Despite the new wave of machine tool marketing strategies, the classic question remains to be answered: "Why should I do business with you...and not your competitors?" In "Creating Competitive Advantage", Jaynie L. Smith contends that most CEOs and owners cannot answer the question. "In researching mid-market companies I found only two CEOs out of 1,000 who could clearly name their companies' competitive advantage. The other 99.8% could offer only vague, imprecise generalities."
Her book identifies the five fatal flaws that are perpetuated in industrial marketing and which represent the unspoken challenges any vendor must resolve:
They don't have a competitive advantage, but think they do.
They have a competitive advantage but don't know what it is --so they lower prices.
They know what their competitive advantage is, but neglect to tell clients about it.
They mistake "strengths" for competitive advantage.
They don't connect on competitive advantage when making strategic and operational decisions.
Smith's recommendations include:
Start with objectivity -- go beyond citing good quality and great customer service and show customers how much you save them.
Create a competitive advantage culture. Competitive advantages don't happen by themselves. They require planning, decision-making and implementation.
Turn your disadvantages into competitive advantages. The staff member who identifies a critical disadvantage might be the most effective person to fix it.
Publisher: Doubleday, May 16, 2006, $19.95
Jaynie L. Smith is founder of Smart Advantage Inc., a management consultancy based in Hollywood, Fla.
