What are the competitive advantages? Coursework: Competitive advantages of an enterprise. summer work experience

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. A discerning buyer wants to trust the company. Know that he can give his money and get what he expects without risks. Therefore, it is important for any company to present its competitive advantages to its potential client, showing that it can satisfy his needs. In this article we will talk about what is competitive advantage, why they are needed, what they are and how to find, highlight and group them.

Competitive advantages and benefits: what are they and what are their differences?

The concept of competitive advantage carries 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, competitive advantage helps solve a number of important problems:

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

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

Advantages and benefits. Same?

Both in marketing and in Internet marketing, you have probably repeatedly encountered the concept of advantages and benefits. When developing a high-quality Landing page, a block with a list of advantages and/or benefits is an obligatory part of the selling strategy and structure. But many business owners perceive the two concepts as equivalent, which is a big mistake.

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

Advantages 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's better for him.

Benefits are a derivative of the advantage provided by the characteristic. They help the client solve their problem, make life easier, save time, money or whatever is relevant to the buyer in this moment.

Despite the fact that the organization’s competitive advantages and benefits are different in their specificity, they are united uniform requirements. They have to:

• Stand out from competitors;
• Satisfy customer needs;
• To be stable and unchanged in a changing market;
• Be unique and make it clear that no other company will provide such advantages and benefits;
• Work for the profit of the enterprise.

Competitive advantages must be based on the desires of the target buyer, which must be studied. Once the benefits are generated, you can highlight the benefits based on them and demonstrate them to your customer. Let's give an example based on a laptop repair service.

Client's wishes (I WANT):

• I want my laptop to work without crashes and glitches;
• I want my laptop to not slow down or get hot;
• I want to be comfortable working on my laptop.

Client criteria (AS I WANT):

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

Based on the analysis of the criteria set by the potential client , we create advantages:

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

The benefits have been identified. Let's move on to the benefits:

• Time saving - repairs take only 2 days;
• Saving money - laptop repair will cost 20% less than in other service centers;
• Save effort - the courier will leave the laptop there and back.

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

If you are planning to open a company selling consumer goods that are sold by fifty other companies 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 benefits that will set it apart from the rest. The main thing is to know how to do it. And we will be happy to tell you this further.

What are the types of competitive advantages?

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

What are the natural benefits?

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

1. Price/income

Perhaps the most powerful advantage. Especially if competitors don’t have it. But here it is important to format the information correctly. Do not write template phrases: “Low price”, “Discounts for regular customers”, “Wholesale prices”, “Prices from the manufacturer”, etc. Write specifics: “25% discount on refrigerators,” “prices are 30% lower than market prices.” Always speak in numbers. This is very important, especially for B2B companies. Information about earnings also grabs a potential buyer’s attention very well. 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 savings

Your client always wants to save his time. Give him this opportunity by specifying specific deadlines. If your logistics department is well developed and you guarantee fast delivery, write down how many days it will take to deliver the goods from one point to another. Here it is also important to exclude clericalism and cliched phrases, like “ Fast delivery" Write “Delivery in 1 day from Kyiv to Dnepr” or “Delivery in 1 hour to anywhere in the city.” A valuable advantage can be information about benefits that will help the consumer save their effort, energy, time or increase their own productivity (for example, when using the services of a cleaner, the client pays for cleaning and saves his energy by getting cleanliness in his home). Such customer care inspires trust and motivates the consumer to 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 of no interest 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 a new production line of goods, etc. Your client is looking for facts about your successes, not information about your years of work.

4. Terms of cooperation

Any specific features of cooperation can be an advantage here. Don't be afraid to reveal 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 by providing convenience to the buyer. Indicate all the factors of cooperation: the presence of a showroom, the possibility of producing a product model to order, the geographical location of the office near a municipal transport or metro stop. Even the possibility of self-pickup and your 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 instills trust in the company, which is main goal competitive advantages. With the help of documents that you demonstrate to your potential clients, you will emphasize your experience, status, and authority. And this is very important for buyers, as it says that you are working for the future and development, which means that your company will not close tomorrow.

6. Specialization

If your company operates in 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 for you. Which company will you contact - one that only repairs Ariston washing machines or one that repairs washing machines of all brands? Surely, firstly, because you will subconsciously conclude that its employees are more experienced in matters of your washing machine.

7. Business Features

Any fact specific to your business can become a competitive advantage. Using a certain technology or equipment, an assortment of products that exceeds competitors, purchasing raw materials in Europe - all this will help you become the king. Don't miss this information when creating your 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 that has just entered the market and cannot “compete” with established participants to stand out. Let's list what can serve as such advantages:

1. Added value

Let's say you're selling women's dresses. In this niche, it is very difficult to compete with similar companies that may even purchase goods 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 purchasing a dress, an accessory is given as a gift. In other words, even the most ordinary promotion will help you create an advantage over your competitors and attract the attention of buyers.

2. Responsibility for the product/service

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

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 the possibility of returning and exchanging goods within 30 days, despite the fact that by law this can only be done within 14 days. Or guarantee a refund if the service does not bring results. Don't worry about customers returning items or asking for refunds frequently. 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. Showcasing your offer

If your product or service has no obvious benefits (which is quite common), then you can simply show your potential client what is offered to them in the form of a demo. If this is a product, then you can make a video about its appearance to show the person what it really looks like. If a service is the process of its implementation. Remember, a person perceives 85% of information visually. Therefore, demonstrating your offer will be a significant advantage for your company.

5. Feedback from your clients

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 companies. Video reviews where real customers express their opinions about a company, product or service work better. But if this option is difficult to implement, you can use a text review by inserting a phone number, a link to social network or address Email the client with prior agreement on the publication of his personal data.

6. USP

We won't go into detailed description unique selling proposition and its value, since they have already done it. 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 the most powerful advantage of your organization and increase its sales.

Creating competitive advantages: how to turn something “simple” into something “golden”

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

Target audience analysis

You need to understand who your client is, how old he is, what his social status is. 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 tools in your beauty salon are disinfected.

If your target audience consists of several various groups, you need to select one, which your website and development of benefits will be focused on. Ideally, the developed competitive advantages should satisfy the needs, overcome fears and solve 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

Benefits wouldn't be called competitive if they weren't superior to your competitors. When analyzing market participants in your niche, it is important to highlight their strengths and weak sides. Understand their advantages - what they are better than you at. And, conversely, identify 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 - step by step, work on highlighting the advantages.

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

Highlight all the benefits that you know. This is very important in order to identify those that will become competitive in the future. If you are determining the benefits of a product or service, you can survey your customers to find out which benefits are most important to them.

Stage 2. Ranking of benefits

Once you have compiled a list of benefits, you need to sift through those that are least important to your consumer and those that are the most important. This is necessary in order to highlight the most valuable factors that will help you develop your business and be able to “overcome” your strong competitors.

Stage 3. Comparison with competing companies

The list of selected benefits must be compared with the benefits of competitors. You need to know which companies have them on the market and which ones they don’t. And also know in what ways they are better and worse.

Stage 4. Highlighting unique advantages

You need to highlight absolute advantages - those that your competitors cannot copy. These are the benefits that are unique to your company, service or product. 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.

Stage 5: Developing False Advantages

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

False advantages are advantages that work on emotions and convince the consumer that your company/product/service is unique. For example, an advertisement for Jacobs coffee claims that it has “aromoxomite magic.” The concept of “aromoxamite” does not exist in nature, but this unique selling proposition of the 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 through a strategy on how to develop based on the identified advantages and how to maintain them in the future.

The most common mistakes when developing competitive advantages

A huge number of companies make critical mistakes when creating their advantages, after which, while working, they wonder why they cannot become leaders due to the great competitive pressure. Such errors are so common that they occur all the time. Most often, this is the use of stamps and clericalism. Here are the TOP 6 most common competitive advantages that have long ceased to be them.

We can do what you don't need

Very often, when creating their competitive advantages, companies completely forget about their customers. They talk about what they can offer, forgetting about what their target buyer really needs. As a result, such advantages do not work. They simply do not arouse interest, since a person understands that they will bring him absolutely no benefit.

Advice: When creating advantages, focus on the desires of your buyer, putting your capabilities on the back burner.

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

15 years of experience

Almost every company considers it their duty to indicate their work experience. But this information no longer affects the potential client. He doesn't care if you've been in the market for 5, 15, or 30 years without ever going out of business. What matters to him is what you did during this time.

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

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

High level of service/quality

To be honest, your client doesn’t care at all that your company employs certified specialists. The presence of certificates does not affect the quality of service at all. Therefore, using template phrases: “We guarantee a high level of service” or “We provide high quality goods” is just a waste of time.

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

The service station will perform a free diagnosis 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 the eyes and ears. By using this phrase to your advantage, you can be sure that your potential clients won't believe you. At a minimum, because it is used by a dozen more of your competitors and thousands of other companies they have met.

Advice: Never use this unfortunate phrase under any circumstances. If you want to show your buyer that you work for special conditions, say it directly.

You can buy this product to order; we will develop a custom-made layout taking into account your dimensions; We will deliver the goods by courier at a time and place convenient for you.

Affordable prices

Top of all the hyped benefits that companies like to use is the claim of affordable/loyal pricing. Your client will not even perceive this phrase, let alone believe it.

Advice: Give specifics, speak in the language of numbers.

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

A wide range of

And for dessert, a phrase that is sure to loom before your eyes on the website of an online store or in the advertising of any commercial company. This advantage has become so boring and banal that potential clients don’t even realize it.

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

1000+ models of women's boots made of 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 reader’s attention, but also motivate them to further action. After all, this is exactly what you expect from your potential client.

Recommendations on how to write competitive advantages and benefits

The best friend of competitive advantage is specificity. Each benefit must be clearly disclosed so that the potential buyer does not invent unnecessary and completely unnecessary things. We will provide recommendations on how to and how not to present the company's advantages and benefits using examples.

Only in fact

Free your client from vague phrases that do not provide value. Always speak accurately and factually.

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

• We do not use wet mixtures to reduce the construction time of a house;
• All products have been tested by the sanitary station and comply with GOST standards;
• When purchasing a frying pan, we offer a choice of 10 lid models;
• We cooperate with the network of gas stations “WOG”, “Gefest” and “Parallel”.

Without anonymity

Anonymity is confusing, and understatement only raises doubts. All statements must always be substantiated. Experienced users can easily see through your farce, so provide facts.

• We use the best parts for your car.

• We use new BMW spare parts from the manufacturer.

Only with evidence

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

• We offer profitable terms cooperation.

• Save 35% when purchasing cinder blocks in the amount of 20,000 UAH.

Possibility of verification

Your customer must trust you. And trust will not appear out of nowhere. Therefore, give him the opportunity to verify your statements.

• We build modern and comfortable facilities for living.

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

Focus on target audience

Competitive advantage is not always aimed at all target audience groups. Therefore, it will only be partially beneficial. It is very important to understand who the competitive advantage is intended for, otherwise it will not bring effectiveness.

• The headphones transmit clear sound and do not get tangled in your pocket.

• The sensitivity of Earpods is 113 dB, allowing for accurate sound reproduction for sound engineers. Frequency range - 8 - 27000 Hz, allowing you to enjoy crisp, deep bass and crystal clear high frequencies no distortion;
• The fabric braid prevents the headphones from getting tangled in your pocket, and you won’t waste time untangling them.

