Your competitive advantage. Benefits due to location and structure of the firm. Artificial competitive advantages of the company

Presentation, HPV chain

There are three languages ​​in communication with a client:

1. Language of characteristics (facts)

2.The language of advantages

3. The language of benefits (customer benefit)

Specifications- describe facts, data, properties of the product. Any product or service has characteristics. Characteristics are always tangible, tangible and visible properties of a product, something that can be touched. These characteristics are the same for everyone, if the product is standardized, it is quite difficult to differ from competitors. But you can't live without it.

Advantages - show how products, services or their characteristics can be used or helped by the buyer. These are performance characteristics that result from the physical properties of the product. How does this product differ from another, more or less similar to this one? How does your product differ from competitors' products?

Benefits- show how the products or services meet the explicit needs expressed by the customer. Benefits are the interests of the client. This is the answer to his most important question "Why do I need this?" Of course, it's great if you tell the customer about all the characteristics and benefits of the product, but if you don't answer their question about the benefits, there may be no sale. The benefits must be tangible for the client, he must clearly understand them and know what will get them. The benefits are different for everyone. Someone buys a car in order to drive, someone to earn money, someone for prestige. Each has its own benefit.

BUT! If you speak exclusively in the language of benefits for the client, this will cause him sharp indignation from the groundlessness of your statements!Thus, speaking with a client in one of the three languages ​​separately - in words of objective characteristics, words of advantages or words of benefits - does not give the result that we, as sellers, would like to achieve.

The HPV chain works in an elementary way:

Calling an objective characteristic, we lay the foundation for accurate facts and trust between the client and us.

Calling advantage, we lead the client to the thought we need, describing the advantage of the characteristic, and at the same time we tune him to a certain line of thought.

Talking about benefit, benefit that the client will receive, we provide him with the opportunity to foresee the satisfaction of his desires and needs.

HPV table of influence on sales

What are the benefits and advantages for?

Advantages- this is how your product (service) differs from a competitor's product (service) in better side... Cheaper, more beautiful, lighter, more original - all these are the advantages of the product.

Benefits- this is how the client can usefully use the advantages of your product for himself. Unfortunately, most sellers completely ignore the benefits. For some reason, they think that the client will figure out how to use your product to his advantage.

The golden rule of sales - communication with the client should be conducted in his language, from the point of view of his benefits, and not be limited to just listing the advantages of your offer or your company.

Key BENEFIT criteria:

Money (saving money).

The benefit is that the client saves their money when working with you. What are the benefits of savings? The fact that the client can use the saved funds to buy a gift for a loved one or himself. Show and communicate the benefits as much as possible.

Time (saving time).

For example: your technology halves the production cycle, or you have fast speed delivery, which will allow the customer to use the product tomorrow or even today, and not in a week.

Image (prestige).

For example, your offer in a special way enhances or supports the social status of the client and the company.

Safety.

For example, your product has safety features that can be beneficial to the health, well-being of the customer, or the well-being of the company.

Example:

Suppose there is an industrial equipment manufacturer that sells machine tools. In addition, he conducts training on his machines, since the equipment is professional and not all clients can understand it right away. What will the benefits and benefits look like in this situation?

Advantages: we provide training on the use of our machines.

Benefits: thanks to free training, you will save 10,000 UAH on the corresponding courses. In addition, since we will tell you about the 10 most common mistakes when using our machines, on average you will save on repairs from UAH 50,000.

How to determine benefits and benefits?

1. First write as much as possible more characteristics related to your product.

2. Then highlight the advantages that differ for the better from the advantages of the competitor (the competitor has more expensive / worse / simply does not exist)

3. Take the resulting list of benefits and think about how the client will benefit from using these benefits.

4. Come up with as many options as possible in which the customer will benefit from using one single advantage of your product.

5. Follow this diagram from the beginning with all the benefits.

6. As a result, you will receive a list that contains the advantages and benefits of your product or service.

How to use the benefits and benefits?

There are 2 ways: correct and incorrect!

Wrong way.

Typically, managers in their work with the client use only advantages - as they are obvious. This is the wrong approach, since in this case the work of determining the benefits falls on the shoulders of the client. Do you think he will think about it if your competitor is nearby who will explain everything?

The right way.

The work uses the HPV chain. We give the client an advantage and develop it for his benefit.

Example: For each machine purchased from us, we provide 2-day training courses for 2 machine operators. You will not only save 10,000 UAH, which you would have to pay for training if you bought machines elsewhere, but you will also learn about the 10 most important operator mistakes that lead to machine breakdowns. According to our statistics, this will allow you to save you an additional 50,000 UAH for the first year of use.

You took advantage of ( free education), developed it for profit (saved money, less downtime of machines, since there will be no repairs) and supplemented with facts (specific figures).

Remember that different buyers often want different benefits from the same product. For example, one wants to buy a watch to know the time, and another because it can be a jewel. Also remember that ANY difference is an advantage. of this product from analogues. For example, in the above example with seats, there are two possible versions with and without an electric drive. The advantages of the electric drive are ease of operation and prestige. The advantages of conventional are relatively higher reliability and lower cost.

Thus, in your negotiations with customers, you will often need to present different advantages of the same products, as well as focus on the benefits of the product, not just its properties. Different customers may have different requirements for the same product. We must not forget to determine how the customer wants to receive from our products.

What factors are the final consumer guided by when choosing one or another brand of goods?

Price

Quality

By reputation of the seller

Investing money

Life time

Out of pride or vanity

Competitiveness

Because of the design

Out of habit

How can your customers (wholesalers and retailers) benefit from our products or services?

