Customer Reviews

Creating Competitive Advantage: Give Customers a Reason to Choose You Over Your Competitors

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Using telling case studies, Jaynie L. Smith reveals in "Creating Competitive Advantage" how to exploit your competitive advantages to keep your firm alive and growing.

In her research, the Florida chair for The Executive Committee, an international organization of more than 11,000 CEOs, claims to have found only two CEOs of more than 1,000 middle market companies that could succinctly and clearing articulate their firm's competitive advantage.

According to the author, the five fatal flaws of most companies:
1. They do not have a competitive advantage but think they do.
2. They have a competitive advantage but don't know what it is--so they opt to lower prices.
3. They know what their competitive advantage is but neglect to tell clients.
4. They mistake "strengths" for competitive advantages.
5. They ignore on competitive advantages when making strategic and operational decisions.

These flaws, the author states, need not be fatal. In ten short, yet thought provoking chapters, she guides the reader through a plan that identifies his or her competitive strengths and prepares an action plan to exploit them.

"Back to basics" is this simple, well-written book's message. Yet, it is a message business leaders will ignore at their firm's peril.

As an entrepreneur I am constantly seeking knowledge in order to improve my business, resulting in customer retention and sales. Creating Competitive Advantage by Jaynie L. Smith definitely opened my eyes on how to differentiate my business without relying on price as the only differentiator. Nowadays most businesses (at least from what I see) use the cost of their goods or services as the only selling point they have when marketing their products. But what they don't know is that relying purely on cost is not going to make your business a success in the long run - at least that is what Creating Competitive Advantage sets out to teach you. And you cannot compare your business to the Wal-Marts of the world. They built that empire on cost as the advantage, and probably the only company in history that will last by doing so (or so we think). If you think you can catch up to what Wal-Mart achieved, then you need to wake up from your daydream and smell the roses - it is not going to happen.

So if we will never become the Wal-Marts of the world, then how do we compete with them? Well first, stop focusing on cost as your advantage. In order to compete with your competitors you must come up with competitive advantages that NO OTHER company possesses. Creating Competitive Advantage helps define what these competitive advantages are, and gives you insight on how to develop your own advantages that will set you apart from the rest. This small, to-the-point book definitely gave me the tools I needed to begin brainstorming on how to set my business apart from my competitors - especially those that already have established pretty dang good competitive advantages themselves.

Definitely a must read if you want that extra push to help your business grow, ESPECIALLY during these times. Why do you think a lot of small to medium size businesses have gone out of business? Well my only guess is that they didn't do a good job differentiating themselves on why you should keep coming back to them.

This is what I did before buying the book...

I called each of my offices and asked them 'What do we do better than our competitors?'. The results were quite mixed with the main thing being we take care of our customers and know them. The worst response was there are no differences. I wrote down some of my own ideas and found it difficult. We as managers get so wrapped in doing business that we loose sight of our own advantages.

I read this book from cover to cover in less than a week and was able to write down no less than 25 competive advantages! I highly recommend this book and also recommend to do with a notepad beside you as ideas will pop in your mind very unexpectedly.

Enjoy the book.

If you are as tired as I am of being bombarded with advertisements and marketing that all say the same thing, and in the process, really says nothing, then this book is a revelation. Just as bad is dealing with sales reps who all say the same thing. As a consumer (personal and business), I'm constantly looking for ways in which a product/service can be distinguished. I want to buy on value because with few exceptions, I don't trust anything or anyone who is the low cost provider.



Every company executive, marketing, and sales professional should read this book. It cuts right to the point of why so much marketing and sales doesn't work. Better yet, the book makes it clear what does work. Making the link between Competitive Advantages and marketing/sales is brilliant. We aren't trained to think of Competitive Advantages as a sales differentiator. When someone talks about competitive advantage, it is often so esoteric and at a level where it has no real applicability. Creating Competitive Advantage takes the concepts to a level that is applicable to almost every business, and easy to understand.



Probably the best review you can give any book is to track its influence. Ever since I read the book, I am beginning to notice more and more companies using Competitive Advantages in their advertising. It's refreshing, and most importantly it works. Creating Competitive Advantage provides a framework for re-thinking how companies advertise, market, and sell. I got more value out of this than all the rah rah sales drivel that seems to sell by the millions. The book is approachable, written at a level that encourages you to take action, and includes numerous useful examples. On top of that, the book doesn't assume every reader works for Fortune 100 company. Since the majority of executives and business leaders work for small to mid-size firms, this book speaks to that audience in a way most business books don't. Excellent!

Competitive Advantage - it is the stuff of every business owner's dreams. The problem is that Competitive Advantage is a moving target. Ms. Smith rightfully makes clear that there is a never ending need to evaluate and re-invent competitive advantage.

Smith's book is on point with her advice on how to put creating competitive advantage to work in your organization. At the end of each chapter is a summary of the major points and reminders of the lessons learned from the case studies.

Smith uses ample and interesting case studies to make her points. However, what would normally be a strength turns into a weakness as Smith repeatedly pounds home that these are "her clients." Unfortunately, I've seen this same problem with speakers. Often, in an attempt to build credibility, speakers will talk about "my client will . . . ," or "I have a client who . . . " or "one of my clients . . . " The difficulty is, this becomes a hard sell instead of simply building credibility. Smith's book suffers from this difficulty. What could have been an excellent work, and very timely for the present economic conditions, is diminished by what comes across as self-promotion.

