Competitive advantages of goods. Competitive advantages of the company: how to form and develop All the advantages of your products or

Today, many experienced marketing practitioners, but little knowledge of the theory, claim that USP does not exist. Moreover, their practice is quite different and refutes the theories, so much so that they are ready to put a “fat end” on the theories.

I am ready to agree that the USP of a product is long, costly, ineffective and unnecessary! The only thing is that the most authoritative advertiser R. Reeves introduced the concept, speaking about uniqueness in advertising, not about uniqueness goods (product).

What is the difference: a unique product and a unique offer? What is a product? What is the product? And how is it different from a proposal? How to make a unique, differentiated market offer? I'll talk about this below.

What is “uniqueness”?

Before we start talking about the uniqueness of the offer and product, let's define the concept of “uniqueness”.

Uniqueness is a state in which the thing being studied is unlike anything else in a comparative analysis.

The Latin unicum means only something that is an exception, an exception from the general rules and norms.

Thus, uniqueness is not something extraordinary, delightfully inaccessible and unattainable in this repeatable and easily copied world. This is only what the consumer is able to identify and comprehend in the observed object.

Such a different uniqueness

So, on the Internet, at lectures at the University, at MBA hearings, in conversations of marketing experts, you can hear two, slightly different interpretations of the abbreviation USP:

A unique selling proposition is, in essence, a unique product offering.
Unique selling point “Unique Selling Point” is the uniqueness of a non-unique product with an additional set of marketing advantages (in this context, the phrase “Unique Point” is translated as “unique moment” or “unique meaning.”

Those in the know immediately realized how very different these two “uniquenesses” are. In order to understand what they are talking about and what they are thinking about when pronouncing “USP”, it is worth understanding what it is: a product and a product offering.

What distinguishes a product, a product and a product offering?

This will likely be clear to most readers, but perhaps some will find it useful.

Product– this is a product in the manufacturer’s warehouse, and the ability to provide services by the manufacturer.
Product- This is what the consumer is ready to buy.
Offer- this is what accompanies the product until the moment of its purchase and exists inextricably with it.

It’s easier with an example: What could you come up with...?! Can you imagine the nut? The hexagon is so new and shiny!

Product

While the nut lies and shines in the warehouse, it is a manufactured product, valuable only to the manufacturer. Its value for the manufacturer is a synthesis of results and costs, where the first (results) are defined as abstract (!) utility, and the second (expenses) - as the unity of concrete labor, money and resources spent, say on R&D. Very young people who do not know what R&D (research and development) can easily use a dictionary to broaden their horizons.

A product in stock can be very valuable to the buyer. For example, this nut may be made of “stainless steel” (stainless steel). Such a product could have, in the eyes of the consumer, a unique advantage, but... Often, even the consumer who is interested in nuts cannot evaluate the product in the warehouse due to ignorance of its existence.

Product

To nut out product has become coveted by consumers goods, it is necessary:

make available to consumers
prepare the product for sale: pack, label, etc.
it must acquire value in his eyes.

Value for the buyer– the amount that must be paid when purchasing a product or service. In economic theory, the relationship between cost and price is the subject of supply-demand analysis for nuts. And even if the cost of the “nut” product is not high, then the price of the “nut” product can “skyrocket” if:

the manufacturer “buzzed all ears” with advertising of this product and aroused interest in it and demand for it
No one had ever seen nuts before, they all hammered them in with nails, that is, this product is a unique technical solution;
in a couple of minutes the work is completed without difficulty, and the reliability of the connection is several times higher - there is an operational advantage;
there is a unique selling advantage (more on that below);
all consumers have realized the advantage and there is a shortage of nuts;
a couple more reasons why it can “take off”.

Thus, if you deliver the product to the point of sale, perform a series of manipulations on the product (packaging, certification, labeling, advertising), explain the value of the product to the consumer, then it will become a product. If such a product is obviously different for the consumer from what he is used to and what he sees, it will be a unique product.

Even a product that is not unique can be unique! Make it: a distinctive box and label, formulate a distinctive price, make an advertisement to promote its value - you will get a distinctive (to varying degrees of uniqueness) product. The truth is that for an intelligent and knowledgeable consumer, such uniqueness is not enough to make a decision in favor of a given product.

Offer

Actually, a product lying on a retail shelf is the simplest and most primitive product offering. Everyone does it! And such a primitive proposal will be unique for some time. As soon as two poorly distinguishable products appear on a shelf next to each other, such a product offering must be unique in a way other than unique technical and consumer properties or a label.

Unique selling proposition

If everyone has nuts and they all are stainless, there is still the opportunity to make a unique nut, for example: a self-locking nut, a nut with a washer, a nut-grower (oh, don’t strain yourself, it doesn’t matter to you). The truth is that lately, even when making unique products, it is very difficult to reach the consumer with the uniqueness of the product. The era of product marketing is gone forever. It was G. Ford who could conquer the market with a unique product (one car model, painted in one color).

Now, the point is not even that it is increasingly difficult to make a unique product, and not even that it is difficult to keep it unique in any way long time. Now the consumer does not need a product, but a satisfied need, pleasure from purchase and consumption, involvement, a change in the quality of life. The unique product offering is being replaced by the unique advantage of the seller's offer.

A good seller and an attentive marketer expand the product offering, making even a unique nut more attractive in the eyes of the buyer. Well, for example, trade marketing allows you to:

sell “two nuts for the price of one”;
accept your rusty nuts in exchange for our new ones;
carry out cross-selling and add washers to the nuts;
pack nuts in packs of 100 pieces and thereby reduce the price for bulk sales;
provide nuts as a load for bolts produced by the same manufacturer;
Nuts can be painted in various RAL colors
You can make inscriptions on the nuts, which allows you to customize the offer to suit the personal needs of the consumer.
etc.

