Three articles on the Business & Finance section of the July 3, 2024, Wall Street Journal give easy to explain reasons why having a competitive advantage is so important.
- Fast-Food Chains Duel Over Deals – McDonald’s, Starbucks, Applebee’s, Chili’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and others have to offer deals to get customers. Almost 30% of fast-food orders in Q1, 2024, were tied to a promotion as prices for all food eaten away from home have risen 30% in the last five years. Price is not a good competitive advantage.
- SpaceX Displaced Pentagon’s Go-To Rocket Launcher – United Launch Alliance (a Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture) has lost favor with the pentagon for one big reason, quality. Providing great quality is fantastic competitive advantage.
- Parent of Redbox Files for Bankruptcy –Easy to explain. The current owner bought Redbox in 2022 and the stock is down 90% over the last year. Who thought renting DVDs at a kiosk was a good business model today? The competitors have a great advantage, stream without leaving the house.
Think about the above for your business or your clients’ business. Build an advantage based on things other than price and the value (price) of your company goes way up.
“You can only kick with one foot at a time. Otherwise, you fall on your butt.” (Hungarian soccer star) Ferenc Puskas