Sfeguarding Competitive Performance

Introduction

Safeguarding competitive performance is a key element of marketing in any business or companydefined as the things one can do or otherwise the strategies that one can put in place to protect his profits and increase one’s margins as well as create value for one’s company.The best way to safeguard competitive performance is by creating a sustainable competitive advantage.

A business analogy was once quoted by a prominent businessman Richard Buffet saying that, “no matter the size of the business, one should operate the business like it is a family business–one that you are going to hold onto for over a hundred years, and that the first thing one should think about is how to build and safeguard a competitive performance.Buffet compares the process of building and safeguarding competitive performance to a moat around a castle. This is a great analogy. Looking back to the ancient times, moats were excavated around castles as part of the defensive system–an obstacle immediately outside the walls–and usually they were filled with water. A good moat made it difficult for an enemy to access ones walls with siege weapons and for sure, “the wider your moat, the longer you can protect your profits and the deeper your moat, the more profitable you are”(David ,2000).

It is therefore important for any businessman to lay down strategies and methods effective enough to protect his business from being preyed by his competitors.This is not an easy task since it requires both skill, knowledge and understanding of the general business environment.One has to fully understand the business environment including the customers’ needs, competitors and even the population structure of the business environment.

Building and safeguarding competitive performance is a long life process that is always dynamic because of the constantly changing demands of customers as well as the constantly changing business ideas.

Having a good understanding of ones’ customers apart...