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What is a Competitive Marketing Strategy?

G. Melanson
G. Melanson

Whatever product or service any business has to offer in the marketplace, chances are it's going to get competition. Rather than ignoring these competitors, the best way to mitigate competition is to take a proactive approach and develop a competitive marketing strategy. A competitive strategy is one which objectively assesses the strengths and weaknesses of a product or service and compares them to that of its direct competitors. Marketing methods for the product or service are then determined accordingly, in a way that capitalizes on one company's advantages over the competition and minimizes its weaknesses.

Sizing up the competition to determine their strengths and weaknesses is something that a company can do in-house through pre-existing staff, or can outsource to a research firm along with other components of the competitive marketing strategy. Thanks to the Internet, most competitor information can be gathered online, and a summary can then be created using data from different websites. Most websites or online research firms charge for the disclosure of certain data, such as the hard numbers behind a competitor's financials, while other information, such as proprietary trade secrets may prove impossible to collect altogether.

Research firms may charge a fee for the hard numbers behind a competitor's financials.
Research firms may charge a fee for the hard numbers behind a competitor's financials.

Once the strengths and weaknesses of the competition have been collected, they should be organized into a chart alongside the company's strengths and weaknesses for easy comparison. The columns should include factors pertinent in the marketplace, such as pricing, annual sales, customer satisfaction, and functionality. The plan of action detailed in the rest of the competitive marketing strategy should then address each of these strengths and weaknesses. For example, if a company is selling technology and has discovered in its research that the competition's technology is slower, the company will want to emphasize how fast its technology is in its advertisements and other marketing material.

Online research firms may be able to help a business create a competitive marketing strategy.
Online research firms may be able to help a business create a competitive marketing strategy.

In the event that research on the competition indicates that the company is weaker in most areas and possess no competitive edge, its competitive marketing strategy might entail teaming up with the competition. This could mean buying out the competition or vice versa, or it could also mean turning the competition into a client. For example, if a product is hand-made greeting cards and its biggest competition is an established, manufactured card company, one company could offer to become the other company's "custom" arm, which fills its orders for customized cards.

Discussion Comments

cupcake15

Moldova- Direct marketing strategy through the use of catalogs and television infomercials can also help promote your products.

A successful company that used this business marketing strategy well was Video Professor. They are now a well known educator of software application programs as a result of their direct order television ads.

Moldova

Comfyshoes- Marketing your business is easy once you determine the market that you intend to serve.

You can hire market research firms to conduct studies on your products or services and receive valuable feedback from the results of the study.

This is especially recommended when you are conducting a brand marketing strategy. You want to know how your product is received in the market place and differentiate it from anything else on the market.

Also, your product marketing strategy has to be succinct enough that any person exposed to your advertisement can size up what your product or service offers in 15 to 30 seconds.

If it takes an average person longer than this to explain your message than your advertising needs to be changed to something more memorable and simple.

comfyshoes

Developing a competitive marketing strategy can involve a market segmentation strategy. With a market segmentation strategy, a company will understand the common needs of their target market, how these needs are different for various segments of the target market and how will these groups responded to targeted advertising.

For example, if a company sells cookware there might be a market segment that will purchase the cookware for domestic use and daily cooking.

However, a professional chef may be targeted differently and may be exposed to the commercial grade cookware with an entirely different advertising campaign. This marketing strategy and competitive positioning allows you to market your business effectively.

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    • Research firms may charge a fee for the hard numbers behind a competitor's financials.
      By: Nataliia
      Research firms may charge a fee for the hard numbers behind a competitor's financials.
    • Online research firms may be able to help a business create a competitive marketing strategy.
      By: Rido
      Online research firms may be able to help a business create a competitive marketing strategy.