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Prepared by: Chona O. Bautista

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By knowing our competitors we may be able to:

PREDICT THEIR NEXT MOVES
EXPLOIT THEIR WEAKNESSES
UNDERMINE THEIR STRENGTHS
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ß Salesforce
ß Suppliers
ß Customers
ß Employees
ß Consultants
ß Investment bankers
 
     


ß Local newspapers
ß Annual reports
ß Government
ß Promotional literature
ß Consultants
ß Patent filings
ß Trade asociations
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ß Help wanted ads
ß Trade Shows
ß Plant Tours
ß Reverse Engineering
ß Test Markets
ß Hiring Key Employees
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ß Aerial reconnaisance
ß Buying/Stealing Trash
ß Bribing printers
ß Running phony want ads
ß Snooping on airplanes
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ß Marketing strategy
ß Marketing mix
ß Pricing
ß Promotion

ß Distribution

ß Product/Service capabilities
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Step 1 ± Assessing Competitors¶ Current
Objectives
ß Growth ± increasing the brand¶s units or
market share with profits condition being
secondary. For example cut in price,
increased advertising expenditures,
increased promotional activities
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ß Hold or consolidation ± brand is losing market
share
ß Harvest or milking ± profit is paramount
relative to market share. For example
increase in competitors¶ price, decrease in
marketing budget, retreat from active and
aggressive competition.
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Step 2 ± Assessing Competitors¶ Current
Strategies
ß Target market selection
ß Core strategy (Positioning)
ß Supporting Marketing Mix (Pricing,
Promotion, Distribution, Product/Service
Capabilities)
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Step 3 ± Differential Advantage Analysis
ß Ability to Conceive and Design ± new product
development efforts
ß Ability to Produce ± production
capabilities/ability to deliver service
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ß Ability to Market ± access to distribution
channels
ß Ability to Finance ± financial resources
available
ß Ability to Manage ± reputation of key
managers
 
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Step 4 ± Predicting future strategies
ß Secondary sources ± articles, internet, speeches
ß Subjective Interpretation Based on Data Collected ±
Example: When Merill Lynch spent heavily in hiring
managers with packaged goods experience to
develop its markets for its financial services, its
competitor (Dean Witter, E. F. Hutton) could forecast
that the emphasis of Merill Lynch is on market
segmentation, increased spending on marketing-
related activities such as advertising.
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ß Role Play/Simulation ± Example: Smith Kline
Beecham vs. Tagamet Zantac
Different managers play the roles of product
managers for the competitors and develop
competitor action scenarios.
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ß Product Form ± narrowest perspective;
pursues the same market segment, features
with similar values (Diet Coke vs. Diet Pepsi)
ß Product Category ± based on products or
services with similar features (Colas vs. other
colas ± diet, regular, fruit-flavored, etc)
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ß Generic ± market is defined as consisting of
those products and services fulfilling the
same needs (Soft drinks vs. Juices vs.
Bottled water, etc.)
ß Budget ± broadest view of competition,
considers all products and services
competing for the same budget ($500 budget
can be spent on vacation, ring, money
market, etc.)
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