How to Discover Your Business’s Competitive Advantage.

Let’s not pretend running a business isn’t messy. It’s a constant mix of decision-making, damage control and trying to squeeze more value out of every hour, every hire and every dollar.

Amid all that noise, there’s one deceptively important question that often gets ignored — not because it’s complicated, but because it demands real honesty: What makes us… well, better?

In other words, why do people choose us over someone else? And if you can’t answer it confidently, it’s probably time to find out.

And no, “we work harder” or “we care more” or “it’s our quality” doesn’t cut it. Everyone says that. The real gold lies in discovering your actual competitive advantage — the stuff that makes customers choose you over the other lot.

So, how do you find it? Let’s skip the MBA waffle and get into the good stuff.

How to Actually Figure Out Your Business’s Competitive Advantage.

Start With the Pain (Theirs, Not Yours)

All businesses — the good ones, at least — solve a problem. But not just any problem. I’m talking about the kind that makes people audibly sigh. Think frustration. Think inefficiency. Think paper forms in 2025. Here’s how to sniff out that pain:

Actually listen to your customers (no, not just the good reviews).
Ask what they tried before. Then find out why it flopped.
Look for where people are settling. Clunky systems. Meh service. Boring options.

That gap between what they want and what they’re getting? That’s your golden opportunity. That’s where the magic lives.

Do you know Mr. Yum? No, not that neighbour you don’t know the name of. That web-based mobile menu. In 2018, Mr. Yum spotted that diners hated awkward QR codes, clunky menus, and long waits for a bill. Restaurants hated lost upsell opportunities and paper menus that went out-of-date faster than an avocado. So, they built a slick digital menu and ordering system — solving multiple pain points in one elegant go. Result? Boom in adoption, especially post-COVID, because they tackled real, nagging pain for two sides of the same coin. Late in 2023, Mr. Yum and me&u joined forces to create the global leader in hospitality guest experiences. Good enough for you?

Rethink the Experience, Not Just the Product or the Service

Here’s the thing: Innovation isn’t always inventing something shiny and new. Sometimes, it’s simply doing something old in a better suit. Want to stand out? Make the experience:

Faster (people love fast).
Easier (even better).
Friendlier (surprise them with a human touch).

If you make people feel clever, understood, or even slightly delighted, you’re ahead of 90% of your competitors. A good example of business’s competitive advantage through experience? Who Gives a Crap.

Let’s be honest, no one thought toilet paper was ripe for disruption. But Who Gives a Crap made the experience fun, purposeful and… well, actually pleasant. They delivered subscription-based loo roll with clever packaging, cheeky branding, and a strong sustainability mission. Same old product? Sort of. Entirely new experience? Absolutely.

Be Nimble, Not Just Big

Sure, scaling is sexy. But agility — that’s where the real edge is. Big companies often move like a hungover elephant. If you can zig while they’re still checking the risk register, you win. That might mean:

Using tech that doesn’t require a PhD to update.
Giving your team permission to make fast decisions.
Tracking data in real-time so you’re not reacting two months too late.

It’s not about being reckless. It’s about being ready. When the winds shift, you want to be the speedboat, not the cruise liner.

Vinomofo is likely to be one of Australia’s most prominent businesses using agility as a competitive advantage in their industry. When wine retail giants were slugging away with heavy overheads and rigid models, Vinomofo sprinted in with a lean, fast-moving online-only approach. They didn’t carry huge stock or rely on traditional retail real estate. They built tech, moved fast, tested campaigns in real time — and pivoted without layers of management dragging their heels. They outmanoeuvred the incumbents by staying light on their feet.

Data: Less Guessing, More Knowing

Flying blind in business? Expensive hobby. If you’ve got the data — and more importantly, know what to do with it — you’ve got a massive advantage. You can:

Spot problems before your customers do.
Tailor experiences like a digital tailor in Savile Row.
Automate the dull stuff so you can focus on the fun stuff.

The best businesses today aren’t just efficient — they’re predictive. Like fortune tellers with spreadsheets.

Canva, for instance, takes data as a competitive advantage to next level. They track how users interact with design tools down to the pixel. They use that insight to improve onboarding, predict which templates users will love, and personalise the experience. They don’t just collect data — they feed it into their product roadmap, support automation, and even sales. The result? A sticky, intuitive product that feels custom-built for the user — even when it isn’t. So, here, it’s not just about having data. It’s about structuring your business to gather it, interpret it, and act on it.

Culture: The Uncopyable Superpower

Now we’re getting to the juicy bit. You can clone tech. You can replicate features. But culture? That’s built, not bought. It’s how your team shows up, day in and day out. It’s how they treat customers. It’s how they handle cock-ups (because let’s face it, we all have them).

If your culture creates a consistently brilliant customer experience, that’s rocket fuel. And it’s damned hard for anyone else to nick.

Here we could mention Atlassian. Sure, they have great products. But what really sets them apart is a culture of radical transparency, autonomy, and consistent values (like “Don’t #@!% the customer”). Their internal playbooks are public. Their hiring is ruthlessly aligned with values. Competitors can copy features, but they can’t recreate a culture this strong — and that consistency bleeds into their brand, products, and customer loyalty.

Be the First (Even If It’s Scary)

Sometimes, the advantage is just being brave enough to do the thing everyone else is avoiding.

Try this: What’s the one thing your industry keeps saying “you can’t do”? Now ask: what if we did? Sure, it might flop. But if it works? You’ve just built yourself a moat while everyone else was playing safe.

Before the “Buy Now Pay Later” craze went global, Afterpay took the risk. They introduced a frictionless way for Aussies to split payments — without interest — when the banks weren’t interested. It was a bet that paid off. They went first, scaled fast, and by the time others woke up, Afterpay had a loyal user base and strong merchant partnerships. Brave, bold, and a bit bonkers at the time — but that’s what built the moat.

Keep Moving the Goalposts

Here’s the brutal truth — today’s advantage is tomorrow’s baseline. The real pros don’t just discover an edge and sit on it like a dragon with gold. They evolve, they experiment, and they question their own brilliance. Ask yourself regularly:

Are we still solving the right problem?
Are we doing it in the best way possible?
What could a new player do to unseat us?

Stay curious. Stay paranoid (in a healthy way). Stay better.

Xero is a good example of protecting their competitive advantage by constantly evolving it. They didn’t stop after building cloud accounting software that was prettier than MYOB. Xero kept layering on value — real-time bank feeds, integrations with third-party apps, AI-driven insights, and a robust advisor ecosystem. They continually iterate, anticipate what small businesses need next, and refuse to rest on their laurels. Their sustainable edge is that they keep moving the goalposts — before someone else does.

Some Final Words (for now).

Finding your business competitive advantage isn’t about loud slogans or shiny logos. It’s about knowing — really knowing — what makes you different and why that difference matters to your customers.

So go on — rummage around your own business. Poke it, prod it, talk to your customers, annoy your team with awkward questions. What you’re looking for isn’t perfection — it’s uniqueness. In a market full of noise, being different (and useful) beats being louder every time.

No business has all of the answers, all of the time. That’s when an outsider’s knowledge, experience and perspective can help. As successful business owners, our experienced consultants offer a practical approach to your biggest challenges and opportunities. If your interest in having a solid competitive advantage for your business, reach out to us.