Competitive strategies

Market-leader strategies :
• Expanding the total market : new users, new uses, more usage… • Expanding market share : win customers, buy competitors, win loyalty… • Improving productivity : reduce costs, change in product mix, add value… • Defending its position : continuous innovation…

Market-challenger strategies :
• • Defining the strategic objective and the competitor. Choosing an attack strategy : - Frontal, flanking, - Encirclement attack - Bypass attack - Guerilla attack

Market-follower strategies :
• Cloner • Imitator • Adapter

Two main roads to Competitive Advantage
• Being competitive on the basis of price by virtue of being a low cost producer and marketer. • Being competitive on the basis of features, functions, performance, service, and support
IDC 04/94

The importance of Effective Innovation
Either way, it is effective innovation that is the key to gaining a competitive advantage, whether the innovation is : • In the product • The way it is produced • The way it is marketed or • The way it is serviced and supported Without effective innovation, vendors will not be able to survive in the marketplace.
IDC 04/94

INNOVATION is a MUST, but an INNOVATION must be MARKETED.

Which differences to promote :
• • • • • • • Important Distinctive Superior Communicable Pre-emptive Affordable Profitable

PROMOTION :
• • The process of trading in a market how to promote your product to find new prospects and draw them in. . Space advertising (magazine, internet) Direct advertising (postal, email) Telemarketing Personal sales (sales people, reps) Public relations (press releases, speeches) Media advertising (television, radio) Billboard (highway signs, hallway posters, blimps) Road Show (tradeshow, craft show) Incentives (tee-shirts, awards, vacations, contests) Discounts (sales, coupons) • understand who your prospects are and why they buy. Review their budget and risk level. Then decide on appropriate