If such trade marketing tools are not used by competitors, this can rightfully be called a USP - a unique selling proposition. For example, “product + service + bonus + service”, which obviously has an advantage in the eyes of the consumer, is unique to him, to one degree or another. And this is completely different from a product that is different from competitors in technical or operational parameters. And until competitors have mastered this, the uniqueness of such an offer will definitely help you make money on nuts.

Now, perhaps, we can easily agree that:

A unique product is a product that is unlike anything else

A unique selling proposition is what the consumer needs most and what distinguishes this offer from the competitive one.

Uniqueness is just a sufficient degree of difference

R. Reeves identified as necessary the search for uniqueness in a proposal. In fact, “uniqueness” is only the degree of difference between one thing and another that is sufficient for the consumer. Uniqueness is the state in which nothing else is similar to what is being studied in a comparative context. Theodore Levitt, a professor at Harvard Business School, said:

“Differentiation is one of the most important strategic and tactical activities in which companies must continually engage.”
Levit, Theodore (1986). The Marketing Imagination (New, Expanded Edition). New York: Free Press. ISBN 0029191807

Thus, if you develop new nuts, they will, for the time being, remain unique products. Over time, their analogues will definitely appear and the time for uniqueness will come. market supply.

However, the search for absolute uniqueness of an offer often does not make sense. For market success, you only need to determine the required degree of difference between the product and the offer. This difference depends on the consumer's awareness of the extent of the differences and his awareness of the benefits of your nut offer over a competitor's similar offer. This difference will be a sufficiently unique and competitive advantage.

The USP concept formulated by R. Reeves

Once again and in contrast. Rosser Reeves spoke about advertising. R. Reeves contrasted the proposed concept of “USP” with traditional “showcase” advertising, in which, behind the abundance of beautifully formulated phrases about the product, there is absolutely no basis, nothing that could separate and elevate the advertised brand from a number of similar products with similar consumer properties.

Reeves laments that USP is widely misunderstood. He outlined three basic rules for advertising, which encapsulated his ideas about USP:

Today, understanding what the founder of correct advertising communication formulated, specialists fill each advertising message with a USP. The only question is how accurately marketers understand the need and, together with sellers, correctly formulate the benefits, as well as how well advertisers were able to convey all this to the consumer. If you fail, the result is a low-quality advertisement with an unclear USP.

On the uniqueness of the product in advertising by R. Reeves

By the way, things went downhill for Reeves towards the end of his career, by 1960. In my opinion, there were two reasons for this:

There was a lack of art in the advertising he did. He simply informed, hooking the buyer with the precision of the wording of the product offer.
He advertised the uniqueness of the product as a way to satisfy a need, but, perhaps due to the underdevelopment of the market, perhaps for personal reasons, Reeves’ advertising did not contain the uniqueness of the offer (not just the product).

There is a very good example of working out the uniqueness of a product without the uniqueness of the offer in Reeves’ advertising. Once Reeves was commissioned to advertise the drug Anacin, which was an analogue of Aspirin, so it was difficult to imagine benefits that actually did not exist. Instead of developing the concept of uniqueness of the offer, Reeves again sat on the horse of uniqueness of the product.

Reeves coped with this task brilliantly; the advertising text he wrote read: “... Contains special ingredients that quickly relieve pain, quickly lower blood pressure, and bring quick relief from depression.” Do you hear? Once again the uniqueness of the product!

This company was recognized as one of the most controversial in the Master’s career, in addition to advertising execution, also, in my opinion, due to the fact that it is difficult for advertising to package a non-unique product in a beautiful wrapper of uniqueness, if it does not also contain something from trade marketing.

What exactly? See above.

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The qualities of your product, the advantages of its design and the features of the packaging in which it will be sold. All this is of particular importance for goods intended for sale on the world market, and now on our domestic market.

In cases of identical prices for certain types of goods, advantages are given to producers whose costs for producing goods are lower than socially necessary. On the contrary, producers whose costs for producing goods are higher than those socially necessary experience losses to the point where they are forced to reduce or stop producing such goods. This shows the active influence of money, thanks to the use of which it is stimulated to reduce the costs of producing goods.

Inventory is based on a complete count of all goods. The advantage of this method is the accuracy of the results obtained, however, the information obtained through inventory is very limited for use in statistical research, since this method is most often used for audit purposes. It is also very labor-intensive and economically unprofitable, since during the inventory the enterprise being inspected has to be completely closed.

Packaging finds additional uses after the product is purchased by the consumer. It is used to store goods during use. In addition, packaging can be used as a tool for using the product, which is often a very important factor influencing the buyer when choosing a product. For example, if the package contains a liquid product, preference when purchasing may be given to the product whose packaging makes it easier and more convenient to pour out this liquid. Packages may contain handles, product release devices, and other accessories. Also, the packaging can be used additionally without connection with the product it contains. The most obvious example of this is branded packages.

It is very important to clearly describe the main qualitative characteristics of your product, the advantages of its design, and even - no matter how exotic it may sound to our business executives - the features of the packaging in which the product will be sold. All this is of great importance for a product intended for sale on the world market. But packaging will begin to play an increasingly important role in our domestic market if foreign goods begin to arrive there en masse. This section also describes the organization of service if you produce technically complex products. Having made a choice of production products and formed the main directions of the company’s activities, it is necessary to set certain goals that would reflect the level of production development to which the enterprise should strive.

In practice, you start with the Product/Benefits in the enterprise code and discuss how each team member contributes. Are the team members happy, and how satisfied are you as a leader? This, of course, is a great opportunity for both criticism and encouragement.

Does the product have advantages over competitive products?

Do competitive products have advantages over this product?

It is very important to clearly describe the main qualitative characteristics of your product, the advantages of its design and even - no matter how exotic it may sound to our business executives - the features of the packaging in which it will be sold. All this is of great importance for the successful sale of goods. In the same section you should also describe the organization of service for your product, if it is a technical product.

However, the highest level of guaranteeing product quality on the foreign market is considered to be certification by a third party, which has nothing to do with the production or marketing of this product. The advantage of independent certification is its isolation from interested parties, as well as the ability to maintain uniformity of requirements for products and the quality control system.

