Creating Competitive Advantage Creating Competitive Advantage Creating Competitive Advantage

by Jaynie Smith, William G. Flanagan

Why should I do business with you... and not your competitor? Whether you are a retailer, manufacturer, distributor, or service provider - if youcannot answer this question, you are surely losing customers, clients and market share. This eye-opening book reveals how identifying your competitive advantages and trumpeting them to the marketplace is the most surefireway to close deals, retain clients, and stay miles ahead of the competition. The five fatal flaws of most ? They don't have a competitiveadvantage but think they do? They have a competitive advantage but don't know what it is-so they lower prices instead? They know what theircompetitive advantage is but neglect to tell clients about it? They mistake "strengths" for competitiveadvantages? They don't concentrate on competitive advantages when making strategic and operationaldecisions The good news is that you "can" overcome these costly mistakes - by identifying your competitive advantages and creating new ones. Consultant, public speaker, andcompetitive advantage expert Jaynie Smith will show you how scores of small and large companies substantially increased their sales by focusing on their competitive advantages. When advising a CEO frustrated by hissalespeople's inability to close deals, Smith discovered that his company stayed on schedule 95 percent of the time - an achievement no one else in his industry could claim. By touting this and othercompetitive advantages to customers, closing rates increased by 30 percent-and so did company revenues. Jack Welch has said, "If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete." This straight-to-the-point book is filled with insightful stories and specific steps on how to pinpoint your competitive advantages, develop new ones, and get the message out aboutthem. "The biggest marketing flaw in most companies is their failure to fully reap the benefits of their competitive advantages. Either they think they have acompetitive advantage but don't. Or they have one and don't realize it. Or they know they have a strong competitive advantage but fail to promote it adequately to their customers andprospects. "In my research with middle-market companies, I found only two CEOs out of 1,000 who could clearly name their companies' competitive advantages. Theother 99.8 percent could offer only vague, imprecise generalities. These same CEOs often rely on outside consultants to guide strategic-planning sessions. Yet, in my experience, very few consultants - evenseasoned ones - give competitive advantage evaluation more than a superficial glance.... "Ignoring your competitive advantages can be an expensive and even fatalmistake. Because no matter the size of your company or the kind of business you are in, your competitive advantages should be the foundation of all your strategic and operational decisions. They're thereasons customers choose to buy from you instead of the other guy." - From "Creating Competitive Advantage"

Genres: Business

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2006

Reviews

[Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many great actionable tips I can implement right away in my business. One of the rare books I finished in a few days because the advice can be used instantly. Although I'm not exactly the book's target market as I'm a lifestyle entrepreneur without employees and a "real" business, it's still very relevant to what I do and totally broadened the context of how to be different. It's also recommended by the author of Influence, which is one of the greatest marketing books ever, so I'm not surprised.

[Rebecca Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Takes complicated business school marketing concepts and makes them easy to understand. Paints a clear picture of what a competitive advantage is for a business...and/or for a person.

[Raman K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to read for class but it was good!

[Oscar Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a book written in 2006--sure has many, many excellent ideas I am sure they will never get outdated. Specially the one about many of us always not paying attention to our own company competitive advantages....until your costumers mention them. And if you ever take the time to ask them in such a manner that they will be candid enough to share with you.

Quite interesting that what we think is a advantage--within our own companies--may not be what the customers see or think. It is tantamount to someone asking our own opinion of ourselves---I don't think we will ever be accurate.

An excellent read if we want to really understand what a competitive advantage is or how to create and use one or more.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creating Competitive Advantage is a book focused on differentiating yourself from the market and positioning your brand to win. The author provides dozens of examples from various companies across many industries to illustrate how you could approach creating your own competitive advantage. The contents of this book are very informative and it's definitely a worthwhile read. The only criticism I have is that it's not very engaging, but I think that's to be expected with this subject matter.

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book to get you to think outside the box for your marketing and sales pitch. Includes many examples that you can apply to any industry. A very good exercise to implement in your sales meetings.

[Austin Roden · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book has solid principles on how to identify and create a competitive advantage within your organization. It is quite repetitive but the baseline principles are well documented throughout the book.

[Brandon Bellinghausen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful.

[Christine Zac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good tips for business owners. Key takeaways: have good metrics on outcomes and share them ( and monitor regularly against competitors).

[Guru · Rating 3 out of 5]

This somewhat dated book on creating, maintaining and publicizing about your competitive edge still has some good bits. For most part, the author shares her experience of how she was able to turn around certain businesses solely by encouraging them to think and talk about their competitive advantages.
The most important take-away was the fact that competitive advantage is fleeting and even replicable. A business cannot afford to rest on its laurels and assume that the competition can never catch up.
The book is short and divided in bite-sized chapters; making it an fast and easy read. Some age-old wisdom here but do not expect something completely novel.

[Paul Gallipeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most influential books i have read on marketing and it covers fundamental principles that almost every business neglects. When I meet with my clients, I use a lot of the techniques I learned from this book to help identify competitive advantages to use for our marketing plans. I've typed up and organized all of the notes I took while reading this book and you can check them out here: http://www.paulcarl.com/creating-comp...

[Ryan Willging · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is status quo for business books. Stories of companies in the real world (experience) implementing and executing a process (theory) to positively differentiate yourself from your competitors. I believe there is real value in strategizing on and developing competitive advantages. Good reading for an MBA or new product manager.

[Chandrashekhar kulkarni · Rating 4 out of 5]

MOST PRACTICAL AND CONCISE BOOK. USEFUL IN EVERY WAY. I USED MANY IDEAS FROM THIS DURING TRAINING AND COULD EMPHASIS THE NEED TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN THE THE TRAINING.

[Julian Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read to establish your companies' DNA and transform it into a value proposition

[Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read - thought provoking, and extremely insightful.

[Scottalberts]

Book is over 10 years old, but very relevant to marketing. A used book find, so I was constantly hi-lighting and making notes. Fits perfectly with programs such as "Book Yourself Solid" and "The Referral Engine." Communicate what you do BEST.