Beyond a USP: The Secrets to Competitive Advantage
Over the next six years, UPS chipped away at FedEx’s positioning and matched it in 1986. No longer did FedEx hold the same competitive advantage over its chief rival. Though it pioneered overnight delivery, FedEx was now just offering a commodity service.
Harvard professor Michael Porter once wrote in the Harvard Business Review that when a company’s business strategy is based on one element, such as service, price or breadth of inventory, that company sets itself up to be easily copied. The concept of “fit,” he wrote, “drives both competitive advantage and sustainability: When activities mutually reinforce each other, competitors can’t easily imitate them.”
A columnist for Retail Online Integration, George founded HAGUEdirect, a marketing agency. Previously he was a member of the Shawnee Mission, Kan.-based consulting and creative agency J. Schmid & Assoc. He has more than 10 years of experience in circulation, advertising, consulting and financial strategy in the catalog/retail industry. George's expertise includes circulation strategy, mailing execution, response analysis and financial planning. Before joining J. Schmid, George worked as catalog marketing director at Dynamic Resource Group, where he was responsible for marketing and merchandising for the Annie's Attic Needlecraft catalog, the Clotilde Sewing Notions catalog, the House of White Birches Quilter's catalog and three book clubs. George also worked on corporate acquisitions.
