Gaining Competitive Advantage through Points of Difference
The last recent posts have mentioned strategy as cementing a unique marketing position in the consumer’s mind and this post will show that this is done specifically through points of difference (PODs). In class, we talked about the example of The Body Shop’s value proposition of being humane, being natural, against animal testing etc. These points of difference, created a unique position for the company as competitors (L’Oréal, LUSH etc) did not highlight these points. Consequently the company was well established in the consumer’s mind. KFC is another example, where it gained competitive advantage through POD. KFC is well known (notice, they’re “well known”, highlighting already how much of a unique marketing position they have established amongst consumers) for the ingredients it uses. KFC has kept emphasizing that its chicken is different (when compared to competition), and as Colonel Sanders mentions (in the video below), he says their chicken is “entirely different but still tender and tasty”. KFC highlighted (and continues to highlight) how “unique” its ingredients are. KFC has long ridden on this particular point of difference, and as a result gained competitive advantage, in addition to establishing a respectable position in the consumer’s mind.