Competitive Advantage – The Extra .01%
I was doing my weekly shopping over the weekend, and something grabbed my attention. While I was looking for some kitchen cleaner spray, I noticed that the most any
of them kill is 99.99% of household germs.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that’s a pretty high strike rate, but what then is differentiating them from one another? What is setting them apart from their competition? For the most part, it’s brand loyalty that’s driving it. I’ve always used Mr Muscle, so chances are I will buy it.
But imagine if a one of them developed a household cleaner that killed 100% of the germs. When you’re talking about something that matters to people, this extra .01% can give you a massive competitive advantage. I know that there is probably a major scientific explanation as to why that extra .01% is so hard to obtain for household cleaners (given they got to 99.99%), but I think it illustrates an important point.
Getting ahead of your competitors is sometimes a very fine line. Constant product innovation makes it something that you need to continually be mindful of.
The key is to focus on the aspects that matters most to your customers. Product, customer service, your shipping policies – it could be any number of things. If you are neck and neck with your competitors in terms of any of these, try and improve by the .01% – it could make all the difference to your business.
What can you improve by .01% today?
Tags: Competitive Advantage, Customer Service, household cleaners, product innovation
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