In today’s highly competitive market there is an overabundance of companies providing consumers comparable products and services. For a company to be competitive and remain solvent within the market business owners and managers must analyze and utilize multiple strategies to maintain and increase their market share. Of the many strategies the two most commonly utilized are the low-cost and best-cost providers. To understand these two commonly utilized strategies one must review the companies that have successfully implemented them.
The strategy of a low-cost provider is to pass along negotiated price advantages to the consumer. This practice encourages the continued patronage of existing consumers while attracting consumers who are looking for ways to improve their shrinking budgets. Although the profit margins are reduced for these types of transactions, a company can make up the difference by increasing the quantity sold. Successful companies that have initiated this strategy include Walmart, Spirit Airlines and Taco Bell. While these companies are not in competing markets, they have shown that the low-cost provider strategy can be successfully applied to various consumer venues.
Out of all of the low-cost providers Walmart has
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Consumers love their Honda vehicles because the vehicle has a record of consistent performance, low maintenance, and high quality. Honda utilizes the best cost provider strategy and consumers do not seem to mind paying a little more for the quality built into the product. High mileage and older Honda trucks and cars retain their value. They have a higher resale value because of the vehicle’s reliable reputation that has been proven time and again. While Hondas are not initially low cost vehicles and are not considered a ‘higher end’ vehicle, they are considered to be a reasonably priced reliable and retainable consumer
A couple of Squares has a limited capacity for which to produce their products and smaller companies tend to have larger fixed costs than bigger companies. Therefore, A Couple of Squares must maximize profits in order to ensure that they will stay in business. A profit-oriented pricing objective is also useful because of A Couple of Squares’ increased sales goals. A Couple of Squares increased their sales goals due to recent financial troubles. Maximizing profits is the easiest way to meet these sales goals due to the fact that A Couple of Squares has limited production capacity. The last key consideration favors a profit-oriented pricing objective because A Couple of Squares offers a specialty product. A specialty product often has limited competition, therefore can be priced on customer value. Pricing at customer value will maximize profits as well as customer satisfaction. A Couple of Squares’ lack of production capacity, increased sales goals, and specialty product favor a profit-oriented pricing
Historically, Dollar General operated in a highly price sensitive market segment, with 55% of its consumer base earning an average annual gross income of less than $40,000.[2] To attract these customers, Dollar General employed an Everyday Low Price strategy similar to Wal-Mart’s. Thus, keeping costs low and driving high traffic volumes were critical to the company’s financial success. Dollar General achieved this strategy in several ways, including keeping rents and labor costs low, locating in low-income, high traffic areas that offered consumers few substitutes, and offering a wide variety of popular CPG and white label goods.
Spirit Airlines has long been considered an unorthodox airline. They, of course, address all four P’s in their marketing strategy; however, they focus a large amount of their effort on price and promotion. They focus on cutting price through “unbundling”. They focus on promotion through taking advantage of social issues and breaking news. Many advertisements and deals promoted by Spirit have given the public a definite shock-factor. Spirit has made two objectives very clear: they are furious at getting the customer the lowest fare possible by any means necessary, and they will similarly use any means necessary to get those potential customers to notice those fares. Such a blatant marketing strategy works. Even going up against some big competition, Spirit finds ways to be competitive and successful in flagrant fashion.
Their ability to distribute the cut rate from their operating proficiencies in supply chain management and cash flow, permits them to offers items at discounted rate and a lower price than their competitors. For Costco the meaning of being the low-cost provider while also differentiating from the competitors is ambiguous at best. Costco’s CEO, Jim Sinegal, is certain that low priced, and the high value merchandises are exactly what is needed maintain and achieve a staying power in the industry. Costco also entices their customers with low prices on designated set apart products available only at their stores. Within these designated products, Costco provides a limited selection of nationwide brand-named merchandises in some wide categories. Their approach comprises of selling a limited number of items, keep their costs down, maintain a high volume, compensate employees well, ensure that customers buy their memberships, and target upscale small-business owners through their business only
In light of an evolving market, faced with new competitors, and after a careful analysis of their current customers, the Vanguard Group (hereinafter referred to as “Vanguard”) realizes it must rethink its entire marketing strategy. However, in order to protect and leverage their competitive advantage, which is their low management fees, and to optimize the loyalty that their customers continuously demonstrate toward their organization, they must now target the most profitable segment for them, and develop the best way to serve and delight these customers.