Address sheets usually cover the following industrial markets (manufacturers by industry, construction, retail, contractors) commercial (banks, financial companies, insurance companies, restaurants, hotels, retail, service firms) institutional (hospitals, hospitals, schools, government agencies, clubs), etc. Sometimes mass mailings are used on a geographical basis. Usually up to five mailings are made. The main content of the letter, its idea and fundamental provisions remain the same, but the design changes. Other advantages and benefits of the product certified by users (usually well-known companies or brands) are emphasized.

A combination of dark and light vertical stripes (stroke) of varying widths with numbers printed underneath them. Currently, bar coding in the retail trade of consumer and industrial products covers most of the product range in the USA, Japan and many Western European countries. Sh.-k. are also used in a number of branches of mechanical engineering (for managing assembly operations, etc.), printing, transport, etc. Various bar coding systems have been developed and used, the most widespread of which are the Universal Product Code (UTC or UPC), the European Product Code code (ETK or EAN), compatible with each other, code 2/5 with alternation, etc. International Association EAN codes currently unite more than 30 countries, including Russia. The ETK code has the following structure: the first two characters are the code of the country of origin of the product, the next five are the code of the manufacturer, the next five characters are the product code, the last character is the control digit. For the technical implementation of bar coding, the following equipment is required: a device for printing barcode markings, a barcode reader, for example, a light pen connected to a stationary cash register or portable terminal, a computer, and data transmission equipment. Application of Sh.-k. inevitably associated with the use of computers. This is due to the fact that the codes represent in machine-readable form not the information itself about the coding objects, but their symbols. This information about each coding object is contained in the computer memory, from where it is automatically retrieved in accordance with the read codes. Application of Sh.-k. provides a number of advantages, including speeding up the input of information into a computer by 4-5 times, a significant reduction in the likelihood of input errors, and ease of working with the computer, which does not require special skills. The effect of using Sh.-k. also consists in significantly reducing the cost of accounting work in the warehouse, protecting against deliberate distortions of accounting data when receiving and releasing products from the warehouse, increasing the throughput of areas for issuing and receiving products by at least 50%.

A company that has truly understood how consumers react to various product characteristics, prices, advertising arguments, etc., writes F. Kotler, will have a huge advantage over its competitors. This is why both firms and academics spend so much effort researching the relationships between marketing drivers and marketing responses.

A special section is devoted to the peculiarities of consumer behavior in relation to new products. The author introduces readers to individual differences in people's readiness to accept innovation (Kotler uses the word perception in this situation, interpreting it as an individual's decision to become a regular user of a product), dividing all consumers into innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. In addition, the success of a new product largely depends on such characteristics of the product itself as comparative advantage, compatibility, complexity, divisibility of the acquaintance process and communicative visibility. It seems that such an assessment of a new product can clarify a lot in the behavior of potential buyers.

The problem, which is the core of marketing activities, the solution of which ultimately determines the success or failure of a company in the market, forms the content of the chapter Market segmentation, selection of target segments and product positioning. Figuratively speaking, these are the three pillars on which marketing strategy and tactics rest. F. Kotler considers the principles of segmentation separately for two types of markets - the consumer market and the enterprise market. Noting the trend of recent years - the transition from methods of mass and product-differentiated marketing to targeted marketing, the author convincingly demonstrates the advantages of the latter, since it helps sellers to more fully identify available marketing opportunities. For each target market, he can develop a product that that market needs. To ensure effective coverage of each such market, it can vary prices, distribution channels, and advertising efforts. Instead of scattering his marketing efforts (shotgun), he can focus them on the customers most interested in purchasing the product (rifle) (p. 253).

Of these four ways of satisfying needs, exchange has the greatest benefits. With it, people do not have to infringe on the rights of others, they do not have to depend on someone else's charity. Nor do they have to produce any essential item on their own, regardless of whether they know how to do it or not. They can focus on creating things they are good at making, and then swap them out for needed items made by others. As a result, the total production of goods in society increases.

The first characteristic of a new product is comparative advantage, i.e. the degree of its apparent superiority over existing products. The higher the perceived benefits of using personal computers, say in calculating income taxes or keeping financial records, the more likely these computers will be accepted.

Specialized stores. A specialized store offers a narrow assortment of goods of significant richness. Examples of specialty retail businesses include clothing stores, sporting goods stores, furniture stores, flower shops, and book stores. Specialty stores can be further subdivided according to the narrowness of the assortment offered. A clothing store is a stand-alone full-line store, a men's clothing store is a limited-line store, and a store selling men's tailored shirts is a specialty store. According to some experts, the fastest growing number of stores in the future will be highly specialized stores that take advantage of market segmentation, selection of target segments and product specialization. There are already stores that sell only sports shoes, only clothes for tall men (mostly jeans) or only calculators.

The success of corporate chains is based on their ability to achieve price advantages over independent retailers by increasing sales volume and reducing markups. Networks ensure their profitability in several ways. First, their size allows them to purchase large quantities of goods, receiving maximum quantity discounts, while saving on transportation costs. Secondly, they are able to create effective organizational structures by hiring good managers and developing special techniques in the areas of sales forecasting, inventory management, pricing and incentives. Third, chains are able to combine the functions of wholesale and retail trade, while independent retailers must collaborate with multiple wholesalers. Fourth, chains save on sales promotion costs by purchasing advertising that is beneficial for their stores and allocating the cost of it to large quantities of goods. And fifthly, chains give their stores some freedom so that they can take into account local consumer preferences and successfully compete in local markets.

This method is believed to have a number of advantages. First, being calculated as a percentage of sales means that the amount of incentive money will likely vary depending on what the firm can afford. This satisfies financial managers who believe that costs should be closely linked to the firm's sales performance at different points in the business cycle. Secondly, this method forces management to consider the relationship between promotion costs, the selling price of the product and the amount of profit per product unit. Third, it helps maintain competitive stability to the extent that competing firms spend approximately the same percentage of their sales on promotion.

