A while ago we discussed why Effective Organisations Respect Their Competitors and why getting better is the most effective way of competing. Don’t look on your competition so much as competitors and more as rivals. There will be some things they do better than you (not necessarily cheaper) and so learn from those. There will be some things you do better than them and so learn from those as well. Gaining the advantage is about constant, effective learning, improving and above all change. Let’s pursue that a bit further and look at how to gain an advantage over your competition in an effective way.
The problem we have is that most people define competitive advantage as the ability to produce a good or sell a service at a lower price than the competition. Whilst being able to do this is undoubtably a help in the short run too many organisations rely on it as an excuse as to why they cannot compete in a particular market and so either give up or limit what they do.
In reality, in the environment in which we find ourselves there is one competitive advantage that is worth far more than the ability to produce at a low cost today. The greatest competitive advantage you can have which will constantly keep you ahead of your competition is the ability to continuously learn and then adapt to changes faster and better than your competition. That way you can build meaningful and effective relationships with your customers. If your customer is genuinely loyal it will take more than price to lure them away.
Any fool can reduce costs in the short run. Cut back on training and marketing, make half the workforce redundant and exploit the remaining employees. Unfortunately this is the approach of so many to a downturn or a problem with increased competition. The trouble with this approach is that you get to a point when you can’t cut any more. Chances are you have had a voluntary redundancy programme in order to make your efforts look less desperate and as a result your good people who can get other jobs have gone first.
Forward looking organisations and individuals realise that being one step ahead is how to deal with competition.
What is happening in the market for your goods, your services or indeed your job? Continuously learn and adapt. You won’t be at the front all the time but you will be in the race and most importantly you will stay in the race. If you really want to gain an advantage over your competition look to the future and not the present or worst of all the past.
In order to learn and change you will need to ensure time is available and too many organisations are run by individuals who work in the business rather than on the business. Too many people work in a job rather than working on their job. We have all been guilty of fire fighting and short termism and sometimes that is vital, but in order to be competitive you need to stop it being your default position. The Simplest Time Management System Ever If all employees are working on today then someone else will dictate your tomorrow.
To be more effective than your competitors you don’t need a better horse Effectiveness Is Not About Faster Horses you need to effectively provide what the customer really wants in a way they want it but first you need to create an environment in which your employees want to do that.
When was the last time you or your organisation really devoted time to the future? When was the last time your organisation really put the good employees first? If you don’t want to race to the bottom with most of your competitors start being effective and look to the future.
If you want to receive our weekly newsletter, please Subscribe