Creating Competitive Advantage: Give Customers a Reason to Choose You Over Your Competitors

by Jaynie L. Smith and William G. Flanagan

Book Overview

Why should I do business with you... and not your competitor? Whether you are a retailer, manufacturer, distributor, or service provider - if you cannot answer this question, you are surely losing customers, clients and market share. This eye-opening book reveals how identifying your competitive advantages (and trumpeting them to the marketplace) is the most surefire way to close deals, retain clients, and stay miles ahead of the competition. The...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385517092
• ISBN13: 9780385517096
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Crown Currency
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Prescription for Improving Your Advertising

If you are as tired as I am of being bombarded with advertisements and marketing that all say the same thing, and in the process, really says nothing, then this book is a revelation. Just as bad is dealing with sales reps who all say the same thing. As a consumer (personal and business), I'm constantly looking for ways in which a product/service can be distinguished. I want to buy on value because with few exceptions, I don't trust anything or anyone who is the low cost provider. Every company executive, marketing, and sales professional should read this book. It cuts right to the point of why so much marketing and sales doesn't work. Better yet, the book makes it clear what does work. Making the link between Competitive Advantages and marketing/sales is brilliant. We aren't trained to think of Competitive Advantages as a sales differentiator. When someone talks about competitive advantage, it is often so esoteric and at a level where it has no real applicability. Creating Competitive Advantage takes the concepts to a level that is applicable to almost every business, and easy to understand. Probably the best review you can give any book is to track its influence. Ever since I read the book, I am beginning to notice more and more companies using Competitive Advantages in their advertising. It's refreshing, and most importantly it works. Creating Competitive Advantage provides a framework for re-thinking how companies advertise, market, and sell. I got more value out of this than all the rah rah sales drivel that seems to sell by the millions. The book is approachable, written at a level that encourages you to take action, and includes numerous useful examples. On top of that, the book doesn't assume every reader works for Fortune 100 company. Since the majority of executives and business leaders work for small to mid-size firms, this book speaks to that audience in a way most business books don't. Excellent!

Creating Competitive Advantage: Give Customers a Reason to Choose You Over Your Competitors

I run a small business and really enjoyed the concepts in this book. I am at that stage of life where I try to get at least one practical or original idea from each book I read, or seminar I attend. Most cannot pass this test. This book however, is one of the good ones. I learned something that I can put to use.

The Threat Not Seen

Using telling case studies, Jaynie L. Smith reveals in "Creating Competitive Advantage" how to exploit your competitive advantages to keep your firm alive and growing. In her research, the Florida chair for The Executive Committee, an international organization of more than 11,000 CEOs, claims to have found only two CEOs of more than 1,000 middle market companies that could succinctly and clearing articulate their firm's competitive advantage. According to the author, the five fatal flaws of most companies: 1. They do not have a competitive advantage but think they do. 2. They have a competitive advantage but don't know what it is--so they opt to lower prices. 3. They know what their competitive advantage is but neglect to tell clients. 4. They mistake "strengths" for competitive advantages. 5. They ignore on competitive advantages when making strategic and operational decisions. These flaws, the author states, need not be fatal. In ten short, yet thought provoking chapters, she guides the reader through a plan that identifies his or her competitive strengths and prepares an action plan to exploit them. "Back to basics" is this simple, well-written book's message. Yet, it is a message business leaders will ignore at their firm's peril.

This book changed my business

I just read Creating Competitive Advantage by Jaynie Smith. Wow! Powerful information! I thought that my company had clearly defined competitive advantages. The message from this well written book helping you define your competitive advantages in metrics showed me that I have to quantify and spell out truly differentiating claims over my competition. Thank you Jaynie. Buying your book was the best investment in marketing I have ever made. I can't wait to read the sequel.

A Must For All Businesses

In a straight-forward, easy to read style, Smith highlights what every businessman should know -- but few do. The book points out that it's not enough to be better than your competition, what's important is that you must identify and leverage your competitive advantage to its fullest. And here's where Smith stands out. She gives the tools for any business to set it apart from its competition, presented simply but effectively. This is a MUST read book for any serious businessman who wants to succeed.