However, apart from these advantages, the percentage of sales method does little to justify its existence. It is based on the roundabout reasoning that sales are the cause of promotion, not the effect. It leads to the fact that the size of the budget is determined by available funds, and not by available capabilities. It prevents experiments with other types of incentives and offensive, aggressive spending techniques. The dependence of the incentive budget on changes in sales indicators over the years interferes with long-term planning. This method does not provide a logical basis for choosing a specific percentage, unless based on past experience or the current actions of competitors. Finally, it discourages setting incentive budgets based on what each individual product and each individual sales territory deserves. COMPETITIVE PARITY METHOD. Some firms set their incentive budgets to match their competitors' costs. An illustration of this approach is the question asked by one of the executives to a representative of an industry publication. Do you have any figures used by manufacturing companies?

Direct American investment in Western Europe and to some extent in Japan went primarily into the manufacturing industry and, in particular, into petrochemicals. Subsequently, significant funds were directed to the banking sector, insurance companies and audit firms. Without a doubt, the preference for manufacturing was due to the monopolistic position resulting from the technological superiority of American enterprises over their European competitors. The relative advantage of the manufacturing industry was due mainly to the action of factors of production, in particular the use of new technologies and production management. In the product market, the American advantage lay in product differentiation. Finally, the integration of the European durable goods market allowed American companies to extract maximum profits due to the scale of domestic production. Special circumstances have increased the investment of American capital abroad. American antitrust laws and balance of payments measures encouraged investment abroad, while developments in European foreign exchange markets made it easier to finance these investments. The overvaluation of the dollar threatened US exports and reduced the relative size of American participation in European firms. American businesses acquired a growing number of these firms or established subsidiaries in other countries. The goal of this strategy was to strengthen the US position in foreign markets63.

Knowledge in the world of distribution is power. To ensure its leadership over the distribution channel, Wal-Mart does not rely on scale alone. The company strives to have better information, supporting the functioning of its own satellite communication system, through which it collects and accumulates data on daily sales for all stores in the network. Next, the information is converted into requests for the purchase of goods, which are transmitted every day with lightning speed via an electronic network to 4 thousand suppliers of goods. The advantages of Wal-Mart's information system allow it to update inventory on average twice a week, compared to once every two weeks for a typical general merchandise store. And such an information system

What are the advantages of assigning individual brand names to products? The main advantage is that the company does not associate its reputation with the fact that the market perceives or does not perceive a particular product. If the product fails, it will not cause any damage to the company's name.

There are certain advantages to the strategy of assigning a single brand name to all products. The costs of introducing a product to the market are reduced, since there is no need for large expenditures on advertising, which will ensure recognition of the brand name and create preference for it. Moreover, sales will be successful if the manufacturer’s name is already well perceived by the market. Thus, the Campbell company introduces new soups to the market under its single brand name without any difficulty and with instant brand recognition. As can be seen from Box 17, General Foods also uses the same brand name Jello for the new products offered to the market.

SETTING ZONAL PRICES. The zonal pricing method is a cross between the FOB origination pricing method and the single price method with shipping costs included. The company identifies two or more zones. All customers located within the boundaries of a particular zone pay the same total price, which becomes higher as the zone moves away. Peerless can set up an eastern zone and charge all its customers a $10 freight charge, a midwestern zone with a $15 freight rate, and a western zone with a $25 freight rate. This ensures that customers within each individual price zone receive no price advantages over each other. Clients in Atlanta and Boston will pay Peerless the same total price. However, claims cannot be ruled out that in this case the customer from Atlanta assumes part of the transportation costs Marketing Management (2001) -- [

Today it is no longer enough to create a brand, a strategy for its promotion and development, and work on positioning, hoping for customer loyalty and love for the company. A discerning buyer wants to trust the company. Know that he can give his money and get what he expects without risks. Therefore, it is important for any company to present its competitive advantages to its potential client, showing that it can satisfy his needs. In this article we will talk about what is competitive advantage, why they are needed, what they are and how to find, highlight and group them.

Competitive advantages and benefits: what are they and what are their differences?

The concept of competitive advantage carries the superiority of a company, product, service or brand over other existing market participants - competing companies working with you in the same niche. For a business, competitive advantage helps solve a number of important problems:

Strengthens the company's position in the market;
Creates the prospect of stable growth and uninterrupted operations;
Creates difficulties for competitors entering the market.

But the most important value of competitive advantages is their ability to generate profit for the company. Any company works for profit, for its development and expansion of its customer base. And competitive advantages, like nothing else, help her in this. They become the main motivator for the consumer, pushing him to take the actions that we need.

Advantages and benefits. Same?

Both in marketing and in Internet marketing, you have probably repeatedly encountered the concept of advantages and benefits. When developing a high-quality Landing page, a block with a list of advantages and/or benefits is an obligatory part of the selling strategy and structure. But many business owners perceive the two concepts as equivalent, which is a big mistake.

In terms of their value and impact on the client, the advantages and benefits are identical. They bring the same result. But they differ in meaning, so it is important to understand what, and also know how and when to use them.

Advantages are formed based on the characteristics of a product, service or company as a whole. With their help, the client understands why and how is your company better? and why it's better for him.

Benefits are a derivative of the advantage provided by the characteristic. They help the client solve their problem, make life easier, save time, money, or whatever is relevant to the buyer at the moment.

Despite the fact that the organization's competitive advantages and benefits are different in their specificity, they are united by common requirements. They have to:

Stand out from competitors;
Satisfy customer needs;
To be stable and unchanged in a changing market;
Be unique and make it clear that no other company will provide such advantages and benefits;
Work for the profit of the enterprise.

Competitive advantages must be based on the desires of the target buyer, which must be studied. Once the benefits are generated, you can highlight the benefits based on them and demonstrate them to your customer. Let's give an example based on a laptop repair service.

Client's wishes (I WANT):

I want my laptop to work without crashes and glitches;
I want my laptop to not slow down or get hot;
I want to be comfortable working on my laptop.

