think you know your company’s competitive advantage? think ... · value. • “relevant selling...
TRANSCRIPT
Copyright © 2013 by Smart Advantage, Inc. All rights reserved. Not for reprint or reproduction without the express permission of Smart Advantage, Inc.
Smart Advantage, Inc.954-763-5757
October 17, 2013Englewood, CO
Think You Know Your Company’s Competitive Advantage?
Think Again!
Presented by Jaynie L. Smith
CEO, AUTHOR, CONSULTANT, SPEAKERJAYNIE L. SMITHSmart Advantage, Inc. (954) 763-5757
• “Smith’s elegant little book should be mandatory reading for all entrepreneurs.”
– Miami Herald, December 2006
• Labeled as “presently one of the most influential books in the business world” by BookJive.com
“Why should I do business with you and not your competitor?” If you cannot answer this question, you are likely losing customers.
Creating Competitive Advantage reveals how identifying your competitive advantages - and trumpeting them to the marketplace- is the most surefire way to close deals, retain clients, and stay miles ahead of the competition.
Biography
Jaynie L. Smith is the CEO of Smart Advantage, Inc., a marketing and management consultancy whose clients range from mid-sized to Fortune 100 companies. She consults globally to help companies increase measurable results to the top and bottom lines by defining their competitive advantages. Jaynie is a best-selling author and an international keynote speaker.
• Featured in Entrepreneur, Industry Week, Investors Business Daily, NY Enterprise Report, Business Strategies Magazine, Sales and Service Excellence, Profit Magazine, New York Times, PGA Magazine, Whole Foods Magazine and over 60 other publications
• Television appearances: FoxBusiness.com, ABC World News This Morning, MSNBC, WGN, KOMO (ABC Seattle), WFLD (Fox Chicago), etc.
• Guest on Bloomberg Radio, WABC, NPR affiliate WLRN, and scores of other radio shows
• Selected by Vistage/TEC, an organization of more than16,000 business leaders worldwide, as one of the 50 most influential people of their first 50 years
• Delivered Microsoft Office Live Seminars with Michael Gerber, Stephen Covey, Marshall Goldsmith, Jack Canfield & Jim Kouzes
Creating Competitive Advantage Relevant Selling Many companies lament that price pressure has destroyed their margins. Research proves that more than 90% of the time, price is not the most important buying factor.
Relevant Selling will teach you how to uncover what is relevant to your market so that you can stop caving in on price and start selling value.
• “Relevant Selling is a playbook for all times, all geographies, and all products and services. It is universal in its wisdom and makes that wisdom crystal clear.” - Richard A. D’Aveni, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College
• Released in April 2012 and in its third printing.
Doubleday, 2006 Executive Suite Press, 2012
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Copyright 2013 by Smart Advantage, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Not for reprint or reproduction without the express permission of Smart Advantage, Inc.
Your Profit Depends on it Your Sales People Rely on it
What is Your Number One Competitive Advantage…
From your perspective?
From your employee’s perspective?
From your customer’s perspective? Notes:
Are You Selling Strengths, Differentiators, or
Relevant Competitive Advantages?
“Marketing and advertising efforts depend too much on creativity and not enough on relevance.”
Relevant Selling; Jaynie L. Smith
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Copyright 2013 by Smart Advantage, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Not for reprint or reproduction without the express permission of Smart Advantage, Inc.
“A differentiator is not a Competitive Advantage if it is not relevant.”
Jaynie L. Smith
Common Critical Flaws of Companies
They don’t have differentiators.
They have, but don’t know them.
They know them, but don’t tell.
They don’t know what’s relevant. … so they don’t have competitive advantages
Notes:
“...a company should concentrate solely upon their competitive advantages and nothing else.” “… investments in competitive advantage are frequently the wisest investment a business can make.”
Guerilla Marketing Excellence; Jay Conrad Levinson
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Copyright 2013 by Smart Advantage, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Not for reprint or reproduction without the express permission of Smart Advantage, Inc.
A well-articulated and measured differentiator may be a competitive advantage, but only if it is relevant.
A good marketing plan includes a SWOT analysis:
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats Strengths are required just to be in the game. They are expectations, “givens.” Your customer will only do business with you if you have the most common of strengths: quality, knowledgeable people, and good customer service. Notes:
Competitive Advantages Must Be:
● Objective, not subjective ● Quantifiable, not arbitrary
● Not claimed by the competition ● Not a given or a cliché
● True, and provable ● Past tense or fact
Relevant to the customer
What is a Value Proposition?
“A description of the value that your offering will provide to a customer segment, customer, or individual that is relevant,
measureable, and relative to their alternative choices.”
FutureSight Consulting
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Copyright 2013 by Smart Advantage, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Not for reprint or reproduction without the express permission of Smart Advantage, Inc.
