Strategic positioning is about being different. It is about creating a unique and valuable position that cannot be easily duplicated by competitors. Porter defines six principles of strategic positioning.3
- Strategic positioning begins with the right goal: Superior long-term performance. Real economic value is achieved only if strategy is grounded in the idea of sustained profitability.
- A company's strategy must enable it to deliver a value proposition, or a set of benefits, that is distinctive from those offered by competitors. It's not about trying to discover the single best way to compete, or about being all things to all people. It's about delivering unique value.
- Strategy must be reflected in a distinctive value chain. A company is defined by the collection of activities, or business functions, that are performed to design, produce, market, deliver, and support its products and services. It is a system of interdependent activities, which Porter calls the value chain. People, computers, software, buildings, manufacturing facilities, and everything else that may physically define the company exist to fulfill the activities that it chooses to perform. A company must perform different activities from rivals, or perform similar activities in different ways. Competitive advantage grows out of the entire system of activities - the whole matters more than the individual parts.
Systems and Competitive Advantage Page 2 of 4