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

We learn to develop a company's competitive advantages based on its shortcomings

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 and extend delivery times due to the logistics department not yet being fully formed. All this can negatively affect the business, driving away customers. After all, no one wants to pay more or wait longer for their order when competitors have everything much cheaper and faster.

But there are special tricks that help turn disadvantages into advantages. These are facts that become a counterbalance to your weak points. Let's give specific examples.

Inconvenient office location, far from the center	The company's office has a showroom where you can see the product live. The warehouse is located on site. There is convenient parking, including for trucks. Pickup and delivery available throughout the city.
The price is significantly higher than in competing stores	Yes, but the package includes additional “goodies”: updated to latest version operating system, case, headphones and protective glass as a gift.
Long delivery on order	It is possible to order spare parts from the manufacturer without intermediaries. It is possible to order rare spare parts.
Young company with no work experience	Dispatch of goods on the day of order by Ukrposhta, by Nova Poshta, Intime or Delivery, free consultations, no prepayment.
Very small selection of products	Narrow specialization on a specific brand. Detailed consultation on the specifics of the product.

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

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

In theory, developing competitive advantages for companies in the retail sector is much easier than for those involved in more specialized businesses. Therefore, we will provide specific examples for some niches that can become inspiration for you and the basis for your ideas.

Benefits for the tourism business

1. Tours to remote corners of the planet;
2. Discounts on last-minute tours 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. The company has 15 years of experience and 98% of successfully completed cases in favor of the plaintiff.

Benefits for the transport company

1. Own fleet of vehicles with different tonnage;
2. Free delivery and cargo tracking for orders over 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 cooperation agreement.

Benefits for a cleaning company

1. Cooperation by agreement. Full responsibility for the result;
2. Cleaning is performed using professional equipment using sulfate-free detergents;
3. Financial responsibility for the condition of expensive interior items;
4. Financial responsibility for the safety of material assets;
5. Working with complex contaminants.

Brand value development

Brand value is not only the positive characteristics and quality of the product. These are the emotions and associations that a name evokes in a potential buyer, allowing 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. Logically, if we know that a particular brand of toothpaste will help reduce tooth sensitivity, 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 to them, so that you can focus on this when forming values. Once the target audience has been analyzed, you can use one of the following methods for forming and developing values.

Value+benefit

It is very effective to present to the buyer not only the value, but also the clear benefit that the brand will provide him. For example, Head&Shoulders shampoo for women not only creates hair volume, but also eliminates dandruff. This means that girls using shampoo from this brand 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 actually lives up to its claims.

Establishing Expectations

Brand values ​​can be developed based on the formation of some 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 experience it to the maximum, since he has already convinced himself of it. For example, the slogan of the energy drink Red Bull: “Red Bull gives you wings.” This does not mean that a person will be able to 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 creating conditions under which the consumer participates in solving any problems. For example, the McDonald's company periodically organizes promotions to help orphans. When ordering fast food, the client is given a sticker in the shape of a palm, where he indicates his name. Thus, he is made to understand that with his purchase he gave part of the money to help those in need this children.

Creation of Alter Ego

Some brands demonstrate their value in their ability to create an alter ego in the client. A person gets the feeling that by using this particular brand, he is able to do something that he would not have dared to do before. Such brands very often work to provoke. This method is often used by brands fashionable clothes. Or for perfumes. For example, Ax deodorant for men is positioned as a way to reveal your sexuality and attract the attention of women.

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

Developing benefits and creating product value

Competing on product benefits is not always possible, especially if the product is in a very common niche. However, if your company is a manufacturer or you are the first to bring a 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 some time they will present consumers with a similar product. Therefore, it is very important to develop absolute advantages that competitors cannot take from you. And, first of all, it is necessary to analyze the target audience, identifying their desires and needs. Based on the resulting portrait of the target consumer, formulate the advantages of the product. It could be:

• Low price compared to competitors;
• A unique product due to one, several or multiple properties;
• Unique composition or use of very rare ingredients;
• A special type, shape, volume or packaging of goods;
• The product is more effective compared to 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, Apple, having released the iPhone, advertised an absolute innovation in the field of smartphones - a unique operating system, unique processors. This became the main value of the product at the stage of its introduction to the market.

Each developed benefit of a product must provide benefits to the consumer. That is why it is important to know what exactly yours wants to receive. the target audience when purchasing a product.

Advantages of a product/service as an emotional component

The sale of a product or service carries with it the most important goal in terms of its consumption or use - to satisfy the buyer's main need. A person purchasing something from your store wants positive changes to happen in his life with their help. He wants to get something, become someone, or avoid something that might bring him discomfort.

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

Marketers and specialists in the promotion of goods and services identify 7 areas, one of which is a powerful motivator for the purchase of a particular product/service, depending on its specifics. Let's look at each and give specific examples.

Money

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

We save your money when promoting using an SEO audit for website development

By ordering a service, the client will certainly avoid all sorts of mistakes in website development that will negatively affect promotion. Result: saving money on updating the site and eliminating errors.

Energy/time

When purchasing a product or ordering a service, a person’s goal may be an urgent need to save time or effort: to make work easier or faster, or to increase personal productivity.

Lose weight without leaving your favorite couch

Preparations based on natural ingredients will help you lose weight and find the figure of your dreams, without wasting your energy and time on trips to the Gym and grueling workouts.

Health/Beauty

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

This remedy is your self-confidence

With this line of cosmetics for the care of problem skin, you will get rid of skin imperfections and eliminate oily shine. As a result, you will get healthy skin and self-confidence and attractiveness.

Status/Affiliation

When purchasing goods and services, a person may have the goal of emphasizing with their help his individuality, taste, or attributing him to any group or, conversely, highlighting him.

You are unique in this dress

By purchasing a one-of-a-kind couture dress, you focus on your personality and individuality. Make a statement by letting others know that you are an independent woman.

Safety comes first

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

Recognition/compensation

The motivation for purchasing a product or service may be the desire to receive confirmation of its 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 are confident that the only and most powerful competitive advantage of their product can be price. If the price of the 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 cannot always reduce the price due to the expected damage. And clients are not always only interested in price.

Let's consider what characteristics of the product can be used to form its advantages and benefits for the buyer.

Features of the product itself

The unique characteristics of the product will create its competitive advantage. They can become the main motivator for purchase, even if the product is more expensive than your competitors. The advantages may include:

• Functionality;
• Corporate identity, symbols, logo;
• Appearance;
• Range;
• No need for maintenance;
• Superiority in 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;
• Ease of access to the product.

Staff and people

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

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

Is it always necessary to demonstrate competitive advantages and benefits?

In the context of fierce market competition, demonstrating to consumers the benefits of a company, product or service and the benefits they will receive as a result becomes almost the only way promoting your 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 an effective tool for maintaining competition. Therefore, do not ignore our recommendations, work on your competitive advantages in order to soon take a leadership position in your niche.

Marketers, when promoting goods and services, tend to extol their merits. But in conditions of fierce competition, this is not enough. The production capabilities of competing companies are approximately the same, so the fight for consumers is won by those who spend money not so much on unique technologies, but on meeting the needs of customers.

In this article you will read:

• Where is the business’s “center of gravity” and why shift it?
• How to ensure the effective use and assessment of an enterprise's competitive advantages
• How to increase sales when the market is stagnant
• How to Quadruple Your Revenue with Pass-and-Tie Reception

Leveraging Competitive Advantages with a competent approach ensures the success of the company. However, the main difficulty in this matter is the effective assessment of the competitive advantages of an enterprise, the goal of which is to correctly determine the “center of gravity.”

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✩explains how to organize surveillance of employees so as not to break the law.

With the help of the proposed tools, you will be able to control managers without reducing motivation.

Customers choose not the product itself, but rather what accompanies the purchase - intangible but important values ​​(trust in the brand, reliability of delivery, quality of service, etc.). To understand how well your company is using competitive advantages, ask yourself three questions.

1. Where do you spend most of your expenses - on production and R&D or on attracting and retaining customers?

2. What do consumers value your company most for?

3. Is your competitive advantage based on the product itself or on effective interactions with customers?

By answering these questions and understanding where the “center of gravity” of your company is compared to other players in the market, you will be able to determine the degree of your competitiveness and the main vector of business development. It is important to remember one thing: those companies that have not yet managed to refocus on consumer values ​​will soon face the depersonalization of products, declining revenues, customer outflows and diminishing influence in the industry. And those companies that are able to shift the “center of gravity” from the product to the consumer will become leaders.

Example 1: Added value of the product

Nestlé has been a leader in the coffee industry for many years. However, at the end of the 20th century, competing products became similar friend to each other, and instant coffee consumers stopped paying attention to brands. In the struggle for customers, other major players - Tesco, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, etc. - waged a price war among themselves and sought different ways attract coffee lovers.

Despite tough competition, the new Nestlé CEO decided to increase sales growth from 2 to 4%. It was impossible to do this using the existing product - then management created new product with added customer value.

What consumers are willing to pay for. In 1974, the company acquired the patent for the production of the Nespresso coffee machine and over the course of 25 years brought this system to perfection, eliminating shortcomings and bringing it to the market. Until the beginning of the 21st century, this product was not in widespread demand. However, when a new consumer trend appeared on the market - gourmet coffee - Nestlé decided that this particular product would help strengthen its position in the industry and overtake competitors.

• Information about competitors: 3 rules for its collection and use

Any coffee machine owner could brew high-quality espresso at home using aluminum capsules. Thanks to this, there was no need to constantly clean the device from remnants of ground coffee. This became the additional consumer value for which buyers were willing to pay.

How to position a new product. They decided to present the coffee machine as a premium product for brewing coffee at home. This approach was unusual for a company that typically sold consumer goods in large quantities through retail chains and at low prices, using extensive advertising campaigns. However, to develop a new market, it was necessary to change not only the distribution of the product, but also the interaction with customers.

Coffee machines could be purchased at large shopping centers and specialized stores household appliances. However, the capsules were sold only in the Nespresso Club - a community of users registered on a specialized website. Thanks to the fact that each buyer left his contact information when ordering, the company was able to manage consumer behavior and find out the answer to the main marketing question: who buys the product, when and at what price?

The company's managers are confident that the consumer club (12 million users) is its main competitive advantage, preventing other players from conquering the coffee industry.

Result. Today, coffee capsules account for 20 to 40% of the financial volume of the European coffee market, whose size is estimated at $17 billion. This segment is growing by 30% annually worldwide. The company’s customer focus has noticeably increased: 70% of employees have personal contact with customers who order capsules on the brand’s website.

Example 2. No risks when purchasing

Ask yourself: “Why aren’t potential customers buying from us?” After all, the likely target audience is those people or companies that should become your clients, but for some reason prefer competitors. Perhaps it's all about the costs or risks of the purchase. If you remove these barriers and give customers a great deal, they'll be more likely to choose you. Remember, the consumer is willing to pay a fairly high price to reduce their risks.

• Risk Management: 13 Practical Steps

How to solve a problem. During the 2008–2009 recession, car sales fell sharply around the world, especially in the United States. Many automakers (such as General Motors and Chrysler) were forced to cut prices and make huge discounts. Hyundai also suffered significant losses as its vehicles target lower-middle-income consumers. But a way out was found.

The company understood why people stopped buying: they were simply afraid that they would not be able to pay off their car loan on time. Then in January 2009, the company announced that it would minimize the risks when buying a car. If the buyer lost his job or income within a year of the purchase, he could return the product without any impact on his credit score.

