How do you choose competitive moves?

Very important to know your industry and also to know your competitor’s. Always need to have a product basket to be competitive and serve diversified products for customers. Make and Use your brands effectively like which brands are fighter/Flanker/Silver bullet .. Just like “Horses for courses”. The brand identification should be done through Kapferer’s brand identity model And yes Porters Five Force model will always be helpful.

Assess your industry is important, but how? Concepts are all the same; let's see an example: For instance, a smartphone industry. Giants like Apple and Samsung are competitors, offering high-end devices. You, however, focus on affordable, long-lasting smartphones, carving a niche. Suppliers wield power over crucial components. Customers have options, demanding quality and affordability. Substitutes like smartwatches exist but won't fully replace smartphones. Regulations on data privacy and the environment shape operations. Analyzing these forces guides your strategy for a competitive edge in the smartphone market.

Consider the pace of change within your industry. Some industries, especially technology-driven ones, evolve very rapidly. Understanding the pace can help you decide how frequently to reassess your competitive moves.

Market/ Industry assessment can truly help if it's juxtaposed against your product's/service's value proposition. It will clearly show synergies and improvement areas at relevant granular details. Key question to answer is "what problem are we solving here?"

Choosing competitive moves requires a deep understanding of market dynamics, competitor analysis, and alignment with your strengths. Focus on differentiation, cost leadership, or niche strategies. Regularly reassess and adapt based on changing conditions to stay ahead in the competitive landscape.

Know your unique strengths and weaknesses across the value chain. Assess manufacturing costs and efficiencies, innovation abilities, customer service competencies, geographic footprints. What strategic assets and capabilities can you leverage - technical genius, financial might, human talent, brand power, agility? What are your sustainable competitive advantages and core competencies? Be realistic about any vulnerabilities or resource gaps compared to rivals. Self-awareness allows you to play to your full potential. It's like taking an honest inventory of your team's talents and chemistry before a big game.

Consider the intangible assets like brand equity, company culture, and employee morale. While these aren't always easy to quantify, they can significantly influence competitive positioning. For instance, a strong brand can deter new entrants or allow for premium pricing.

Evaluating your resources is foundational to an effective strategy. It's crucial to examine - what do you excel at, and where do you fall short? What are the assets, skills, and unique offerings, and juxtapose them against the competition. It is important to even consider things like brand equity, proprietary technology or systems, or unique market channels. The value proposition needs to be clear and compelling. Frameworks like VRIO can be helpful. It doesn't just help you identify your strengths, but it also ensures those strengths are aligned, organized, and leveraged in a manner that truly gives you a competitive edge.

Weigh options on where you can uniquely contribute and capture value. Will you be the cost crusader, amazing innovator, niche expert, luxury provider? Stake out terrain with ample room to grow and thrive. Use your chosen positioning as your North Star for guiding other key moves. It's like choosing the right events to compete in during a decathlon based on your athletic strengths. Don't spread yourself too thin across positions.

When positioning, consider the longevity and adaptability of your chosen strategy. Does it have the resilience to stand the test of evolving market dynamics, or will it require regular adjustments? For instance, if you opt for cost leadership, ensure you have mechanisms to optimize costs as external variables shift continuously, such as supply chain disruptions or technological advancements. Always ensure you aren't attempting to be all things to all customers, as this can result in being, as Micheal Porter said, "stuck in the middle" without a clear competitive advantage.

Pay diligent attention to the scoreboard and how you stack up against rivals. Dig into metrics like market share trends, revenue growth, profitability, customer satisfaction scores. Do competitive benchmarking. Analyze what's fueling wins and where you may be losing ground. Quick course corrections keep you in the game! It's like a coach reviewing game film and stats to improve.

Monitor leading indicators to get ahead of competitors. Track patent filings, hiring trends, web traffic, reviews, supplier moves, and regulations. Changes can signal innovations, new capabilities, shifts in customer preference or emerging issues before noticeable sales impact. Systematically scan multiple data signals with competitive intelligence teams, analytics and automation. The goal is to anticipate market shifts early, not rely on lagging performance data. Leading indicators complement financial metrics and provide a forward-looking perspective.

Anticipate competitors' upcoming plays based on their strengths, past moves, and incentives. Monitor for new technologies on the horizon you may need to adopt early to stay competitive. Be ready to counter rival moves that threaten your position. Seize on opportunities when competitors are distracted or complacent. Think a few moves ahead in the competitive dance! It's like a chess grandmaster striving to outmaneuver opponents.

Build a culture of agility and adaptability. Encourage cross-functional teams, including frontline workers, to conduct periodic "innovation brainstorming" sessions. Their first-hand experiences can offer unique insights into the current industry landscape. By considering their perspectives when anticipating future trends and prototyping potential new products or solutions, your business can remain responsive and proactive.

Zoom out regularly to challenge assumptions and consider fresh perspectives. Are you missing key growth opportunities or market shifts that require a strategy pivot? Interview new customers. Talk to frontline employees. Seek unconventional wisdom. Sustaining your edge means continually reassessing the playing field for blind spots. It's like occasionally getting coaching from an objective outsider.

For every competitive move involving new capabilities, you either build, borrow, or buy. The choice among these options depends on factors like time, cost, strategic fit, and control preferences.

I find that creativity while improving your solutions by listening to your client base is the key. It doesn’t matter if you follow all the theory of economics and business books, if in the end you don’t move with intention over your solution. Find where you want to make an impact, design creative solutions for that market and make sure you’re serious about improving the space and not just looking to that business transaction cash wise. It doesn’t matter if the move is about a merger or a product development, because in the end the best and most competitive move for your business is the one that takes the human factor into account and not just the numbers.