Customer service to achieve competitive advantage

Businesses operate in a competitive environment and face stiff completion from its rivals. A firm gains competitive advantage by offering quality products at low costs or valued products at higher prices which justifies the cost.

The common ways to achieve competitive advantage are through technological innovations and focussing on service as a tool. There are three generic strategies Cost Leadership(no frills)” Differentiation ( designing unique products and services) Focus(specialised service in a competitive market). A competitive advantage can make or break a firm so the firm needs to take proper precautions. Crosby said that the “cost of quality” equals the “cost of conformance” minus the “cost of non-conformance” to customer requirement. The strongest competitive advantage is a system which cannot be initiated by others at any point.

There is no magic formula that guarantees instant competitive advantage, the edge is to build it by incremental steps methodically build over time. Successful business always set out to seek new advantages and build on them.

References

• Competitive Advantage: Creating and sustaining Superior Performance: Michael Porter(1985)
• Philip Crosby: Quality is Free
• Lloyds TSB bank and Lloyds TSB Scotland under numbers 119278 and 191240 regulated by Financial services Authority