How to beat your competitors in the eyewear trade. How to outperform your competitors and get out of the “bue-zone.” powerful formulas for Unique Selling Proposition in B2B sales

Price wars: Most salespeople consider price to be the main selling point. This approach drags the company into an endless price war, which depletes resources, forces you to save on literally everything, and ultimately leads to the loss of customers.

Indeed, those customers who are looking for something cheaper will sooner or later find their seller, but, paradoxically, in most cases it is not the price that turns out to be the determining factor when making a purchase decision.

A recent marketing study that asked customers why they refrained from making a purchase found the following reasons for not purchasing:

poor quality service - 45%,
lack of an individual approach - 20%,
questionable quality of goods - 15%,
high cost - 15%,
other factors and circumstances - 5%.

These figures prove that only a seventh of shoppers consider the price of a product to be their number one priority. Therefore, reducing the price almost never brings the expected results: if the client doesn’t want to buy from you, then he won’t do it.

Moreover, even small price concessions can lead to catastrophic consequences: for example, you are selling a product whose cost is $70 and the selling price is $100, in which case the net profit from each unit of product will be $30. If you decide to lower your prices a little and sell the product for $80, your income will drop to $10, that is, three times.

What to do?

When working with price, you can go two ways:

reduce the cost of goods;
increase its value.

The first way, or reducing costs, is not always possible, and, in addition, you can reduce the costs of production or purchasing goods within very limited limits.

Therefore, the most promising approach is to increase value.

Use techniques that save the buyer’s time, effort, and nerves, turn purchasing your product into pleasure, and the client will simply agree to pay you more than competitors:

include related products;
offer additional services;
increase the warranty period;
provide free technical support via a hotline;
work with your own image, because the client is often willing to pay more simply for reasons of prestige.

How to beat competitors without lowering prices: ownership and exclusivity

Among the opportunities to increase the value of a product is the formation of the buyer's involvement in something good. Companies launch promotions and talk about how part of the money earned from sales goes to finance charitable or environmental projects. As a result, the buyer feels that he not only bought something for himself, but also helped. For example, there is a charity event when purchasing Svetocopy paper: 1 ruble from each package purchased is transferred to the Gift of Life fund.

Research confirms that consumers value such patronage and altruism:

94% of buyers expressed preference for a brand that does charity work
At least 20% of respondents are willing to buy a product at a higher price if part of the money goes to charity.

Increases perceived value and exclusivity. Here we are talking not only about some premium offer: exclusivity can be emphasized by a limited batch, short promotion period, shortage, etc.

What is sustainable competitive advantage? What conditions must be met for a company's superiority over its rivals to become strategically important? When should you obey the previously established rules of the game, and when should you go on the offensive and introduce new ones? What are the ways to revise these rules and how to determine the natural limits of development of industry-dominant technology? Is continuous innovation the only way to achieve sustainable advantage? Is it possible to achieve excellence through first-class execution of everyday procedures? All these issues are discussed in four successfully complementary articles, which are devoted to very pressing problems of competition in a rapidly changing economic environment.

One of the leitmotifs of entrepreneurial strategy is the concentration of efforts on competition. It is assumed that in order to achieve victory over rivals, it is necessary either to deal a crushing blow to them in a particular market, or to erect protective barriers to protect the company from the destructive consequences of cut-throat competition. This view of corporate strategy is based on the concept of sustainable competitive advantage, which means that the company has any special assets or knowledge that ensures the receipt of excess profits over a long period of time.

But what are these assets or knowledge, and how can you verify your possession of them? In 1984, McKinsey Atlanta office director Kevin Coyne wrote a working paper, “Sustainable Competitive Advantage.” It provides a comprehensive analysis of the concept and sets out rigorous criteria to determine whether a company has the core advantage to create a corporate strategy.

According to Coyne, we need to start by creating unique capabilities that are not vague abstractions (such as “technological leadership”), but something tangible, concrete, and quantifiable. Based on such opportunities, the company must ensure that at least one of the few key characteristics of its products that determine consumer choice is exclusive. In addition, Coyne points out that it is necessary that both elements - both unique capabilities and product characteristics - remain important over a sufficiently long period. In the 1990s. Concepts of a firm’s strategy similar to Coyne’s concept served as the basis for the creation of one of the main areas of entrepreneurship theory.

Strategies for the New Game, a 1980 report by McKinsey New York's Roberto Buaron, explores a highly effective method for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Boiron examines strategies by which a company can completely change the existing rules of the game in the industry, revising them in its favor.

The implementation of such strategies, according to Boiron, means a serious test for the business world; those who emerge from it with honor receive the maximum benefits. At the same time, the author of the report warns, such strategies are also associated with the highest risks.

He introduces the concept of the “strategic playing field,” representing strategy as a set of decisions made by a firm about where and how it can compete in a particular market. By “where” we mean a wide range of coverage areas - from a specific niche to the market as a whole. In turn, “how” includes a wide range of approaches, from traditional to those characteristic of the “new game” (Boiron pays special attention to them).

One way to redefine the rules of the game is to pinpoint the point at which an industry's dominant technology has reached its natural limit, and invest heavily in a new technology that has a good chance of becoming dominant. In his article "Betting on Innovation," published in The McKinsey Quarterly in 1986, Richard Foster presents a framework for such action. He introduces the concept of the "technology S-curve". At the initial stage of introducing a particular new technology, the return on it is very small, i.e. The return on investment turns out to be very modest and increases slowly. Then the investment efficiency increases sharply, and this continues until it reaches a maximum. Then the curve flattens out again, and the incremental return falls further as the development of a given technology approaches its natural limits. The entry of a market-dominant technology into the final phase of its evolution is the point at which a company must make the leap to the next generation of technology. In this way, the company will introduce new rules of the game in the industry that best suit its strengths.