Result. In the first month of the program, the company's sales almost doubled, while industrywide revenue decreased by 37%. Hyndai sold more cars than Chrysler, which had four times the dealer network.

Example 3. Pattern of consumer behavior

Marketers create as detailed a portrait of each consumer as possible, remembering their preferences. On the one hand, this allows you to quite accurately predict what and when a specific client will buy, as well as manage his behavior. On the other hand, today these weapons are used by many companies. Therefore, you and your competitors will spend a lot of money and time trying to lure customers away from each other.

Instead of carefully developing a customer profile and chasing his next order, try to identify the connection between consumer behavior in the media space and purchasing habits. This will help track customer actions, analyze their brand loyalty and evaluate their influence on other consumers.

• Competitors in trade: how to protect your ideas

Such market information can be converted into additional customer value using, for example, the transfer and link technique. It allows, in particular, to learn from one client and use this knowledge to help another. Thus, you are, as it were, an intermediary between two parties who can benefit from dating.

How to use the information. Amazon, which began as a bookstore, has become one of the largest online platforms in the world in just 15 years, bringing together many large-scale companies from other industries. The reason is that not only can you buy anything on Amazon, but you can also get detailed information about each product that is not available in traditional stores, get the opinions of other shoppers, and understand what people with similar tastes are buying.

• Competitive intelligence: how to beat everyone with creativity

This additional consumer value is in demand among 200 million people in the world. Because Amazon analyzes each customer's purchase history and compares it with data from other consumers, the company gets an overall picture of purchasing behavior and makes precise, targeted recommendations for each visitor.

Result. Amazon's revenue, which was just over $10 billion, has quadrupled since 2006, amid a deep recession in the United States. And since 2005, the company has been ranked first or second in the online shopping category in ForeSee's annual Consumer Satisfaction ranking. The second leader on the list is Netflix, whose recommendation system, like Amazon's, has become a long-term competitive advantage.

Davar N. Ideal marketing: what 98% of marketers forgot about / [Trans. from English]. - M.: Alpina Publisher, 2015. - 214 p.

Strategic management is designed to ensure the company's survival in the long term. Of course, when we're talking about about survival in a competitive market environment, there is no question that the company can eke out a miserable existence. It is very important to understand that as soon as someone connected with a company becomes unhappy with this connection, he leaves the company, and after a while it dies. Therefore, survival in the long term automatically means that the company copes with its tasks quite successfully, bringing satisfaction with its activities to those who enter the sphere of its business interaction. First of all, this concerns customers, employees of the company and its owners.

Concept of competitive advantage

How can an organization ensure its survival in the long term, what must be inherent in it so that it can cope with its tasks? The answer to this question is completely obvious: the organization must produce a product that will consistently find buyers. This means that the product must, firstly, be so interesting to the buyer that he is willing to pay money for it, and, secondly, it must be more interesting to the buyer than a similar or similar product in consumer qualities produced by other companies. If a product has these two properties, then the product is said to have competitive advantages.

Consequently, a company can successfully exist and develop only if its product has competitive advantages. Strategic management is designed to create competitive advantages.

Consideration of the issue of creating and maintaining competitive advantages involves analyzing the relationships and, accordingly, the interaction of three subjects of the market environment. The first subject is “our” company producing a certain product. The second subject Ekt is a buyer who may or may not buy this product. The third buyer is competitors who are ready to sell their products to the buyer, which can satisfy the same need as and a product produced by “our” company. The main thing in this market “love” triangle is the buyer. Therefore, the competitive advantages of a product are the value contained in the product for the buyer, which encourages him to buy this product. Competitive advantages do not necessarily arise from comparing the product of “our” company with the products of competitors. It may be that there are no firms on the market offering a competitive product, but nevertheless the product of “our” company is not sold. This means that it does not have sufficient customer value or competitive advantage.

Types of competitive advantages

What creates competitive advantages? It is believed that there are two possibilities for this. First, the product itself may have a competitive advantage. One type of competitive advantage of a product is its price characteristics. Very often, a buyer purchases a product only because it is cheaper than other products that have similar consumer properties. Sometimes a product is purchased only because it is very cheap. Such purchases can occur even if the product has no consumer utility for the buyer.

The second type of competitive advantage is differentiation. In this case, we are talking about the fact that the product has distinctive features that make it attractive to the buyer. Differentiation is not necessarily related to the consumer (utilitarian) qualities of the product (reliability, ease of use, good functional characteristics, etc.). It can be achieved due to such characteristics that have nothing to do with its utilitarian consumer properties, for example, due to the brand.

Secondly, in addition to creating a competitive advantage in a product, a firm may try to create a competitive advantage for its product in its market position. This is achieved by securing the buyer or, in other words, by monopolizing part of the market. In principle, this situation contradicts market relations, since in it the buyer is deprived of the opportunity to choose. However, in real practice, many companies manage not only to create such a competitive advantage for their product, but also to maintain it for quite a long time.

Strategy for creating competitive advantages

There are three strategies for creating competitive advantage. The first strategy is price leadership. With this strategy, the company's focus when developing and manufacturing a product is costs. The main sources of creating price advantages are:

Rational business management based on accumulated experience;

Economies of scale due to lower costs per unit of production as production volumes increase;

Savings on variety as a result of cost reduction due to the synergistic effect that occurs in the production of various products;

Optimization of intra-company communications, helping to reduce company-wide costs;

Integration of distribution networks and supply systems;

Optimization of the company's activities over time;

Geographical location of the company's activities, allowing to achieve cost reduction through the use of local characteristics.

Implementing pricing strategy creating competitive advantages for a product, the company must not forget that its product at the same time must correspond to a certain level of goodness and differentiation. Only in this case can price leadership bring a significant effect. If the quality of the price leader's product is significantly lower than the quality of similar products, then creating a price competitive advantage may require such a strong price reduction that it can lead to negative consequences for the firm. However, it should be kept in mind that cost leadership and differentiation strategies should not be mixed, and certainly should not be attempted at the same time.

Differentiationis the second strategy for creating competitive advantage. With this strategy, the company tries to give the product something distinctive, unusual, that the buyer may like and for which the buyer is willing to pay. A differentiation strategy aims to make a product different from its competitors. To achieve this, the company has to go beyond the functional properties of the product.

Firms do not necessarily use differentiation to obtain price premiums. Differentiation can help expand sales by increasing the number of products sold or by stabilizing consumption, regardless of fluctuations in market demand.

In the case of implementing a strategy for creating competitive advantages through differentiation, it is very important to focus on consumer priorities and interests of the buyer. It was previously said that a differentiation strategy involves creating a product that is unique in its own way, different from the products of competitors. But it is important to remember that for a competitive advantage to emerge, the product's unusualness, novelty, or uniqueness must be of value to the buyer. Therefore, the differentiation strategy assumes the study of consumer interests as a starting point. To do this you need:

It is enough to clearly imagine not just who the buyer is, but who makes the decision on purchase issues;

Study the consumer criteria by which the choice is made when purchasing a product (price, functional properties, guarantees, delivery time, etc.);

Determine the factors that form the buyer’s understanding of the product (sources of information about the properties of the product, image, etc.).

After this, based on the ability to create a product with the appropriate degree of differentiation and the appropriate price (the price should allow the buyer to purchase the differentiated product), the firm can begin to develop and produce this product.

The third strategy a firm can use to create a competitive advantage in its product is focusing on the interests of specific consumers. In this case, the company creates its product specifically for specific customers. Concentrated product creation is associated with the fact that some unusual need is satisfied certain group people (in this case, the company’s product is very specialized), or a specific system of access to the product is created (a system for selling and delivering the product). By pursuing a strategy of concentrated creation of competitive advantages, a company can use both price attraction and differentiation at the same time.

As you can see, all three strategies for creating competitive advantages have significant distinctive features, allowing us to conclude that the company must clearly define for itself what strategy it is going to implement, and in no case mix these strategies. At the same time, it should be noted that there is a certain connection between these strategies, and this should also be taken into account by firms when creating competitive advantages.

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From this article you will learn:

• What are the types of competitive advantages of a company?
• What are the company's main competitive advantages?
• How the company's competitive advantages are formed and assessed
• How to use competitive advantages to increase sales

Over time, humanity reaches new heights, gaining more and more knowledge. This also applies to business. Each company is “hunting” for the most profitable marketing solutions, trying to do things differently and showcase their products in a better light. All enterprises sooner or later face competition, and therefore the company's competitive advantages play an important role in the market, which help the consumer decide on the choice of product.

What are the company's competitive advantages?

Competitive advantages companies are those characteristics, properties of a brand or product that create for the company a certain superiority over direct competitors. Development economic sphere impossible without competitive advantages. They are part of the company's corporate identity and also provide it with protection from attacks by competitors.

A company's sustainable competitive advantage is the development of a profitable development plan for the company, with the help of which its most promising opportunities are realized. Such a plan should not be used by any actual or prospective competitors, and the results of the plan should not be adopted by them.

The development of a company's competitive advantages is based on its goals and objectives, which are achieved in accordance with the company's position in the market for goods and services, as well as the level of success in their implementation. The reform of the operating system should create the basis for the effective development of factors of the company's competitive advantages, as well as create a strong relationship between this process and existing market conditions.

What are the different types of competitive advantages of a company?

What competitive advantages of the company can be identified? There are two types of competitive advantages:

1. Artificial competitive advantages: individual approach, advertising campaigns, guarantee and so on.
2. Natural competitive advantages of the company: product costs, buyers, competent management and so on.

An interesting fact: if a company does not strive to get ahead in the market for goods and services, classifying itself among a number of similar enterprises, it somehow has natural competitive advantages. In addition, she has every opportunity to develop artificial competitive advantages for the company, spending some time and effort on this. This is where all the knowledge about competitors is needed, since their activities need to be analyzed first.

Why do you need an analysis of a company's competitive advantage?

An interesting note about Runet: as a rule, about 90% of entrepreneurs do not analyze their competitors, and also do not develop competitive advantages using this analysis. There is only an exchange of some innovations, that is, firms adopt the ideas of competitors. It doesn’t matter who came up with something new first, it will still be “taken away”. This is how such clichés came to light:

• Highly qualified specialist;
• Personal approach;
• Top quality;
• Competitive cost;
• First class service.

And others, which in fact do not represent the company’s competitive advantages, since no self-respecting enterprise will declare that its products Low quality and the staff are newbies.

Oddly enough, this can be looked at from the other side. If the competitive advantages of companies are minimal, then it is easier for start-up companies to develop, that is, to gather their potential consumers, who receive a wider choice.

Therefore, it is necessary to competently develop strategic competitive advantages that will provide customers with a profitable purchase and positive emotions. Customer satisfaction should come from the business, not the product.

What are the sources of a company's competitive advantage?

There is a fairly well-established structure of the company's competitive advantages. Michael Porter once identified three main sources for developing a company's competitive advantage: differentiation, cost and focus. Now in more detail about each of them:

• Differentiation

The implementation of this strategy for the company's competitive advantages is based on more efficient provision of services to the company's clients, as well as demonstrating the company's products in the best light.

• Costs

The implementation of this strategy is based on the following competitive advantages of the company: minimal employee costs, automated production, minimal costs of scale, the ability to use limited resources, as well as the use of patented technologies that reduce production costs.

• Focus

This strategy is based on the same sources as the previous two, but the company’s adopted competitive advantage covers the needs of a narrow circle of customers. Customers outside this group are either dissatisfied with the company's competitive advantages or are not affected by it in any way.

