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Marketing Strategy. Achieving A Competitive Advantage. Marketing Strategies must…. be geared to the needs of the consumer be geared to the strategies of the competitors reflect the business size and industry position begin with an in-depth competitor analysis . comparison of “value”
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Marketing Strategy Achieving A Competitive Advantage
Marketing Strategies must… • be geared to the needs of the consumer • be geared to the strategies of the competitors • reflect the business size and industry position • begin with an in-depth competitor analysis
comparison of “value” assessment of level of “customer satisfaction” monitoring of competitors (WHO) understanding competitor strategies/objectives identifying strength/weaknesses guess at competitive “response” to business decisions Competitor Analysis includes...
Marketing Strategy vs Industry Position • Market Leader - dominate market and set pace • Market Challengers - aggressively but strategically attack and/or follow • Market Followers - follow the lead of competitors to ensure market stability • Market-nicher - specialize in overlooked areas or ignored by competitors
Competitive Strategy and the Marketing Mix • Marketing Mix - controlled use of Price, Product, Promotion and Place to meet the needs of the target market • Remember: Price is related to the buyer’s perception of VALUE!
Market Positioning • A product’s position is the way the product is defined by the consumer on attributes important to them • your product vs the competing ones
A product’s position combines... perceptions, impressions and feelings which can be influenced by the marketing mix
Positioning Strategies • Product attributes - price, performance • Need fulfillment or benefit • Directly against competitor • Away from competitor
Three Steps In Positioning ... • Identify possible competitive advantages • select the correct one(s) • communicate and deliver
Competitive Advantage • Offering the consumer greater “Value” than the competition based on the consumer’s needs and buying criteria
Creating The Difference... • Product Differentiation can include quality, features, performance, style and design, consistency, durability, reliability, repairability
Creating the Difference.. • Service Differentiation can include speed, convenience, delivery, installation and repair, customer training and consultant/sales support
Creating The Difference... • Personnel Differentiation comes from careful selection of customer-contact people and consistent training
Creating The Difference... • Image Differentiation is a product of everything the company does from sponsoring events to logo design, colour and celebrity choice
Important to the target buyer’s perception of value/benefit Distinctive from the competition Superior customer benefit over competition Easily communicated Not easily copied Affordable to buyer Can be introduced profitably Select The Difference…
Remember:To be successful, the company must do a better job than its competitors of satisfying target consumers.