All three of the above works, devoted to the formation and maintenance of a sustainable competitive advantage, fit ideally into the framework of the “positional” strategic school, the ideas of which were most popular in the second half of the 1980s. At that time, much of the work of McKinsey employees was carried out in line with these ideas. At the same time, the company has never forbidden having alternative points of view on the essence of strategy. Thus, Amar Bhide's 1986 Harvard Business Review article, "Energy as a Strategy," was one of the first attempts to attack some of the fundamental views of the positionists. Written while Bhide was completing his doctoral dissertation at Harvard Business School and working as a consultant for McKinsey Boston, this article challenges the thesis that strategic business decisions are only those critical business decisions aimed at obtaining and maintaining structural strength. advantages. Citing the example of the financial services market, Bhide argues that in some industries, a firm's most significant advantage over rivals is when its front-line staff executes day-to-day procedures with excellence (i.e., demonstrates flexibility, speed, and excellence in skill). All of the above qualities can be combined in one word - “energy”. And today, many of McKinsey’s corporate clients in the financial services sector (especially investment banks) are showing great interest in Bhide’s article. In addition, the ideas presented in it are very important for other rapidly changing industries.

Sustainable competitive advantage

Kevin Coyne

We often hear that achieving sustainable competitive advantage is the goal of any strategy. But what exactly is it and how can you determine whether a particular company has it? The answers to these questions are not always obvious. Many carefully planned strategies have failed because the benefits they were intended to achieve ultimately turned out to be ephemeral, or unnecessary, or both. In our opinion, it would be worthwhile to more carefully study the problem of sustainable competitive advantage and its impact on company management.

In a simplified form, the definition of competitive advantage can be formulated as follows: manufacturers who sell their goods or services profitably have an advantage over their competitors if buyers prefer their products. However, some benefits are more valuable than others. In particular, three conditions must be met for competitive advantage to become strategically important.

Buyers should be aware that the products or services offered by a particular company are significantly different from those of its competitors. They must be unique in one or more key criteria for evaluating a product or service, in accordance with which real consumer choice is made and a purchase decision is made.
The specified product differentiation should be based on a fairly significant difference in the potentials of manufacturers, i.e. on the gap between the greater capabilities of a given firm and the less significant capabilities of its competitors.
Differences in purchasing characteristics of products and in the potential of companies should exist for quite a long time.

What differences are important to buyers?

Competitive advantage can only exist within specific market segments. It is entirely possible for a company to have a competitive advantage in one market segment but not in others. In other words, the essence of the first condition is that although competitive advantage is the result of differentiation of goods or services from different manufacturers operating in a given segment, not every differentiation leads to the formation of a competitive advantage. The differences must be such that customers are convinced to purchase those products and services over and over again for the company's distinctive features to gain strategic value. This is why differentiation must be based on key purchasing criteria. The set of such criteria practically does not include the “internal characteristics” of the manufacturer (say, its location or the type of raw materials used). The exception is when these features cause differences in the final product or in the conditions of its delivery that influence consumer decisions.

As a rule, the main criteria when purchasing are the price of the product, the degree of its availability and such features as, for example, the quality of the product, its appearance, functionality, availability of after-sales service, etc. In any case, the main properties of the proposed product are taken into account, and very rarely - its additional features or functions. The cost of a product or service itself does not always serve as a key criterion for consumer choice, as evidenced by the experience of Texas Instruments, which set prices for wristwatches so low that consumers stopped paying attention to their further reduction. In each specific market segment, the number of key criteria is limited, so effective product differentiation must be aimed at at least one of the criteria included in this narrow circle.

Superiority in Capability

Product differentiation alone is not enough to give a firm a competitive advantage. It should also be based on the difference in potential (the gap between the capabilities of a given company and its rivals), which cannot be overcome by competitors - at least through economically rational efforts. The really important differences are very specific (often even physical). As a rule, they are very prosaic and amenable to quantitative measurement, and abstractions such as “technological leadership” rarely reflect the real potential of the company.

Gaps between companies' capabilities generally fall into one of the following four categories.

Differences in corporate business systems due to the ability of a particular company to perform certain functions more efficiently than its competitors do.
Positional gaps that arise as a result of previously made decisions, as well as previous actions and circumstances. This takes into account corporate reputation, consumer trust, accumulated order portfolio, irreversible investment decisions (for example, a more profitable location of the enterprise than competitors).
Differences caused by certain government actions in the field of legislation and economic regulation. This may be the receipt of any patents and import quotas or the emergence of laws to protect consumer safety.
Gaps generated by internal features of the organizational structure or the quality of management decisions. In turn, they are a consequence of whether the firm is able to innovate and adapt to changes in the market faster and more efficiently than competitors.

Manufacturers can only bridge in a short time those gaps that fall into the first category (differences in corporate business systems). Much to the dismay of business strategists, competitive advantage or disadvantage is usually the result of factors outside the company's direct control and subject to rapid change.

Differentiation must be stable

It should be noted that both the key product differences and the difference in the potential of the firm and its competitors must exist for a long time. Consequently, differentiation must retain its significance for the market for a long time - in contrast to those characteristics that are determined by short-term market trends and can be destroyed as a result of the introduction of any technological innovations.