The main (natural) competitive advantages of the company

Every company has natural competitive advantages. But not all enterprises cover them. This is a group of companies whose competitive advantages are either, as they believe, obvious or disguised as generally accepted clichés. So, the main competitive advantages of the company are:

1. Price. Whatever one may say, one of the main advantages of any company. If prices for a company's goods or services are lower than competitive prices, as a rule, this price gap is indicated immediately. For example, “prices are 15% lower” or “we offer retail goods at wholesale price." It is very important to indicate prices this way, especially if the company operates in the corporate sphere (B2B).
2. Timing (time). It is imperative to indicate the exact delivery time of products for each type. This is a very important point when developing a company's competitive advantages. Here it is worth avoiding imprecise definitions of terms (“we will deliver quickly”, “we will deliver on time”).
3. Experience. When your company’s personnel are professionals in their field who know all the “pitfalls” of doing business, then convey this to consumers. They like to collaborate with specialists whom they can contact for all questions of interest.
4. Special conditions. These may include the following: exclusive supply offers (discount system, convenient location of the company, extensive warehouse program, included gifts, payment after delivery, and so on).
5. Authority. The authority factor includes: various achievements of the company, prizes at exhibitions, competitions and other events, awards, well-known suppliers or buyers. All this increases the popularity of your company. A very significant element is the status of a professional expert, which involves the participation of your employees at various conferences, in advertising interviews, and on the Internet.
6. Narrow specialization. This type of competitive advantage is best explained with an example. The owner of an expensive car wants to replace some parts in his car and he is faced with a choice: go to a specialized salon that services only cars of his brand, or to a standard car repair shop. Of course, he will choose a professional salon. This is a component of a unique selling proposition (USP) that is often used as a competitive advantage for a company.
7. Other actual benefits. Such competitive advantages of the company include: a wider range of products, patented manufacturing technology, adoption special plan for the sale of goods and so on. The main thing here is to stand out.

Artificial competitive advantages of the company

Artificial competitive advantages are able to help a company talk about itself if it does not have any special offers. This may come in handy when:

1. The firm has a set-up similar to competitors (competitive advantages of companies in a particular field of activity are the same).
2. The company is located between large and small enterprises (does not have a large assortment of goods, does not have a narrow focus and sells products at a standard price).
3. The company is at the initial stage of development, having no special competitive advantages, customer base and popularity among consumers. Often this happens when specialists decide to leave the workplace and create their own enterprise.

In such cases, it is necessary to develop artificial competitive advantages, which are:

1. Added value. For example, a company sells computers without being able to compete on price. In this case, you can use the following competitive advantage of companies: install an operating system and the necessary standard programs on a PC, and then slightly increase the cost of equipment. This is the added value, which also includes all sorts of promotions and bonus offers.
2. Personal adjustment. This company's competitive advantage works well if competitors hide behind standard clichés. Its purpose is to demonstrate the face of the company and apply the WHY formula. Has success in every field of activity.
3. Responsibility. Quite an effective competitive advantage for the company. It goes well with personal development. A person likes to deal with people who can vouch for their products or services.
4. Guarantees. Generally, there are two types of warranties: circumstance (for example, a liability guarantee - “if you don’t receive a receipt, we will pay for your purchase”) and product or service (for example, the ability for a consumer to return or exchange an item within up to one month).
5. Reviews. Unless, of course, they are ordered. For potential consumers, the status of the person speaking about your company is important. This advantage works great when reviews are presented on a special form with a certified signature of a person.
6. Demonstration. It is one of the main competitive advantages of the company. If the company does not have advantages, or they are not obvious, then it can make an illustrated presentation of its product. If the company works in the service sector, then you can make a video presentation. The main thing here is to correctly focus on the properties of the product.
7. Cases. But there may not be any cases, especially for new firms. In this case, you can develop artificial cases, the essence of which is to provide services either to yourself, or to a potential buyer, or to an existing client on the basis of mutual offset. Then you will receive a case that will show the level of professionalism of your company.
8. Unique selling proposition. It has already been mentioned in this article. The meaning of the USP is that the company operates with a certain detail, or provides data that sets it apart from its competitors. This competitive advantage of the company is effectively used by the Practicum Group, which offers training programs.

Personnel as a company's competitive advantage

Unfortunately, today not every management sees the company’s excellent competitive advantage in its personnel. Based on the developed strategies and goals, companies come to the need to build, develop and strengthen the personal qualities of their employees they need. But at the same time, companies come to the need to apply a certain combination of developed strategies (this also applies to internal management).

Based on this, you need to pay attention to a couple of important points: identify and develop the qualities of personnel, creating a competitive advantage for the company, and explain the usefulness of investing in this resource.

If the goal of management is to create a competitive advantage for the company in the face of personnel, then work on personal characteristics employees, as well as the concept of the essence and effectiveness of the aspects that are revealed in teamwork (emergence and synergy).

The process of becoming a team as a competitive advantage of the company is not complete without resolving some points that the company's management should take into account:

1. Competent organization of employee activities.
2. Employees' interest in successfully achieving their goals.
3. Formation of the desire of the team to actively participate in the process of obtaining high results.
4. Support necessary for the company personal qualities of employees.
5. Developing company commitment.

It is worth paying attention to the essence of the proposed aspects that form the competitive advantage of the company in the face of its staff.

Quite a few well-known large organizations win in the competition precisely due to the effective use of personnel as a competitive advantage of the company, as well as due to the gradual increase in the level of interest of employees in achieving their goals. The main criteria for success in the process of using all possible resources are: the desire of employees to remain part of the company and work for its benefit, the dedication of the staff to their company, the confidence of the staff in success and their sharing of the principles and values ​​of their company.

It is characterized by the following elements:

• Identification. It assumes that employees have a sense of pride in their company, as well as the factor of goal appropriation (when staff accept the company’s goals as their own).
• Engagement. It assumes the desire of employees to invest their own strength and actively participate in achieving high results.
• Loyalty. It assumes a psychological attachment to the company, a desire to continue working for its benefit.

These criteria are extremely important in shaping the company’s competitive advantage in the form of its personnel.

The degree of employee commitment is closely related to the level of staff response to external or internal stimulation.

When developing a company's competitive advantage in the person of its personnel, it is worth noting some aspects that reveal the dedication of employees:

• Dedicated employees strive to improve their skills.
• Committed employees rely on their views without being manipulated or otherwise negatively influenced.
• Dedicated employees strive to achieve maximum success.
• Loyal employees are able to take into account the interests of all team members and see something beyond the boundaries of the goal.
• Dedicated employees are always open to something new.
• Loyal employees have a higher degree of respect not only for themselves, but also for other people.

Loyalty is a multifaceted concept. It contains the ethics of the team, the degree of its motivation, the principles of its activities, and the degree of job satisfaction. This is why a competitive advantage in the form of personnel is one of the most effective. This dedication is reflected in the relationships employees have with everyone around them in the workplace.

When management wants to create a competitive advantage in the personnel, the task arises of creating loyalty among employees. Prerequisites for formation are divided into two types: personal characteristics of employees and working conditions.

The competitive advantages of the company in the person of its personnel are formed using the following personal characteristics of employees:

• Reasons for choosing this field of activity.
• Work motivation and work principles.
• Education.
• Age.
• Family status.
• Existing work ethic.
• Convenience of the company's territorial location.

The competitive advantages of the company in the person of its personnel are formed through the following working conditions:

• The level of employee interest in achieving maximum success of the company.
• Employee awareness level.
• The degree of stress of employees.
• The degree to which the important needs of employees are met (salary, working conditions, opportunity to express their creative potential, and so on).

But it is also necessary to take into account the dependence of loyalty on the personal characteristics of the staff and the atmosphere in the companies themselves. And therefore, if management has set out to create a competitive advantage for the company in the person of its personnel, it first needs to analyze how acute the problems in this company are that could negatively affect the loyalty of employees.

Brand as a company's competitive advantage

Today, to fight competitors, companies include Additional services to the list of essential ones, introduce new methods of doing business, and prioritize both the staff and each consumer. The company's competitive advantages arise from analyzing the market, developing a plan for its development, obtaining important information. Firms, in the process of competition and constant change, need to work both with the internal management of the organization and with the development of a strategy that ensures a strong position of stable competitiveness and allows them to monitor the changing situation in the market. Today, to maintain competitiveness, it is important for firms to master modern principles management and production of products that will create a competitive advantage for the company.

A company's trademark (brand), when used correctly, can increase its income, increase the number of sales, replenish the existing assortment, inform the buyer about the exclusive advantages of a product or service, stay in this field of activity, and also introduce effective methods development. This is why a brand can serve as a company's competitive advantage. Management that does not take this factor into account will never see their organization among the leaders. But a trademark is a rather expensive option for a company’s competitive advantage, the implementation of which requires special management skills, knowledge of company positioning methods, and experience working with a brand. There are several stages of trademark development related specifically to the topic of its relationship with competition:

1. Goal setting:
   • Formulation of the company's goals and objectives (the initial stage for the formation of any competitive advantages of the company).
   • Establishing the significance of the brand within the company.
   • Establishing the necessary position of the brand (characteristics, longevity, competitive advantages of the company).
   • Establishing measurable brand criteria (KPIs).

1. Development layout:
   • Assessment of existing resources (the initial stage for the formation of any competitive advantages of the company).
   • Approval of customers and all performers.
   • Approval of development deadlines.
   • Identify additional goals or obstacles.

1. Assessment of the existing position of the brand (applies to existing brands):
   • Popularity of the brand among customers.
   • Brand awareness of potential customers.
   • Potential customers' affinity for the brand.
   • Degree of brand loyalty.

1. Assessment of the market situation:
   • Assessment of competitors (the initial stage for the formation of any competitive advantages of the company).
   • Assessment of a potential consumer (the criteria are preferences and needs).
   • Assessment of the sales market (supply, demand, development).

1. Statement of the essence of the brand:
   • The purpose, position and benefit of the brand to potential customers.
   • Exclusivity (competitive advantages for the company, value, characteristic features).
   • Trademark attributes (components, appearance, main idea).

1. Brand management planning:
   • Work on developing marketing elements and explaining the brand management process (entered in the organization’s brand book).
   • Appointment of employees, responsible for promoting the brand.

1. Introduction and increasing the popularity of the brand (the success of the company’s competitive advantages in terms of brand promotion depends on this stage):
   • Development of a media plan.
   • Ordering advertising materials.
   • Distribution of promotional materials.
   • Multifunctional loyalty programs.

1. Analysis of the effectiveness of the brand and the work performed:
   • Assessment of the quantitative characteristics of the brand (KPI) established at the first stage.
   • Comparison of the results obtained with the planned ones.
   • Amending the strategy.

Necessary criterion effective implementation a trademark as a competitive advantage of a company is adherence to a single corporate style, which represents the visual and semantic integrity of the company’s image. The components of corporate style are: product name, trademark, trademark, motto, corporate colors, employee uniforms and other elements of the company’s intellectual property. Corporate style is a set of verbal, color, visual, individually developed constants (components) that guarantee the company the visual and semantic integrity of the company’s products, its information resources, as well as its general structure. Corporate style can also act as a company’s competitive advantage. Its existence indicates that the head of the company aims to make a good impression on clients. The main goal of branding is to evoke in the client the positive feelings that he experienced when purchasing the products of this company. If other marketing components are at their best, then the corporate style can create some competitive advantages for the company (specifically within the framework of the topic of opportunities for competition):

• Positively affects the aesthetic position and visual perception of the company;
• Strengthens the effectiveness of collective work, can unite staff, increases employee interest and the feeling of their need for the organization (the company’s competitive advantage in the person of its personnel);
• Contributes to the achievement of integrity in the advertising campaign and other marketing communications of the organization;
• Reduces communication development costs;
• Increases the effectiveness of advertising projects;
• Reduces costs for selling new products;
• Makes it easier for customers to navigate information flows and allows them to accurately and quickly find the company’s products.