Client criteria (AS I WANT):

I want it not to be more expensive than the amount I expect;
I want my laptop to be repaired in 1-2 days;
I want original spare parts installed;
I want to be given a guarantee for repairs of at least 6 months;
I don't want to go to the service center myself.

Based on the analysis of the criteria set by the potential client , we create advantages:

Laptop repair from 100 UAH;
Repair time - 1-2 days;
Installation of original spare parts for Asus, Acer, Samsung. We do not use Chinese analogues or fakes;
Repair warranty - 12 months;
Courier delivery of the laptop to the service center and to your hands after its repair.

The benefits have been identified. Let's move on to the benefits:

Time saving - repairs take only 2 days;
Saving money - laptop repair will cost 20% less than in other service centers;
Save effort - the courier will leave the laptop there and back.

Ideally, both advantages and benefits should be stated. Any information affects the conversion of the site, so be sure to work through it and demonstrate it to your buyer.

If you are planning to open a company selling consumer goods that are sold by fifty other companies in your city, and it seems to you that it is impossible to highlight competitive advantages, then you are deeply mistaken. Any company can develop strong benefits that will set it apart from the rest. The main thing is to know how to do it. And we will be happy to tell you this further.

What are the types of competitive advantages?

Competitive advantages can be natural or artificial. Natural benefits state a fact and convey truthful information. Artificial ones belong to the category of manipulation, but can be of great benefit if presented correctly.

What are the natural benefits?

Very often, companies do not demonstrate natural advantages, thinking that they are obvious. And this is a big mistake, since even the most common values among competitors can be presented very powerfully. Below we list what is included in this group.

1. Price/income

Perhaps the most powerful advantage. Especially if competitors don’t have it. But here it is important to format the information correctly. Do not write template phrases: “Low price”, “Discounts for regular customers”, “Wholesale prices”, “Prices from the manufacturer”, etc. Write specifics: “25% discount on refrigerators,” “prices are 30% lower than market prices.” Always speak in numbers. This is very important, especially for B2B companies. Information about earnings also grabs a potential buyer’s attention very well. This is very often used by information businessmen, presenting as an advantage of the service the opportunity for the user to earn money.

2. Timing/energy savings

Your client always wants to save his time. Give him this opportunity by specifying specific deadlines. If your logistics department is well developed and you guarantee fast delivery, write down how many days it will take to deliver the goods from one point to another. Here it is also important to exclude bureaucracy and cliched phrases, such as “Fast delivery.” Write “Delivery in 1 day from Kyiv to Dnepr” or “Delivery in 1 hour to anywhere in the city.” A valuable advantage can be information about benefits that will help the consumer save their effort, energy, time or increase their own productivity (for example, when using the services of a cleaner, the client pays for cleaning and saves his energy by getting cleanliness in his home). Such customer care inspires trust and motivates the consumer to action.

3. Your experience

It is very important here not to cross the fine line by approaching the hackneyed phrase “We are experts in the field...”. Such expressions no longer work and are of no interest to anyone. If you decide to declare your experience, then speak in fact - what you have done in 10 years of your activity: built 150 houses, opened 15 branches throughout the country, introduced a new production line of goods, etc. Your client is looking for facts about your successes, not information about your years of work.

4. Terms of cooperation

Any specific features of cooperation can be an advantage here. Don't be afraid to reveal those that are also listed by your competitors. The fact that you accept cash and non-cash payments can significantly increase the chances of a sale by providing convenience to the buyer. Indicate all the factors of cooperation: the presence of a showroom, the possibility of producing a product model to order, the geographical location of the office near a municipal transport or metro stop. Even the possibility of self-pickup and your own warehouse or any information that gives the client the benefit of saving his time or effort, as a competitive advantage, can play into your hands by providing the buyer with maximum comfort.

5. Achievements

Diplomas, diplomas, certificates, a list of partner companies and large client companies with their logos work as social proof that instills trust in the company, which is the main goal of competitive advantages. With the help of documents that you demonstrate to your potential clients, you will emphasize your experience, status, and authority. And this is very important for buyers, as it says that you are working for the future and development, which means that your company will not close tomorrow.

6. Specialization

If your company operates in a narrow specialization, then you definitely need to tell your client about this. Imagine that you are using an Ariston brand washing machine. And one day it broke for you. Which company will you contact - one that only repairs Ariston washing machines or one that repairs washing machines of all brands? Surely, firstly, because you will subconsciously conclude that its employees are more experienced in matters of your washing machine.

7. Business Features

Any fact specific to your business can become a competitive advantage. Using a certain technology or equipment, an assortment of products that exceeds competitors, purchasing raw materials in Europe - all this will help you become the king. Don't miss this information when creating your benefits.

What advantages can be called artificial?

Such advantages can help out a company that operates in a very popular niche. It is usually very difficult for such firms to find competitive differences, since all organizations most often work according to the same principle. Or the formation of artificial advantages will help a young company that has just entered the market and cannot “compete” with established participants to stand out. Let's list what can serve as such advantages:

1. Added value

Let's say you're selling women's dresses. In this niche, it is very difficult to compete with similar companies that may even purchase goods from the same supplier as you. There is a way out - to create added value: to offer your client something that competitors do not offer. For example, when purchasing a dress, an accessory is given as a gift. In other words, even the most ordinary promotion will help you create an advantage over your competitors and attract the attention of buyers.

2. Responsibility for the product/service

It works very well, provided that you are willing to be truly responsible for what you are selling. For example, you claim that the doors you are selling will last 30 years, because you know that they are made of oak without the use of cheap substitutes. Clients will be drawn to you if your statements are compelling.

3. Warranty

Any guarantee will become a competitive advantage if its conditions are met. A guarantee can be given for both the service and the product. For example, you can guarantee the possibility of returning and exchanging goods within 30 days, despite the fact that by law this can only be done within 14 days. Or guarantee a refund if the service does not bring results. Don't worry about customers returning items or asking for refunds frequently. Generally, if the user is not satisfied with the purchase, he forgets about guarantees. But this is not a reason to offer low-quality goods/services in the hope that compensation for them will not be required.