One of the most serious threats to a company's sustainable competitive advantage is the actions of its rival, aimed at changing the industry rules of the game. The point is not so much about eliminating the existing potential difference, but about making its role insignificant. For example, the introduction of the transistor in 1955 did not in any way affect RCA's advantage in the production of vacuum tubes, but made the very object of this advantage much less valuable.

In some cases, competitors are able to bridge the gap, but for a number of reasons do not take such steps. Naturally, such a situation does not add stability to a company that builds its well-being solely on the existing difference in potential. It is necessary to carefully study the reasons why competitors do not want to close the gap with the leader, and determine how long this will continue.

Sustainable Competitive Advantage and Strategy

We define competitive strategy as a set of actions aimed at achieving sustainable advantage over competitors. This formulation can be taken to mean that strategic competitive advantage automatically guarantees business success. In reality, everything is different. It is possible that over time this advantage will actually help the manufacturer achieve higher efficiency indicators than its competitors. However, we should not forget about the pitfalls. Thus, a market segment in which the company feels “on top” may be unable to maintain such a situation for a long time. Moreover, nothing prevents competitors from delivering a tactical blow to the company by winning a significant market share from it through aggressive price reductions or other similar means. Finally, even if there is only one manufacturer in an industry with a competitive advantage, it is possible that others will still succeed. For example, when a market is growing at a very rapid pace, the leader may be unable to adequately expand its capacity.

It is important to remember that while achieving sustainable advantage is the goal of competitive strategy, it is not what ultimate success is all about. Rather, such excellence can be seen as the key to success. The focus should not be on beating competitors, but on creating value for shareholders. Therefore, actions that are aimed at strengthening competitive advantage, but reduce the value of the company, are unacceptable as a corporate strategy.

New game strategies

Roberto Boiron

Companies usually compete with each other in the market , either increasing the consumer value of the product produced, or reducing its price. However, there is another type of competition that often does not receive due attention - dominance over rivals. Its essence is as follows: instead of obediently following the traditional rules of the game for a given industry, the company begins to actively change them. At the same time, her own strengths become the basis for success in the new game. We define these kinds of approaches as “new game strategies.”

Let us clarify these considerations using the following example. Until 1975, the American office copier market was dominated by Xerox Corporation. In 1975–1977 Savin Business Machines Corporation increased sales in this market (its total capacity was then $2.6 billion) from $63 million to more than $200 million. Savin Business Machines Corporation's significant success was based on a strategy of attacking for the segment of low- and medium-speed equipment. Its tools were the use of a new type of dyes and the use of different approaches to organizing production, distribution and after-sales service. During this period, corporate copier customers installed high-quality but expensive copiers leased from Xerox at their headquarters. Savin Corporation offered those companies for which saving time and money was essential to buy significantly cheaper devices and place them in several critical departments at once. In a select market segment, Savin managed to change almost all the previously existing rules of the game. While Xerox supplied equipment with components tailored to the needs of each individual customer, Savin relied on machines with low-cost standard components. In addition, Savin equipment was priced on a sales basis rather than a lease basis, so customers did not have to raise funds for large leasing transactions. Finally, instead of creating the same direct sales system as Xerox, Savin attracted independent dealers of office equipment and office supplies to cooperate, which came as a complete surprise to its competitor. In order to clearly demonstrate which strategy leads to such a radical change in the competitive landscape, we can construct a matrix of the strategic playing field. One of its axes shows “where” to compete, and the second shows “how” (Fig. 1). At the same time, the “where” range extends from a separate niche to the market as a whole, and the “how” begins with playing by traditional rules and ends with their complete change. It is the “how” axis that determines the essence of the company’s strategic approach - either the old game is used or a new one is created.

Rice. 1. Strategic playing field

The game is still

The most typical strategies are located in the rather “safe” upper left part of the matrix: this is competition within the previous game in the entire market. A company that implements a strategy of this type must obey the leader’s “interpretation” of the market and accurately reproduce both his functional approach to doing business and his strengths. Such an imitator rarely turns into a leader.

The second category is the astute players, listed at the bottom left of the matrix. They compete according to the model of the previous game in a separate market niche and, without trying to “reshape the market for themselves,” they strive to occupy those niches that best correspond to their strengths. The most active innovators try to change market segmentation by targeting certain product models or marketing policies at consumer groups that were not previously considered as worthy of special attention.

For example, there is a market for some durable consumer goods, traditionally segmented by price. A manufacturer can restructure such a market by using as a criterion for the formation of segments not price, but the lifestyle of potential buyers or their attitude towards the products offered. Let's say, it will focus on consumers interested in saving not so much the cost of purchasing a product, but rather energy and time during its operation. The principle of playing the same game in combination with a selective approach is more cautious than a frontal attack on the leader. However, a company using this principle does not make significant changes in technology, production or distribution of goods, so other market participants can also take an offensive on the new segment. In a certain sense, the well-being of such a company is based on the refusal of competitors to follow its example, which means it persists only as long as its rivals assess this niche as not serious enough.

This is exactly the lesson American Motors Corporation (AMC) learned in 1959. AMC's initial success was spectacular: In just two years, its share of the U.S. auto market grew from 2 percent to 6 percent as it focused on the subcompact segment and convinced some buyers to "think in small car terms." But as soon as members of the Big Three (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler corporations) took notice of these achievements, they immediately began producing compact cars. As a result, by 1965, AMC's market share had dropped to 3% and the company began to incur losses.

