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competitive advantage
Secret Technique/Unfair Advantage
In this part of the business plan, we want to challenge participants to think about what kind of advantages or secrete techniques you may have to make your business stand out from your competitor. This advantage can be anything, but it should ideally be something that is difficult for other companies to copy.
Looking at tech giants such as Apple or Google, for instance, it can be easily denoted that their unfair advantage and secret technique is their technology, intellectual property, and human resources (the ability to attract talented minds to their companies). These three things establish the unfair advantage for Apple and Google as they are not things that can be easily copied by another firm that is trying to enter the technology business. Alternatively, some might argue further that Apple’s biggest unfair advantage is their positioning and their branding.
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Alternatively, unfair advantage could also arise from something much simpler. For an energy producer, the unfair advantage may arise from having enough capital to invest in a large-scale project or getting a rare permit from the government.
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When coming up with your business’s unfair advantage, one of the most effective ways of approaching this process is by asking a series of questions such as: why hasn’t anyone else started this business yet? What has stopped them before? Why is it the best time to start your business now? What is difficult about starting this business? What do you know or what do you have that others do not?
What is Value Proposition?
Your value proposition is what makes customers choose you instead of the competition. It's part marketing, part operations, and part strategy; your value proposition is the foundation of your competitive advantage.
On a subconscious level, customers will compare the value proposition of your company against those of your competitors when deciding where to take their business. With that in mind, here are a few things to remember when writing your value proposition:
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Keep it short and uncluttered. Your value proposition explains why customers should buy from you. If you can't sum it up in 10 words or less, chances are you won't be able to execute it, either.​
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Be precise. Your customers have specific needs; your value proposition should offer targeted solutions
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It is about your customer, not you. Your value proposition should discuss only what matters to your customers and the value you can bring to them.​
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Value comes in numerous forms. Money, time, convenience and superior service are a few of the ways you can help deliver value to your customers.