We are often asked how organizations can better differentiate themselves in highly competitive industries. Organizations understand that not being able to stand out minimizes their ability to secure new business without lowering prices. The organizations that do a better job at differentiating – and communicating their differentiators – cave in less often. Here are a…
The sales team in an organization is the lifeblood of any business. They not only ensure the sales of the entire company are ongoing and profitable but also focus on customer retention, repairing and upholding the company’s reputation, and selling the brand of the company. This article discusses eight specific strategic factorsfor a sales team…
Within the last year, many industries experienced drastic pricing pressures in response to rapidly shifting buying patterns that left many markets with excess capacity (think of airline seats and hotel rooms during the pandemic when travel evaporated). If you happened to travel and needed a hotel room during that time, you likely experienced some of…
What is a price war? A price war is when one supplier (usually) believes they can secure more market share by lowering their price. “If we cut our prices, we can drive up our sales volume,” these companies’ leaders say. The war happens when competitors lower their prices in an effort not to cede market…
Some businesses have more measurements, controls, and processes than NASA. Others have virtually none. In my 30 years’ experience working very closely with hundreds of companies of all sizes, I have seen only a handful with metrics that are aligned with the highest buying criteria of their customers and prospects. Strategic differentiation depends on having…
What is a Value Proposition? If you surf the web and plug in your favorite companies and look at their value propositions (if they can even articulate one), you will find all kinds of buzz words and equations that sometimes ring true and sometimes do not. Many are aspirational. Companies talk a lot about what…
There is a long running discussion regarding sustainable competitive advantage. In particular, is a sustainable competitive advantage in today’s world of mass communication, electronics and AI even possible? Decades ago we were taught that you must have a sustainable competitive advantage to succeed. Books like In Search of Excellence, Good to Great and Built to…
Many businesses were able to “make a lot of hay while the sun was shining” so to speak during Covid.; the obvious pandemic benefactors being manufacturers of paper goods, chemicals for hand sanitizers, and retailers that benefited from a radical shift in consumer buying patterns. The other winners were the astute businesses that had the…
It is easy to acknowledge we live in crazy times, having to make almost daily adjustments to our activities. It is nearly impossible to find anything that is constant. But in our businesses, we must have some foundational metrics we can rely on that are meaningful and reliable. If I asked you to tell me…
If you are a frequent reader of our newsletters, you know we are passionate about companies identifying and communicating their competitive advantages. We have gone into detail about how important it is to “validate” your claims. It is simply not enough to show “98% documentation accuracy,” or “97.6% on time delivery,” without supporting evidence. Sometimes…