A brand association consists of four elements that are also important to consider when developing a company’s competitive advantages:

1. intangible criteria. This includes everything that deals with information about the brand: its idea, degree of popularity and distinctive features.
2. Tangible criteria. Here the impact on the senses plays a very important role. These criteria are functional (a special form for more convenient use, for example), physical, and also visual (display of the brand on advertising materials). Both tangible and intangible criteria are necessary when developing a company's competitive advantages.
3. Emotional characteristics. A brand represents a company's competitive advantage when it evokes positive emotions and trust among customers. Here it is necessary to use tangible criteria (for example, unique advertising campaign). Experts say that these criteria create an opinion among customers about the intangible characteristics of the brand.
4. Rational characteristics. They are based on the functional criteria of the product (for example, fuel-efficient vehicles from Volkswagen or Duracell batteries that last “up to ten times longer”), on the way they communicate with consumers (an example is Amazon), and on relationships between customers and the company that owns the brand (promotions for regular customers from various airlines). Taking into account rational characteristics is very important when forming a company’s competitive advantages.

When developing a company's competitive advantages, it is necessary to know the main carriers of the corporate style components:

• Elements of service components (large stickers, large panels, calendars mounted on the wall, and so on).
• Office components (corporate forms, registration forms, blocks of paper materials for notes, and so on).
• Advertising on paper (catalogs, all types of calendars, booklets, prospectuses, etc.).
• Souvenir products (fountain pens, T-shirts, office stationery, etc.).
• Elements of propaganda (materials in the media, decoration of halls for various events, propaganda prospectus).
• Documentation (business cards, passes, personnel identification cards, etc.).
• Other forms (corporate banner, packaging materials with company symbols, employee uniforms, etc.).

The brand also affects the competitive advantage of the company in the person of its personnel, contributing to the unity of employees who feel their importance for the organization. It turns out that a trademark is an element of the company’s development process, increasing its income and sales, as well as helping to replenish the product range and increase customer awareness of all positive aspects service or product. These conditions also strengthen the company's competitive advantages.

Competitive advantages of the company: examples of global giants

Example No. 1. Apple's competitive advantages:

1. Technologies. This is one of the main competitive advantages of an innovative company. Each element of software and technology is developed within one enterprise, and therefore the components are in perfect harmony as a whole. This makes the developer's work easier, ensures high quality products and reduces production costs. For the consumer, comfort of use and elegant design play an important role. appearance devices. A complete set of necessary parts and programs is not only a company’s competitive advantage, but also a fact that forces consumers to purchase new gadgets.
2. HR. One of the company's leading competitive advantages is its staff. Apple hires high-quality professionals (the most able-bodied, creative and advanced) and tries to keep them in the company, providing decent wages, various bonuses for personal achievements. In addition, it saves costs on unskilled employees and child labour at supplier plants Inventec and Foxconn.
3. Consumer trust. With the help of an effective PR strategy and marketing campaign strategy, an organization manages to create for itself a constant client base, as well as increase the popularity of the brand. All this increases the success of applying the competitive advantages of international Apple. For example, the company collaborates with promising musicians (YaeNaim, Royksopp, Feist, and so on). The most well-known organizations (for example, SciencesPoParis) enter into contracts for the complete completion of their libraries with the company’s products. There are about 500 stores around the world that sell only Apple products.
4. Innovation. This is the main competitive advantage of an innovative company. By investing in R&D, the organization quickly responds to emerging customer needs. An example is the Macintosh, developed in 1984, which gained commercial popularity and had graphical elements that were popular among users, as well as changes to the command system. The first iPhone was released in 2007 and gained immense popularity. MacBookAir does not lose its position, still remaining the thinnest laptop of our time. These competitive advantages of the company are a great success and they are undeniable.
5. Organization of the supply chain. The popularity of the Apple brand means that the company has entered into many productive agreements with supplier factories. This ensures the firm's own supplies and cuts off supplies for competitors, who need to purchase the required components from the market at a higher cost. This is a great competitive advantage for the company, which weakens its competitors. Apple often invests in improving its delivery process, which results in more revenue. For example, in the 90s, many companies transported computers by water, but Apple overpaid about $50 million on the eve of Christmas for transporting products by air. This competitive advantage of the company eliminated competitors, because they did not want or did not think of transporting goods in this way. Moreover, the company maintains strict control over suppliers, constantly requesting documentation of expenses.

Example No. 2. Competitive advantages of the Coca-Cola company

1. .Main advantages Main competitive advantage trading company Coca-Cola is its popularity, because it is the largest brand among soft drink manufacturers, with about 450 types of products. This brand is the most expensive in the world; it includes 12 more manufacturing companies (Sprite, Fanta, Vitaminwater, Coca-Cola Lite, and so on). The company's competitive advantage lies in the fact that it is the first supplier of all types of soft drinks.
2. Technologies from Soca-Cola(this is the main competitive advantage of the company). There were many who wanted to know the secret recipe for the drinks. This recipe is in the Trust Company Of Georgia safe deposit box in the USA. Only a few senior managers of the organization can open it. The already produced drink base is sent to manufacturing plants, where it is mixed with water using a specialized, precise process. Creating this base for a drink today is far from the easiest task. The trick is that the composition of the drink contains “natural flavors”, the specific elements of which are not specified.
3. Innovation(this also includes the company’s competitive advantage in the field of ecology):
   • The company wants to improve low sales with modern equipment. Such machines are capable of dispensing more than 100 types of drinks and making original mixes (light cola and diet cola, for example).
   • The Coca-Cola Company's environmental competitive advantage lies in its Reimagine recycling program. This makes it easier for the company’s management to dispose and sort waste. In such a machine you can put containers made of plastic and aluminum, excluding the sorting process. In addition, the device awards points that are used to purchase company drinks, branded bags and to visit various entertainment projects.
   • This competitive advantage of the company works well because the company strives to produce an environmentally friendly product. In addition, Coca-Cola is developing a program to use eStar cars, which operate without harmful emissions due to electric motors.
4. Geographical advantage. The geographical competitive advantage of the company as a construction company is that it sells its products in 200 countries around the world. For example, in our country there are 16 Coca-Cola manufacturing plants.

Example No. 3. Competitive advantages of Nestlé.

1. Product range and marketing strategy. The company's competitive advantage lies in the fact that it operates a wide range of products, as well as a large assortment of brands that strengthen it in the product market. The products consist of approximately 30 major brands and huge amount local (local) brands. Nestle's competitive advantage lies in creating a national strategy that is based on people's needs. For example, Nescafe coffee drink, which has different structure manufacturing for different countries. It all depends on the needs and preferences of the buyer.
2. Effective management and organizational structure. A very significant competitive advantage for the company. An indicator of success is the company's sales increase by 9% in 2008, which was considered a crisis year. The organization carries out successful management personnel and effective financing of new projects and programs. These programs involve the purchase of shares of other companies, even competing ones. Thus, the company's competitive advantage lies in its expansion. In addition, the company's decentralized management system and competent management of its structures help Nestle quickly respond to market changes.
3. Innovation. The company’s extremely significant competitive advantage is that it is the largest investor scientific projects and technological innovations that contribute to the development of the company through the introduction of technologies that satisfy customer needs, product differentiation, and improved taste sensations. Moreover, innovation is used to modernize manufacturing processes. This competitive advantage of the company solves the issue of optimizing manufacturing and producing an environmentally friendly product.
4. Global presence in world markets. The company’s undeniable competitive advantage, which is based on the history of its creation, because from the moment it appeared on the market, it gradually expanded and improved, covering the whole world. Nestle is interested in bringing consumers closer to the company. It allows its divisions to independently appoint managers, organize the production and delivery process of products, and cooperate with reliable suppliers.
5. Qualified personnel. This competitive advantage of the company in the person of personnel lies in the large costs the company spends on training its employees at the international level. Nestle creates a highly qualified management team from its employees. The workforce in our country numbers approximately 4,600 people, and the global human resource The company has about 300 thousand employees.

Example No. 4. Toyota's competitive advantages

1. High quality products. The main competitive advantage of the company is a top-level product. In our country in 2015, about 120 thousand cars of this brand were sold. The fact that this competitive advantage of the company is decisive, said its ex-president Fujio Cho. And therefore, when buying a Toyota car, the consumer is guaranteed a set of modern technological developments.
2. Wide range of models. Toyota showrooms operate all models of the brand's cars: Toyota Corolla (compact passenger car), Toyota Avensis (universal and comfortable car), Toyota Prus (new model), Toyota Camry (a whole series of cars is presented), Toyota Verso (car for the whole family), Toyota RAV4 (small SUVs), Toyota LandCruiser 200 and LandCruiserPrado (popular modern SUVs), Toyota Highlander (all-wheel drive crossovers), Toyota Hiace (comfortable, small car). This is an excellent competitive advantage for the company, because the model range of cars is presented for consumers with different preferences and financial capabilities.
3. Effective marketing. An excellent competitive advantage of the company is the certification of vehicles with inspections from Toyota Tested. Customers who buy such a car in our country have the opportunity to receive round-the-clock assistance, which consists of constant work of technical support services. The company's cars can be purchased through the Trade-In program, which simplifies the purchase due to favorable offers from Toyota.
4. The customer comes first. Another important competitive advantage of the company, for which Toyota developed the “Personal&Premium” program in 2010, presenting it at the international automobile show in Moscow. The program includes the availability of favorable loan offers when purchasing a car. Specialists from the New Car Buy Survey organization have found that Russian consumers are most loyal to Toyota.
5. Effective company management. This competitive advantage of the company is expressed in the presence of an effective ERP program that can control the entire set of activities for the sales of Toyota cars in Russia online. The program was developed in 2003. The uniqueness of this program in Russia lies in its combination with the market position, with various features doing business in our country, with our existing laws. Another competitive advantage of the company is its comprehensive corporate structure, which helps the company and its partners quickly operate with data on the availability of certain product models in showrooms, warehouses, and so on. Moreover, Microsoft Dynamics AX contains all the documentation on operations carried out with cars.