Game in a new way

The right side of the matrix indicates more risky strategies for the new game. They are used less frequently than legacy approaches, but they also offer greater benefits. Like the strategies of the old game, they can be focused on a specific market segment or on the market as a whole (as shown on the vertical axis of the matrix).

Stanley Works embarked on a "selective new game strategy" when many DIY enthusiasts began purchasing its tools, which were originally intended for professionals. To conquer these large and untapped market segments, Stanley Works developed a relatively low-cost product line and a mass-market marketing concept. The risk the company took was limited: if the new line failed, the firm could refocus on its traditional professional clientele. This situation is typical for “selective strategies of a new game”: precisely because of their selectivity, the size of possible losses turns out to be insignificant.

The riskiest type of strategy is “a new play on the entire market.” However, if successful, this strategy will bring the most significant results. Indeed, it is nothing less than about changing the rules of the game in the entire industry in accordance with the specifics of the company and its strengths. This often means changing the way we select, purchase and use certain goods or services. For example, a company may unexpectedly discover that its products are capable of satisfying consumer needs with which no one has previously associated these goods or services. The Hanes Corporation's decision to sell tights in grocery stores and discount retailers is a good example of this approach. In the same vein is the innovative move of the Procter & Gamble corporation, which began producing disposable diapers. When the "new game in the entire market" strategy works properly, the results are truly stunning, just as a sudden change in the course of a river sends a once prosperous port city into rapid decline.

None of the strategies presented in our matrix are right or wrong in general, without taking into account the market situation. The timing of the strategy is just as important as the choice of strategy. For example, even if a company ultimately aims for a “new game in the entire market,” it might start with a more cautious approach based on a “selective new game strategy.” Achievements in a particular niche gradually spread to the entire market. This is exactly what Texas Instruments did in the mid-1970s. First, it created a new segment - the production of simple pocket calculators that perform only four actions. Then, emboldened by its success, Texas launched an attack on the more complex segments of calculators used for educational and scientific calculations. A manufacturer that controls a significant market share can act in a similar way: starting with a less risky strategy of “the same game in the entire market”, in the event of a significant change in the market environment, move on to a new game. Thus, even leading companies must constantly and carefully monitor changes in the situation in their industries in order to correctly determine the moment of transition to a different strategy.

New game strategies are not applicable in all cases. They are very difficult to implement, so very few successful examples can be cited. However, top managers should always be ready to start a new game - if favorable conditions develop in the market, then it is possible that its results will exceed all expectations.

Focus on innovation

Richard Foster

Heads of companies that have achieved temporary success in the market , often believe that tomorrow will be more or less similar to today. In their opinion, significant changes are unlikely and cannot be accurately predicted, shifts usually happen slowly, so their firms should focus on improving the efficiency of current operations. These managers recognize the value of innovation in general and are ardent supporters of the latest theories of entrepreneurship, but they still consider the innovation process to be highly individualized and not amenable to any serious management or planning. They believe that innovation means a higher risk for the company than protecting the existing business.

Corporations such as Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson and Corning take opposing views. Their leadership knows that when the time comes for change, it happens quickly. Accordingly, it is more important to have the necessary technologies at the right time, have highly qualified specialists and have the ability to protect their competitive positions than to achieve constant growth in the efficiency of existing business areas. These leaders believe that ultimately competitive advantages will be gained by those market participants who take an attacking position in the innovation war; No matter how high the risk of innovation, failure to implement it creates an even greater risk. And they are right. It should be noted that such insight is rare. To develop such a view of things, it is necessary to comprehend the dynamics of competition, to see the relationship between efforts aimed at improving the technologies used or manufactured goods, and the long-term results of these efforts. In graphical form, this dependence is expressed by the well-known S-shaped curve (Fig. 2). In the initial period, when funds are invested in the development of a new technology, the return increases so slowly that it causes complete disappointment. However, as researchers gain key information, the return on investment increases dramatically. In the final phase, the growth of returns slows down again, and more and more resources are spent on each successful innovation.

Eventually the S-curve transforms into a horizontal line. This usually happens when the development of a certain technology approaches its natural limits. For example, there is a limit to the density of elements placed on a single silicon chip.

Let us note that it is extremely important to have a clear idea of the boundaries of development of a particular technology. Approaching them is the best clue when determining the moment when you should begin introducing a fundamentally new technology into your company. Sometimes it is relatively easy to see what impact the achievement of technological boundaries has on the dynamics of sales of the corresponding product (as in the case of computers based on silicon chips). However, in the airline industry, for example, this is much more difficult to do, since the industry uses thousands of different technologies. Yet, a fairly limited set of technologies is usually critical to a given process or product. Managers looking to anticipate future shifts need to identify key technologies and then closely monitor their paths.

Rice. 2. Dynamics of investment efficiency

Thus, the ability to recognize the limits of technological capabilities is an important quality of a manager. The company must constantly monitor the progress of rivals: when one of them approaches the peak of its S-curve, other market participants usually begin to carefully explore alternative technologies that can (over time) allow their own S-curves to soar. The resulting gaps can catch a hesitant manufacturer by surprise. Examples include the transition from vacuum tubes to semiconductors, from cloth diapers to paper diapers and, finally, from regular tennis rackets to those with increased area areas on the string surface, providing the best possible impact on the ball.