4. Showcasing your offer

If your product or service has no obvious benefits (which is quite common), then you can simply show your potential client what is offered to them in the form of a demo. If this is a product, then you can make a video about its appearance to show the person what it really looks like. If a service is the process of its implementation. Remember, a person perceives 85% of information visually. Therefore, demonstrating your offer will be a significant advantage for your company.

5. Feedback from your clients

It is important that the reviews are real. In this case, they will become social proof, a reason for trust in your company and its activities. They will also create a competitive advantage over other companies. Video reviews where real customers express their opinions about a company, product or service work better. But if this option is difficult to implement, you can use a text review by inserting a phone number, a link to a social network or the client’s email address with prior agreement on the publication of his personal data.

6. USP

We won't go into detailed description unique selling proposition and its value, since they have already done it. Let’s just say that with the correct analysis of the business and target audience, as well as the competent construction of the USP, it can become the most powerful advantage of your organization and increase its sales.

Creating competitive advantages: how to turn something “simple” into something “golden”

Before you begin developing a competitive advantage, you need to conduct two critical analyzes - the target audience and competitors.

Target audience analysis

You need to understand who your client is, how old he is, what social status. And, most importantly, what problems he wants to solve with the help of your product, service or company as a whole. Problems can be completely different: from the urgent need to buy a product here and now due to lack of time to meeting the requirements for its safety. For example, a person wants to make sure that all tools in your beauty salon are disinfected.

If your target audience consists of several different groups, you need to select one that your website and benefits development will be focused on. Ideally, the developed competitive advantages should satisfy the needs, overcome fears and solve problems of the entire target audience, even if it consists of several groups. But sometimes this is impossible to do, so it is advisable to work out competitive advantages for the most important and promising group.

Competitor analysis

Benefits wouldn't be called competitive if they weren't superior to your competitors. When analyzing market participants in your niche, it is important to highlight their strengths and weaknesses. Understand their advantages - what they are better than you at. And, conversely, identify their weaknesses, which in the future you can make your superiority over them.

Stages of developing competitive advantages

Once you are already familiar with your target audience and competitors, proceed to the main thing - step by step, work on highlighting the advantages.

Stage 1. Determine all competitive advantages of the company / product / service

Highlight all the benefits that you know. This is very important in order to identify those that will become competitive in the future. If you are determining the benefits of a product or service, you can survey your customers to find out which benefits are most important to them.

Stage 2. Ranking of benefits

Once you have compiled a list of benefits, you need to sift through those that are least important to your consumer and those that are the most important. This is necessary in order to highlight the most valuable factors that will help you develop your business and be able to “overcome” your strong competitors.

Stage 3. Comparison with competing companies

The list of selected benefits must be compared with the benefits of competitors. You need to know which companies have them on the market and which ones they don’t. And also know in what ways they are better and worse.

Stage 4. Highlighting unique advantages

You need to highlight absolute advantages - those that your competitors cannot copy. These are the benefits that are unique to your company, service or product. For example, only your company uses German equipment that allows you to print in a unique format. Or only your company presents the product in a unique limited edition packaging.

Stage 5: Developing False Advantages

It is not always possible to develop natural competitive advantages, especially in very popular and saturated niches. The only way out is to create false advantages.

False advantages are advantages that work on emotions and convince the consumer that your company/product/service is unique. For example, an advertisement for Jacobs coffee claims that it has “aromoxomite magic.” The concept of “aromoxamite” does not exist in nature, but this unique selling proposition of the brand has become its most important advantage.

Stage 6. Development and control

The formation of competitive advantages must end with the development of a plan. You need to think through a strategy on how to develop based on the identified advantages and how to maintain them in the future.

The most common mistakes when developing competitive advantages

A huge number of companies make critical mistakes when creating their advantages, after which, while working, they wonder why they cannot become leaders due to the great competitive pressure. Such errors are so common that they occur all the time. Most often, this is the use of stamps and clericalism. Here are the TOP 6 most common competitive advantages that have long ceased to be them.

We can do what you don't need

Very often, when creating their competitive advantages, companies completely forget about their customers. They talk about what they can offer, forgetting about what their target buyer really needs. As a result, such advantages do not work. They simply do not arouse interest, since a person understands that they will bring him absolutely no benefit.

Advice: When creating advantages, focus on the desires of your buyer, putting your capabilities on the back burner.

We help you increase your profits by 40% with our business plan.

15 years of experience

Almost every company considers it their duty to indicate their work experience. But this information no longer affects the potential client. He doesn't care if you've been in the market for 5, 15, or 30 years without ever going out of business. What matters to him is what you did during this time.

Tip: If you want to indicate your company's experience, be sure to indicate what you have achieved during this time.

Over the 10 years of work of the Gradostroy company, we have built 2 nine-story new buildings, in which 70 families already live.

High level of service/quality

To be honest, your client doesn’t care at all that your company employs certified specialists. The presence of certificates does not affect the quality of service at all. Therefore use template phrases: “We guarantee high level service" or "We provide high quality product" is just a waste of time.

Tip: Always be specific and qualify your statements. Tell the consumer how he will be provided with a high level of service.

The service station will perform a free diagnosis of your car's automatic transmission and provide a 2-year warranty upon completion of the service.

Individual approach

A boring, hackneyed and annoying phrase that already hurts the eyes and ears. By using this phrase to your advantage, you can be sure that your potential clients won't believe you. At a minimum, because it is used by a dozen more of your competitors and thousands of other companies they have met.

Advice: Never use this unfortunate phrase under any circumstances. If you want to show your buyer that you work for special conditions, say it directly.

You can buy this product to order; we will develop a custom-made layout taking into account your dimensions; We will deliver the goods by courier at a time and place convenient for you.

