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Words describe strategic intent and I have a real problem applying soft or incremental words to the critical business function of sustainable differentiation and survival.
Seeking a competitive edge implies that the intent is to be slightly better than your competition.
Is that really good enough?
I think not.
A ‘slightly better strategy’ leads to things like:
- more price promotions and price cutting.
- PR campaigns based on lofty visions of what organizations aspire to be.
- products that break down less frequently.
- the sporadic introduction of more customer appreciation days to show customers how much they are cared for.
- more smile training for customer service employees with the intent to improve customer service experiences.
- passive technology adoption based on its availability from suppliers.
- aspirational claims in the market like ‘the best network’, or highest quality services.
The driver of a ‘slightly better’ strategy is what the competition is doing, and you spend all of your time looking to one-up them incrementally. You are constantly in a reaction mode thinking inches with no long term ‘leap’ strategy and everything gets done incrementally.
In addition, predicating your strategy on the actions of the competition to the exclusion of your customers is survival limiting at best. Your organization will die, the only question is when.
Dominate and Mute
Let’s start to use words that compel us to do something truly great for our organization; success and survival demand us to do so.
Strategic concepts like these provide the motivation to create a bold strategy that will assure long terms success - dominate the competition - prevail over them - stop their efforts in their path.
A ‘dominate and mute’ strategy has outcomes like these:
- benchmarking ‘best in class’ organizations is NEVER used.
- imprecise planning with order-of-magnitude new targets in mind.
- competitors are observed, but action is taken to satisfy what customers crave.
- unmatched value packages that create excitement among those destined to buy it.
- refusal to outsource call center operations because it is critical to building customer loyalty.
- a primary focus on keeping existing loyal customers not acquiring new ones.
Competitive edge?
NO!
Dominate and Mute will drive out a strategy to survive in unpredictability harsh times.
The road-kill of those that didn’t think this way are unfortunately too numerous to mention.
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