How Do You Stand Out in a Crowd?
Nonprofit organizations like for-profits are everywhere offering similar services and products. What separates them from each other? Is one more worthy of someone’s time, talent, and treasure? Nonprofits do some amazing work and yet—they often compete for the same resources and market share. Whether its market share, philanthropic funding, or even policy and program volunteers—nonprofits are standing in a sea of other nonprofits of other like providers or competitors. How does your nonprofit organization or business stand out in a crowd the provides similar programs or services?
I often use a short story during a strategic planning session on how a donut company built an empire that separated themselves from the many donut options on the supermarket shelf. You guessed it. Krispy Kreme. From what I read about Krispy Kreme, its founder, Vernon Rudolf, I imagine him putting pen to paper and writing down what would make his donut better than any other donut. Vernon had a vision. It was about how a Krispy Kreme donut could bring joy to people. Their mission “is to touch and enhance lives through the joy of Krispy Kreme.”
Before launching Krispy Kreme, Vernon and his partners knew they had to be different from other donut makers. What they landed on, we call strategic advantages. What can Krispy Kreme do that stands out, whether it’s an asset, an execution, or both. What truly differentiates a Krispy Kreme donut from the others on the market. A few years ago, I was on a plane reading an article about Krispy Kreme and as I read, I said, these are Krispy Kreme’s strategic advantages:
Make bringing donuts home or to the office an “event” that brings joy and smiles to everyone
Fresh, hot out of the oven
High quality
Friendly staff
One original glazed doughnut
This Krispy Kreme story illustrates the importance of strategic advantages. In a competitive market, it is not enough to be good. You need to be better than your competitors in some way. The startup in this story was able to gain a strategic advantage by focusing on customer service. This gave them a unique selling proposition that their competitors could not match.
Here are some other examples of strategic advantages:
A unique product or service
A strong brand reputation
A loyal customer or client base
A strategic location
Access to key resources
A skilled and experienced workforce
A strong financial position
These are just a few examples of the many ways that a nonprofit or company can gain a strategic advantage. By identifying and leveraging their strategic advantages, nonprofits, and organizations can position themselves for success in the marketplace.
However, nonprofits, like for-profits can easily lose their strategic advantage by shifting programs or services, struggling with quality, poor service. Has Krispy Crème lost their original strategic advantage?
You decide!