Currently, technological gaps are appearing more and more often. Real breakthroughs are taking place in such fields of science as quantum physics, surfactant chemistry, cytology, mathematics and the structure of scientific knowledge in general, and as a result, the flow of information on the basis of which new products and technological processes are created is increasing exponentially. In addition, literally every day we learn more and more about the innovation process itself: how it is carried out and how to improve its efficiency. These two trends are not entirely new. However, never before has their interaction led to the explosion of knowledge and the acceleration of change that is observed today. As a result of major technological changes, about 4/5 of the industrial sector and a significant part of the service sector underwent a radical transformation in the last two decades of the 20th century. We are living in an era of unprecedented increases in the risks facing industry leaders. Technological disruptions will occur more and more often, so firms that are constantly ready to attack will have a significant advantage.

We believe that today's senior executives should pay more attention to technology development issues than to any other issues in the functioning of their companies. This circumstance must also be emphasized because, for example, in the United States, business culture clearly resists the involvement of top managers in the field of research and development. Thus, the research organization The Conference Board asked the heads of 400 of the largest American corporations to indicate the most important adviser to them. Most respondents named the financial or operating director, heads of the most important administrative departments, and only 20% of the answers included top managers of departments involved in research and development into the corporate elite. In Japan, according to our colleague Kenichi Ohmae, the situation is completely different: “researchers” would be mentioned as key advisors 80% of the time and would receive third place in the overall ranking (in the US - only eleventh). How are American companies going to beat their competitors in today's world when technology managers in this country have virtually no access to the top executives who make decisions about the allocation of financial and human resources?

Over the next 10–20 years, technological disruptions will become more frequent, and innovation will no longer occur once every fifty years, as before, but virtually continuously. It is possible to switch to such a regime only if, under the leadership of the general director, the necessary management methods and the required level of corporate culture are introduced. It is most likely not necessary for a manager to understand all the intricacies of the technologies used by the company. However, he must have a good understanding of their critical features, even very complex ones. These include, for example, the band gap in germanium and silicon crystals, differences between the molecular structures of naphthalene and orthoxylene, the composition of complex and simple sugars, etc. It is these details that determine the arsenal of solutions available to managers.

In fact, everything is not as difficult as it seems. To push the company to adopt better and more sustainable strategies, leaders must ask their people just a few critical technology-related questions and demand truthful answers from them. Let's say he might be interested in the following.

What technologies can best meet the needs of consumers in the markets in which the company operates now or intends to enter in the future? What technology does each competitor use?
What key indicators do buyers focus on when making a decision to purchase a product? How do these two or three indicators relate to the factors that determine the technical characteristics of each of the alternative technologies under consideration or to their design parameters?
How far are the natural development limits of each alternative technology? Does the company have the ability to bypass these limits?
How highly do clients rate the company's technical potential? How much money might be required to fully realize this potential?
What share of the additional consumer value of goods provided by the new technology can a manufacturer claim - taking into account the existing industry structure, the alternatives available to customers, and the predicted features of legislation in this area? Is this share high enough to achieve an adequate level of return on investment?
How long will it take for each alternative technology to become competitive? How long will this competitiveness last? Can the company or any of its competitors adopt a particular alternative technology quickly enough, e.g. within the required time frame?

Answering questions like these will help the CEO see technology evolution for what it really is. It is essentially a battlefield of ever-changing S-curves. The knowledge gained will make it possible to more successfully manage the continuous process of technological innovation and realize the advantages of the attacking side.

Vigorous Activity as a Strategy

Amar Bhide

Proponents of the classical theory of corporate strategy claim : the main thing is to beat competitors through a series of “big maneuvers”. They will provide the company with long-term rents from exploiting sustainable competitive advantage. However, such a statement raises serious doubts. Strategy theologians underestimate the achievements of many successful companies that never made far-reaching strategic plans and did not suffer from competitive paranoia. They focus on day-to-day operations and ensuring that their responsibilities are always carried out accurately. In other words, their strategy is to be energetic. In our opinion, this is exactly what is needed for the industries in which these companies operate.

"Great Maneuvers"

The traditional strategy model suggests that a company must make a “grand maneuver”—a decisive step that will result in the erection of protective barriers around the company's key assets (such as a developed distribution system, trademarks, and proprietary technologies). However, such a maneuver has its limits, and they are especially clear in the financial services sector. It is in this industry that companies somehow manage to do without the carefully developed strategies that are so important to industrial firms.

For organizations providing financial services, strategic plans include target values for key parameters (revenue, expenses, profits and headcount), as well as a brief description of the potential of competitors, built on a “strong - average - weak” scale. Sometimes these plans include very vague comments about our own competitive advantages: “we have excess capital,” “the high qualifications of our employees,” etc. Attempts to win a competitive war through a single pincer operation in the financial services industry are rare. Why? Yes, because such tactics, by and large, make no sense. As noted financier Warren Buffett points out, “the financial services industry provides few examples of overwhelming competitive advantage.” The fact is that in this industry it is extremely difficult to keep professional secrets, and innovative developments are quite easy to copy.

Financial results

According to classical theory, if a company does not erect protective barriers, its profitability indicators will be at the same, usually low, level as those of other unprotected firms. In the financial sector, this thesis is also questioned. Despite the almost complete absence of conditions necessary for success, such as the presence of their own developments, a firmly “tied” (due to some special circumstances) clientele and “economies of scale”, some companies, nevertheless, achieve extremely high financial results. Thus, in 1983, the investment bank Goldman Sachs received an operating profit of $400 million, i.e. its return on equity (ROE) was 60%. Morgan Guaranty's return on assets is regularly twice that of other banks that have a similar customer base and provide roughly the same services.

