Branding Strategy Tip: Find Your Competitive Edge

Did you know there is more to branding than just creating a logo or having promotional and marketing materials with your brand name imprinted on them? Most businesses fail at branding by investing so much in branded materials and without first putting effort into determining what their competitive edge is. Your business needs a strong value proposition to appeal to clients and succeed in a highly competitive marketplace. 

Finding your competitive edge within your targeted niche allows you to best leverage a limited amount of time and resources to have the greatest impact. This approach helps improve your marketability and gain traction more quickly.

 7 Ways To Find Your Competitive Advantage

1. Audit Your Company for Competitiveness 

A marketing audit usually has two focuses: one is internal to your company and the other is external facing, which is to take a look at your competition. When reviewing your competition you’ll want to document details such as their brand positioning, marketing mix (product, price, promotion, place), what channels they are on and how they use them, etc. As you continue to find the differences and similarities between your brand and your competition, you will be in a better position to differentiate your company.

2. Get Feedback from Your Customers

The people who have used your product or service before can help you identify your competitiveness. The rationale for this is that there are aspects of your brand that they found useful and others were not. Asking your existing customers for feedback will help you establish various aspects about your brand that need improvement, so your product or service addresses the customers' needs satisfactorily.  

Use online surveys like Google Forms or Survey Monkey to get feedback on your brand from your existing customers. You can also hire an independent person to carry out the interviews, so they can collect impartial information about your product or service. 

The focus here is for you to establish whether the customers understand your brand positioning or the messaging. This process almost always provides insights that can help you understand your clients better and why they choose to work with you. For example, I helped a massage therapist with this process. She thought that most of her clients came to her for relaxation. In fact, most of her clients utilize her service to help with pain. See how this small shift in understanding can dramatically impact her marketing messaging?

3. What Do Your Prospective Customers Expect?

Your competitive advantage doesn't come only from people who have already used your brand – the prospective ones can also be helpful. You have a list of ideal customers for your brand, right? Talk to them to find out what they expect from a business like yours.

Find these potential customers during industry events, trade shows and networking events and solicit as much feedback and information as possible. You can also get reliable information through social media and website polls. 

While asking similar questions to the surveys you did with the existing customers, do not forget to find out why they prefer getting similar products or services from your competitors. This approach helps you find out the different approaches that your competitors are using to attract more customers. 

4. Assess the Available Avenues of Improvement

Most businesses develop their competitive advantage by assessing their opportunities to improve. 

The surveys and interviews you implemented with existing and prospective customers and the audit of your marketing strategy and brand should provide you with a lot of data. 

Start by reviewing the marketing tactics used by your competitors and evaluate the feedback from your existing and prospective customers. Use the information you gather to determine areas to differentiate, offer more value and identify new opportunities for your business.

5. Audit Your Resources 

The resources you have can be a source of competitive advantage. In many cases, companies are limited in their scope to provide products or services that align with the needs of their existing or prospective customers because they have limited resources.

What is your business's financial position? Are you able to introduce differentiated products or services that your competitors cannot? What valuable attributes does your company have that your competitors don't? 

In this case, your competitiveness could be in the form of staff, locations, capital, materials, data, or knowledge that sets you apart. So, focus on establishing those unique resources you have or can access easily, as these are a significant source of competitiveness. 

6. What is Your Specialization?

You can find your competitive edge by building on a specialization that most other businesses in your industry do not have. A specialization allows you to focus your time and resources for greater impact and to be branded as an expert in your field over time. This type of positioning reduces the perceived risk for potential clients, especially when combined with social proof like positive reviews and demonstrated thought leadership.

Therefore, you need to find out your unique specialty and work towards perfecting it to meet the needs of your existing or prospective customers. 

7. Evaluate Your Processes for Competitiveness

In some cases, you will not achieve competitiveness from the finished product itself. Sometimes, what sets you apart from your competitors may be the processes you employ in your business to develop the brand. This is often referred to as your value chain, with the primary activities being inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing/sales and service. For example, a company like Amazon has insanely good logistics. A company like Apple is excellent at marketing. 

Your processes can become your secret sauce that are difficult to imitate because they are more internal to your company. Following a unique process will set you apart from your competitors, giving individuals a reason to use your product or service. 

Final Thoughts

Running a successful business is easier said than done. Creating a robust brand identity and positioning helps your business stand out. However, it can be challenging to achieve this if you don't know what your existing and prospective customers need, the tactics your competitors are using, or even the resources, processes, opportunities and specialties that could set you apart.