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Let's start with 'competitive advantage.' It's a common enough term, but what does it really mean? My first crack at explaining the concept is a popular business school anecdote...

There are two campers in the woods. Suddenly, they see a large grizzly bear approaching. The first camper jumps up and starts running like hell in the opposite direction, but stops after 100 metres. He turns around to see the second camper putting on a pair of shoes, and shouts, "Hey, get going, we have to outrun the bear!" She looks up and says, "No, I only have to outrun you."

You can see that competitive advantage is not about 'features' or 'products' or 'service', it is about whatever distinguishes you from your competition. And it is all about beating the competition. So, having peeled back the first layer of the onion, let's take a closer look...

The 'competition,' who is that? Well, for a designer it's not just other designers. There are also non-designer firms such as PR firms, advertising agencies, dtp shops, printers and others, all of whom compete with you as well as anybody else out there who claims to be able to provide graphic design services and solutions.

'Beating the competition' is not just about doing better work or providing superior service but about making sure that you are perceived as 'superior' in your potential client's eyes. Once you've won the project, then it will be the quality of your work and service that will cement that perception and the relationship, but until you start that project you won't have the opportunity to prove yourself to the client directly.

So the problem comes down to accurately identifying your competition (who) and working out how to successfully position yourself against them (what). Identifying 'who' is generally straighforward - ask your client, not only who you may be up against but before that, who they have worked with in the past. Or ask around among your friends and colleagues as to who has worked with that client in the past.

Working out the 'what' is trickier, because it won't necessarily be a case of showing the portfolio and hoping the client can work out who is better. In my previous article, "We're here to solve a problem, but what's the problem?" I relate two incidents where design skill is not the deciding factor in winning the project. A focus on graphic design is a natural distinguishing factor against non-design-specialists. Against other designers, of course, that argument doesn't confer quite the same distinctiveness on your firm, so it's worth thinking about other sources of advantage.

I finished my discussion on the two types of competitors (designers and non-designers) with an article in the Members Only section. AGDA Members can access "part 2" from the "Members Only menu"

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andrew@lam-po-tangcom