The growth strategy—and corresponding marketing strategy—of a company has a lot to do with the nature of its industry. When a new market is developed or discovered, we say there is a blue ocean—an unmet demand in a market that isn’t served or is vastly underserved. Market share and sales can be increased by simply letting consumers know that a product or service exists and convincing them that they want the product. By contrast, in a red ocean, the market and the major players are already established, and the market is saturated. The only way to increase market share is to take market share from a competitor. That can be exceedingly difficult to do. Continue reading “What Beer Companies Can Teach Us About the Dangers of Publicly Attacking Competitors”
Category: Competition
Bye Bye Blockbuster?
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
For countless Americans, a trip to the local Blockbuster in the hopes of renting one of the copies of the latest hit movie to be released on VHS or DVD or to browse older favorites and film classics was a part of the Friday or Saturday night ritual for years.
But as technology and delivery methods evolved, Blockbuster and other video stores started to lose market share to then-mail-delivery-based Netflix as well as DVD rental kiosks before seeing further erosion from video streaming services. As Michelle Lou and Saeed Ahmed write for CNN, the iconic brick-and-mortar movie rental chain is still hanging on. But just barely. After the recent closing of a Blockbuster store in Australia, the Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon became the last one open on earth.
Tesla Charging Stations: Real-World Example of Barriers to Entry
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
Tesla, the electronic vehicle (EV) company headed by high-profile billionaire Elon Musk, is a fascinating organization in many ways. The media has recently been excited about the company’s back-to-back quarterly profits. Despite the company operating in the red for so long, observers love to root for the revolutionary company. It’s also interesting to look at Tesla from a business strategy standpoint. For example, Tesla is widely recognized for the way it generates intense customer loyalty. Continue reading “Tesla Charging Stations: Real-World Example of Barriers to Entry”
Leveraging Big Benefits From Loss Leader Pricing
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
At first glance, it might seem like a ridiculous strategy to price a product below its cost. Wouldn’t you just be losing money? While this is true, many companies do just that, and they do lose money. On that specific offering. This is part of a strategy known as loss leader pricing. As defined by Inc., “loss leader pricing is an aggressive pricing strategy in which a store sells selected goods below cost in order to attract customers who will, according to the loss leader philosophy, make up for the losses on highlighted products with additional purchases of profitable goods.”
A great example of a loss leader is razors. Continue reading “Leveraging Big Benefits From Loss Leader Pricing”
Tips and Strategies for Winning RFPs
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
One of the more tedious activities that falls under the broad umbrella of marketing is responding to requests for proposals, or RFPs. RFPs are typically issued by large organizations — like large corporations or government entities — that are looking for a vendor for a large expenditure or project. It’s basically a way of telling the public or a specific group of pre-screened vendors, “Hey, I want to buy something! Send me a pitch!” The sheer number of interested vendors they often receive responses from and the need to objectively compare them means they are also telling these vendors, “But…send me a pitch in this precise format.”
The process can be time-consuming and convoluted, but a winning bid can be extremely lucrative. Fortunately, there are some basic tips and strategies that can make the process more efficient. Continue reading “Tips and Strategies for Winning RFPs”
Iterative Innovation: Improving Upon Competitors’ Ideas to Build Value for Your Customers
When facing competitors, there’s an old saying that goes, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” In other words, if you aren’t able to overcome your rivals, you’re better off cooperating with them or joining their side in the hopes that you’ll gain some sort of advantage. In the business world, a better saying might be, “If you can’t beat ‘em, copy ‘em.” Continue reading “Iterative Innovation: Improving Upon Competitors’ Ideas to Build Value for Your Customers”
How to Respond Effectively to Negative Advertising
For many businesses, connecting with and selling to a target market can be challenging enough on its own. But, when a competitor jumps into the mix and badmouths your product, service or entire company, an entirely new front opens up. Consider a local grocer watching TV when an ad comes on from a competitor discussing how the local grocer’s produce is not as fresh as the competitor’s and that its product selection is less expansive. Many marketers and business owners struggle with how to respond. Do you ignore the attack? Do you hit back? Continue reading “How to Respond Effectively to Negative Advertising”
Competing with the Big Guys: Leveraging a Narrow Niche, the Personal Touch and Agility
Whether you’re a startup looking to break into an existing market, or an existing business looking to branch into a new product or service line, it can be intimidating to survey the competitive environment and find yourself potentially face-to-face with behemoth multinational corporations and Fortune 500 companies. While a mega-competitor could, theoretically, direct its massive resources into forcing out an upstart competitor, there are some ways to compete by exploiting the advantages small can have over large. Continue reading “Competing with the Big Guys: Leveraging a Narrow Niche, the Personal Touch and Agility”
The Power of Suppliers: Are You At Risk?
Michael Porter’s Five Forces framework uses industrial organization economics to evaluate the attractiveness of an industry based on the overall level of competition within that industry. The more competitive an industry, the lower profits will be. Conversely, an industry with little competition is likely to be more profitable and, therefore, more attractive. We’ve already written on the Porter’s Five Forces generally. Now we’re looking at each of the forces individually and in greater detail. Today we’re taking a closer look at the supplier power. Continue reading “The Power of Suppliers: Are You At Risk?”
Marketing Planning: An Ongoing Process
In an industry like marketing that’s driven by having its finger on the pulse of cultural trends and attitudes, a major fear is becoming stale, outdated or thought of as “yesterday’s news.” At the same time, there’s a very real danger in being too quick to move away from the tried and true, especially in established businesses and industries. So, with the obvious need to strike some sort of balance, the clear question becomes, “How often should I update my marketing plan?” Continue reading “Marketing Planning: An Ongoing Process”