The outstanding financial performance of these banks is due primarily to the exceptional quality of their operations and their ability to adapt to and capitalize on recurring (and then rapidly disappearing) opportunities. The creation of structural barriers for protection from the external competitive environment does not play any significant role for them. Many banks that specialize in large financial transactions have profitability indicators above the industry average simply because they repeat the actions of their competitors, but without the mistakes made by the latter. When providing loans, they more carefully assess the creditworthiness of borrowers, so they do not incur losses when writing off “bad debts.” Industrial companies are more willing to hold their checking accounts with them because their front office managers maintain very close relationships with clients. Lastly, they always provide accurate and informative account statements. In short, these companies are much more energetic than their competitors.

The role of the manager

When exceptional operational excellence and a company's energy are considered key to success, the responsibilities of its managers change. They differ from those entrusted to their counterparts in firms that consider ensuring their strategic invulnerability a priority. Managers of vigorously operating firms do not need to deeply analyze the actions of competitors (and they do not have the appropriate capabilities) or to develop detailed counter-strategies. Instead, they should concentrate on executing internal procedures perfectly and quickly and satisfying customer needs. And since success in such an environment depends on the company's ability to respond to often subtle but very important differences in the demands of different categories of clientele, senior managers cannot lead their subordinates by proclaiming great slogans. In the financial services industry, it makes no sense to analyze every new business proposal in detail. Managers simply must get used to solving problems on the basis of much less rigorous evidence than in the real sector. For example, in investment banks, top managers trust 25-year-old traders to risk millions of dollars. In contrast, in industrial firms, expenditures of much smaller amounts require the approval of a special committee. Although leading financial companies monitor the competitive environment, its state does not have a decisive impact on their plans. Bank executives know that competition does not play a major role in this industry. “I don’t see competition as an obstacle to our development,” says a top manager of one of the most successful banks. - Our most serious problems are not external, but internal. We must manage our resources in such a way that we become the best in our business.”

Race promotion

Paradoxically, a company can stimulate the energetic actions of its employees only if it creates a centralized system that provides a detailed assessment of profitability for individual business areas and client segments. Only in this case will top managers calmly delegate responsibility to lower levels, knowing that they will still be able to control the most important indicators of the company's performance. Experienced managers of financial companies are well aware of the importance of clearly measuring profit and other indicators, and therefore direct all their efforts to develop and implement such parameters. For example, American Express has created a unified customer service performance measurement system consisting of 180 quantitative indicators, such as the time it takes to replace a lost card or respond to a customer regarding an invoice query.

In a company where vigorous activity is the main strategy, recruitment takes on special importance. In investment banking practice, applicants rarely get a job without first interviewing at least one of the directors. In addition, it is necessary to equalize the status of positions in such different departments as the “paper” back office and the “posh” marketing department. The existence of “class differences” between loan officers and back office specialists can cause significant harm to a firm. In organizations that pay serious attention to the quality of customer service and the execution of all procedures, the remuneration of back office managers is set at a high level, and their activities are necessarily recognized by directors.

The value of a “broad outlook”

Companies that have managed to become leaders in the financial services market not only have a well-developed management control system and talented professional staff. They have something more. Their leaders have a broad institutional outlook, i.e. in accordance with the corporate mission and the main goal of the company’s development, which is shared by all its top managers. Thus, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Guaranty corporations place the main emphasis on teamwork and putting the interests of clients first, while Salomon Brothers focuses on accurately calculating the risks of securities transactions. In an era of rapid change, the ability to see the big picture is a valuable asset in ensuring consistency in corporate action. At the same time, advantages are created that do not depend on the vagaries of fortune associated with individual areas of business.

Perhaps, for companies that emphasize vigorous activity, the equivalent of “big maneuvers” is precisely “broad vision.” The classic grand maneuver strategy focuses on building barriers to protect against the effects of competition. In contrast, a “broad vision” strategy focuses on creating a big, colorful picture of the present and future that gives energetic employees a high degree of freedom and flexibility to find their opportunity. Footnotes

Once you have organized, the problems do not end: their number only increases as the business develops.

So, for example, the number one question most often is: How get ahead of your competitors?

There are several ways to stay ahead of competitors, each of which has its own characteristics.

The first method, the “arms race,” is the use of a whole arsenal of competition, building up competitive potential. Its basis is based on two alternative (or/or) postulates:

deal a crushing blow independently in a specific market,
erect protective barriers that would protect the company from the destructive consequences of fierce competition.

This method is effective if such measures do not reduce the rate of production, sales, trade turnover, or provision of services.

If the main share of efforts goes into developing ways to overtake (contain) competitors to the detriment of developing the business itself, then you should not expect any special positive results from them.

The second method is location in a free market segment, a business niche. Most types of small businesses are aimed primarily at a local clientele.

Therefore, by analyzing the proposals of local businessmen and the needs of the population, it is possible to find unfilled economic space. This will allow you not to think about competitors at all, at least until a similar offer appears;

The third method is cooperation with competitors. To avoid wasting money and effort thinking how to beat your competitors, you can channel this energy into a peaceful channel by offering your competitors a compromise option.

It won’t work with all your business opponents at the same time, so you need to choose the most powerful (dangerous) one and improve relations with him. The rest of your tandem will automatically be at a disadvantage;

The fourth method is the development of a narrow business area. This will allow you to concentrate on one narrow-profile type of business and develop it more efficiently.

It will be possible to achieve competitive advantages naturally in the process of evolution (modernization) of your business. Without emergency, revolutionary measures and shock therapy.

