發展可持續的競爭優勢

可持續的競爭優勢是為客戶提供價值而不被模仿的優勢。

Numerous cases abound where the first mover in a market develops a competitive advantage, but soon loses it.  In the 1990s, AOL had a competitive advantage as an Internet Service Provider (ISP), becoming the preferred provider for consumers new to the internet. It offered more features in one easy-to-use platform. Some customers used “AOL Keywords” to search just as much as they used Yahoo and Altavista to search. Yet, as customers became more sophisticated and as competing ISPs launched cheaper substitutes (e.g. Netzero, Earthlink), that advantage became difficult to sustain.  It can be a challenge to sustain a competitive advantage because once a product or service is made, other competitors can reverse engineer a companies success, taking the competitive advantage away.

Sources of Sustainable Competitive Advantages:

• Superior skills
• Superior resources
• Unique usage experience
• Unique product features
• Design
• Mode of delivery
• 品牌推廣
• CRM
• 市場調查
• High switching costs
• Entry barriers
• Patents
• Cost leadership
• 差異化
• Focus

An example of sustainable competitive advantage through differentiation is Starbucks. The company essentially serves a commodity: coffee. But it has made the coffee buying experience cater to its customers’ lifestyles and psychographics. Customers buy at Starbucks to relax and purchase many of its additional products in the meantime. This superior and unique customer experience is an example of a competitive advantage.

How Market Research Drives Competitive Advantage

Market Research is crucial in developing a sustainable competitive advantage because it uncovers what customers want.  It can:

• Discover information that is not available to competitors
• Identify Key Success Factors
• Guide market positioning
• Adapt strategic movements to stay ahead of competitors

Contact us for your next Market Research project.