Profit

Prestige

Presentable appearance of goods in the store

Development of your business

Undoubtedly, profit is the most common benefit. We'll look at this separately. Profit is the simplest and most reliable benefit a customer can get. Sooner or later, the customer will ask you why he should choose your product. Therefore, we must convince him that by buying our products, he will receive more profit than from the products of competitors. Let's analyze the word PROFIT... How profit is generated in retail?

In retail, profits come from buying a product at the same price and selling it at a higher price. Many people think that what more difference in price, the greater the profit. This is true to some extent, but not entirely. Let's imagine that you are a dealer selling cars to wealthy buyers. How would you like to buy a Rolls-Royce for $ 500,000 and sell at a 20% markup, or buy a Lanos for $ 10,000 and sell it at a 20% markup? Rolls Royce, of course. Of course, products that are more expensive are more profitable, but expensive products are almost always sold in smaller quantities than cheap ones.

Now let's look at profit from the other side.

Let's say you are a retailer buying chocolate in a specific package. You want to order 2000 packs. Two competing wholesalers offer you similar packaging at the same price. Until now, nothing allows you to make a choice. But, if you take a product from one wholesaler and it will be sold in 3 weeks, another's chocolate in 4 weeks. Which wholesaler will you get your chocolate from? Of course, the first one, because its products turn around faster and therefore more profitable.

So, the profit in trading depends on:

Product value

Your own margin

Turnover rates

These factors need to be considered if you want to stay ahead of your competitor by capitalizing on your products.

However, when making any changes, it is necessary to adhere to one of the main principles of marketing: first of all, when creating or changing a product, it is necessary to take into account the wishes and interests of the consumer.

This principle is the first step towards a successful and prosperous business. But attitude towards consumers alone is not enough; it is necessary to create a certain competitive advantage that will allow it to overtake competitors in the chosen niche.

Creating an advantage

The term “competitive advantage” means an exclusively positive difference between a product and the products of competitive organizations. It is this advantage that is the factor by which the consumer chooses this product, and not the product of competing companies. A competitive advantage can be, for example, the quality of a product or service.

When creating a competitive advantage, it is important to adhere to two basic principles:

• This benefit should be really important to the consumer;
• The consumer must see and feel the competitive advantage.

Despite such a great efficiency in creating a competitive advantage, it must be remembered that competitors will still determine this advantage after a while and apply it to their products.

However, as practice shows, this time is quite enough to recoup costs, get significant profits and overtake direct competitors.

The creation of a competitive advantage should not take huge budgets of the company, therefore, it is necessary to use a certain methodology that allows not only to create a competitive advantage, but also to significantly reduce the costs of this process.

In this technique, four main stages can be distinguished, each of which is an integral part of the entire process of creating product benefits:

• Segmentation;
• Specialization;
• Differentiation;
• Concentration.

Segmentation

In this case, the concept of a segment hides end consumers who are looking for this or that type of product with certain parameters. In other words, each consumer has certain needs and interests, based on which he chooses the necessary product. Thus, all consumers can be divided into groups of requests.

When carrying out (to individuals), sex characteristics, age characteristics, place of residence, the presence of a vehicle, etc. are often selected as the parameters of the segmentation process.

In addition, sometimes more detailed consumer data is used, that is, targeting is carried out. On the other hand, customers can be organizations to which the product is supplied. In this case, segmentation is carried out according to the organization's belonging to a certain type: store, dealer, manufacturer, etc.

One of the main parameters of segmentation in this case is the number of the company, knowing which, you can easily determine the total amount of products passing through the organization.

After identifying the signs of segmentation and identifying the future competitive advantage, it is necessary to apply the usual marketing tools for product promotion: product advertising, direct introduction of the product in the company, sending letters with a request to purchase the product, and other methods.

Of course, all of these methods have a big problem: there is no guarantee that the company will decide to purchase the product. In this regard, there is a more practical way - the implementation of segmenting consumers based on the problems present in this area.

Surely every business has a bottleneck that arises from the fact that consumers cannot find what they need. For example, customers of a butcher shop want a certain type of meat to cost 250 rubles instead of 300 rubles.

Or so that the delivery of pizza home is carried out not in one hour, but in 30 minutes. Thus, segmentation is carried out according to unsatisfied consumer requests.

It is quite easy to assess such requests, for example, by a regular survey of potential consumers. Polls have always yielded the most effective results. After analyzing the results of the survey, the most acute problem is selected and a competitive advantage is built on its basis. Thus, the promoted products will be associated by the target audience with this particular competitive advantage.

Specialization

Identifying problems in a certain segment of the market is only half the trouble. It is necessary to decide on one problem that needs to be eliminated and made an advantage. However, this is not as easy as it seems. The choice of a specific problem for its further solution depends on a number of factors, which include money, the presence of certain conditions, personnel, time.

In particular, time, money and personnel are the determining criteria in choosing a specific problem. After all, with a large budget, unlimited time and specialized personnel, you can solve any problems. Therefore, before choosing, it is necessary to correctly assess the available resources.

No less important step is an assessment of the importance of this problem. The relevance and acuteness of a specific problem determine the success of the work of a competitive advantage. That said, don't pick a problem that other organizations can easily fix. And, of course, do not forget about the eternal problems that exist in every market segment.

It's about price, staff and range. Each consumer always wants the purchased products to be of the highest quality and cheapest in a huge range, and service staff did everything to ensure that he was satisfied and arrived in a good mood.

These problems cannot be completely and permanently eradicated, since nothing is ideal. But you can reduce the severity of the problem by increasing the quality, reducing the cost of products, expanding the range and recruiting qualified personnel.

Evaluating all the factors and criteria presented above, it is required to choose the most suitable problem that will be able to cope with. At the same time, it is important to remember that the more acute the problem is, the more effective it will be to create a competitive advantage, and the longer this advantage will last. In this regard, the difficulty of the entire process of creating a competitive advantage is only a plus, and not vice versa.

