Last night I had a really good conversation with a friend who is quite good at developing a compelling competitive advantage. Really, all a CCA is, is a unique selling proposition with a little extra “umph” to it. It will always require that you put yourself in a position to make a significant statement and if you can’t back it up, DON’T MAKE IT! If you make a CCA and can’t back it up, it’s one great way to destroy your brand and lose a great deal of credibility with your market. But if you can back it up, this little statement can have a great impact on your bottom line.

So how do you create a CCA? He provided me with a few good pointers on how to do this. Hopefully passing this along helps!

5 Steps to Creating a Compelling Competitive Advantage

Step 1 – Determining your Strategic Position in the Market

What special niche or segment of the marketplace should your business focus on? Determining this involves combining the skills your business has with the unmet needs of your targeted prospects and then designing your product or service to fulfill these needs.

To review, Domino’s Pizzas Strategic Position was “Busy college kids that wanted food fast.” Applying this to the Realtor, they need to get clear on what their target buyer/seller needs… Today a buyer is looking for a great deal, and certainty that they are not making a mistake. A savvy realtor could create a system for providing a service that made the buyer feel “certain” they are making an informed, good buying decision (we created a system like this for a client).

Step 2 – Determining your Primary Competitive Advantage(s)

This is the most compelling advantage that differentiates you from your competitors. Your Primary Competitive Advantage can also be your Strategic Position. Domino’s used, “Delivery in 30 minutes or less or it’s FREE!” This was the primary advantage that met the needs of their newly defined market position – the busy college kids that wanted food fast.

Step 3 – Determining Your Supporting Business Model

How will you specifically deliver what your Strategic Positioning and Primary Competitive Advantage(s) promise so that it meets the needs of your customers and is difficult to duplicate?
Domino’s built a supporting business model that enabled them to consistently provide their promised primary advantage – delivery within 30 minutes.

Step 4 – Determining Your Secondary Competitive Advantages

That is, what other competitive advantages does your business offer that your customers perceive as different from the competition? Domino’s Pizzas secondary benefits might include favorable pricing, extra large sizes and broader selection of toppings.

Step 5 – Creating Your Compelling Competitive Advantage Statement

This is accomplished by combining processes 1-4. This simple 2-3 line statement will identify your differences to your targeted prospects and customers. Domino’s Pizzas Compelling Competitive Advantage is really summed up in its slogan (something few companies can achieve) – “Delivered in 30 minutes or less or it’s free”.