Jane built an outstanding accountancy business and never once thought about her competition. She understood that if she could serve her clients not by focusing on competitors, but by focusing on collaborators; she’d build a powerful and loyal list of clients through word of mouth marketing. Her secret was looking for partnerships that brought mutual value. “Who could I partner with,” was the essence of her daily marketing strategy? Jane understood the collaborative advantage.
So Jane partnered with a local amusement park. That sounds like an odd place for collaboration, but she knew that most of her clients had kids and after completing their taxes, she paid for a free trip to a local amusement park for her clients. None of her competitors thought laterally and didn’t see how much of a collaborative advantage this gave to her. Jane does the amusement park taxes, and in return, she gets tickets at cost to give to her clients.
What did the client say about her business?
“She’s great at doing my tax work, AND we get a free trip to the local amusement park when our work is complete. She brought joy into an unpleasant activity like doing taxes and other accounting stuff”.
Is Competitive Advantage a Blip?
A business that focuses on competitors ends up looking and acting like their competitors. If our competitor brings out a new service or product, so should we. Smart-thinking business owners like Jane put their attention on serving their clients. How can I bring even more value to my clients or even joy? What services could I offer them that meet their needs, even if I don’t make a dime from the transaction? How can my business be more human? A collaborative advantage lens alters how you see the opportunity to do something wonderful for clients.
Competitive advantage may be an old and tired idea – one that may need retiring. Paul Skinner, the author of Collaborative Advantage – How Collaboration beats competition as a strategy for success, writes brilliantly on this topic.
Paul argues that customers do more than choose among competitors. Competition is an idea from the 1960s and competitive advantage aligns with thinking about business strategy. Boston Consulting brought these ideas forward more than 50 years ago. Competitive advantage came from bringing more to customers than others in your category. But is this approach to marketing old school today?
Today value from within the business is less than the value from outside of the business. Thus, collaboration and social enterprises are finding value outside of product differentiation. Jane brings value outside of tax preparation to her clients.
Can you find a lateral and unexpected way to partner with another business or organization, so that your clients find value working with you that they can’t find with others in your industry?
Does your business need a marketing coach, guide or sherpa? Are you generating enough leads? Is your marketing underperforming? I can help.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Our initial conversation is free. You talk, I listen. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com or call me. 919 720 0995. Visit my website at www.themarketingsage.com Let’s explore working together today.
Photo by ckturistando on Unsplash
Inspired by Mitch Joel’s Interview on his Six Pixel’s Podcast