Differentiation

Having decided on the problem that needs to be solved, that is, after identifying a competitive advantage, it is necessary to start advertising. The stage of differentiation as a whole consists in the implementation of various types of advertising.

At the same time, it is necessary to advertise not just a company, service or product, but to advertise with an emphasis on the chosen competitive advantage. Thus, the consumer will know that this particular product has a certain advantage that he has been looking for from other companies for so long.

At the same time, it is not prohibited to use various images and graphic techniques, slogans and quotes, the main thing is that the emphasis is on the competitive advantage of the product.

But so that it is not short, since all consumers have different inertia in the perception of advertising, that is, a certain period during which the target audience gets used to the advertising material. This period is different for all groups.

Thus, at individuals the inertia of advertising perception is usually up to 6 months, and for organizations - up to several tens of months. Of course, this indicator depends on the specifics of the product being promoted and the business as a whole.

Concentration

The stage of concentration is equally important in creating a competitive advantage, since it is negligence, relaxation and distraction that can cause failure. For the most effective creation of a competitive advantage, it is recommended to make this task a priority by communicating to all employees of the company. It is this pace and daily work on this problem that guarantee the continued success of the product.

Don't forget about re-segmentation, which is recommended annually. It will not only help to identify new problems in a specific market segment, but also determine the current state of affairs regarding the previously selected competitive advantage, which will make it possible to even more accurately assess the company's strategy in the market and draw the right conclusions.

Combining all the stages, and competently performing each of them, it is important to remember that creating a competitive advantage is a rather complicated and time-consuming process that requires considerable financial and time costs. Therefore, the stages of segmentation and specialization are so important for choosing a problem and assessing the possibilities of solving it.

If there is a financial opportunity, re-segmentation is often useful, but in its own region, in the region of the manufacturer. With a professional and competent approach due to the competitive advantage, the company makes a significant step forward.

Today it is no longer enough to create a brand, a strategy for its promotion and development, and work on positioning, hoping for customer loyalty and love for the company. The whimsical buyer wants to trust the company. Know that he can give his money and get what he expects without risk. Therefore, it is important for any company to present its competitive advantages to its potential client, showing that it is she who can satisfy his needs. In this article we will talk about what are competitive advantages, why they are needed, what they are and how to find, select and group them.

Competitive advantages and benefits: what it is and what are their differences

The concept of competitive advantage implies the superiority of a company, product, service or brand over other existing market participants - competing companies working with you in the same niche. For a business, a competitive advantage helps to solve a number of critical problems:

• Strengthens the company's position in the market;
• Creates the prospect of stable growth and business continuity;
• Creates difficulties for competitors entering the market.

But the most important value of competitive advantages is their ability to generate profits for the company. Any company works for profit, for its development and expansion customer base... And competitive advantages, like nothing else, help her in this. They become the main motivator for the consumer, encouraging him to take the actions that we need.

Benefits and Benefits. Same?

In both marketing and internet marketing, you've probably come across the concept of benefits and benefits over and over again. When developing a high-quality Landing page, a block with a list of advantages and / or benefits is an indispensable part of a selling strategy and structure. But many business owners perceive the two concepts as equivalent, which is a big mistake.

In terms of value and impact on the customer, the benefits and benefits are identical. They carry the same result. But they differ in meaning, so it is important to understand what, and also to know how and when to use them.

Benefits are formed based on the characteristics of a product, service or company as a whole. With their help, the client understands why and how is your company better and why it is best for him.

Benefits are derived from the benefit provided by the characteristic. They help the client to solve their problem, make life easier, save time, money, or whatever is relevant to the buyer at the moment.

Despite the fact that the competitive advantages of the organization and the benefits are different in their specifics, they are united by uniform requirements... They have to:

• Stand out against the background of competitors;
• Satisfy the needs of buyers;
• To be stable and unchanged in a volatile market;
• Be unique and make it clear that no other company will provide such advantages and benefits;
• To work for the profit of the enterprise.

Competitive advantage must be based on the desires of the target customer, which must be examined. After the benefits are formed, you can isolate the benefits from them and demonstrate them to your customer. Let's give an example based on a laptop repair service.

Client wishes (I WANT):

• I want my laptop to run smoothly and without glitches;
• I want my laptop not to slow down or get warm;
• I want to be comfortable working with my laptop.

Client criteria (AS I WANT):

• I want it not to be more expensive than the amount I am counting on;
• I want my laptop to be repaired in 1-2 days;
• I want to have original spare parts installed;
• I want to be given a guarantee for repairs for at least 6 months;
• I don't want to go to service center.

Based on the analysis of the criterion set by the potential client , we form the advantages:

• Laptop repair from 100 UAH;
• Repair time - 1-2 days;
• Installation of original spare parts from Asus, Acer, Samsung. We do not use Chinese counterparts and fakes;
• Repair warranty - 12 months;
• Courier delivery of the laptop to the service center and to hands after its repair.

Benefits identified. Moving on to the benefits:

• Saving time - repairs take only 2 days;
• Saving money - repairing a laptop will cost 20% less than in other service centers;
• Saving energy - the courier will leave the laptop back and forth.

Ideally, both benefits and benefits should be stated. Any information affects the conversion of the site, so be sure to work it out and demonstrate to your buyer.

If you are planning to open a company selling public goods, which are sold by another fifty firms in your city, and it seems to you that it is impossible to highlight competitive advantages, then you are deeply mistaken. Any company can develop strong advantages that set it apart from the rest. The main thing is to know how to do it. And we will gladly tell you this further.

What are the types of competitive advantages

Competitive advantage can be natural or artificial. Natural advantages state the fact and convey truthful information Artificial ones belong to the category of manipulation, but can be of great benefit if presented correctly.

