Gain Differential Advantage Over Your Competitors: Core Competencies

A central goal of marketing strategy is gaining an advantage over the competition. To do this, companies can use trademarks and patents, economies of scale, and customer delight. Core competencies are an important part of gaining a differential advantage over competitors. Core competencies should make a significant contribution to customer benefits and have the potential to access different markets. Finally, core competencies should not depreciate quickly and cannot be easily copied.

The seminal article on core competencies was written by C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel and focuses on customer benefits. An example of companies using core competencies for a differential advantage is Arm & Hammer and Dupont, who focus on customer benefits to enter different markets. To gain a differential advantage, companies should identify customer benefits and find core competencies that match them.

Having core competencies is an important part of marketing strategy and can lead to a differential advantage over competitors. Companies should focus on identifying customer benefits and core competencies that match those benefits to gain an advantage. For more advice on gaining a differential advantage, contact MarketingProfs.