Arjun Arora

Before we start, can you answer:

What are you BEST at?

Why does anyone buy from you, and not your

competitors?

What is your business strategy? Is it consistent

with the overall marketing and management

activities?

If you had difficulty answering the above, this presentation is a MUST for YOU !

Create an advantage over your competitors

(known as competitive advantage)

Delivering greater value to customers, through

lower prices or,

providing additional benefits

Competitive advantage is NOT a STRENGTH of

your business !

You do NOT have to be the BEST in the world or

the industry or the region to be SUCCESSFUL !

Be the BEST in your target market ( it can be a

very niche segment)

Click and go to a particular step:

Step 1: Set objectives

Step 2: What is your product/benefit offering?

Step 3: Understand customer needs

Step 4: Understand competitors

Step 5: Analyze your resources

Final step: Combine all the information to create your

unique advantage

Next step: Reach and communicate with your audience

Set clear

Objectives

Customer

needs

Competitors

Create a long

lasting advantage

Start Here:

Identify the strengths

and weaknesses of

your business, Also

Identify the

opportunities available

externally

My

products

Create a unique

selling feature about

your company from

all the information

gathered before.

Look Internally: Look Externally:

My

Resources

Understand:

• Product/service (includes

packaging, price,

quantities, portion size and

warranties)

• Office/store (includes

environment, layout and

hours of operation)

• Staff, customer service and

employees

• Operating procedures

• Sales and promotional

activities

• Goodwill building events

Understand the current and

potential needs of customers

• What do they want?

• What are the features

they don’t care about?

• What motivates them to

buy ?

• How often do they make

purchases?

• What services or products

are they willing to spend

more on?

How do I find information about my customers:

Talk to employees

Ask customers through:

Personal surveys

Focus groups

Telemarketing

It is very important to understand your competitors, so you

can create strategies that will help create an advantage over

them.

What is a Competitor Analysis ?

An advantage can be created by:

• Understanding their strengths

• Understanding their weaknesses and improving those areas

Click and go to the following sections:

Types of Competitors

How To Do a Competitor Analysis?

Where Can I Find Information About My Competitors?

Direct competitors:

Have very similar products and prices

monitor them very closely

Potential direct competitors:

Can become a direct competitor if they decide to expand

Monitor them also

Indirect competitors:

Seen as alternative to your products

Can take away a piece of your business in the future

*Do not under estimate any competitor

1) Make a list of your main competitors

2) Identify their strengths and weaknesses

3) Who are their customers?

4) What are the leaders doing differently?

5) Identify the competitors’ competitive advantages (things

that cannot be easily imitated by others)

6) Identify their business strategies such as marketing tools

being used, product offerings and future goals

7) What external factors can impact the environment?

Personal networking

Competitor’s website

Visit the competition

Employees

Customers

Trade shows and

conventions

Suppliers and distributors

Demographic/

competitive reports

Newspapers

Online sources

Step 1: Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

Where to look for Strengths and Weaknesses?

Look at the following factors within your organization:

Resources: land, equipment,, brand equity, etc.

Core competencies

Capabilities

Functional areas: management, operations, marketing,

finances, human resources and R&D

Organizational culture

Value chain activities

Step 2: Identify Opportunities and Threats

Where to look for Opportunities and Threats?

Look at the following factors that might impact your organization:

Major external forces (political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal)

Competition

Market changes and industry analysis

Step 3: List 4-5 main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

Pete’s Cupcakes is a cupcake manufacturer in the lower East

Side of New York City. Their goal is to expand to other parts of

NY and double the annual sales to $60,000 by the end of next

year. However, they are in fear of making losses, do not know

what is unique about them and how to sell themselves to the

customers.

Know more about Pete’s business

(click):

Products Customers Competitors Resources

Pete’s Cupcakes had 40 different types of chocolate cupcakes,

the staff was friendly , the average price of a cupcake was

$2.50 and the ambience of the shop was very colorful.

Most of their sales came from to go orders (75%). They

operated from 9am – 9 pm and had simple brown boxes for

packaging the products.

Most of the customers were tourists or local residents of New

York City.

In addition, these customers were relatively less price

sensitive due to high income levels and need for trying out

new and upscale products.

They cared a lot about the appearance of the store and the

products.

They were willing to spend more depending on whether they

received additional benefits.

There were 3 other cupcake manufacturers(direct

competition) within a 10 mile radius and 2 gourmet candy

shops (indirect).

They offered similar offerings but had different variations and

specials, some had better locations ( inside a mall), 2 of them

had an online store and 1 of them was open 24 hours.

One of their direct competitors provided cupcakes infused

with liquors also.

Thus competition was very intense in the area.

Pete’s had a limited amount of financial and human resources

for its expansion.

Main strengths were customer service, quality of products and

variations in the product line.

However, they lacked good packaging, online presence and

location.

Some opportunities are to create an online presence and

promote their product line.

Use information from step 2,4 and 5

Competitive advantage is created by the resources/ capabilitiesthat match your customers’ needs (do not imitate competitors)

Created by:

1. Exploiting untapped needs

2. Use resources and do the task better than your competitors

Resources/capabilities

Customer NeedsCompetitors

Competitive

advantage

Creating Uniqueness: After reviewing their resources,

what the competitors are doing and what the customers

needed, they found out that they have a distinct

advantage in the products that they offer:

Have a large variety of unique chocolate cupcakes (40)

Thus, they rebranded themselves as Fantasy Chocolate

Cupcakes and started promoting their product line more

Product features/benefits

Be the first to enter the

market

Location

Hours of operation

Brand name recognition

Convenience

Customer Service

Price

Customer incentive

programs (giveaways)

Provide free value added

services ( free delivery,

installation)

Reach out to the consumers and inform

them about your UNIQUENESS !

How do you communicate it? Create Social Media channels

Website (if online)

Traditional advertisements

In store Promotions

Case Example: Fantasy Chocolate Cupcakes

Improved packaging to exploit potential of to go sales

Established social media channels to promote business Created a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Daily postings

Online Promotions and giveaways

Started weekly promotions of cupcakes in store

All their marketing initiatives were consistent with their main advantage of promoting their unique product line !

Create your final statement (1-2 lines)

What company does, for whom, how unique it

is and how it solves the need, and why

competitors cannot imitate.

Your competitive advantage is:

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________