Example number 5. Competitive advantages of Samsung Group

1. Consumer trust. The company was founded in 1938 and over many years of hard work has achieved tremendous results (for example, 20th place in brand price, second place in equipment). Consumer trust is the most important competitive advantage of Samsung Group. The document management organization turned out to be the “most reliable” in the world. These are indicators that demonstrate how the company's history, its brand and customer trust turn into a huge competitive advantage for the company.
2. Company management. This competitive advantage of the company lies in its vast experience in the field of management, as well as in constantly improving methods of management in changing market conditions. For example, the recent reform of the company, carried out in 2009, led to the fact that the company's divisions gained more independence, thereby simplifying the entire management process.
3. Technologies. This company's competitive advantage lies in the fact that it works with high technology. Samsung Group pioneered the technology of reciprocating and rotary compressors, optical fiber, energy application and concentration. In addition, the company has developed the thinnest lithium-ion power supplies. The company's competitive advantages as a construction company are manifested in the fact that it ranks first in the development of communication systems for business areas of activity and is moving forward in the creation of technologies for gas and oil pipelines, as well as other areas of construction.
4. The company has an innovative advantage. This competitive advantage of the company lies in the fact that it works tirelessly in the field of equipment modernization and innovative product components. The organization contains many scientific units around the world. They carry out research activities in the field of chemical current resources, software and various equipment. Samsung is implementing a scheme to promote electrical engineering and is working on ways to retain energy resources. The company's competitive advantage is also the hiring of highly qualified employees from different parts of the world. In addition, the corporation partners with the best technological universities in the world, investing in their developments and ideas.
5. Successful marketing system of the company. The company's competitive advantage is also a strong marketing campaign in many areas of activity (in its competition with Apple Corporation, Samsung pursued a rather aggressive advertising policy, trying to surpass it). A division of the company called Cheil Communications operates in this area. It works in the field of advertising, marketing analysis and analysis of the market situation. In addition, an element of the company’s competitive advantage is its assistance in the field of charity, which attracts consumers to it and increases its popularity. The corporation also has special departments for charity issues.

How a company's competitive advantages are formed from scratch

Of course, any organization has its pros and cons, even when it does not occupy a leading position and does not stand out in the market. In order to analyze the causes of these phenomena and develop effective competitive advantages for the company, you need to turn, oddly enough, to your own consumer, who, like no one else, is able to competently assess the situation and point out the shortcomings.

Customers can point to various competitive advantages of a company: location, reliability, simple preference, and so on. It is necessary to compile and evaluate this data in order to be able to increase the profitability of the enterprise.

However, this is not enough. Put the strengths and weaknesses (what you have and what you don't) of your firm in writing. To develop effective competitive advantages for a company, it is worthwhile to clearly and specifically indicate all the details, for example:

Abstraction	Specifics
Reliability guarantee	Our reliability is our specialty: we insure transportation for 5 million rubles.
Professionalism guaranteed	About 20 years of experience in the market and more than 500 developed programs will help us understand even the most difficult situations.
We produce high quality products	We are three times ahead of GOST in terms of technical product criteria.
Personal approach to everyone	We say “no!” briefs. We work only individually, working out all the important details of the business.
First class service	Technical support 24 hours seven days a week! We solve even the most complex problems in just 20 minutes!
Low production cost	Prices are 15% lower than market prices due to the production of our own raw materials.

Not all of the company’s competitive advantages should be reflected in this block, but here it is important to indicate all the pros and cons of the organization, from which you will need to build.

Focus, divide a piece of paper into two parts and start adding the pros and cons of your company there. Then evaluate the shortcomings and turn them into competitive advantages of the company. For example:

Flaw	Turning into an advantage
Distance of the company from the city center	Yes, but the office and warehouse are nearby. Then buyers will be able to park their car without any problems and evaluate the quality of the product right on the spot.
Price is higher than competitive	The price includes additional services (for example, installation of an operating system and all basic programs on a computer).
Long delivery time	But the range includes not only a standard set of products, but also exclusive products for individual use.
Newbie company	But the company has modern qualities(mobility, efficiency, a new look at things, and so on).
Limited product selection	But there is confidence in the originality of a certain brand and a more detailed knowledge of the product.

It's not all that complicated here. Then, using this list, it is necessary to develop the company's competitive advantages from the most important to the most insignificant. They should be clear to the potential client, concise and effective.

There is also an aspect that is kept secret by many companies. It can be used periodically when the company’s other competitive advantages cannot be realized or when it is necessary to enhance the effectiveness of its advantages. The advantages of the organization must be properly combined with meeting the needs of the consumer.

Illustrative examples:

• Was: Work experience – 15 years.

• Became: Cost reduction by 70%, thanks to the company's many years of experience

• Was: Reduced prices for goods.

• Became: Product costs are 20% lower, and transportation costs are 15% lower due to the presence of our own Vehicle.

How to assess a company's competitive advantages

The success of a company's competitive advantages can be assessed through a full assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of the company's position in the competition and comparison of the results of the analysis with the indicators of competitors. The analysis can be carried out by referring to the method of exponential assessment of the CFU.

A well-developed action plan can turn the shortcomings of rival firms into competitive advantages for your company.

The criteria for this analysis can be:

• The firm’s stability in protecting its position within the framework of market changes in its industries, fierce competition and competitive advantages of competing companies.
• The company has effective competitive advantages or a lack or lack thereof.
• Opportunities for achieving success in competition when operating with this action plan (the company’s position in the competitive system).
• The level of sustainability of the company in the current period.

Analysis of competitors' activities can be carried out using the method of weighted or unweighted assessments. The former are determined by multiplying a company’s score on a certain indicator of competitive capabilities (from 1 to 10) by its weight. The second assumes the fact that all efficiency factors are equally important. A company's competitive advantages are realized most effectively when it has the highest ratings.

The last stage assumes that company specialists must identify strategic mistakes that negatively affect the formation of the company’s competitive advantages. An effective program should include ways out of any difficult situation.

The task of this stage is to create a comprehensive list of problems, overcoming which is of paramount importance for the formation of the company’s competitive advantages and its strategy. The list is derived based on the results of an assessment of the company’s activities, the market situation and the position of competitors.

It is impossible to identify these problems without addressing the following points:

• In what cases is the adopted program unable to protect the company from external and internal problem situations?
• Is the adopted strategy providing a decent degree of protection from current competitors' actions?
• To what extent does the adopted program support and combine with the company's competitive advantages?
• Is the adopted program in this area of ​​activity effective in taking into account the impact of driving forces?

FEDERAL AGENCY FOR EDUCATION

Course work on the subject "> on the topic: "Competitive advantages of the company" Checked by ____________________ _____________________ Completed by a student of the group _______ _____________________ CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Today, the competition between firms is moving to a new level, which is not always clear to their management. Too many firms and their top managers misunderstand nature of competition and the challenge they face: they focus on improving financial performance, obtaining government assistance, ensuring stability and reducing risk through alliances and mergers with other firms. The realities of modern competition require leaders. Leaders believe in change They bring to their organizations the energy needed to continually innovate, they recognize the importance of their home country's position to their firms' competitive success, and they work to improve that position. Most importantly, leaders understand the significance of difficulties and challenges. Because they are willing to help the government make appropriate—if painful—policy decisions and rules, they are often given the title of “statesmen,” although few of them consider themselves such. They are ready to trade a quiet life for difficulties in order to ultimately achieve an advantage over their competitors. The relevance of the research topic is due to the presence of residual phenomena of the economic crisis in the Russian economy, tightening competition, in which, in order to get a client, firms are ready to reduce prices for their products or services, sometimes bringing them to a minimum level. The purpose of the presented research is to expand the theoretical knowledge base on the issue of competitive advantages in order to develop in the future a strategy not only for survival, but also for development for one’s own company. Within the framework of this goal, the following tasks are formulated: - to reveal the meaning of the concept of “competitive advantage”; - consider the types of competitive advantages of the company; - explore several strategies for achieving a firm's competitive advantage. The subject of the study is competitive advantages as a form of economic relations, manifested in the consumer-recognized superiority of a company relative to a direct competitor in any field of activity. The object of the study is the process of forming a sustainable competitive advantage of a company or strategy. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study are the works of leading Russian and foreign scientists devoted to the concept of competitive advantages (G. L. Azoev, M. Porter, A. Yudanov...) 1. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF A FIRM 1.1 The concept of competitive advantages The specific market position of an organization determines its competitive advantages. In general terms, competitive advantage is superiority in some area that ensures success in the competition. The specific content of the concept of competitive advantage depends, firstly, on the subject of competition, and secondly, on the stage of competition. The competitive struggle, which is a consequence of limited resources, forces us to look for an answer to the question of the patterns of behavior of an economic entity in such conditions, this answer is given by science - economic theory, during this struggle there is a change in the methods of its implementation (policies for achieving competitive advantages, sources of competitive advantages), which is reflected in the evolution of the concept of competitive advantage. Limited resources are manifested at all levels: person, firm, region, country, respectively; the concept of “competitive advantages” can be applied to various subjects of competition1 http://www.dissland.com/catalog/formirovanie_ustoychivogo_konkurentnogo_preimushchestva_na_osnove_intellektualnogo_kapitala.html (access date 01/10/2011).

