COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths in SWOT Analysis
• marketing mix of the company
• the USP of the company
• market share of the company?
• the management of the company?
• the industry demand - increasing or decreasing?
• the marketing effort of the company?
• brand equity of the company?
 MARKETING STRATEGY

Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis

• Is the company utilizing resources optimally?
• How are the financials of the company?
• Is the company losing out to competition?
• How is the channel strength of the company?
• How is the loyalty of stake holders including
internal and external customers?
• How is the organizational culture?
• Losing brand equity or too much competition?
 MARKETING STRATEGY

Opportunities in SWOT Analysis

• Any innovation possible?
• Left out markets and geographical territories?
• Any niche markets to be covered?
• New technology that can be applied to improve
top line or bottom line?
• Developing mutually beneficial partnerships?
• Acquiring or merging with a similar product /
company?
• Product line extensions?
 MARKETING STRATEGY

Threats in SWOT Analysis

• Increase in competition
• Changes in pricing
• Rising bottom line and dropping top line
• Credit control
• Outdated technologies
• Poor cost control
• Ineffective processes
• Political and environmental influence?
 SWOT ANALYSIS
WHAT TO LEARN ABOUT YOUR COMPETITION?
How many competitors are there in the market?
Is is irect or Indirect competition
Who are the most threatening competitors
Do they have geographic advantages? What?
How large are they?
Do they have any special fesources?
How fast they are growing?
Price, brand, recognition, distribution methods, and customer service
Customer base about competition
 DEVELOP MARKETING STRATEGY
Develop Marketing Strategy:

I. IDENTIFY THE TARGET MARKET

MARKET SEGMENTATION
Identify and profile distinct groups of buyers who
might require separate products or marketing mixes
MARKET TARGETING
select one or more market segments to enter
MARKET POSITIONING
establish and communicate the products’ key
distinctive benefits in the market

II. PLAN THE MARKETING MIX

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion
 STP?
To get a product or service to the right
person or company, a marketer would
firstly
• segment the market, then
• target a single segment or series of
segments, and finally
• position within the segment(s).
• Segmentation is essentially the
identification of subsets of buyers within a
market that share similar needs and
demonstrate similar buyer behavior
• Segmentation aims to match groups of
purchasers with the same set of needs
and buyer behavior
• Such a group is known as a 'segment'
 MARKET SEGMENTATION
e.g. an automaker may identify four broad
segments in the car market: buyers who are
primarily seeking (1) basic transportation, (2)
high performance, (3) luxury, or (4) safety.
A market could be segmented by :
– Geographic
– Demographic
– Psychographic:
– Behavioral
 Underpinning criteria that assist us
with segmentation :
• Is the segment viable? Can we make a
profit from it?
• Is the segment accessible? How easy is it
for us to get into the segment?
• Is the segment measurable? Can we
obtain realistic data to consider its
potential?
 MARKET SEGMENTATION
Geographic

• Region
• City or population

• Density
Urban, suburban, rural
• Climate
Northern, southern
 MARKET SEGMENTATION
Demographic
• Age Under and over
• Family Size 1–2, 3–4, 5
• Family life cycle Young, single; young, married, no children;
young, married, youngest child under 6; young,
married, youngest child 6 or over; older,
married, with children; older, married, no
children under 18; older, single; other
• Gender Male, female
• Income Under and over
• Occupation
• Education Grade
• Religion Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu,
• Race
• Generation
• Nationality
• Social class
 MARKET SEGMENTATION

• Psychographic values, opinions, attitudes to life

– Lifestyle
– Personality
– Behavioral
– Occasions Regular occasion, special occasion
– Benefits Quality, service, economy, speed
– User status Nonuser, ex-user, potential user, first-time user,
regular user
– Usage rate Light user, medium user, heavy user
– Loyalty status None, medium, strong, absolute
– Readiness stage Unaware, aware, informed, interested,
desirous, intending to buy
– Attitude toward product Enthusiastic, positive, indifferent,
negative, hostile
 Targeting
After the market has been separated into its
segments, the marketer will select a segment or
series of segments and 'target' it/them.
Resources and effort will be targeted at the
segment.