
| can't. As with any competitive advantage
| |
| | powerful competitive advantages.Training.
|
| you claim, make sure you
| |
| | Many large companies offer specialized
|
| deliver.Materials. One client in the
| |
| | training for their customers, free or at
|
| home-improvement business who sold siding
| |
| | cost, so they can run their business
|
| knew his product was "stronger and
| |
| | better. McDonald's runs its own academy
|
| better" because of the materials he used.
| |
| | for new franchise owners, for example, so
|
| But he didn't know how to convey that
| |
| | they can learn to avoid common pitfalls
|
| without sounding biased and subjective.
| |
| | and maximize the return on their
|
| Upon asking his employees a series of
| |
| | investments. The company draws on the
|
| questions I learned from one of his
| |
| | experiences of thousands of other
|
| engineers that the company's product has
| |
| | franchise owners and shares that
|
| a higher wind load rating than any
| |
| | knowledge, because it is vital to their
|
| competitive product. In many geographic
| |
| | own business. I often recommend to
|
| markets, the higher load rating
| |
| | clients that if they invest heavily in
|
| influences buying decisions. So if your
| |
| | training they should make a competitive
|
| materials are stronger and provide
| |
| | point of it. For example, "We invest half
|
| customers with a benefit, shout about it
| |
| | a million dollars each year training our
|
| in a way that is measurable.Delivery. If
| |
| | employees" or ". . . training our
|
| you provide the same product as your
| |
| | customers."Excerpted from Creating
|
| competitors but you offer better delivery
| |
| | Competitive Advantage by Jaynie L. Smith
|
| service, you have a competitive
| |
| | with William G. Flanagan Copyright ©
|
| advantage. But how important is it? The
| |
| | 2006 by Jaynie L. Smith with William G.
|
| Compleat Company, which sells promotional
| |
| | Flanagan. Excerpted by permission of
|
| products, decided to find out. The
| |
| | Currency, a division of Random House,
|
| Seattle-based company polled its
| |
| | Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this
|
| customers about the importance of its
| |
| | excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted
|
| on-time delivery. It found that its
| |
| | without permission in writing from the
|
| customers not only valued that service
| |
| | publisher.Published by Currency; April
|
| highly, they had a pretty low tolerance
| |
| | 2006;$19.95US/$26.95CAN; 0-385-51709-2
|
| for being late.Eighty-eight percent of
| |
| | Copyright © 2006 Jaynie L. Smith and
|
| its customers defined "on-time delivery"
| |
| | William G. FlanaganJaynie L. Smith is the
|
| as being on schedule 97 percent of the
| |
| | founder of ICS Marketing and president of
|
| time or better. Only 4 percent of its
| |
| | Smart Advantage, Inc., a management
|
| customers would accept an on-schedule
| |
| | consultancy whose clients include
|
| rate of less than 93 percent. A manager
| |
| | hundreds of middle-market businesses. She
|
| from Compleat told me that the company is
| |
| | also serves as the Florida chair for The
|
| now focusing its energy and resources to
| |
| | Executive Committee (TEC), an
|
| make sure it meets that expectation. When
| |
| | international organization of over 11,000
|
| Compleat's customers want their
| |
| | CEOs. She resides in Hollywood, Florida.
|
| deliveries, they will get
| |
| |
|
