Exam 18: Creating Competitive Advantage

Explain the four competitive positions that are often used to describe market structures.

Niching carries no risks.

A company that focuses on customer developments in designing its marketing strategies and on delivering superior value to its target customers is a ________.

Most companies are started by individuals who live by their wits.They visualize an opportunity,construct flexible strategies on the backs of envelopes,and knock on every door to gain attention.What stage in marketing strategy are these individuals in?

________ are those runner-up firms that are working to increase its market share in an industry.

A positive aspect of a ________ is that the company develops a fighter orientation,watches for weaknesses in its own position,and searches out competitors' weaknesses.

Companies can identify their competitors from both an industry and a market point of view.

Discuss the steps in analyzing competitors.

Which of the following are fundamental questions that a marketing management team considers when assessing competitors?

Many companies,some even quite large,suffer from ________.An example could include Kodak's film business,which didn't suffer at the hands of direct competitor Fujifilm; it lost out to Sony,Canon,and other digital camera makers along with a host of digital image developers and online image sharing services.

What is the primary focus of a customer-centred company?

Companies can pursue any of the following three strategies,called value disciplines,for delivering superior customer value:

Sally has a problem.Her two marketing managers are at odds because each approaches the same problem from two radically different points of view.She knows this is normal because there will be a constant tension between the formulated side of marketing and the ________.

Sears and Holiday Inn encountered difficult times because they did not stand out as the lowest in cost,highest in perceived value,or best in serving some market segment.Both companies are ________.

Old,long-established companies can lose the marketing creativity and passion that they once had.If they want to refresh their marketing strategies and try new approaches,they should initiate ________.

________ is profitable because the needs of the target customer segment are better met than when other firms casually attempt to sell to the same segment.

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.

Just like in high school sports where players compete at the level of the competition,a firm should compete with ________ competitors in order to sharpen its abilities and make greater returns.

What is the primary focus of a competitor-centred company?

When customers are willing to pay a premium to get precisely what they want and the company can respond quickly to satisfy customer needs,the company has achieved what is called ________.