Find out who your competition is, what they have that you don’t and what you have that they don’t. The answers you get will form a major part of your competitive strategy.

Nokia relaunched its 3310 handsets in 2017, knowing fully well that it cannot compete with the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy A5, A7, or the iPhone X, it focused instead on something that it has; affordability, low specs and history.

Nokia leaned into its history to create a feeling of nostalgia for people who used earlier versions of the phone.

The 3310 Series remains one of the biggest selling mobiles of all time.

Many customer research based on competitive advantage would usually focus on:

• Pricing higher/lower
• Improving quality
• Shifting market focus
• or Increasing advertising efforts

No doubt all these are good points but their focus is on the obvious & predictable. Nokia’s relaunch of the 3310 rode on the feeling of nostalgia that it provided customers.

Over-the-surface customer research would ignore nostalgia, but as a small business owner, if you can influence customer bias by keying into something they already like, you get a fighting chance against these heavily funded corporations.

Just ask yourself: What is the one thing I do better than anyone else?

As an entrepreneur, it is important that you have something that your customers can’t get anywhere else.

• This is why Disney removed star wars and all its other franchises from Netflix.
• This is why Elon musk is so proud of his tesla batteries.

There is a unique selling point in every market no matter who your competitor is. Find yours.

As a small business owner having loyal customers ensures that the threat of competitors would be unable to shake your profits.