Exam 18: Creating Competitive Advantage

An industry often contains "good" competitors and "bad" competitors. Define each term and discuss scenarios with both "good" and "bad" competitors. How might "good" competitors choose to react to "bad" competition?

Which of the following is a positive aspect of a competitor-centered company?

In conducting ________, the company first identifies the major attributes that customers value and the importance customers place on these attributes. Next, it assesses its performance against competitors on those valued attributes.

A company that is in a good position to identify new opportunities is a ________ company.

In some markets, competitors live in relative harmony.

An analysis conducted to determine what benefits target customers value and how they rate the relative value of various competitors' offers is known as ________.

Some companies successfully pursue more than one of the three value disciplines at the same time. For example, FedEx excels at operational excellence as well as customer intimacy. However, more companies focus on excelling at a single value discipline while ________ the other two.

The existence of competitors in a market may cause a decrease in total demand.

A runner-up firm that wants to hold its share in an industry without rocking the boat is a ________.

From a(n) ________ point of view, Pepsi might see its competition as Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, 7UP, and the makers of other soft drink brands. From a(n) ________ point of view, however, the customer really wants "thirst quenching."

Companies use secondary data, personal experience, and word of mouth to ________.

Greener-grass Inc. is a lawn care company providing landscaping and lawn maintenance services to customers in and around Kansas City. The marketing team at Greener-grass carefully tracks the moves of competing companies, watching for shifting strategies and new promotions. The marketing team is also in constant touch with customers, using surveys and other feedback methods to find out what kind of services customers value the most. Greener-grass is most accurately described as having a ________ orientation.

Describe a strategic group. Name a few companies that belong to the same strategic group, and discuss why they are in the same group.

A group of firms in an industry following the same or a similar strategy in a given target market is known as a strategic group.

Formulated marketing focuses on the entrepreneurial aspects of marketing.

An advantage of a competitor-centered company is that it ends up simply matching or extending industry practices rather than seeking innovative new ways to create more value for customers.

From an industry point of view, Universal Pictures film studio might see its competition as ________.

Continuous innovation is a weak response by a company trying to protect its market share.

Michael Porter suggested four basic competitive positioning strategies that companies can follow, three winning strategies and one losing one. Name and describe these four different strategies.

As small companies achieve success, they inevitably move toward more ________ marketing. They adopt more-developed marketing tools and adhere to them closely.