What is included in the group of natural benefits

Very often, companies do not demonstrate natural benefits, thinking that they are obvious. And this is a big mistake, since even the most common values ​​among competitors can be presented very powerfully. Next, we will list what is included in this group.

1. Price / income

Perhaps the most powerful advantage. Especially if your competitors don't have it. But here it is important to correctly form the information. Do not write formulaic phrases: “ Low price"," Discounts for regular customers "," Wholesale prices "," Prices from the manufacturer ", etc. Write specifics: "25% discount on refrigerators", "prices are 30% below market prices." Always speak the language of numbers. This is very important, especially for B2B companies. It also hooks very well potential buyer information about earnings. This is very often used by information businessmen, presenting as an advantage of the service the opportunity for the user to earn money.

2. Timing / energy saving

Your client always wants to save his time. Give him this opportunity by specifying a specific time frame. If your logistics department is well developed and you guarantee fast delivery, please write in how many days it will take for the goods to be delivered from one point to another. It is also important here to exclude clericalism and stereotyped phrases like "Fast delivery". Write "Delivery in 1 day from Kiev to Dnipro" or "Delivery in 1 hour to anywhere in the city." Information about the benefits that will help the consumer save their energy, energy, time or increase their own productivity can be a valuable advantage (for example, when using the services of a cleaning lady, the client pays for cleaning and saves himself energy, getting cleanliness in his house). This customer care inspires trust and motivates the consumer to take action.

3. Your experience

It is very important here not to cross the fine line by approaching the hackneyed phrase "We are experts in the field ...". Such expressions no longer work and are not interesting to anyone. If you decide to declare your experience, then speak in fact - what you have done in 10 years of your activity: built 150 houses, opened 15 branches throughout the country, introduced new production lines of goods, etc. Your client is waiting for facts about your successes, not information about your years of work.

4. Terms of cooperation

Any features of cooperation can be an advantage here. Don't be afraid to publicize those that are also listed by your competitors. The fact that you accept cash and non-cash payments can significantly increase the chances of a sale, as it provides convenience to the buyer. Indicate all the factors of cooperation: the presence of a showroom, the possibility of producing a model of goods to order, the geographical location of the office next to a public transport stop or metro. Even the possibility of self-pickup and own warehouse or any information that gives the client the benefit of saving his time or effort, as a competitive advantage, can play into your hands by providing the buyer with maximum comfort.

5. Achievements

Diplomas, diplomas, certificates, a list of partner companies and large client companies with their logos work as social proof that inspires confidence in the company, which is the main goal of competitive advantages. With the help of documents that you demonstrate to your potential clients, you will emphasize your experience, status, authority. And this is very important for buyers, as it says that you are working for the future and development, which means that tomorrow your company will not close.

6. Specialization

If your company operates in a narrow specialization, then you definitely need to tell your client about this. Imagine that you are using an Ariston brand washing machine. And one day it broke. Which company do you contact - one that only repairs Ariston washing machines or one that repairs washing machines of all brands? Surely, in the first place, since you subconsciously conclude that its employees are more experienced in matters of your washing machine.

7. Business features

Any fact that is characteristic of your business can become a competitive advantage. The use of a certain technology or equipment, an assortment of goods that exceeds competitors, the purchase of raw materials in Europe - all this will help you to break out of the king. Don't overlook this information when generating benefits.

What advantages can be called artificial

Such advantages can help out a company that operates in a very popular niche. It is usually very difficult for such firms to find competitive differences, since all organizations most often work according to the same principle. Or the formation of artificial advantages will help a young company to stand out, which has just entered the market and cannot “compete” with established participants. Let's list what can serve as such advantages

1. Added value

Let's say you sell women's dresses. In this niche, it is very difficult to compete with similar companies that may even purchase from the same supplier as you. There is a way out - to create added value: to offer your client something that competitors do not offer. For example, when buying a dress, an accessory as a gift. In other words, any even the most ordinary action will help you create an advantage over your competitors and attract the attention of buyers.

2. Responsibility for the product / service

Works very well, provided that you are willing to be truly responsible for what you sell. For example, you claim that the doors you sell will last 30 years because you know they are made of oak without the use of cheap substitutes. Clients will be drawn to you if your statements are convincing.

3. Warranty

Any guarantee will become a competitive advantage if its conditions are met. A guarantee can be given for both the service and the product. For example, you can guarantee that you can return and exchange an item within 30 days, even though it is legally possible to do so only within 14 days. Or, to guarantee a refund if the service does not bring results. Don't worry about customers returning frequently or demanding refunds. Generally, if the user is not satisfied with the purchase, he forgets about guarantees... But this is not a reason to offer low-quality goods / services in the hope that compensation for them will not be required.

4. Demonstration of your proposal

If your product or service does not have clear advantages (which is quite common), then you can simply show your potential client what is offered to him in the form of a demo. If this is a product, then you can shoot a video about it. appearance to show the person what he really looks like. If a service - the process of its implementation. Remember, people perceive 85% of information visually. Therefore, demonstration of your proposal will be a significant advantage for your company.

5. Feedback from your customers

It is important that the reviews are real. In this case, they will become social proof, a reason for trust in your company and its activities. They will also create a competitive advantage over other firms. Better work out video reviews, where real clients express their opinion about the company, product or service. But if such an option is difficult to implement, you can use a text review by inserting a phone number, a link to a social network or an address Email client with prior agreement on the publication of his personal data.

6. USP

We will not go into detailed description unique selling proposition and its value, as we have already done so. Let's just say that with the correct analysis of the business and target audience, as well as the competent construction of the USP, it can become a powerful advantage for your organization and increase its sales.

Creating Competitive Advantages: How to Make “Golden” Out of “Simple”

Before you begin to develop a competitive advantage, you need to conduct two critical analyzes - target audience and competitors.