One piece of advice Smith gives is "So brag a little." I'm uncomfortable with that advice. I understand that companies need to make sure the customer base knows of the advantages of dealing with them. However, especially in this market, I'm finding a real push back on a hard sell. So if you can brag a little without it being perceived as a hard sell, then perhaps that will work for you. In Smith's case, the perception of this reader is that she went much too far in "bragging a little."

Having said all that, I still recommend that you read this book and pull out the many good points Smith makes. You may have to work to get by some of the self-promotion, but there is a still enough solid advice to make Smith's book worthwhile.

All companies have a competitive advantage, few do a good job of defining their true advantages and using them to grow their businesses. This book gives you usable ways to find and take advantage of your business' true strengths.This is a must read for those who are leaders in businesses.

I just read Creating Competitive Advantage by Jaynie Smith. Wow! Powerful information! I thought that my company had clearly defined competitive advantages. The message from this well written book helping you define your competitive advantages in metrics showed me that I have to quantify and spell out truly differentiating claims over my competition. Thank you Jaynie. Buying your book was the best investment in marketing I have ever made. I can't wait to read the sequel.

If you are trying to increase your business-- do new brochures -- or get your team thinking in the same

direction --read this book-- it's a fast read -- interesting and thought provoking. Each person in your

marketing and sales department should have a copy. I have now started giving copies to customers!!

Creating Competitive Advantage Review
By Andrew S

This has to be one of the most foundational books in business ever written. This book has literally changed my life and challenged the way I think. Any one in business starting out or that is established must add this book to their library. What is so amazing about Creating Competitive Advantage is that you litterally get some new marketing idea every time you read it.

Every business book out there paints a broad brush picture of what a business owner is to do. Creating Competitive Advantage by Jaynie Smith specifically shows you how to measure that metric and utilize it to your advantage in various ways.

I recently saw her speak at an Executives Conference and so I looked at their website [...] & jayniesmith.com not only that
but i found out she has a new book comming out called Relavent Selling.

If own a business i say thumbs up buy the book and change your message and make a lot of money.
IF you are an employee buy the book and get that raise because you will be a different employee. Your boss will notice and call you into the office and say. Thanks and hand you a $$$$.$$ check before your 90 day probabtionary period.
I know because it happened to me.

Thanks Jaynie your the best!

Andrew S.

A leader of a strategic sub group of a non-profit to which I belong requested that all participants read this book. So I bought it. I am surprised how I lasted as long as I did, to page 20. The number of mistakes, imprecise definitions and simply clueless concept manipulations has been staggering from the beginning.

This reminded me my first marketing class in the business school. After listening to a student proudly spewing buzz words, a professor (now at Harvard) said, "I do believe that you are ready for job interviews. Now can you tell me in your own words what exactly have you been trying to say?" Silence followed.

Examples? I'll use just one of many in the first 20 pages. In her example of JTECH on page 10, Ms. Smith states that at HER workshop, "JTACH executives set about determining exactly what the company's strongest competitive advantage was. It's service was great, it's equipment top of the line, it's costs competitive. But that what the competition said, too. JTECH needed a simple, strong, accurate, and convincing statement to differentiate itself from its competitors.

JTECH team brainstormed at the workshop and afterward to determine and articulate JTECH's best competitive advantage - in straightforward, quantifiable terms. They kicked it around among themselves, asked their customers, and finally nailed it down:

Of the fifty largest chains who used paging,
100 percent use JTECH."

Just a few pages later (not further than 20) the author differentiates competitive advantage from a statement.

Wait a minute, you just said that "Of the fifty largest chains who used paging,
100 percent use JTECH," was an advantage (not just any, THE STRONGEST ONE!) or was it just a statement, or can a statement be a competitive advantage, or .... What exactly are you talking about, Ms. Author?

According to this example the biggest mistake that Detroit made is that it has not "nailed it crystal clear that, "100 percent of Americans buy cars from Detroit." Otherwise Toyota have had no chance. If only Detroit C-level executives attended your workshop! That by itself would be the strongest competitive advantage. Alas!

Competitive advantage is NOT something that you or your competition say or do not say. It's a value that you offer to your customers that none of your competition can match and, for which customers are willing to pay. As a result you are receiving profits above (hopefully significantly) your cost of capital on a sustainable basis.

None of the classic strategy text books on competitive advantage or economics of strategy would consider statement, "Of the fifty largest chains who used paging, 100 percent use JTECH," as a competitive advantage. None!

On page 16 the author states, " Competitive advantage goes by other names, as well: Unique selling proposition. Distinguishing features. Competitive edge. Discriminators. Differentiators."

Well, Ms. Author, you just passed a test for being ready for an entrance level marketing/strategy interview. However these are not synonyms.

The fact is that Unique selling proposition can be a competitive advantage or NOT. It can as well be a competitive disadvantage. Or neither if you wish. The decisive criteria would be does this Unique Selling Proposition produce a sustainable returns above costs of capital and above what "not-unique" selling proposition of a competitor produces.

Same goes with all other fancy-schmancy buzzwords that author used in the last example.

I would have given this book zero or negative number of stars, but that was not an option. To be constructive buy an old-good Porter's Competitive Advantage and begin to identify, develop, and preserve your competitive advantages and learn how to undermine ones of your competitors.

To all the positive reviewers I can only say, "Ignorance is a bliss." Read Porter then re-evaluate this book and be on your way to success.