Karen, Strategy Specialist at GBC, 2 min read, 7 min video
“There are several basic approaches to competing successfully and gaining competitive advantage over rivals, but they all involve delivering value more efficiently than rivals”
Your company’s game plan entails competing successfully with specific efforts to please customers, defend against rival moves, adjust to changing market conditions and strengthen its position in pursuit of competitive advantage.  If you’re concerned that rivals would have exactly the same strategic moves as you do, I can assure you that that is highly unlikely. Even company’s in the exact same industry as you will unlikely employ strategies with the same level of detail. It is the details behind every strategy that distinguishes one company’s strategy from the next. It is only when you strip away the details, generally the analysis and actions, to get to the real substance, you find the two biggest factors that distinguish that one competitive strategy from another really comes down to:
- whether your target-market is broad or narrow, and
- whether your company is pursuing low cost competitive advantage or differentiation.
These two factors then gives rise to four competitive strategies:
- Low cost provider strategy – With this strategy you are aiming to achieve the lowest overall cost than your competitors on products that are comparable that also attract a broad spectrum of buyers.
- Broad differentiation strategy – With this strategy you are aiming to differentiate your product offerings from competitors with better or superior attributes that would appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers.
- Focused low cost provider strategy – With this strategy you are aiming to outcompete rivals on cost and concentrate on a narrow buyer segment serving buyers at a low price.
- Focused differentiation strategy – With this strategy you are aiming to outcompete rivals by offering superior attributes on your product that meets the specific needs of niche members better than the product offerings of your rivals.
Understandably that when crafting your company strategy, selecting appropriate strategies can be difficult and time consuming. However it is important…When we built StratPlan, we built it with simplicity in mind. We ensured that users, regardless of prior strategic planning knowledge, could easily determine the main strategy factors and select the best strategies that will deliver the best competitive advantage.
Why not download our eBook today and start your journey to success. An essential guide to strategic planning.
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