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Unique Online Competitive Advantage – Part Three March 27, 2006 |
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Keeping On Top of Your
Unique Online Competitive Advantage
The first selection in this series introduced the thought of the UOCA (Unique Online Competitive Advantage)… something that sets you apart from your online competition. Maybe it is in the actual product or service offering, maybe it’s the online support that your site offers, whatever your Unique Online Competitive Advantage (UOCA) is, you can be sure that your competition will be trying to exploit it and use it for their own. The question becomes how can you promote your Unique Online Competitive Advantage and stay one step ahead of your competition? A truly unique and effective online competitive advantage will actually promote itself. If your site provides users with a unique experience that they cannot find on your competitor’s sites then you have done your job right? Well yes and no. As we mentioned in the second part of the series, defining your competitive advantage can be a difficult thing to do… but it all comes down to understanding the needs of your customer. Is it fair to say that if you have come up with a Unique Online Competitive Advantage what is stopping your competition from doing the same thing? Well two things: 1. You did it firstYou Did It First When you created a Unique Online Competitive Advantage chances are you offered this advantage first. This means that not only did you develop your product/service, but you also profiled your target customer, researched your target market and understood the needs of your customer/site visitor. So with your online competitive advantage you have done all of the “leg work” before your competition has. As marketers, we need to continue understanding our customers and what their needs are. If you have developed an online competitive advantage, you understand this and continue to learn from your customer or site visitor. The fact that you did it first helps shape the uniqueness factor of the online competitive advantage. You Do It Better Each and every site on the internet can have a Unique Online Competitive Advantage. The trick is to define what that advantage is, and to keep on top of that competitive advantage. One of the aspects that we practice in our environment at Enquiro is continuous improvement. Continuous improvement should also be considered with regards to your online competitive advantage. As mentioned earlier that while a truly unique and effective online competitive advantage will actually promote itself, you still need to ensure that you are aware of what your competitors are doing and more importantly be aware of what your customers are in search of. Although many consumers are creatures of habit, their needs can change at any time. Keeping on top of your Unique Online Competitive Advantage can help address the changing needs of your consumer and the online changes that are happening in your competitive marketplace. So how do you keep on top of your Unique Online Competitive Advantage? Well know your target market, continue to learn from them and give them what they want in a unique manner. Understand your competition and adopt the practice of continuous improvement. Sound easy? Well it is not easy as many marketers will attest, but establishing and staying on top of your Unique Online Competitive Advantage is necessary for any online marketing campaign that is to be truly successful. |
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Jody Nimetz