The most complete interpretation of the concept of “competitive advantages” in economic research reflects the definition of G.L. Azoeva. In accordance with this interpretation, competitive advantages are understood as “concentrated manifestations of superiority over competitors in the economic, technical, organizational areas of an enterprise that can be measured economic indicators(additional profit, higher profitability, market share, sales volume)”. According to G.L. Azoeva, superiority over competitors in the economic, technical, organizational areas of an enterprise is a competitive advantage only if it is reflected in an increase in sales, profits and market share2. Thus, a competitive advantage is those characteristics and properties of a product or brand, as well as specific forms of business organization that provide the company with a certain superiority over its competitors. The key success factors that affect competitive advantage include: - technological: high research potential, ability to innovate in production; - production: full use of production economies of scale and experience, high quality production, optimal use production capacity, high performance, necessary productivity flexibility; - marketing: the use of marketing economies of scale and experience, a high level of after-sales service, a wide product line, a strong sales network, high speed of product delivery, low marketing costs; - managerial: the ability to quickly respond to changes in the external environment, the availability of managerial experience; ability to quickly bring a product to the market from the R&D stage; - others: powerful information network, high image, favorable territorial location, access to financial resources, ability to protect intellectual property 3. The main task of a company in the field of competition is to create such competitive advantages that would be real, expressive, and significant. Competitive advantages are not permanent; they are won and maintained only through continuous improvement in all areas of the company's activities, which is a labor-intensive and expensive process. 1.2 Types of competitive advantages of a company Let's consider the typologies of competitive advantages of a company. First typology (internal and external competitive advantages) Internal competitive advantage is based on the company's superiority in terms of costs, which allows the cost of manufactured products to be lower than that of competitors. Lower costs give the company an advantage if the products meet the industry average quality standard. Otherwise, a product of poorer quality may be sold through a reduction in its price, which reduces the share of profit. Accordingly, in this embodiment, the cost advantage does not provide benefits. Internal competitive advantage results from high performance and effective management costs. Relatively low costs provide the company with greater profitability and resistance to lower sales prices imposed by the market or competition. Low costs allow, if necessary, to implement a price dumping policy, setting more low prices in order to increase market share, low costs are also a source of profit, which can be reinvested in production to improve product quality, other forms of product differentiation, or used to support other areas of the business. In addition, they create effective protection against the five forces of competition (M. Porter). Such as the emergence of new competitors, the possibility of substitute products, the ability of consumers to defend their interests, the ability of suppliers to impose their conditions, competition between long-established firms. Internal competitive advantage is based mainly on a proven production process and effective management of enterprise resources. External competitive advantage is based on the distinctive properties of a product or service that have greater “customer value” for the buyer than similar products of competitors. This allows you to set higher sales prices than competitors that do not provide the corresponding distinctive quality. Any innovation that gives an organization a real increase in its success in the market is a competitive advantage. Organizations achieve competitive advantage by finding new ways to compete in their industry and entering the market with them, which can be called in one word - “innovation”. Innovation in a broad sense includes both the improvement of technology and the improvement of ways and methods of doing business. Innovation can be expressed in a change in the product or production process, new approaches to marketing, new ways of distributing goods, new concepts of competition, etc. The most typical sources of obtaining external competitive advantages include: - new technologies; - changes in the structure and cost of individual elements in the technological chain of production and sale of goods; - new consumer requests; - emergence of a new market segment; - changes in the “rules of the game” in the market. A special source is information about your business plus professional skills that allow you to obtain and process such information so that the final product of processing turns out to be a real competitive advantage. Competitive advantages based on cost alone are generally not as durable as advantages based on differentiation. (Cheap labor refers to the advantage of low rank). Competitive advantages of a higher level or order, such as proprietary technology, differentiation based on unique products or services, an organization's reputation based on enhanced marketing activities, close ties with customers, can be held for a longer time. Typically, high-order benefits are achieved through long-term, intensive investment in production capacity, specialized training, R&D, and marketing investments. To remain competitive, an organization must create new advantages at least as quickly as its competitors can copy existing ones.4 Second typology (by degree of sustainability) Distinguishes between sustainable and unsustainable competitive advantages Third typology (by sphere of manifestation) By sphere manifestations highlight: - competitive advantages in the field of R&D, expressed in the degree of novelty, the scientific and technical level of applied R&D and R&D, the optimal structure of R&D costs and their economic efficiency, in patent purity and patentability of developments, timeliness of preparation of R&D results for production development, completeness taking into account the conditions of consumption of developed products, the duration of R&D; - competitive advantages in the sphere of production, expressed in accordance with the level of concentration of production and the type of market (high level of concentration in conditions of pure monopoly, monopolistic and oligopolistic competition, low level in conditions of a free competition market), in the use of progressive forms of organization of production (specialization, cooperation, combination ), in the amount of production capacity of the enterprise, in the use of advanced equipment, technology, construction materials, in the high professional and qualification level of labor personnel and scientific organization of labor, efficiency of use production resources, efficiency of design and technological training production and production efficiency in general; - competitive advantages in the field of sales, expressed in improved pricing, more efficient distribution of goods and sales promotion, more rational relations with intermediaries, more efficient systems of settlements with consumers; - competitive advantages in the service sector, expressed in more effective pre-sales and after-sales service of products, warranty and post-warranty service. Fourth typology (by type of manifestation) By type of manifestation, it is necessary to distinguish between technical, economic, and managerial competitive advantages: - technical competitive advantages are manifested in superiority in production technology, superiority of technical characteristics of machines and equipment, technological features of raw materials used in production, technical parameters of products ; - economic competitive advantages consist in a more favorable economic-geographical position and a more rational location of the enterprise, greater economic potential of the enterprise, more efficient use of enterprise resources, which allows reducing the cost of production, better than competitors economic characteristics manufactured products, the best financial condition enterprises, making access to credit resources easier and expanding investment opportunities; - managerial competitive advantages are manifested in more effective implementation of the functions of forecasting, planning, organization, regulation, accounting, control and analysis of production and economic activities. The fifth typology of competitive advantages is: the following types competitive advantages: 1) competitive advantages based on economic factors; 2) competitive advantages of a structural nature; 3) competitive advantages of a regulatory nature; 4) competitive advantages associated with the development of market infrastructure; 5) competitive advantages of a technological nature; 6) competitive advantages associated with the level information support; 7) competitive advantages based on geographical factors; 8) competitive advantages based on demographic factors; 9) competitive advantages achieved as a result of actions that violate the law. Competitive advantages based on economic factors are determined by: 1) the best general economic state of the markets in which the enterprise operates, expressed in high industry average profits, long payback periods on investments, favorable price dynamics, high levels of disposable income per capita, the absence of non-payments, and inflationary processes etc.; 2) objective factors stimulating demand: large and growing market capacity, low sensitivity of consumers to price changes, weak cyclicality and seasonality of demand, lack of substitute goods; 3) the effect of the scale of production. 4) the effect of scale of activity, which manifests itself in the ability to satisfy a wide variety of consumer needs, while setting high prices for the product due to its complex nature; 5) the effect of learning experience, which is expressed in greater labor efficiency due to specialization in types and methods of work, technological innovations in production processes, optimal loading of equipment, more complete use of resources, introduction of new product concepts; 6) the economic potential of the enterprise. Competitive advantages of a structural nature are determined mainly by the high level of integration of the production and sales process in the company, which makes it possible to realize the advantages of intracorporate relations in the form of transfer domestic prices, access to total investment, raw materials, production, innovation and information resources, and a common sales network. Within the framework of integrated structures, potential opportunities are created for concluding anti-competitive agreements and coordinated actions of group members (both horizontal and vertical), including with government authorities. A powerful source of strengthening a company's competitive position is the use of relationships between its various divisions and strategic business areas. The phenomenon when income from the joint use of resources exceeds the amount of income from the separate use of the same resources is called the synergy effect. Structural competitive advantages also include the ability to quickly penetrate unoccupied market segments. Competitive advantages of a regulatory nature are based on legislative and administrative measures, as well as on government incentive policies in the field of investment volumes, credit, tax and customs rates in a certain product area. Such competitive advantages exist due to laws, regulations, privileges and other decisions of government and management authorities. These include: - benefits provided to the region or individual enterprises by government authorities; - the possibility of unhindered import and export of goods outside the administrative-territorial entity (region, territory); - exclusive rights to intellectual property, ensuring a monopoly position for a certain period. Advantages of a regulatory nature differ from others in that they can be eliminated relatively quickly by repealing the relevant legislation. Competitive advantages associated with the development of market infrastructure arise as a result of varying degrees of: - development necessary funds communications (transport, communications); - organization and openness of labor, capital, investment goods and technology markets; - development of a distribution network, including retail, wholesale, futures trade, services for the provision of consulting, information, leasing and other services; - development of intercompany cooperation. Technological competitive advantages are determined by the high level of applied science and technology in the industry, special technical characteristics machines and equipment, technological features of raw materials and materials used in the production of goods, technical parameters of products. Competitive advantages associated with the level of information support are determined by good awareness and are based on the availability of an extensive data bank about sellers, buyers, advertising activities, and information about the market infrastructure. The absence, insufficiency and unreliability of information becomes a serious obstacle to competition. Specific advantages based on geographical factors are associated with the ability to economically overcome the geographical boundaries of markets (local, regional, national, global), as well as the favorable geographical location of the enterprise. In addition, the geographic barrier to entry for potential competitors into the market is the difficulty of moving goods between territories due to the unavailability of vehicles for transporting goods, significant additional costs for crossing market borders, and loss of quality and consumer properties of goods during their transportation. Demographic-based competitive advantages arise from demographic changes in the target market segment. Factors influencing the volume and structure of demand for the products offered include changes in the size of the target population, its gender and age composition, population migration, as well as changes in the level of education and professional level. Competitive advantages achieved as a result of actions that violate legal norms include: - unfair competition; - directly or indirectly fix sales or purchase prices or any other trading conditions; - restrict or control production, markets, technological development or investment; - share markets or sources of supply; - apply different conditions to identical transactions with other parties, thereby placing them at a disadvantage; - raise the issue of concluding contracts depending on the acceptance by other parties of additional obligations that are not related to the subject of these contracts, etc. 2. STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES 2.1 Strategic competitive advantages of the company and ways to implement them in the domestic market The main task in strategic orientation firm is the choice basic strategy competition regarding a certain area of ​​business. A competitive strategy must be based on two essential conditions: - it is necessary to determine strategic goal firms regarding of this product or services in terms of the scale of competition. - it is necessary to choose the type of competitive advantage. The strategic goal of the company involves targeting the entire market or a specific segment. Basic competitive strategies vary depending on what advantage they rely on. Here it is necessary to decide what type of competitive advantage to give preference to - internal, based on cost reduction, or external, based on the uniqueness of the product; which is easier to defend in a competitive market. The main factors influencing competitive advantage include: - technological: high research potential, ability for industrial innovation; - production: full use of production economies of scale and experience, high quality production, optimal use of production capacity, high productivity, necessary production flexibility; - marketing: the use of marketing economies of scale and experience, a high level of after-sales service, a wide product line, a strong sales network, high speed of product delivery, low marketing costs; managerial: ability to quickly respond to changes in the external environment, availability of managerial experience; ability to quickly bring a product to the market from the R&D stage; - others: powerful information network, high image, favorable territorial location, access to financial resources, ability to protect intellectual property. Basic competitive strategies include: - cost leadership strategy; - differentiation strategy; - focusing strategy. Cost leadership strategy When choosing a cost leadership strategy, a company addresses the entire market with the same product, neglecting differences in segments, trying as much as possible to reduce the cost of manufacturing products. It targets a wide market and produces goods in large quantities. At the same time, the company focuses its attention and efforts not on how the needs of individual consumer groups differ, but on what these needs have in common. In addition, this strategy provides the widest possible boundaries of the potential market. The focus of the entire strategy is to create internal competitive advantage, which can be achieved through higher productivity and effective cost management. The company's goal in this case is related to the use of cost superiority as the basis for increasing market share through price leadership or generating additional profits. Leadership due to the advantage of lower costs than competitors gives the company the opportunity to resist its direct competitors even in the event of a price war. Low costs are a high barrier to entry for potential competitors and a good defense against substitute products. The main factors of superiority in costs include: the use of advantages due to the effects of scale and experience; - control over fixed costs; - high technological level of production; - stronger staff motivation; - privileged access to sources of raw materials. As a rule, these advantages manifest themselves in the manufacture of standard products of mass demand, when the possibilities of differentiation are limited and demand is price elastic, and the likelihood of consumers switching to others is high. The cost minimization strategy has disadvantages. Cost reduction techniques can be easily copied by competitors; technological breakthroughs can neutralize existing internal competitive advantages associated with accumulated experience; due to an excessive focus on cost reduction - insufficient