How to identify your competitive advantage

Sometimes it’s hard to figure out how our business is unique from those who play in the same exact space or industry.

Short of sneaking into your competitors’ headquarters and stealing their Top Secret™ strategy, there’s no surefire way to win in the same space.

🕵️‍♀️ But they do leave clues.

When you start looking at two companies, there are a few categories you can quickly identify:

🗺 GEOGRAPHY - Global or local, suburb neighborhoods or downtown cities, it’s important to identify WHERE you offer your services (and where your competitors currently offer theirs).

💁‍♂️ CUSTOMER - Stitch Fix targets younger budget-conscious customers while Trunk Club offers premium and upscale brands to men and women. Know what the differences are (or when you’re aiming at the same group).

🏬 CHANNEL - Retail shops, e-commerce, subscription models, exclusively digital distribution… which channels are your competitors taking advantage of and, more importantly, where are they not?

🎁 OFFER - Both companies offer personalized styling and at-home try-on with no shopping or return fees. Is your offer unique or the same?

⚙️ STAGES OF PRODUCTION - What parts of the production process are you responsible for? Which areas do you count on 3rd party vendors to provide (sourcing, packaging, shipping, returns, etc)?

This approach may be more concrete than your typical SWOT analysis.

And if nothing else, it makes for a more interesting story.