Distinctive competencies differentiate a company from it from its competitors. It basically includes a list of valuable practices and technical skills that make your organization better than others.
Companies work hard to build their skills and provide their customers with a unique value proposition. This includes a set of benefits that customers would not be able to receive anywhere else besides your organization.
These distinct abilities further contribute to your company’s reputation, increasing brand awareness in your target market.
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What is distinctive competency?
Distinctive competence is a list of characteristics that sets a business apart from others. It may include a number of areas including marketing, technology, manufacturing and so on. Distinctive competencies give your organization an edge over others so it’s worth developing certain characteristics that competitors will find difficult to implement.
To develop a particular distinctive competence, companies must conduct a thorough external and internal review of their corporate environment.
Distinctive Competence Examples
To help you get a better idea, let’s have a look at the distinct competencies of some popular brands:
Now, you’ve probably heard tons about this search engine giant. Here are some distinct competencies that set Google apart from its competitors:
- Name recognition: Above all, Google has established its spot as the most notable search engine. Because this competency is so difficult for other search engines to duplicate, Google has projected itself apart from its competitors.
- High-end products: Google offers a wide variety of high-end products and features that customers would not be able to find elsewhere. Its advanced software infrastructure has easily allowed Google to excel its competitors in almost every way possible.
- Marketing: Google has access to a multitude of resources that provides the brand the exposure it needs to garner attention. With an incredibly capable marketing team onboard, the company is able to reach out to more people than any other organization of its kind.
Amazon
Here’s what sets Amazon apart from its competitors:
- Technology: Amazon has scorched the city for the latest technological developments. Being ahead in terms of ideas and innovation allows Amazon to improve its products and services.
- Economies of scale: To generate more revenue, Amazon offers a variety of products, providing its customers with a plethora of options to choose from.
- Marketing: Amazon is well known around the globe because of its amazing marketing strategies. It has created a recognizable brand name for itself, putting it ahead of its competitors.
- Talented workforce: With the talented and competent employees onboard, Amazon has been able to significantly improve its production.
Advantages of Distinctive Competence
Developing effective distinctive competencies is crucial for the survival of any organization. It’s worth noting that these capabilities might change as the market welcomes new trends. Because of this, companies must conduct a thorough analysis to ensure its distinctive competencies meet the new market requirements.
Some advantages of distinctive competence include:
Increased competitive advantage
Developing the most effective distinctive competencies often leads to efficient business strategies that would benefit the company as a whole. This also contributes to increased competitive advantage.
Beneficial for long-term goals
Distinctive competencies offer a sustainable advantage that is beneficial for the company in the long run. It allows the company to divert its attention into solving new problems as they come instead on resolving the same ones over and over again.
Better learning opportunities
One of the key advantages of distinctive competencies is that promotes new learning opportunities. This enables companies to devise new strategies and develop new ideas to get ahead of competitors.
Distinctive Vs Core Competencies
Core competencies comprise of anything a business does exceptionally well and must be central to the company’s overall success and performance.
While a company may have a number of competencies depending on the products and services it has to offer, core competencies earn a special spot on the list. For instance, a PR consultancy might do a brilliant job at leveraging internal talent and electing leaders from within but that wouldn’t be its core competency. On the other hand, the company’s ability to devise successful PR strategies and generate creative ideas could be considered as a core competency.
A distinctive competency is a form of core competency that’s unique and provides a competitive advantage. Its distinguishing characteristic is what sets it apart from other types of competencies.
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