Never Bring a Knife to a Gunfight

January 21, 2010

It’s been called the first rule of modern warfare – “never bring a knife to a gun fight”. Although I’m not certain who coined the phrase, I can almost assure you it wasn’t the guy who brought the knife.

And as obvious as this idiom is, every day I see independent retailers walking into fights they can’t win. It happens every time they focus marketing efforts on business attributes which they can’t possibly dominate in. Shootout

I use the word dominate and not compete because frankly, competing is a nebulous term and doesn’t really carry any assurance of success. Domination signifies that you maintain an own-able position in the mind of the public, distinct from competitors and truly remarkable. For example, all professional athletes compete but the ones that really stand out actually dominate in their sports.

That said, independent retailers sometimes have difficulty identifying how they can dominate in their chosen market. They struggle with isolating the aspects of their business where they can consistently reign supreme. As a result, they attempt to be good at everything, which usually renders them exceptional at nothing. In other words, by trying to be good at everything, they actually weaken their competitive position.

Stop trying to be the good at everything

The 2001 book by Fred Crawford and Ryan Matthews titled The Myth of Excellence, is an account of an extensive study examining the competitive attributes of a wide range of highly successful businesses. Although almost a decade old now, I think the findings are even more relevant today than they were then.

The key discovery from the research was that none of the best businesses were the best at everything. However, all of them clearly dominated in something. Almost without exception, there was a single competitive attribute on which the best businesses stood head and shoulders above the competition.

With this information in hand, any business can begin to map out a coherent competitive strategy.

Start with your dominant attribute

There are 5 basic competitive attributes across which a business can compete. First pick the one that your business can realistically dominate in relative to other players in your market. And although it might seem obvious, make sure that the dimension you choose is both relevant and tangible to consumers.

To Dominate In	You need to be remarkable for things like…
Product	The widest selection In-stock position The highest quality goods The most unique items The most desired brand(s) Most hard-to-find items One of a kind and customized items
Price	The lowest every day price on the most items
Service	The highest level of expertise The best after-sale support The friendliest and most helpful staff The most liberal return/exchange/refund policies The best in-home services Best warranties/guarantees
Convenience	The most stores The best locations Call ahead services The longest store hours The most efficient systems The best delivery program The best online shop The best payment options
Store Experience	The most fun/enjoyable The best learning experience The most interactive The most relaxing The most welcoming environment

Now you need to select another attribute where you can be good, relative to competition. You don’t have to dominate but you should noticably excel in this attribute.

Lastly, you need to be at least average with respect to the remaining attributes. Not necessarily excellent but acceptable.

Here are some examples

Starbucks is highly regarded as being dominant in store experience while having a good product.

Dollar General dominates on price and offers good convenience through numerous locations.

Apple dominates on product, while offering a good store experience.

So, it doesn’t matter how you dominate – only that you do.

Now tell them

Once you’ve established your ideal mix of attributes, build all marketing messages around it. Don’t waste energy talking to customers about what you’re average at. Focus the message almost exclusively on what you dominate in and why that’s worth caring about.

Using this approach will create clarity on all fronts. Customers will be clear on why they should shop you. Staff will be clear on what they should be delivering to customers. And you, the owner will be clear on what you’re taking into your next gun fight.

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The Road to Remarkble is an interactive workshop aimed at assisting retailers in deveoloping own-able competitive positioning. If you would like to schedule a session of the Road to Remarkable for your group, contact us.