attention to changes in market requirements, a decrease in product quality is possible. This strategy is aggressive and is most easily implemented when the enterprise has access to exclusive, low-cost resources. Strategy of differentiation by segments (classes) of manufactured goods The main goal of each differentiation strategy is to give the product or service properties that are distinctive from similar competing goods or services, which create “customer value” associated with the advantage of the product, time, place, service. Customer value is the utility or overall satisfaction they receive from using a product, as well as the minimal operating costs over its life. The main point of the differentiation strategy is understanding the needs of customers. In this case, we can say that with a certain set of qualities of an exclusive product or service, the company creates a permanent group of buyers in a specific market segment, i.e. almost a mini-monopoly. Unlike cost leadership strategy, which can only be achieved in one way - by effective structure costs, differentiation can be achieved in various ways. The main approaches used in the differentiation strategy include: - development of such product characteristics that reduce the buyer’s total costs of operating the manufacturer’s products (increased reliability, quality, energy saving, environmental friendliness); - creation of product features that increase the effectiveness of its use by the consumer ( additional functions, complementarity with another product, interchangeability); - giving the product features that increase the level of customer satisfaction (status, image, lifestyle). By the nature of the focus we can distinguish innovative and marketing strategy differentiation. Innovative differentiation An innovative differentiation strategy is a real differentiation associated with the production of truly different products using various technologies. This strategy involves acquiring competitive advantages through the creation of fundamentally new products, technologies or upgrades and modifications of existing products. In this case, differentiation affects not only the product itself, but also the technology being implemented, which requires taking into account the factor scientific and technological progress. Scientific discoveries and evolving technologies offer new ways to meet consumer needs. Real differentiation is typical in to a greater extent for the market of industrial goods, industry products high technology , where the greatest gap in the competition is determined by an effective innovation strategy. Marketing differentiation Marketing differentiation strategy involves achieving competitive advantages by creating distinctive properties associated not with the product itself, but with its price, packaging, delivery methods (without prepayment, with the provision of transport, etc.); placement, promotion, after-sales service (guarantees, service), trademark that creates an image. The presence of distinctive qualities usually requires higher costs, which leads to higher prices. However, successful differentiation allows a firm to achieve greater profitability because consumers are willing to pay for product uniqueness. Differentiation strategies require significant investments in functional marketing and, especially, in advertising in order to convey to consumers information about the claimed distinctive features of the product. Focus strategy A focus (specialization) strategy is a typical business strategy that involves concentrating on a narrow market segment or a specific group of customers, as well as specializing in a certain part of the product and/or geographic region. Here, the main goal is to meet the needs of the selected segment with greater efficiency in comparison with competitors serving a wider market segment. A successful focus strategy achieves a high market share in the target segment, but always leads to a low market share in the overall market. This strategy is the preferred development option for firms with limited resources. A focus strategy takes the form of a focused low-cost strategy if the segment's buyers' price requirements for the product differ from those of the primary market, or a focused differentiation strategy if the target segment requires unique product characteristics. Like other basic business strategies, a focus strategy protects a firm from competitive forces in the following ways: focusing on a segment allows it to compete successfully with firms operating in different segments; the firm's specific competencies and capabilities create barriers to entry for potential competitors and the penetration of substitute products; pressure from buyers and suppliers is reduced due to their own reluctance to deal with other, less competent competitors. The reason for choosing such a strategy is the lack or lack of resources, strengthening barriers to entry into the market. Therefore, the focusing strategy is inherent, as a rule, in small firms5 http://www.logistics.ru/9/2/i20_64.htm (accessed 15.01.2011) 2.2 Problems of realizing competitive advantages in the international market Everything that was said above about competition and competitive strategy, can equally apply to both the external and internal markets. At the same time, international competition has some peculiarities. Feature one Each country, to one degree or another, possesses the factors of production necessary for the activities of firms in any industry. The theory of comparative advantage in the Heckscher-Ohlin model is devoted to the comparison of available factors. The country exports goods in the production of which various factors are intensively used. However, factors, as a rule, are not only inherited, but also created, therefore, in order to obtain and develop competitive advantages, it is not so much the stock of factors at the moment that is important, but the speed of their creation. In addition, an abundance of factors can undermine competitive advantage, while a lack of factors can encourage renewal, which can lead to long-term competitive advantage. The combination of factors used differs in different industries. Firms achieve competitive advantage when they have low-cost or high-quality inputs that are important when competing in a particular industry. Thus, Singapore's location on an important trade route between Japan and the Middle East made it the center of the ship repair industry. However, gaining a competitive advantage based on factors depends not so much on their availability as on their effective use, since MNCs can provide missing factors by purchasing or locating operations abroad, and many factors move relatively easily from country to country. Factors are divided into basic and developed. The main factors include natural resources, climatic conditions, geographical location, unskilled labor, etc. The country receives them by inheritance or with minor investments. They are not particularly important for a country's competitive advantage, or the advantage they create is unsustainable. The role of the main factors is reduced due to a reduction in the need for them or due to their increased availability (including as a result of the transfer of activities or procurement abroad). These factors are important in extractive industries and agriculture-related industries. Developed factors include modern infrastructure, highly qualified workforce, etc. It is these factors that are most important, as they allow you to achieve a higher level of competitive advantage. Feature two The second determinant of national competitive advantage is the demand in the domestic market for goods or services offered by this industry. By influencing economies of scale, demand in the domestic market determines the nature and speed of innovation. The volume and nature of growth in domestic demand allow firms to gain a competitive advantage if: - there is demand abroad for a product that is in great demand in the domestic market; - there are a large number of independent buyers, which creates a more favorable environment for renewal; - domestic demand is growing rapidly, which stimulates the intensification of capital investment and the speed of renewal; - the domestic market is quickly becoming saturated, as a result, competition is becoming tougher, in which the strongest survive, which forces them to enter the foreign market. Firms achieve competitive advantage by internationalizing demand in the domestic market, i.e. when preference is given to foreign consumers. Feature Three The third determinant that determines a national competitive advantage is the presence in the country of supplier industries or related industries that are competitive in the world market. If there are competitive supply industries, the following are possible: - efficient and quick access to expensive resources, such as equipment or qualified labor force and etc.; - coordination of suppliers in the domestic market; - assisting the innovation process. National firms benefit most when their suppliers are globally competitive. The presence of competitive related industries in a country often leads to the emergence of new highly developed types of production. Related industries are those in which firms can interact with each other in the process of forming a value chain, as well as industries that deal with complementary products, such as computers and software. Interaction can occur in the field of technology development, production, marketing, and service. If there are related industries in the country that can compete in the world market, access to information exchange and technical cooperation opens up. Geographical proximity and cultural kinship lead to more active exchanges than with foreign firms. Success in the global market of one industry may lead to the development of the production of additional goods and services. For example, the sale of American computers abroad has led to increased demand for American peripherals, software and to the development of American database services. Feature Four The fourth important determinant of industry competitiveness is the fact that firms are created, organized and managed depending on the nature of competition in the domestic market, with different strategies and goals being developed. National characteristics influence the management of firms and the form of competition between them. In Italy, many companies that successfully operate in the global market are small or medium-sized (in size) family businesses. In Germany, large companies with a hierarchical management system are more common. In addition, we can recall the American and Japanese control systems. These national characteristics significantly influence the positions of firms when targeting global competition. Of particular importance for achieving high competitiveness in the industry is strong competition in the domestic market; competition in the domestic market creates advantages for the national industry as a whole, and not just for individual firms. Competitors borrow progressive ideas from each other and develop them, since ideas spread faster within one nation than between different nations. These advantages are enhanced when competitors are concentrated in one geographic area. The role of the government The role of the government in the formation of national advantages lies in the fact that it influences all four determinants: - on the parameters of factors - through subsidies, capital market policies, etc.; - on demand parameters - by establishing various standards and carrying out public procurement; - on the conditions for the development of related industries and supplier industries - through control over advertising media or regulation of infrastructure development; - on the strategy of firms, their structure and competition - through their tax policies, antitrust laws, by regulating investments and market activities valuable papers etc. All four determinants can also have the opposite effect on government. The role of government can be positive or negative. The determinants of national competitiveness are a complex system that is in constant development. Some determinants regularly influence others. The action of the system of determinants leads to the fact that competitive national industries are not distributed evenly throughout the economy, but are connected in bundles, or “clusters,” consisting of industries that depend on each other. 2.3 Benchmarking as a strategy for achieving competitive advantage6 http://www.support17.com/component/content/296.html?task=view (accessed January 12, 2011) The term “benchmarking” comes from English word benchmark (bench- place, to mark- mark), is a way of studying the activities of business entities, primarily their competitors, with the aim of using positive experience in their work. Benchmarking includes a set of tools that allow you to systematically find, evaluate and organize the use of all the positive advantages of other people's experience in your work. Benchmarking is based on the idea of ​​comparing the activities of not only competing enterprises, but also leading firms in other industries. Proper use of the experience of competitors and successful companies allows you to reduce costs, increase profits and optimize the choice of strategy for your organization. Benchmarking is a constant study of the best practices of competitors, comparing the company with the created reference model own business. Benchmarking allows you to identify and use in your business what others do better. Benchmarking is based on the concept of continuous performance improvement, which involves a continuous cycle of planning, coordinating, motivating and evaluating actions with the goal of sustainable improvement of the organization's performance. The core of benchmarking is search best standards business for use by the research organization. It focuses not on simply measuring and comparing achievements, but on how any given process can be improved by applying best practices. Benchmarking requires a company to be humble enough to accept that someone else may be better at something, and wise enough to try to learn how to catch up and even surpass others' achievements. Benchmarking reflects an organization's continuous improvement efforts and helps integrate disparate improvements into unified system change management. Types of benchmarking - internal - comparison of the work of company departments; - competitive - comparison of your enterprise with competitors according to various parameters; - general - comparison of the company with indirect competitors according to selected parameters; - functional - comparison by function (sales, purchasing, production, etc.). General benchmarking is a comparison of the production and sales performance of one’s products with the business performance of a sufficiently large number of producers or sellers of a similar product. Such a comparison allows us to outline clear directions for investment activity. The parameters used to compare product characteristics depend on the specific type of product. Functional benchmarking means comparing the performance parameters of individual functions (for example, operations, processes, work methods, etc.) of the seller with similar parameters of the most the best enterprises(sellers) working in similar conditions. Competitive benchmarking examines the products, services, and processes of an organization's direct competitors. Benchmarking is close to the concept of marketing intelligence, which means the constant activity of collecting current information about changes in the external marketing environment, necessary for both the development and adjustment of marketing plans. However, marketing intelligence aims to collect confidential information, and benchmarking can be seen as the activity of thinking about strategy based on the best experience of partners and competitors. F. Kotler identifies benchmarking with basic analysis - the process of “searching, studying and mastering the most advanced experience practical activities and technologies used by organizations in various countries around the world to make your organization more efficient.” Benchmarking is becoming a powerful lever for enhancing a company's competitiveness and the art of understanding how and why some companies achieve significantly better results than others. With the help of benchmarking, you can improve the best technologies of other companies, i.e. it is aimed at mastering “the most advanced world experience.” CONCLUSION In a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment, firms must not only focus on internal state affairs, but also to develop a long-term strategy of behavior aimed at creating sustainable competitive advantages. Accelerating changes in the environment, the emergence of new demands and changing consumer positions, changes in government policy, and the entry of new competitors into the market lead to the need for constant analysis and optimization of existing competitive advantages. The most significant or long-term competitive advantage, in my opinion, gives a company the implementation new technology or “know-how” created by the firm itself through innovation. Not every company can create this competitive advantage (the main problem is the lack of sufficient financial and human resources). From the study we can conclude that there is no competitive advantage that is uniform for all companies. Each company is unique in its own way, therefore the process of creating competitive advantages for each company is unique, since it depends on many factors: the company’s position in the market, the dynamics of its development, potential, the behavior of competitors, the characteristics of the goods produced or services provided, the state of the economy , cultural environment and many other factors. At the same time, there are some fundamental points and strategies that allow us to talk about general principles competitive behavior and implementation strategic planning aimed at creating a sustainable competitive advantage. REFERENCES 1. Azoev G.L., Chelenkov A.P. Competitive advantages of the company. - M.: JSC Printing House NEWS, 2007. 2. Benchmarketing [Electronic resource] 3. Golovikhin S.A., Shipilova S.M. Theoretical foundations for determining the competitive advantages of a machine-building enterprise 4. Zakharov A.N., Zokin A.A., Competitiveness of an enterprise: essence, assessment methods and mechanisms of increase 5. Porter M. “International competition”: trans. from English: ed. V.D. Shchetinina. M.: International relationships, 1993 6. Fatkhutdinov R.A. Strategic management. 7th ed., rev. and additional - M.: Delo, 2005. - 448 p. 7. Shifrin M.B. Strategic management. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2008, p. 113 8. Yagafarova E. F. Abstract of dissertation research on the topic “The role of intellectual capital in the formation of a sustainable competitive advantage of a company”

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