Life isn't Fair!

 
And business isn't fair. Yes, we all believe in having rules that govern the marketplace, so we compete with other companies on an even playing field. But that doesn't mean that we don't want a strong competitive advantage on that playing field.

So, what really is an unfair competitive advantage? The only real competitive advantage is one that cannot be copied or cannot be bought. Like what? Like business processes that hum along, mistake free. Like execution of business plans that doesn't accept failure to meet the plan as an option. Like control of your projects that's so tight that every dollar and every minute of labor is deployed in the most productive way...always! Like having absolutely no waste in your business. It's kind of like having no waist in your personal life (pun intended). Think of competing in a marathon against people who are in incredibly good physical condition and have no body fat...do they have an unfair competitive advantage over you? You bet. Business is just like that. If you're carrying around excess body fat (wasteful business processes), you probably aren't going to win the business marathon.

• Are your business processes simply "the way we do things here?"
• Or are your business processes part of your "secret weapon" in the marketplace?
• Are your processes consistent?... does everyone who works in each process follow a documented "best practice"?
• Does your organization constantly review and improve the way you do everything in your business?

If you do these things, then you are starting to realize the full potential of your business.

Strategy1 can help you learn how to implement continuous business process improvement to gain a real unfair competitive advantage in your marketplace. Contact us for more information. 

~ Mary Kay Ash, business woman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics.

How you educate, empower and encourage your people can create a powerful unfair competitive advantage for your organization.  

Educate

Well-run corporate training programs will save you time and money. Creating a continuous learning environment includes a blend of formal, informal, just in time, on the job, cross training, mobile and now social media. Performance-driven business-integrated learning solutions ensure that your entire workforce is working effectively and following your best practices.  

Empower

21st century companies are generally more collaborative and cooperative in nature. This approach encourages empowerment of people to think for themselves and make every effort to do the right thing for your customer. Your policies and procedures reflect how you empower your people and your training budget reveals how you value your people. 

Encourage

How do you inspire and motivate your workforce? Encouragement for providing exceptional products and services includes linking learning to compensation. Creating an environment that encourages critical thinking and good decision making will provide you with new benefits and business opportunities while retaining your most important asset - your best people.

Strategy1 can help you create and implement training plans that educate, empower and encourage your team.  

Do you want to sustain an unfair competitive advantage? Then get closer to your customer.

Innovation may give a company a competitive advantage, however nothing lasts forever. Success attracts imitators - eventually someone will answer with improved features, lower prices, or a new way to draw customers away from you. Time eventually causes almost all advantages to become obsolete.  

The question is how long, and by what means, can a company expect to sustain its competitive advantage?

Today's turbulent marketplace requires that businesses get closer to their customers through direct contact.  We must truly identify their needs, learn what drives satisfaction, and define value for them. From this understanding, a company is then able to target those markets segments which are most promising and best reflect their strategic vision and shared goals. 

This approach can serve to guide the organization in:

• Developing a sound market plan
• Selecting new ares of business development
• Identifying promising growth areas
• Divesting products and existing market areas
• Establishing alliances with other companies
• Realigning itself in order to effectively implement its strategies

Understanding your customer and getting to know them extremely well is one of the best ways of achieving a sustainable and significant unfair competitive advantage.

From Market Research to Go-To-Market Plans and Market/Product Strategy Validation, Strategy1 has the marketing tools and expertise to give you an unfair advantage and make you #1!