Target audience analysis

You need to understand who your client is, how old he is, what social status. And, most importantly, what problems he wants to solve with the help of your product, service or company as a whole. Problems can be completely different: from the urgent need to buy a product here and now due to lack of time to meeting the requirements for its safety. For example, a person wants to make sure that all instruments are disinfected in your beauty salon.

If your target audience consists of several different groups, you need to select one, which will be targeted by your site and the development of benefits. Ideally, the developed competitive advantage should meet the needs, press on fears and solve the problems of the entire target audience, even if it consists of several groups. But sometimes this is impossible to do, so it is advisable to work out competitive advantages for the most important and promising group.

Competitor analysis

The advantages would not be called competitive if they did not outperform your competitors. When analyzing market participants in your niche, it is important to highlight their strengths and weaknesses... Understanding their benefits is where they are better than you. And, conversely, determine their weaknesses, which in the future you can make your superiority over them.

Stages of developing competitive advantages

Once you are already familiar with your target audience and competitors, proceed to the main thing - work step by step to highlight the benefits.

Stage 1. Determine all the competitive advantages of the company / product / service

Highlight all the benefits that you know. This is very important in order to further highlight those that will become competitive. If you are determining the benefits of a product or service, you can interview your customers to clarify which benefits are more important to them.

Stage 2. Ranking of benefits

The compiled list of benefits must be weeded out by highlighting those that are least important to your consumer and those that are most important. This is necessary in order to highlight the most valuable factors that will help you grow your business and will be able to “overcome” your strong competitors.

Stage 3. Comparison with competing companies

The list of selective advantages must be compared with those of the competition. You need to know which of them the companies have on the market and which do not. And also know where they are better and worse.

Step 4. Highlighting Unique Benefits

You need to highlight the absolute benefits - those that your competitors cannot copy. These are the advantages that only your company, service or product possesses. For example, only your company uses German equipment that allows you to print in a unique format. Or only your company presents the product in a unique limited edition packaging.

Step 5: Developing False Benefits

It is not always possible to develop natural competitive advantages, especially in highly popular and saturated niches. The only way out is to create false benefits.

False benefits are benefits that work on the emotions and conviction of the consumer that your company / product / service is unique. For example, in an ad for Jacobs coffee, it is announced that it has the "magic of aromoxomite." The concept of "aromoxamite" does not exist in nature, but it is unique trade offer brand has become its most important advantage.

Stage 6. Development and control

The formation of competitive advantages must end with the development of a plan. You need to think over a strategy of how to develop based on the identified benefits and how to maintain them in the future.

The Most Common Mistakes When Developing Competitive Advantage

A huge number of companies, when forming their advantages, make critical mistakes, after which, while working, they wonder why they are unable to break out into the leaders due to the large competitive crush. Such errors are so common that they are encountered all the time. Most often, this is the use of stamps and bureaucrats. Here are the TOP 6 most common competitive advantages that have long ceased to be.

We can do what you don't need

Very often companies, making up their competitive advantages, completely forget about their customers. They talk about what they have to offer, forgetting what their target customer really needs. As a result, these benefits don't work. They simply do not arouse interest, since a person understands that they will not bring him absolutely any benefit.

Tip: When shaping the benefits, focus on the desires of your buyer, putting your options aside.

We help you increase your bottom line by 40% with our business plan.

15 years of experience

Almost every company considers it its duty to indicate its work experience. But this information no longer works for a potential client. He doesn't care that you have been in the market for 5, 15 or 30 years without ever closing. It is important for him what you have done during this time.

Tip: If you want to indicate the experience of your company, be sure to indicate what you have achieved during this time.

Over the 10 years of operation of the Gradostroy company, we have built 2 nine-storey new buildings, in which 70 families already live.

High level of service / quality

To be honest, your client doesn't care that your company employs certified professionals. The presence of certificates has absolutely no effect on the quality of service. Therefore, the use of template phrases: “We guarantee high level service "or" We provide high quality product ”is just a waste of time.

Tip: Always be specific and conditional on your statements. Tell the consumer how a high level of service will be provided.

The service station will carry out a free diagnostics of your car's automatic transmission and provide a 2-year warranty upon completion of the service.

Individual approach

A boring, hackneyed and annoying phrase that already hurts your eyes and ears. By using this phrase as your advantage, make sure your potential customers won't believe you. At least because it is used by a dozen more of your competitors and thousands of other companies with whom they met.

Advice: Do not use this ill-fated phrase ever, under any circumstances. If you want to show your buyer that you are working on special terms, be clear about it.

You can buy this product on order; we will develop a custom-made layout based on your dimensions; We will deliver the goods by courier at a convenient time and place.

Affordable prices

Leading the way among all the bombastic benefits that companies love to take advantage of is the affordable / loyal pricing statement. Your client will not even perceive this phrase, not to believe it.

Advice: Be specific, speak the language of numbers.

10% cheaper than market prices; 5% discount for each customer; save 30% when purchasing this set.

Wide range of

And for dessert, a phrase that will surely appear before your eyes on the website of an online store or in any advertisement commercial company... This advantage has become so boring and commonplace that potential customers do not even realize it.

Tip: If you want to focus on the assortment, talk specifically about the assortment of which product in question.

1000+ models of women's boots in leather, suede and nubuck.

Your company benefits don't have to be traditional and hackneyed. Try to highlight unique features that can not only attract the attention of the reader, but also motivate them to take further action. After all, this is exactly what you expect from your potential client.

Guidelines on how to write competitive advantages and benefits

The best friend of competitive advantage is specifics. Each benefit should be clearly disclosed so that a potential buyer does not invent something superfluous and completely unnecessary for himself. We will provide recommendations on how to and how not to present the advantages and benefits of the company using examples.