Method five - developing a more attractive offer for the consumer:

flexible system of discounts,
social programs (for disabled people, students, young families, low-income people, large families and pensioners),
stock,
bonuses,
client programs - savings system, happy days, personal dates, points, incentive gifts, telephone and email notifications about sales, discounts, promotions and assortment updates.

Method six - improving the service. Today, consumers are looking not only for a quality product, but also for high-level service.

Therefore, it is possible not only to improve the existing service, but also to use related services that contribute to the most comfortable customer service.

For example, restaurants and large stores organize their own taxi service and courier division for their clients.

Seventh - if we are talking about a service business, then on the contrary, you can expand the range in order to attract customers with the complexity of the services provided.

For example, a company that provides a whole range of consulting services, rather than just one of them, will look much more attractive in the eyes of consumers.

Then the businessman does not need to seek different services from different consulting firms. After all, he will be able to receive legal, tax, financial and other advice from one organization.

This is a general list of answers to the question, how to beat your competitors, but of course there are other ways.

The world has never been fair. And the world of business - even more so. Today, the economy has grown so much that almost every niche already has its own competitors. If you want to be on top, you need to act energetically, toughly, and sometimes even cruelly...

And if you feel that you are inferior to your competitors in some way, it’s time to change something. Otherwise, over time the gap will only increase. Let's look at 10 ways to beat your competitors in the eyes of your customers.

1. Remember that your goal is to please your customers, not to annoy your competitors. Focus on customers, not competitors. Act in the best interests of clients. Think about how you can become a friend, helper, or advisor to your clients. In the end, efficiency is measured by the number of contracts concluded, the level of sales and the average check that you receive from your clients. Therefore, direct all your efforts and tools towards your clients.

2. Don't be afraid to talk about what your competitors are hiding. The more the client hears from you about what your competitors are silent about, the more he will believe you. Humans are cautious by nature. And before paying their earned money, your customers want to reduce all possible risks, make the purchase as convenient, comfortable and safe as possible.

3. Don’t be ashamed to praise your personal successes and demonstrate your own importance and expertise. People are willing to pay professionals. People only want to work with the best. You must convince them that your products (solutions, goods, services) are the best they can buy for their money.

4. Don't hide your flaws. Your clients are people too. By admitting that you are imperfect, you will look more real and sincere in their eyes. Ideal (and not at the highest price) always scares away. Your clients will be afraid of a catch.

5. View your relationship with your clients not as a single transaction, but as an ongoing collaboration. It is much easier to convince someone who has bought something from you to buy something again than to turn a potential client into a real one. If over the past six months you haven’t gained a single regular client, think about it.

6. Find your strengths and weaknesses. This does not mean masking your shortcomings; deception will come to light very quickly and this will only harm your reputation. This means finding compelling counterarguments. If you are rejected because your services are too expensive, find a counterargument for this.

7. Let customers understand that your business has many pitfalls, dangers and pitfalls. And if they turn to you, they will have to take on many risks. There are a lot of unprofessionals around. Clients know this, they fear it. If a client hints that he is considering using the services of your competitor, be open about the fact that you are absolving yourself of all responsibility. Better yet, give an example of a person who did the same and regretted his choice.

8. Give reasons for your statements and results. Rely on well-known research and publicly available information. Analyze the information available to your customers and look at the situation through their eyes. If, for example, you sell cars, and the media constantly writes about increasing gas prices, this is your opportunity to declare that, therefore, there will be less traffic jams. And with your car, customers will be able to come to work faster.

9. Offer fresh ideas and solutions. Even if you copy, be sure to add something of your own. Clients choose based on their specific criteria. Make sure your solution stands out from everyone else.

10. Work on the quality of your reputation. Do a little more than your clients expect. If you are looking for clients today, with the proper level of reputation, after a certain time they themselves will look for you! The effect of word of mouth should not be underestimated.

If you are suddenly faced with a situation in which things are not going well for you, and your competitors’ trade has skyrocketed, most likely magic rituals have been directed against you. To remove magical negativity from yourself, you can resort to protective rituals in trade. By the way, don’t forget to also use the ones we published earlier.

In this ritual, any item that you can always carry with you, for example a bracelet or a cufflink, can act as a talisman. Ideally, the item should be made from natural materials, such as leather or stone, native to the area where you live. It is over this amulet-amulet that the following words are spoken:

“Lord Almighty, Savior, send down your angel for my help, salvation and preservation - My angel, holy guardian, take care of my body and soul, protect my work from untruthful people, their dark thoughts, failures and hard times. Let me get down to business with the Lord - I will never be ashamed, and I will not give in to the enemy. The Holy Trinity is with me."

Such a ritual is more likely not a conspiracy, but a prayerful appeal to the Higher powers, light and divine, which will help you in conducting business and trade. You can also take into account one more prayer, which is also used to enchant the amulet - amulet:

“I protect myself and deny you Satan, both your pride and your service - I unite with Christ God, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

The main thing is to believe in the power of the amulet and the help of higher powers.

How to spoil your competitors

If you are sure that your comrades-in-arms in one case have damaged you, you can perform a retaliatory ritual on your enemies. To carry it out you will need a sewing needle and a black spool of thread, salt.

You thread a needle and tie a knot - with it you go to the office or workplace where your competitors are “working” and stick it in a secluded corner near the door. The main thing is to stick it in so that it is not visible, and say three times:

"Anger - Ruglus - Gaburhas"

After this, throw some salt under the threshold. It is important to remember - the longer the needle is stuck in the doorframe, the less dirty tricks your competitors will do to you and everything they do will come back like a boomerang.