The seventh largest major domestic airline in the United States (US), Southwest Airlines, is commonly known or referred to as a low-cost carrier. Southwest Airlines is the only major airline that provides short-haul, point-to-point service in the United States. In fact it was the first airline of its type ever started; it has become the archetypical low-cost airline. The idea has proven itself so well, that other start-up airlines have based their company strategies upon the basics of Southwest. Today, there are two other low-cost air carriers (the other two airlines are considered national airlines and not major airlines) that are actively and aggressively competing with Southwest Airlines for business and profit turning. The three American low-cost air carriers are currently posting profits even in light of the US economy’s current state of affairs, with Southwest Airlines first, JetBlue second, and Air Tran third, in profits. How is this possible when the major six airlines are reporting losses of millions and millions of dollars each quarter? The answer to this question begins about 30 years ago.
Moreover, Ansoff suggested some main direction that companies should follow to develop market and product conditions. The market development and differentiation strategies suggest that in order to increase sales, WRSX have to offer their services in new developing markets such as China or India. The strategy for market development gives the opportunity to expand their service in order to attract competitors' clients and to expand in unreached markets (Barry, Witcher and Chau, 2010). Potential solution could be acquisition of UK agency competitor to assist WRSX to enter new market quicker and smoother go through the barriers of entry such as government regulations and different culture.
The industry has loyal customers with broad customer base that lowers the collective bargaining power of buyers to medium. The switching cost is very low and thus the customers can turn to a service provider who provide faster and innovative service but this is overcome by customized services and integrating into their customer supply chain.
Jet Blue’s strategy to use a combination of cost leadership and differentiation strategies at the same time in an integrated way helps Jet Blue to overcome any major drawbacks and risks associated with any of the standalone individual strategies. The components and enablers for Jet Blue’s low cost strategy and differentiation strategies are complimentary to each other and they mutually reinforce Jet Blue’s overall integrated combined business level strategy. This combination of low cost and differentiation strategies enables Jet Blue to provide a high quality low cost differentiated customer service experience. This helps Jet Blue create a unique value and also provides a unique competitive advantage for Jet Blue to outperform its competition and achieve long term
There are many different automobile companies providing buyers with many styles of cars, trucks, SUVs, and motorcycles. Toronto Star January 14, 2005 present ways to approach the automotive buying process. There are many different surveys, crash reports, and rating systems comparing different companies and their vehicles. Things you should look for when reading these published articles are who conducted the study? Who paid for it? Who gains from it? Who loses? These are all things to keep eye on as some automotive companies will run their own surveys making their products seem overpowering against the competition. Some prove their products are safer then the competition where the competition has been proven time and time again to make that survey seem inaccurate.
7-Eleven has emerged as a clear market leader in terms of competition with similar convenience stores because of its highly customer focused orientation and implementation of various information systems adding to its differentiation strategy. Rivalry is further reduced because of the switching costs buyers' face with the presence of customized goods. The organization does not possess high fixed costs and this discourages competitors from manufacturing with price cuts. However, there are still a few competitor that gives an impact to the market. Such as the strong convenience store in US, Wall Mart. In Malaysia, the regular competitor is KkMart Store. In fact, nowadays there are many independent retailer who are trying to compete in the market of convenience store.
Pricing is an important aspect of every business. Chief Financial Officer’s (CFO) use pricing to create financial projections, establish a break-even point, and calculate profit and loss margins (Power Point, 2005). It is the only element in the marketing mix that produces revenue. Price is also one of the most flexible elements of the marketing mix as it can be changed very quickly. This is usually done to beat competitor prices in an attempt to fix the product’s market value position very low (Anderson & Bailey, 1998). After all, high prices make it difficult to become the market share leader. The leading US retailer, Wal-Mart, is an expert at low product pricing as evident in 2004 with $250 billion dollars in sales to their 138 million weekly shoppers. However, they are also responsible for reducing prices so low that it drives specialty stores out of business. This is the effect Wal-mart has had on many toy stores and has almost closed the doors of the famous toy store Toys “R” Us Inc.
Toyota’s uses both differentiation and low cost as generic strategies to try and gain a competitive advantage over their competitors in the automotive industry. The market scope that Toyota uses is a broad one that encompasses nearly every type of customer that is in the market to purchase an automobile. Toyota is able to target such a large market because they have something for everyone. Toyota has four wheel drive trucks and SUVs for the outdoor types or those who live in areas that face severe weather conditions, hybrid models like the Prius for the eco-friendly customers that are interested in saving the environment, along with the standard cars for general, everyday use. Additionally, Toyota provides vehicles for all price ranges.
University of Phoenix, (2007), retrieved January 19, 2007 from the University of Phoenix rEsource database MarketLine Business Information Center
Loyalty customers gain the more cost advantage and benefit, this resist competitors very hard to match. Promoted cost bind to loyal customers to sustainable growing.