CREATING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Flashcards
It is the process of identifying competitors in your industry and researching their different marketing strategies.
competitor analysis / competitive analysis
[Enumeration] 4 information that you can attain from performing a competitive analysis.
- Your business’s strengths and weaknesses
- Market understanding
- Specific industry trends
- Required benchmarks for future growth
While identifying competitors, you may find companies that you didn’t know about or that you didn’t consider part of your competition before. Knowing who your competitors are is the first step to surpassing them.
Market understanding
Studying the competition can also help you see which way the industry as a whole is moving.
Specific industry trends
When doing a competitor analysis, you should include companies that are both larger and smaller than your own.
Required benchmarks for future growth
Two major steps in conducting competitor analysis.
- Identifying Competitors
- Assessing Competitors (Competitor Matrix)
_____________ is the backbone of a strong marketing strategy.
Competitive research
After all, if you can’t identify your competitors and their marketing tactics, you’ll struggle to differentiate yourself and your product from the crowd. Knowing who will compete with you for customers is essential to assessing your opportunities and odds for success.
Identifying Competitors
This type of competition refers to the companies or publishers who sell or market the same products as your business. Your customers will often evaluate both you and your direct competitors before making a purchase decision or converting.
Direct Competitors
Potential competitors are those that aren’t currently in the market but may enter the market in the future. These organizations may be new entrants or existing firms that identify as having a strong potential to compete with you.
Potential Competitors
It is a term that refers to the companies or publishers that don’t sell or market the same products but are in competition with your business digitally.
Indirect competition
These are like potential competitors, but they’re much more ready and likely to enter your market. This might be the larger national company that hasn’t entered your local market yet. Think of them as between potential and direct competition.
Future Competitors
___________ are those who provide an alternative to the services that
you offer that solves the same pain points.
Replacement Competitors
[Enumeration] 5 types of competitors.
- Direct competitors
- Potential competitors
- Indirect competitors
- Future competitors
- Replacement competitors
Once you have identified all your competitors, an important next step is to organize all the information you have collected. This is commonly done by creating a ___________.
competitor matrix
It can be referred to as a competitor data spreadsheet
competitor matrix
The parameters you wish to study are set as column headers with each competitor occupying one row of the spreadsheet. Traits to consider when assessing a competitor can include but are not limited to pricing shipping cost, product quality etc. It should be noted that this matrix contains mostly quantitative information, which is not enough to develop a holistic assessment towards your competitors.
Assessing Competitors (Competitor Matrix)
[Enumeration] 4 steps in assessing competitors.
- Determining Competitors’ Objectives
- Identifying Competitors’ Strategies
- Assessing Competitors’ Strengths and Weaknesses
- Estimating Competitors’ Reactions
Knowledge of a competitor’s objectives facilitates a better prediction of the competitor’s reaction to different competitive moves.
Determining Competitors’ Objectives
A _________ is a plan that outlines how a company will achieve its goals.
business strategy
A ____________ refers to
an organization’s long-term goals and how it plans to reach them. In other words, it shows
the path to achieve the defined vision.
business strategy / strategy
A ________ refers to the specific actions taken to reach
the set goals in line with the strategy.
business tactic / tactic
These are the strategic plans of an organization’s top management.
Corporate Level Strategies
They form the mission and vision statement and have a fundamental
impact on the firm’s long-term performance. They guide decisions around growth, acquisitions, diversification, and investments.
Corporate Level
These are integrated into the corporate vision, but with a focus on a specific business. At this level, the vision and objectives are turned into concrete strategies that inform how a business is going to compete in the market.
Business Level Strategies
These are designed to answer how functional departments like Marketing, HR or R&D can support the defined business and corporate strategies of an organization.
Functional Level Strategies
[Enumeration] 3 levels of business strategies.
- Corporate Level
- Business Level
- Functional Level
_________ is an important tool for assessing how well your business has performed, relative to its goals.
Strategic evaluation
It is the last step in the strategic management process and is often paired with strategy control for the continuous improvement of a business
Strategic evaluation
Strategy evaluation operates at two levels: ________ and ________.
strategic; operational
At the _________ level, the focus is given to the consistency of the strategy with the environment,
strategic
At the ___________ level, how well the organization is pursuing the strategy is assessed.
operational
Within a given industry, there are many instances where multiple companies pursue similar if not identical business strategies, this is called a _____________.
strategic group
The analysis of __________ can reveal gaps in the industry that represent untapped opportunities.
strategic groups
Identifying their advantages allows you to decide if you want to compete or concede
to their superiority in certain areas, and discovering their weaknesses can help you exploit their vulnerabilities.
Assessing Competitors’ Strengths and Weaknesses
The most used in Assessing Competitors’ Strengths and Weaknesses.
SWOT Analysis
Aside from SWOT analysis, a more specific method of identifying a business’ strengths and weaknesses would be utilizing the ___________.
5 P’s
[Enumeration] The 5 P’s of Marketing.
- Product
- Price
- Place
- Promotion
- People
The 5 P’s is also referred to as _________.
marketing mix
He popularized the idea of the marketing mix in the 1950s.
Neil Borden
This P under 5 P’s states that: Marketers need to understand the life cycle of a product, and business executives need to have a plan for dealing with products at every stage of the life cycle.
Product
This P under 5 P’s states that: Marketers must link the price to the product’s real and perceived value, while also considering supply costs, seasonal discounts, competitors’ prices, and retail markup.
Price
A __________ can draw in more customers, but it can also
give the impression that the product is less desirable than it was.
discount
This P under 5 P’s states that: It is the consideration of where the product should be available and how it will be displayed. This takes into consideration the availability of the product, whether it can only be bought in person or delivered online, as well as its presentation.
Place
This P under 5 P’s states that: Its goal is to communicate to consumers that they need this product and that it is priced appropriately.
Promotion
____________ encompasses advertising, public relations, and the overall media strategy for introducing a product.
Promotion
Information from an analysis of the competitor’s objectives, assumptions, strategy, and capabilities can be compiled into a response profile of possible moves that might be made by the competitor. This profile includes both potential offensive and defensive moves.
Estimating Competitors’ Reactions
[Enumeration] 4 factors of Customer Response Profile.
- Objectives
- Strategy
- Assumptions
- Resources and Capabilities
The benchmarks for success that a company strive to accomplish.
Competitor’s objectives
This involves any plan that aligns the company with its overall objective.
Competitor’s strategy
These come from previous findings and experiences from the market.
Competitor’s assumptions
Depending on their current level of success and financial standing. This will aid in predicting their next business venture or counterattack to a business’ provocation.
Competitor’s resources and capabilities
Information from an analysis of the competitor’s objectives, assumptions, strategy, and capabilities can be compiled into a response profile of possible moves that might be made by the competitor.
Customer response profile