Prayer for protection against competitors

To avoid competitors in your environment, you can perform a strong ritual with candles during the New Moon. You buy 13 candles in the temple in advance and immediately return home with them - as you leave the temple, say:

“When my opponent starts to spoil me, the conspiracy will immediately take everything for itself.”

At home, light all 13 candles and mentally imagine how your enemies are leaving you and then say:

“As soon as my enemy wants to harm me, he will immediately become disgusted with the conspiracy, but don’t start enmity with him - I will wait patiently for a full moon day. The evil done to me - let him immediately run to him, I put up a strong defense and forever and ever - the man will not harm me now.”

Then let the candles burn down to cinders, and then sweep them into the trash can and throw them in the trash. You perform such a ritual every month on the full moon - this will allow you to provide strong protection from rivals who will not be able to harm you and your trade.

You can also perform the ritual on a broom - with it you seem to “sweep” all competitors out of your way, clearing your path to success and profit. They carry out the ritual in the morning - open the window, or if it is a private house, go out into the yard and waving a broom away from you, as if sweeping, say the following words:

“As I walk across an open field, 7 spirits and 7 winds run towards me. All the spirits are white and strong, brave and strong - go to the dashing people and keep them on a strong leash, so that I am safe and sound. On the way and on the road, in the lands of relatives and strangers, on land and on water, at a feast and at work - whoever thinks dashingly about me, the spirits will help me, from now on until the end of the world.”

Such a ritual is aimed at any enemy and unkind people who wish you harm, and will help in a variety of matters - at home and at work.

Ritual to beat your competitors

You can beat your own competitors and simply take away their own luck in business and success with the help of the following ritual, performed on garbage. In order for your competitors to “give” you their own luck, come to the office or store of your more successful opponent and carefully collect garbage in it or around it. After at least a little dirt and dust, garbage has been collected, they say:

“It’s not dust and dirt – it’s good luck and money. As I gathered this dirt into my hands and took it, I took a good share strewn with gold for myself and took it for life. Just as I will walk the path with my feet to home, so will luck and good fortune follow me and follow me.”

After this, pour out this garbage at your place of work or at home, leaving it for 7 days, be sure to under the threshold and at the same time say:

“Luck came to your doorstep - it wrapped a circle, it was behind my threshold - now it is in my house, not for a day, but forever - eternal.”

After a week, collect the garbage in a cloth and keep it at work, this will be your kind of amulet.

Rituals to get rid of competitors in trade

To get rid of competitors in the trade business, you can perform a salt ritual, which is considered the most effective and efficient among practicing magicians. Such a conspiracy will not save you from competitors in the physical sense of the word, but their problems and troubles in business will help you pave your own path to success in business.

The charmed salt is simply thrown into the office or a competitor’s store - it is carried out on the waning moon, preferably after midnight, at 1-2 am. Take a pinch of salt in your right palm and say:

“Gshai - Help me, take away the luck from the one who crossed my path - he should suffer over every little thing, but not move forward, he should suffer and suffer in vain, let him lose everything that he has. Through this salt may you find him.”

It is enough to just say the words of the spell three times and wake her up in the morning in a competitor’s office or store. The main thing is that not a grain of salt is left in your home.

Amulets against competitors for the workplace

Such amulets are kept in the office at the workplace - the main thing is to hide them from prying eyes. Any thing from your table can be such a talisman - the following words are spoken to it:

“Lord, grant me good times and your mercy; according to your great mercy and your generosity, deliver me from my enemies, visible and invisible. Forgive all who envy and curse me, according to your commandment, Lord. Reward them with abundance - I won’t envy them, and don’t cross my path, don’t spoil my business and don’t steal my luck. Just as my enemies fled from King David, let my enemies also flee from me. As King Solomon was famous for his wisdom - Lord, share your wisdom with me. Just as a river flows and the stones wash the yellow roots, so let all the evil and sadness dissolve, go away and never return.”

After such a slander on the amulet, attacks and intrigues from competitors will stop against you. You can be calm about your luck and your own financial income, successful trading, and your business will flourish.

How to fight off a buyer's conspiracy from a competitor

Among many market sellers and entrepreneurs who are faced with the problem of a decrease in the flow of buyers, they are wondering how to win away a buyer from a competitor and thereby increase their own income. If you have strong suspicions that such a period of stagnation and decline is provoked by trade damage and to prevent unwanted bankruptcy, a ritual is performed on 9 graves.

Practicing magicians classify such a ritual as a ritual of black magic - strong and effective, when in an active cemetery it is worth finding 9 graves with crosses installed on them, but not monuments or obelisks. In front of each grave, you read the words of the spell on a vessel with spring water, holding it with both hands and looking exactly at the center of the Orthodox cross:

“You dead man, dead head - drink some clean and spring water, drive away from my business... my own name... black corruption and epileptic cramps, witchcraft and conspiracy and evil human slander, every tract. You are a man's evil eye, an envious woman's eye, take it away from the floor and ceiling, from the hinges and from the door, from things and from the purse, from my gold and your silver. Just as they buried you peacefully, and put earth in the cheese under the cross - so you will take from me and my deeds all that is bad and spoiled.”

After this, leave a boiled egg and a large coin or banknote at each grave as a ransom. Upon completion of the conspiracy, sprinkle your workplace with this water, wash the floor in the store and your business will definitely go up.