B2B - Strategy Tools - Part 5

Competitive Strength


Knowing the value you create for your customers by fulfilling one or more of their important needs is not enough. You must also be able to fulfil your customers important needs better than your competitors in order to keep your customers or gain new customers.
The Business Triangle© by Lars Bergendorff Business Development is an illustration of this:

• The important customer needs that you can fulfil and the value it brings to your customer.
• Your own ability to fulfil the important customer needs.
• Your competitors’ ability to fulfil the same important customer needs.

In identifying important customer needs you should be more specific than to say: “Quality, service and price”.
After listing and rating the important needs of your customers the question is how good you are at fulfilling these needs compared to your major competitors.
Your most important competitors may not necessarily be those who supply similar products or services as you do.

PETER SØRENSEN