The two bookstores on Bourke Street have very different layouts, but they mostly stock similar titles. The three nearby cafes all serve eggs, porridge or toast for breakfast. Both convenience stores along the street stock the same brands of chocolate, snacks and emergency litres of milk. And the websites that promote them were each built using identical lines of code.

When most businesses with access to similar resources are creating comparable products and services where does our sustainable advantage lie? Time and again we see that tangible advantages like location, quality and price aren’t enough to keep customers engaged and loyal.

The businesses that not only survive, but thrive are the ones that do what their competitors don’t do, not what their competitors can’t do. Often this is the human work of empathising, connecting and creating intangible value that’s not always seen but it’s certainly felt.

What do you do that your competitors aren’t prepared to do?

Image by Giovani Racca.