What makes you choose a particular brand as a consumer and ignore the competition’s offers? In today’s highly competitive industry environment, choosing one company from the multitude of other available options can be really difficult. Unless one of them has a clearly defined competitive advantage – then the purchasing decision becomes much simpler. But how do you build a unique company value and strengthen its competitive edge in an increasingly demanding market? Find out how to gain a strong position against competitors and chart your own path to business success!
What is the concept of company value and how is it understood?
Company value consists of many aspects that make the company’s offer attractive to customers and stand out in the market. It can be expressed, for example, through a high level of innovation, product or service quality, personalization, efficiency, or flexibility. However, what is essential is that company value is not only about the product or service but also about the emotions, experiences, and relationships that the brand builds with its customers, as well as the way it communicates with the community gathered around it. In general terms, the essence of company value boils down to understanding and responding to customer needs better than the competition.
How to build your company’s advantage?
We can talk about competitive advantage when a company has achieved a dominant market position over its competitors by offering products or services that not only perfectly meet their needs but are also objectively better than competitive offers.
Competitive advantage can be found in almost every point of contact between the brand and the customer – whether we think about the quality and price of the product, or in relation to customer service, communication, or the way solutions are implemented by the company. The process of identifying the strengths of the company and building a competitive advantage based on them requires considerable effort and commitment. How to approach this ambitious task?
GET TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS AND THEIR NEEDS
The first key step in building company value is to thoroughly understand the target group. It is impossible to effectively create competitive advantages without taking into account the problems, needs, preferences, and expectations of customers. Therefore, basic market research is not enough in this process; active communication with customers and careful listening to their opinions is also needed. Adjusting the offer to the real expectations of consumers is the foundation for building brand value and creating products and services that truly meet their needs.
Coworking for companies can serve as an example here. Thanks to market observations and experience gained during over 12 years of our business, we understood that the basic need of a large part of our customers is access to the opportunities offered by flexible office space for companies. At Idea Place, we strive to meet the requirements of companies working with us, which is why we provide them with ideal working conditions on fully flexible terms.
CREATE A UNIQUE PRODUCT OR SERVICE
The contemporary market requires entrepreneurs to be innovative and creative. This does not necessarily mean the need to invent something completely new – above all, it is about constantly improving existing solutions and adapting them to the specific needs of customers. It is important that your product or service is recognizable and perceived as unique.
IAt Idea Place, we also faced a similar challenge, which resulted in introducing a virtual assistant service to our offer. Talking to our Clients and industry professionals, we noticed among them the need to optimize business processes and reduce the time spent on tedious administrative tasks. In response to this need, we decided to expand the scope of our services, offering Clients not only flexible office spaces for rent but also professional assistance of a virtual assistant, thereby guaranteeing comprehensive business support.
So, think about what distinguishes your product or service from the competition – is it modernity, high functionality, above-average performance, or perhaps perfectly refined aesthetics? Find your differentiator and communicate it effectively.
UTILIZE NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND STRATEGIES
Today, there is no need to convince anyone that technology plays a huge role in modern business. Using new technological solutions, including automation, data analysis, or artificial intelligence, can not only significantly accelerate the company’s development but also create additional value for customers and provide them with better experiences. This can also be a significant source of competitive advantage.
INVEST IN EMPLOYEES AND DEVELOPMENT
Employees are the most valuable asset of any company, so it is in the interest of entrepreneurs to invest in their continuous development and provide them with appropriate working conditions. Additionally, improving the team’s competencies directly translates into the quality of services provided and relationships with customers. Satisfied employees are more engaged and motivated, thus contributing to a positive company image.
Types of competition in the business environment
To make the company’s strategy complete and effective, it is worth knowing who the company is actually competing with in the market. This competition can take various forms, and understanding them will help better adjust the direction of actions. The most basic division includes direct competition, i.e., companies offering similar products or services to your company, and indirect competition, i.e., brands that do not have the same offer but satisfy similar customer needs.
What is competitive advantage?
Competitive advantage is a key element of every company’s success. It is a characteristic or set of characteristics that make a company achieve better results than the competition. It includes all aspects that determine why customers choose this particular brand instead of other available options on the market.
WHY ACHIEVING A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IS KEY AND HOW TO DO IT?
Developing a competitive advantage is crucial for a company to achieve better financial results, increase its market share, and steadily build its image. In a reality where competition is becoming increasingly fierce, it is not worth leaving this element to chance – the company’s strategy must be focused on building brand value and maintaining a competitive advantage. This, in turn, requires continuous market monitoring, analyzing competitors’ actions, and skillfully adjusting the strategy to changing business conditions.
Technology and innovation: creating entry barriers for competitors
Using new technologies and innovative solutions can create an effective barrier to entry for competitors. If your company is positioned as a leader in the technological field or consistently introduces innovative solutions, clearly outpacing the competition in this area, it simultaneously gains a difficult-to-close advantage. Investments in research and development and constant search for new ways to improve the offer build company value in the eyes of customers.
Knowledge and competencies: building specialized know-how
The knowledge, competencies, and experience of employees can be an important lever in the fight for customers. If your team consists of real experts in their field, this makes it possible for the company to provide higher-quality services or products.
Brand and reputation: creating customer trust
The positive image of the company and its reputation are factors that have a huge impact on customer trust, and customers naturally prefer to use the services and products of brands that enjoy a good reputation and are willingly recommended.
It is worth bearing in mind that for modern consumers, price ceases to be the primary criterion of choice. More and more often, factors such as brand reputation, its history, communication style, or the values it advocates influence the final purchasing decision. All this makes building a strong brand based on specific values and trust one of the key pillars of building a competitive advantage today.
Customer relationships and loyalty: creating lasting business relationships
Building lasting relationships with customers translates into long-term competitive advantage. Active communication, efficient problem solving, providing services at the highest level – these are the basic elements that allow you to gain customer loyalty, which leads to repeat transactions and willingly given recommendations.
SWOT ANALYSIS AND IDENTIFICATION OF KEY AREAS FOR STRENGTHENING
SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is one of the basic tools for identifying key differentiators and brand advantages. It is worth using it in the process of building a company’s strategy to verify the company’s strengths and weaknesses, taking into account the actions of competitors and the opportunities and challenges resulting from them.
MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE STRATEGY AND ADAPTING TO THE CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
Building a competitive advantage is a continuous process that requires a long-term strategy and continuous measurement of its effectiveness and adjustment of actions to changing conditions and new trends. What brought results in the past may now be completely ineffective. The dynamic business environment requires flexibility and openness to changes that will help maintain a competitive advantage even in difficult conditions. Striving for a competitive advantage is a constant challenge for companies, but it is this that largely drives development and innovation in business. Remember – the value of a company is not only what you offer but also how you are perceived by customers and competitors. Therefore, it is worth investing time and effort in its successive building.
Ewa Rogoż
Ewa Rogoż is an experienced coworking pioneer in Wrocław and the founder of IdeaPlace – the first professional coworking space in Lower Silesia. Her dedication to business development and support for entrepreneurs led to the creation of an inspiring space in the heart of the city. Ewa not only creates coworking spaces for freelancers but also micro-offices for small teams, thereby supporting diverse business initiatives in the region.
