What’s Your Edge?
Jan 14th, 2008 by admin
All businesses need to have an edge – often referred to as a competitive advantage. You need to have something that sets you apart from the competition… something that screams, “We’re DIFFERENT!” Without this edge, your business won’t stand out; you’ll simply get lost in the shuffle. So put down that mouse and Starbuck’s cup for a moment and think… What’s your edge?
- Are your prices lower than the competition?
- Do you offer a specialized service or product not offered by others?
- Do you serve a niche market not currently served by others?
- Are you known for producing quality goods or services?
- Do you offer a money-back guarantee?
- Is it easy to do business with you?
Once you have identified your edge, be sure to maintain it. Make sure that you stay one step ahead of the competition by listening to your customers and following marketplace trends. Be consistent in evaluating, defining and adjusting your company and strategies as needed to keep your edge.
Another great posting. In addition to low price I would say value for the dollar. For example one place may have a lower price but the better quality may more than make up for the price.
One example would be small retailers competing against Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has the perception of having the lowest prices but often the smaller retailers have a better value for the dollar product wise.
Looking forward to more great entries.
I cover a subject on my blog–Con Man’s Blog–that has virtually no competition. Much of the stuff I run cannot be found anywhere else. Yet, after 8 months of blogging, I’m still having trouble generating traffic much more than 100 visits per day. A lot of common sense in your advice, yet basic problems persist.
I hear that A LOT from bloggers, Jack, with the average visits per day falling between 60 and 75. I just took a look at your blog and have some suggestions for increasing traffic. First off, invest in your own domain and hosting. Lose the .blogspot.com. Blogspot is a great service, but if you want to increase your visibility, search rankings and credibility, you’ve got to host your blog on your own domain. By using a third-party service, your blog will end up looking like a million others - even if its content is unique. Next is to make certain that you have appropriate title tags. Think short, relevant and search engine friendly. You’re writing these for visitors, as well as search engines, so choose popular ’searched for’ terms. Also, tag your content on sites such as Technorati and del.icio.us, among others. Get a listing on Blogcatalog - and pay for higher for a higher ranking. I receive a considerable amount of traffic from them. Post consistently and often. And make sure your content is impeccable - free from spelling and grammar errors. One thing you might try is using a little less text and opting for more images, charts and blockquotes. Oh… Invite some former con artists or scammers as guest bloggers on your site. Good luck!