Building Strategic Competitive Advantage in a competitive and commoditizing market space.

Below is a message I sent to my sales team (edited for sensitive content). You will have to draw some parallels to your own business as the ideas presented are company and industry specific.

Spending last week at Surfaces (main trade show for the Flooring Industry) in Vegas was really eye opening to how much our industry is changing.  The sheer number of new competitors is staggering and many (if not all of them) have very sound business models. As barriers to entry continue to fall, competition will only increase. So, with less differentiation in product, how do we continue to grow and do so profitably?

Well, let's think about our Strategic Competitive advantage(s).

1.) RESIDENTIAL CARPET!! There is so much focus on Hard Surface (HS), I think that we often overlook that we are arguably the best at making carpet (there simply isn't that many competitors compared to HS) and although the percentage of floor space in a dwelling is predominantly HS, I am willing to bet that it probably won't shrink too much more. We have never been in a better position to increase our share of that remaining percentage of floor space!

Blue Ocean Strategy Synopsis (A pretty good read if you are interested).

2.) COMMERCIAL CARPET!! Like residential, we are sharing the pool with way fewer competitors and it is a "high growth" category! Specified Tenant Improvement and Government work tend to be less price sensitive which makes it very profitable.

3.) RISK. Shaw Industries (backed by Berkshire Hathaway) is a very low risk supplier to deal with. This is why the whole Insurance Industry exists!! There is always a cost associated with reducing risk. I believe that if we incorporate this into the conversations with our customers, it could make the difference in securing a slightly higher price in an increasingly commoditized world of products (eg Vinyl Plank). Ultimately, we always do "The Right Thing". We have replaced entire condo buildings at our cost (fortunately not often as we do our best to only sell quality, reliable products)!

4.) Social & Environmental Responsibility. These days most companies (at least the ones we want to deal with) are good corporate citizens and in a world of social media, bad press can travel fast and furious. Whether it is United Way, St Jude Children's Hospital, Evergreen Nylon Recycling Facility, Ethical Sourcing, Incentives for local volunteering or the myriad of other initiatives at Shaw, our customers can feel very comfortable that they will never be subject to any kind of "bad press" as a result of a partnership with us!

5.) Trustworthiness/Reliability. We don't have to be the fastest or even the smartest. However, we do have to be the most trusted and reliable in the field. One word: Integrity.

Happy Selling!!