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Maybe you remember the old Jim Croce song that goes, \u201cYou don\u2019t spit into the wind, you don\u2019t tug on Superman\u2019s cape . . . \u201c etc.\u00a0 <\/span>The idea is that there are some things in life you just don\u2019t do.\u00a0 <\/span>Case in point.\u00a0 <\/span>Last time I wrote (Marketing 101b), I talked about problems, needs, and wants . . .<\/span> your product or service must solve a problem, fill a need, or satisfy a want, or you won\u2019t have any customers.<\/span><\/p>\n OK, so I have this mentor in marketing (and most other things) who I knew . . . that\u2019s right, I knew . . . was on my mailing list.\u00a0 <\/span>But how was I to know the guy would actually read my stuff?\u00a0 <\/span>He\u2019s the teacher, I\u2019m the pupil for cryin\u2019 out loud.\u00a0 <\/span>He already knows more than I do, so why would he?\u00a0 <\/span>Well, go figure, he did.<\/span><\/p>\n The lesson here is simple<\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/span>If you\u2019re going to write about stuff\u00a0 <\/span>in your mentor\u2019s area of expertise, DON\u2019T SEND IT TO HIM!!\u00a0 <\/span>I think Jim Croce would agree.<\/span><\/p>\n Retribution was swift and sure.\u00a0 <\/span>He was all over me like a cheap suit.\u00a0 <\/span>How could I, he asked, engage in a marketing discussion and leave out the Holy Grail of marketing, \u201ccompetitive advantage?\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Of course, I tried to defend myself, but it was pointless.\u00a0 <\/span>He was right.\u00a0 <\/span>I knew he was right, and he knew I knew he was right.\u00a0 <\/span>I narrowly escaped a trip to the woodshed by promising to set the record straight.\u00a0 <\/span>So for a woodshed-induced discussion of \u201ccompetitive advantage,\u201d and with apologies to my friend and mentor Bad Bad Leroy Bill. please read below.<\/span><\/p>\n In my last posting (Marketing 101b), I pointed out that nobody\u2019s going to buy your product or service unless it solves a problem, fills a need, or satisfies a want.\u00a0 <\/span>After all, why would they?\u00a0 <\/span>What possible reason would there be to buy any product or service if it doesn\u2019t do one of those three things?<\/span><\/p>\n But there\u2019s more to it than that.\u00a0 <\/span>If your product or service solves a problem, fills a need, or satisfies a want but does it in a way that is indistinguishable from your competitors, what have you achieved?\u00a0 <\/span>Not much.\u00a0 <\/span>As far as the marketplace is concerned, you\u2019re just an also-ran.\u00a0 <\/span>You might as well be selling sand because in the eyes of your prospective customers, they can get the same thing you\u2019re selling lots of other places.\u00a0 <\/span>There\u2019s no special reason they should buy from you versus all the others.<\/span><\/p>\n So you need that special reason for customers to choose you over your competitors.\u00a0 <\/span>You need something to distinguish your product or service<\/a> from everybody else\u2019s.\u00a0 <\/span>You need a \u201csecret sauce.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>In short, you need a \u201ccompetitive advantage.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Whatever problem you\u2019re trying to solve for your customers, you need to solve it better\/faster\/cheaper than your competitors.\u00a0 <\/span>Your solution needs to be unique.\u00a0 <\/span>It needs to be more elegant, more user-friendly, or more value-driven than everybody else\u2019s solution.\u00a0 <\/span>Likewise for filling needs or satisfying wants.<\/span><\/p>\n Now here\u2019s the hard part.\u00a0 <\/span>Your competitive advantage can\u2019t just be lip service.\u00a0 <\/span>It has to be genuine.\u00a0 <\/span>You can\u2019t just say your product or service is better than everyone else\u2019s (although lots of people try to do just that).\u00a0 <\/span>You have to demonstrate that your product or service is better in a way that\u2019s convincing to your prospective customers.\u00a0 <\/span>You may believe you have a superior product or service, but if your prospective customers don\u2019t believe it, you\u2019re still an also-ran, just one more in a sea of offerings that are more or less the same.<\/span><\/p>\n