Only in fact

Save your client from vague phrases that carry no value. Always speak precisely, after the fact.

• We are the best in our niche;
• We sell the highest quality product;
• We cooperate with large companies;
• A wide assortment - only with us.

• We do not use wet mixes to shorten the construction time of a house;
• All goods have passed sanitary inspection and comply with GOST standards;
• When buying a frying pan, we offer a choice of 10 lid models;
• We cooperate with the network of filling stations "WOG", "Hephaestus" and "Parallel".

No anonymity

Anonymity is confusing, and understatement only raises doubts. All statements must always be substantiated. Experienced users can easily figure out your farce, so give the facts.

• We use the best parts for your vehicle.

• We use new BMW parts from the manufacturer.

With only evidence

Everything is clear here. If the client does not clearly emphasize their benefits, then your statements are empty.

• We offer favorable terms of cooperation.

• Saving 35% when purchasing a cinder block in the amount of UAH 20,000.

Verification capability

Your customer needs to trust you. And trust will not appear from scratch. Therefore, give him the opportunity to verify your statements.

• We build modern and comfortable facilities for life.

• You can visit and inspect the objects built by the company at a convenient time for you.

Targeting target audience

Competitive advantage is not always focused on all target audience groups. Therefore, it can only partially benefit. It is very important to understand who the competitive advantage is intended for, otherwise it will not bring efficiency.

• The headphones deliver clear sound and don't get tangled in your pocket.

• The sensitivity of the Earpods is 113dB, which allows for accurate sound reproduction for sound technicians. Frequency response range - 8 - 27000 Hz, allowing you to enjoy crisp, deep bass and crystal clear high frequencies without distortion;
• The fabric braid prevents the earbuds from getting tangled in your pocket, and you won't waste time untangling them.

It is very important to demonstrate true benefits. Otherwise, fictitious facts will only cause a negative impression of the company or product from the buyer, and he will go to your competitors.

Learning to develop a company's competitive advantages based on its weaknesses

Not all companies, especially young ones that are just entering the market, can compete with their competitors. To stay afloat, they have to inflate prices, extend delivery times due to the not yet fully formed logistics department. All of this can negatively affect the business, alienating customers. After all, no one wants to pay more or wait for their order longer when competitors have everything much cheaper and faster.

But there are special tricks that help turn disadvantages into an advantage. These are facts that counterbalance your weak points... Here are some specific examples.

As you can see, even those shortcomings that can lead a company to failure can become powerful competitive advantages that even established firms cannot provide.

Examples of competitive advantages in different areas of the company's business

In theory, it is much easier to develop a competitive advantage for trading companies than for those in more specialized businesses. Therefore, we will provide specific examples for some niches that can become an inspiration for you and the main one for your ideas.

Benefits for the travel business

1. Tours to remote corners of the planet;
2. Discounts on last minute tickets up to 80%;
3. Free guide;
4. Free transfer by luxury car;
5. Gifts from the tour operator when ordering certain tours.

Benefits for a law firm

1. Specialization;
2. Availability of lawyers, notaries and other highly specialized specialists;
3. Geographic location of the office;
4. Free online consultation;
5. 15 years of experience of the company and 98% of successfully completed cases in favor of the plaintiff.

Benefits for the transport company

1. Own car park with different tonnage;
2. Free delivery and escort of cargo when ordering for a certain amount;
3. Built-in navigation in the car and the ability to track its location;
4. Responsibility for the condition of the cargo upon arrival;
5. Official agreement for cooperation.

Benefits for a cleaning company

1. Cooperation by agreement. Full responsibility for the result;
2. Cleaning is carried out using professional equipment made from sulfate-free detergents;
3. Financial responsibility for the condition of expensive interior items;
4. Material responsibility for the safety of material assets;
5. Working with difficult dirt.

Brand value development

Brand value is not only about the positive characteristics and quality of the product. These are the emotions and associations that the name evokes in a potential buyer, allows him to be confident in himself and in the company. When a brand becomes famous and wins love, it becomes the strongest motivator for a person to take action. It is logical that if we know that a particular brand of toothpaste will help reduce the sensitivity of teeth, then we will choose it, and not any other, whose advertising announces a similar feature of the product.

How to develop brand value?

There are many ways to create brand value and further develop it. But, first of all, it is necessary to analyze the target audience, its needs and desires. You need to understand what is most important and valuable for them in order to focus on this when shaping values. After the target audience has been analyzed, you can use one of the following methods of forming and developing values.

Value + benefit

It is very effective to present the customer with not only value, but also the clear benefit that the brand will provide to him. For example, Head & Shoulders Shampoo for Women not only adds volume to the hair, but also removes dandruff. This means that girls using this brand's shampoo will get clean hair, voluminous hairstyle and self-confidence due to the absence of dandruff. The important thing to note here is that the benefits are real and the brand truly lives up to its claims.

Formation of expectations

Brand value can be developed based on the formation of any expectations. At the same time, a person subconsciously creates for himself a certain picture, image and feelings that he expects to receive using the brand. Even if the actual result is not as powerful as expected, the consumer will feel it to the maximum, since he has already convinced himself of this. For example, the slogan of the energy drink Red Bull: "Red Bull inspires." This does not mean that a person can fly. But he makes it clear that the charge of energy that he will receive after drinking the drink will allow him to feel a significant surge of strength.

Help effect

This method involves the creation of conditions under which the consumer is involved in solving any problems. For example, the McDonald's company periodically organizes promotions to help orphans. When ordering fast food, the customer is given a palm-shaped sticker where he indicates his name. Thus, he is made to understand that he gave part of the money with his purchase to help those in need. this to children.

