A competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and services that justifies higher prices.
Following on from his work analyzing the competitive forces in an industry, Michael Porter suggested four "generic" business strategies that could be adopted in order to gain competitive advantage. The four strategies relate to the extent to which the scope of a businesses' activities are narrow versus broad and the extent to which a business seeks to differentiate its products.
The four strategies are summarized in the figure below:
Competitive Advantage
How do companies achieve competitive advantages and how do they operationalize these advantages in marketing?
Definition:
- An advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either through lower prices or by providing more benefits that justify higher prices
- Organizations might deliver more customer value than their competitors by:
- Offering lower prices
- Providing more benefits, justifying higher prices
- Offering specialist products and services
Competitive Advantages in Marketing:
Can exist in any or all aspects of the marketing mix
1. Product : quality, functions, design, branding
2. Pricing: levels versus the competitors; sources of cost advantages
3.Place: location, convenience, store image
4.Promotions: creativity, use of media, execution
5.People: Customer Service
6.Processes: Service Delivery Systems
Basic Competitive Strategies:
More than two decades ago, Michael Porter suggested four basic competitive positioning strategies that companies can follow—three winning strategies and one losing one.
The winning strategies are:
1- Overall cost leadership: The company works hard to achieve the lowest production and distribution costs.
2- Differentiation: The company concentrates