Affordable prices

Top of all the hyped benefits that companies like to use is the claim of affordable/loyal pricing. Your client will not even perceive this phrase, let alone believe it.

Advice: Give specifics, speak in the language of numbers.

10% cheaper than market prices; 5% discount for each buyer; save 30% when purchasing this set.

A wide range of

And for dessert, a phrase that is sure to loom before your eyes on the website of an online store or in the advertising of any commercial company. This advantage has become so boring and banal that potential clients don’t even realize it.

Tip: If you want to focus on the assortment, talk specifically about the assortment of which product you are talking about.

1000+ models of women's boots made of leather, suede and nubuck.

Your company benefits don't have to be traditional and hackneyed. Try to highlight unique features that can not only attract the reader’s attention, but also motivate them to further action. After all, this is exactly what you expect from your potential client.

Recommendations on how to write competitive advantages and benefits

The best friend of competitive advantage is specificity. Each benefit must be clearly disclosed so that the potential buyer does not invent unnecessary and completely unnecessary things. We will provide recommendations on how to and how not to present the company's advantages and benefits using examples.

Only in fact

Free your client from vague phrases that do not provide value. Always speak accurately and factually.

We are the best in our niche;
We sell the highest quality products;
We cooperate with large companies;
A wide range - only with us.

We do not use wet mixtures to reduce the construction time of a house;
All products have been tested by the sanitary station and comply with GOST standards;
When purchasing a frying pan, we offer a choice of 10 lid models;
We cooperate with the network of gas stations “WOG”, “Gefest” and “Parallel”.

Without anonymity

Anonymity is confusing, and understatement only raises doubts. All statements must always be substantiated. Experienced users can easily see through your farce, so provide facts.

We use the best parts for your car.

We use new BMW spare parts from the manufacturer.

Only with evidence

Everything is clear here. If the client does not clearly highlight his benefits, then your statements are empty.

We offer favorable terms of cooperation.

Save 35% when purchasing cinder blocks in the amount of 20,000 UAH.

Possibility of verification

Your customer must trust you. And trust will not appear out of nowhere. Therefore, give him the opportunity to verify your statements.

We build modern and comfortable facilities for living.

You can visit and inspect the facilities built by the company at a time convenient for you.

Focus on target audience

Competitive advantage is not always aimed at all groups of the target audience. Therefore, it will only be partially beneficial. It is very important to understand who the competitive advantage is intended for, otherwise it will not bring effectiveness.

The headphones transmit clear sound and do not get tangled in your pocket.

The sensitivity of Earpods is 113 dB, allowing for accurate sound reproduction for sound engineers. Frequency range - 8 - 27000 Hz, which will allow you to enjoy crisp, deep bass and crystal clear high frequencies without distortion;
The fabric braid prevents the headphones from getting tangled in your pocket, and you won’t waste time untangling them.

It's important to demonstrate true benefits. Otherwise, fictitious facts will only cause a negative impression of the company or product in the buyer, and he will go to your competitors.

We learn to develop a company's competitive advantages based on its shortcomings

Not all companies, especially young ones that are just entering the market, can compete with their competitors. To stay afloat, they have to inflate prices and extend delivery times due to the logistics department not yet being fully formed. All this can negatively affect the business, driving away customers. After all, no one wants to pay more or wait longer for their order when competitors have everything much cheaper and faster.

But there are special tricks that help turn disadvantages into advantages. These are facts that become a counterbalance to your weak points. Let's give specific examples.

Inconvenient office location, far from the center	The company's office has a showroom where you can see the product live. The warehouse is located on site. There is convenient parking, including for trucks. Pickup and delivery available throughout the city.
The price is significantly higher than in competing stores	Yes, but the package includes additional “goodies”: updated to latest version operating system, case, headphones and protective glass as a gift.
Long delivery on order	It is possible to order spare parts from the manufacturer without intermediaries. It is possible to order rare spare parts.
Young company with no work experience	Sending goods on the day of order by Ukrposhta, Nova Poshta, Intime or Deliveri, free consultations, no prepayment.
Very small selection of products	Narrow specialization on a specific brand. Detailed consultation on the specifics of the product.

As you can see, even those shortcomings that can lead a company to failure can become powerful competitive advantages that even established companies in the market cannot provide.

Examples of competitive advantages in different areas of the company’s business

In theory, developing competitive advantages for companies in the retail sector is much easier than for those involved in more specialized businesses. Therefore, we will provide specific examples for some niches that can become inspiration for you and the basis for your ideas.

Benefits for tourism business

Tours to remote corners of the planet;
Discounts on last minute travel packages up to 80%;
Free guide;
Free transfer by luxury car;
Gifts from the tour operator when ordering certain tours.

Benefits for a law firm

Specialization;
Availability of lawyers, notaries and other highly specialized specialists;
Geographical location of the office;
Free online consultation;
The company has 15 years of experience and 98% of successfully completed cases in favor of the plaintiff.

Benefits for the transport company

Own fleet of vehicles with different tonnage;
Free delivery and cargo tracking for orders over a certain amount;
Built-in navigation in the car and the ability to track its location;
Responsibility for the condition of the cargo upon arrival;
Official cooperation agreement.

Benefits for a cleaning company

Cooperation by agreement. Full responsibility for the result;
Cleaning is performed using professional equipment using sulfate-free detergents;
Financial responsibility for the condition of expensive interior items;
Financial responsibility for the safety of material assets;
Working with complex contaminants.

Brand value development

Brand value is not only the positive characteristics and quality of the product. These are the emotions and associations that a name evokes in a potential buyer, allowing him to be confident in himself and in the company. When a brand becomes famous and wins love, it becomes the strongest motivator for a person to take action. Logically, if we know that a particular brand of toothpaste will help reduce tooth sensitivity, then we will choose it, and not any other, whose advertising announces a similar feature of the product.

How to develop brand value?