Relevant Selling Key Points
Relevant selling frees you from price based negotiation!
1. Key Reason for Irrelevance: Biased, Inaccurate Feedback.
2. Relevant Selling Depends on Internal Agreement. There is NONE.
3. Prospects Buy for Different Reasons than Existing Customers.
4. Target Markets / Levels of Customers Require Different Sales and
Marketing Messages.
5. Internal Investments Must be Based on What the Customers’ Value,
Not What the Company Thinks They Value.
6. Fill in Operational Gaps to be Relevant.
The ROI for seeking the Voice of the Customer is frequently underestimated.
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Copyright 2013 by Smart Advantage, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Not for reprint or reproduction without the express permission of Smart Advantage, Inc.
Ten Things to Know about Market Research
Smart Advantage has guided over 150 companies on successful implementation of research results into new sales and marketing messaging through our partner companies.
1. Your objective must be clear
You will get the best data when you define one objective
Market research firms collect and provide data, not objectives 2. Key decisions are made before a research firm should be contacted
It’s not just information you want, but information you will use
If your company has never conducted market research, don’t assume you’ll know how to use the information. Many companies get paralyzed by research data, and most need guidance on how to use it.
3. Market research is both an art and a science
Research firms must be skilled in survey design – not all are
Find out if research firm specializes in B2B or B2C depending on your needs, or if it has niche experience (e.g., healthcare)
4. Good market research minimizes bias
Double blind- A study in which both the researcher and the participant are unaware of who has commissioned the survey. Double-blind research produces objective results, since the expectations of the researcher and participant do not affect the outcome.
Double-bind research eliminates negotiation-based answers. 5. Minimize company jargon
Your internal terminology may not be familiar to prospects who haven’t worked with you
Whoever designs your research must learn enough about your industry and buying priorities to design a survey that doesn’t give away your identity, yet is able to understand and capture key concepts
6. The wrong design can waste your investment
Customer satisfaction surveys are not market research
B2C approach may not work for B2B needs 7. Be realistic
It takes time to conduct research
Contact lists – You will need to invest time to put good lists together. Good lists can sometimes reduce your expense.
8. Dedicate internal resources
Who in your company has the time as well as knowledge or experience with research?
9. There’s a reason most market research results collect dust on someone’s shelf
Can you decipher the data?
What’s your strategy for implementation? 10. Results are always insightful, but the real work begins once you get them
Everyone may be impacted: Sales, Marketing, Operations, HR, Finance…
Redesign of marketing/sales message with results
Your profits with...
strengths
differentiators
competitive advantages
The only marketing consultancy that focuses solely on differentiating Clients
by uncovering competitive advantages. www.SmartAdvantage.com
(954) 763-5757
Themart AdvantageolutionS
Your company’s strengths are things you do well. You may have strong
on-time delivery and good responsiveness,
but these are standard expectations.
Differentiators are unique features that set you apart.
They often result from how you sell,
versus the actual product/service.Differentiators should be
quantified.
Relevant competitive advantages
deliver a greater value proposition; giving buyers a reason to choose you and
minimizing price as an issue in the buying decision.
On-Site Workshop
Full Process
with Research
How Smart Advantage Helped Companies...
Need help defining your message and your target market’s needs? Smart Advantage Full Process
• Statisticallyvalidfindingsfromdoubleblindmarketresearchtoguideyourstrategicandoperationaldecisions
• Newmarketingmessagesthataligndirectlywithwhatyourmarketsdemand• Revisedsalesmessagingthatbuildsconfidenceandremovesriskinthebuying
decisionsofyourcustomers• AsolidvaluepropositionthatdoesNOTdefaulttoprice• Thecompany-specificanswerto:
“Why should I buy from you instead of your competition?”
Competitive Advantage
Think you’d benefit most by finding out what your target market values? Remote Consulting and Onsite Market Research Review
• Craftnewcompetitiveadvantagestatementsforyourcompany• DoubleBlindMarketResearch• Alignyourmessagetowhatyourcustomersvaluemost• Learnhowtobestuseyourcompetitiveadvantagesinmarketingandsales
Know your market, but your message is poor? Onsite Workshops
• Uncovercompetitiveadvantagesyoudidn’tknowyouhad• Practicearticulatingnewcompetitiveadvantages• Identifyareasofpotentialfocusforfuturemarketingmaterials/campaigns• Learnhowyoursalesprocesscanshiftfocusfrombeingaboutprice,tobeingaboutvalue
To learn more about our processes, or to request a brochure, please contact Smart Advantage at 954-763-5757 or visit www.SmartAdvantage.com
Discover new ways to communicate relevant competitive advantages Keynote Speaking
• Associations• Salesmeetings• Annualconferences
Increase revenue by an average of 10 - 40 % in one year