5 Key business elements for a competitive advantage

By Shali Manolev, Partner

25 December 2022

That one small thing could leverage your business to gain a competitive advantage. With interest rates going up and the uncertainty of a recession, now is an excellent time for business owners to review the key elements that make their companies competitive.

Businesses are competing with every other business with which a client interacts. Finding what sets you apart from your competition isn't hard, you just need to ask the right questions and conduct the right analysis.

1. Know the outlook for your industry

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you know and understand the outlook for your industry? 
• What will it look like in 5 to 10 years? 
• What are your professional or trade industry bodies predicting? 
• How will advances in technology, environmental issues, modified working arrangements, political issues or regulatory issues change the nature of your industry? 
• Considering the outlook of your industry will it give you confidence moving forward and can you adapt particular areas of your business accordingly?

2. Know your competition

Consider this:

• Make a list of your top five competitors and identify what your business does better than them. 
• Determine what do they do better than you. 
• How did they adapt to survive the pandemic, and what are they implementing now?
• Think about issues in the quality of your service or product and the value proposition your business provides. 

The value proposition will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses compared to those of your competitors and will assist you when you complete a SWOT analysis.

3. Innovation

Depending on the nature of your business, innovation is a critical element of how thriving businesses stand out from their competitors. Encourage your employees to look for opportunities in innovation and reward them accordingly. If you believe you have found a change worth implementing to minimise risk and cost of failure, first test it on one or two customers. Seek positive or negative feedback from these customers to assist in implementing the innovation across your client base.

4. Conduct a SWOT analysis

To bring all this information together, conduct a SWOT analysis by documenting the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your business. A SWOT should be performed on a systematic basis. Documenting these will allow you to review changes over time, will help you to understand where your business/industry has come from, and know how you have adapted and where it is going.

5. Track your key performance indicators (KPIs)

In moving forward from this process, it's essential to measure the success of any actions taken by through KPIs. Tracking your KPI's will give you and your employees a snapshot on the success or failure of actions taken and assist in highlighting areas of strength or weakness. There are many areas which your KPIs could focus, as well as the traditional financial measures think 'outside the square' about non-financial KPIs.

Disclaimer

The information provided in this article does not constitute advice. The information is of a general nature only and does not take into account your individual financial situation. It should not be used, relied upon, or treated as a substitute for specific professional advice. We recommend that you contact Brentnalls SA before making any decision to discuss your particular requirements or circumstances.