Creation of an alter ego

Some brands demonstrate their value in their ability to shape the customer's alter ego. A person gets the feeling that using this particular brand, he is capable of something that he would not have dared to do earlier. Such brands very often work for provocation. This method is often used in brands. fashionable clothes... Or for perfumes. For example, Ax men's deodorant is marketed as a way to reveal your sexuality and attract the attention of women.

Brand value works very well for the perspective of the company as a whole. With the correct elaboration of the value, the company will receive stable growth and constant increase in consumers due to the effective positioning of its brand.

Benefit development and product value creation

It is not always possible to compete on the advantages of a product, especially if the product is in a very common niche. However, if your company is a manufacturer or you are the first to bring the product to the market, then you have every chance of becoming a leader.

But do not forget that your competitors are not asleep, and after a while they will present a similar product to consumers. Therefore, it is very important to develop absolute advantages that competitors cannot take over from you. And, first of all, it is necessary to analyze the target audience, identifying their desires and needs. Based on the resulting portrait target consumer, shape the benefits of the product. This could be:

• Low price compared to competitors;
• A unique product in one, several or many properties;
• Unique composition or use in a composition of very rare ingredients;
• A special type, shape, volume or packaging of the goods;
• The product is more efficient in comparison with analogues;
• You, as a manufacturer, create an innovative product;
• The product is sold under special conditions.

When you become an innovator by introducing a completely new product concept to the market, you can create value. With its help, the recognition of your product and, consequently, its sales will increase. For example, the Apple company, having released the IPhone, advertised an absolute innovation in the field of smartphones - a unique operating system, unique processors. This became main value product at the stage of its introduction to the market.

Each product benefit developed must be of benefit to the consumer. That is why it is important to know what exactly your target audience wants to get by purchasing a product.

Benefits of a product / service as an emotional component

Selling a product or service carries the most important goal in terms of consumption or use - to satisfy the main need of the buyer. A person purchasing something in your store wants positive changes in his life with their help. He wants to get something, to become someone, or to avoid anything that may bring him discomfort.

Therefore, first of all, the key advantage of the product is its ability to satisfy the desires and emotions of the buyer. Agree, you visit a hairdresser once a month not to get a haircut, but in order to look more attractive and more confident after the hairdresser's service.

Marketers and specialists in the promotion of goods and services distinguish 7 areas, one of which is a powerful motivator for buying a particular product / service, depending on their specifics. Let's consider each and give specific examples.

Money

The client / buyer wants to make a profit or not to lose it.

We save your money when promoting with the help of SEO audit for website development

By ordering the service, the client will certainly avoid all kinds of mistakes in the development of the site, which will negatively affect the promotion. Result: saving money on site revision and error elimination.

Energy / time

When purchasing a product or ordering a service, a person's goal may become an urgent need to save time or effort: to facilitate or speed up work, to increase his personal productivity.

Lose weight without leaving your favorite couch

Preparations based on natural components help you lose weight and regain the shape of your dreams, without wasting your energy and time hiking in gym and grueling workouts.

Health / beauty

An important motivation for buying a product or ordering a service can be the desire to improve your health or health. loved one, get rid of illness / pain or maintain your health at a certain level.

This remedy is your self-confidence

With the help of this line of cosmetic products for problem skin care, you will get rid of imperfections on the skin, eliminate oily sheen. As a result, you will get healthy skin and self-confidence, your attractiveness.

Status / affiliation

By purchasing goods and services, a person can carry the goal of emphasizing with their help his individuality, taste, or attributing him to a group or, conversely, highlighting him.

You are unique in this dress

Buying a haute couture dress, created in a single copy, you focus on your personality and individuality. Make yourself known by letting others know that you are an independent woman.

Safety comes first

With our alarm "Cuckoo" you will increase the safety of private property, life and health.

Recognition / compensation

The motivation for purchasing a product or service can be a desire to receive confirmation of their value or to avoid criticism.

Not one price is the same or how to develop a competitive advantage of a product without affecting the issue of its cost

Many entrepreneurs believe that the single and most powerful competitive advantage of their product can be price. If the price of a product is lower than that of competitors, then your company will instantly receive an increase in profits. And this is quite possible. But the company is not always able to reduce the price due to the alleged damage. And clients are not always only interested in the price.

Let's consider on what characteristics of the product it is possible to form its advantages and benefits for the buyer.

Features of the product itself

The unique characteristics of the product will create a competitive advantage. They can be the main motivator to buy, even if the product is more expensive than your competitors. The advantages can be:

• Functionality;
• Corporate identity, symbols, logo;
• Appearance;
• Range;
• No need for maintenance;
• Dominating quality.

Place of sale of goods

Significant advantages for the product will be:

• Location of the point of sale of goods;
• Product availability;
• Display of goods;
• Convenience of access to the product.

Staff and people

It can be important for the consumer who represents the product and when demonstrating advantages in this category, they become a powerful motivator to purchase. These benefits can be:

• Company employees who advise free of charge on the characteristics of the goods;
• Staff point of sale ready to recommend or consult about a product;
• Manufacturer, whose name characterizes the quality of the product;
• Public figures advertising the product.

Is it always necessary to demonstrate competitive advantages and benefits?

Within the framework of fierce market competition, demonstration to consumers of the advantages of a company, product or service and the benefits they will receive as a result becomes almost the only way to promote their business and work for the future. This is a fairly simple option for promoting and positioning your name, which does not require financial investments, but at the same time is effective tool to compete. Therefore, do not ignore our recommendations, work on your competitive advantages in order to become a leader in your niche in the near future.

In December, we began a series of articles about texts: we managed to tell why they are needed at all, what to write for specific pages of the site, what should be the structure of the selling text for the main page. In January, we talked about titles, remembered the basic rules for composing Title and Description.

Let's continue our text writing tutorial and talk about how to sell trust in a company, product or service.

