How are You Better than Your Competition?

I don’t care what industry you’re in when you look at the landscape of those businesses that do what you do; you compare your business to the work that they do. And you have opinions about their work – either you respect it, or you don’t. But the thing is, you know how your business stacks up against the competition. You know where you’re better (and why) and you know where they are better (and why). Because you’re in the industry, you know if they are any good or not at what they claim to do, or if they are just a beneficiary of the “old boy’s network,” or a random fluke.

Insight into your Brand Position

This understanding of how your business is better than your competition is will give you an important insight into what your brand position is. If you’ve got better service than your competition – then your brand might need to be positioned around amazing service for your customer. If your business is honest and your competition is not, then, your brand position requires an element of straight-talking to it. If your business has the latest and greatest widgets and your competitor uses old and outdated ones, then your brand can be about being on the cutting edge of technology. The goal is to figure out what your business is naturally doing different and better than your competition and then to own that position.

There is a great article in the Huffington Post by Grant Cardone titled Competition Breeds Failure and Mediocrity. The point of the article (which you should read) is that you can’t be successful at the same things your competition is. This is because there will be little distinction between each company competing for the business. If on the other hand, you get excellent at the things your competition isn’t good at, then you can create a meaningful differentiation between yourself and your competitor. At the end of the day, it’s about being different than your competition – that difference is your brand.

How Would You Talk About Your Competition?

photo credit: AdamKR

Today, think about how you would talk to someone you respect about the differences between your company and your competitor. Consider what that tells you about what your brand position is and should be. If you’re not marketing your business like that, it’s time to consider a subtle shift to highlight the differences between your businesses.