Let's say you got to work: developed a CL, came up with a USP, made strong, attractive headlines, and sketched out a text outline. And everything seems to be fine - you are the coolest, the coolest and the products are super. But the trouble is, customers are picky now and just won't take your word for it.

Why are you better than Vasya Pupkin or Worldwide Stroy Publishing Incorporated? Why should a user spend his hard-earned money with you? Will you deceive him? What benefit will he get in the end?

You need to provide the person with evidence of why you are truly the best, demonstrate what benefits he will receive by buying a product or becoming a client of the company. This is a prerequisite for all texts. It is not enough just to interest the user, you need to convince him to contact you.

How to communicate the advantages over competitors?

Do some research - analyze your competitors, their services and products. See how weak and weak they are strengths, think about what you are better at. Remember, you don't just need to talk about your accomplishments or the bare properties of a product. It should be shown what they will give to the client.

Let's use examples to analyze what mistakes are most often encountered when trying to tell about a company and what to do with them:

1. Uniform, Mean Benefits Without Evidence

   We often hear the following from clients: “We have everything like everyone else, no differences. I like the way it is written on site.com - here everything is exactly the same, write in the same way. " So no need to do.

   Users always choose from several offers, rather than rush to the first one they come across. But how to decide where to go if the same thing is everywhere?

   For example, you don't need to go far. Let's say you wanted to order sushi for your office. We start choosing and see the following picture on 4 different delivery service sites:

   

   

   Find 5 differences between these 4 sites.

   All have the freshest ingredients, attractive selection, fast delivery and great prices. And no, the blocks are not taken out of context - there is no detailed explanation for them anywhere, delivery time, discount amount and other information are not indicated - guess yourself.

   Or another example:

   

   Such a set is suitable for absolutely any company: building houses, selling spare parts, delivering flowers, sushi and everything else. The site will get lost among thousands of similar ones.

   Now let's see this option:

   Of course, the block is not perfect, there is a lot to improve. But nevertheless, the time is indicated - from 60 minutes to receive the coveted rolls, and you can pay for the order by card, you do not have to run for cash.

   

   In this variant, there is also a lack of factual information in places, but still the benefits are obvious, especially against the background of absolutely identical competitors.

   Another example, already from our site from the page describing the SEO service on a subscription basis:

   

   I guess the difference between good option and you have caught the bad.

   What to do:

   Get rid of cliches and clichés. Don't forget about specifics. Site owners - do not hide information and do not play spyware. Provide all data to the copywriter. We will not tire of repeating: competitors will spend time and study your prices, advantages and chips, but the client will not do this - he will just leave the site and will not return.

   For copywriters - actively ask questions to the client, ask for factual information and not be limited to stereotyped phrases about favorable prices, high quality and a wide range.

2. Continuous "we-we-we"

   Write not about how good you are, but about what benefits the user will receive by becoming a client of the company.

   

   You read this and the question arises, but to me, as a client, what does it matter? What will I get?

   And at the sight of the text about "young dynamically developing companies" I just want to cry.

   What to do:

   When describing benefits, think from the person and their personal interests. Less we, more you.

   Concentrate on what the client will get. The user does not care whether you are developing dynamically or not, he wants to solve his problem with the help of a specific product or service. Show how this will happen.

   

3. Plenty of water"

   Brevity is not always the sister of talent. But long descriptions of the benefits of work will not bring any benefit either.

   

   No one will wade through this sheet of text, which is 90% of the template phrases.

   What to do:

   Write clearly and to the point, structure information, do not pour water. Do not forget to format the benefits in an easy-to-read form: use icons, lists, tables.

   

4. Lack of facts and evidence

   We have already mentioned this, but we will repeat it again. In words, all, without exception, are the best. If you are faster, more attentive, more reliable than your competitors - prove it, do not be shy. The client's doubts can dispel the facts. Without them, he again gets another set of clichés that will not be persuaded to buy from you.

   

   

   What to do:

   Operate with facts: a wide assortment - exactly how many positions and what it will give the client, low cost - what is the minimum threshold and due to what the price is low, quality assurance - which one, for how many years, etc.

   Show advantages over competitors. Describe how you are doing, and how other companies are. Let the client visually make sure that it is clearly more profitable to order products from you.

5. Benefits for optimization or just "to be"

   Someone still thinks that the text is needed only for optimization and it is important to cram as many keys into it as possible. The fact that you need to write for people, and not for search robots, is often forgotten.

   The result is this:

   

   What are the advantages here is a mystery. What kind of purchase and trust in the company can we talk about? And search engines will not be happy with such text.

   What to do:

   Write for humans, not robots. Optimization should be organic and invisible if keyword well does not fit into your description of benefits, do not use it.

6. Substitution of advantages with technical properties or product characteristics

   Another common mistake. The user is offered, under the guise of benefits, a memory capacity of 1 TB, super technology 4K FullHD, a unique method of singular spectral analysis, but they do not write what this will give the client.

   

   Not everyone will understand why he needs these terabytes of memory or how the innovative pistol for Karcher differs from all others.

   What to do:

   Turn properties into benefits. Think and tell us what the compact dimensions of the electric smokehouse will give the user, what is good about English sheep wool or an innovative box for an action camera. Explain to the user how much easier and better life will be with your services or products.

   

Instead of output:

The block of benefits is an important element of the text. The reader should immediately receive an answer to the question "what is beneficial for me." You need to win over the person, gain his trust and push him to take the targeted action.

How can you do this, you ask? It is difficult to give a universal answer - this is how new templates and clichés are created. Each company, product or service has its own unique advantages, it is important to be able to highlight and show them. During our work, we do not just present the company and products in a favorable light, but we carefully study the needs of the target audience and tell our clients exactly what benefits and benefits they will receive. We will be happy to help