There are many ways to create brand value and further develop it. But, first of all, it is necessary to analyze the target audience, its needs and desires. You need to understand what is most important and valuable to them, so that you can focus on this when forming values. Once the target audience has been analyzed, you can use one of the following methods for forming and developing values.

Value+benefit

It is very effective to present to the buyer not only the value, but also the clear benefit that the brand will provide him. For example, Head&Shoulders shampoo for women not only creates hair volume, but also eliminates dandruff. This means that girls using shampoo from this brand will get clean hair, voluminous hairstyle and self-confidence due to the absence of dandruff. The important thing to note here is that the benefits are real and the brand actually lives up to its claims.

Establishing Expectations

Brand values can be developed based on the formation of some expectations. At the same time, a person subconsciously creates for himself a certain picture, image and feelings that he expects to receive using the brand. Even if the actual result is not as powerful as expected, the consumer will experience it to the maximum, since he has already convinced himself of it. For example, the slogan of the energy drink Red Bull: “Red Bull gives you wings.” This does not mean that a person will be able to fly. But he makes it clear that the charge of energy that he will receive after drinking the drink will allow him to feel a significant surge of strength.

Help effect

This method involves creating conditions under which the consumer participates in solving any problems. For example, the McDonald's company periodically organizes promotions to help orphans. When ordering fast food, the client is given a sticker in the shape of a palm, where he indicates his name. Thus, he is made to understand that with his purchase he gave part of the money to help those in need this children.

Creation of Alter Ego

Some brands demonstrate their value in their ability to create an alter ego in the customer. A person gets the feeling that by using this particular brand, he is able to do something that he would not have dared to do before. Such brands very often work to provoke. This method is often used by brands fashionable clothes. Or for perfumes. For example, Ax deodorant for men is positioned as a way to reveal your sexuality and attract the attention of women.

Brand equity works very well for the future of the company as a whole. With the correct development of value, the company will receive stable growth and a constant increase in consumers thanks to the effective positioning of its brand.

Developing benefits and creating product value

Competing on product benefits is not always possible, especially if the product is in a very common niche. However, if your company is a manufacturer or you are the first to bring a product to the market, then you have every chance of becoming a leader.

But do not forget that your competitors are not asleep, and after some time they will present consumers with a similar product. Therefore, it is very important to develop absolute advantages that competitors cannot take from you. And, first of all, it is necessary to analyze the target audience, identifying their desires and needs. Based on the resulting portrait of the target consumer, formulate the advantages of the product. It could be:

Low price compared to competitors;
A unique product due to one, several or multiple properties;
Unique composition or use of very rare ingredients;
A special type, shape, volume or packaging of goods;
The product is more effective compared to analogues;
You, as a manufacturer, create an innovative product;
The product is sold under special conditions.

When you become an innovator by introducing a completely new product concept to the market, you can create value. With its help, the recognition of your product and, consequently, its sales will increase. For example, Apple, having released the iPhone, advertised an absolute innovation in the field of smartphones - a unique operating system, unique processors. This became the main value of the product at the stage of its introduction to the market.

Each developed benefit of a product must provide benefits to the consumer. That is why it is important to know what exactly your target audience wants to get when purchasing a product.

Advantages of a product/service as an emotional component

The sale of a product or service carries with it the most important goal in terms of its consumption or use - to satisfy the buyer's main need. A person purchasing something from your store wants positive changes to occur in his life with their help. He wants to get something, become someone, or avoid something that might bring him discomfort.

Therefore, first of all, the key advantage of a product is its ability to satisfy the desires and emotions of the buyer. Agree, you visit the hairdresser once a month not to get a haircut, but to look more attractive and more confident after the hairdresser’s service.

Marketers and specialists in the promotion of goods and services identify 7 areas, one of which is a powerful motivator for the purchase of a particular product/service, depending on its specifics. Let's look at each and give specific examples.

Money

The client/buyer wants to make a profit or not lose it.

We save your money when promoting using an SEO audit for website development

By ordering a service, the client will certainly avoid all sorts of mistakes in website development that will negatively affect promotion. Result: saving money on updating the site and eliminating errors.

Energy/time

When purchasing a product or ordering a service, a person’s goal may be an urgent need to save time or effort: to make work easier or faster, or to increase personal productivity.

Lose weight without leaving your favorite couch

Preparations based on natural ingredients will help you lose weight and find the figure of your dreams, without wasting your energy and time on trips to Gym and grueling workouts.

Health/Beauty

An important motivation for purchasing a product or ordering a service may be the desire to improve one’s health or health loved one, get rid of illness/pain or maintain your health at a certain level.

This remedy is your self-confidence

With this line of cosmetics for the care of problem skin, you will get rid of skin imperfections and eliminate oily shine. As a result, you will get healthy skin and self-confidence and attractiveness.

Status/Affiliation

When purchasing goods and services, a person may have the goal of emphasizing with their help his individuality, taste, or attributing him to any group or, conversely, highlighting him.

You are unique in this dress

By purchasing a one-of-a-kind couture dress, you focus on your personality and individuality. Make a statement by letting others know that you are an independent woman.

Safety comes first

With our “Cuckoo” alarm you will increase the safety of your private property, life and health.

Recognition/compensation

The motivation for purchasing a product or service may be the desire to receive confirmation of its value or to avoid criticism.

Not one price is the same or how to develop a competitive advantage of a product without affecting the issue of its cost

Many entrepreneurs are confident that the only and most powerful competitive advantage of their product can be price. If the price of the product is lower than that of competitors, then your company will instantly receive an increase in profits. And this is quite possible. But the company cannot always reduce the price due to the expected damage. And clients are not always only interested in price.

Let's consider what characteristics of the product can be used to form its advantages and benefits for the buyer.

Features of the product itself

The unique characteristics of the product will create its competitive advantage. They can become the main motivator for purchase, even if the product is more expensive than your competitors. The advantages may include:

Functionality;
Corporate identity, symbols, logo;
Appearance;
Range;
No need for maintenance;
Superiority in quality.

Place of sale of goods

Significant advantages for the product will be:

Location of the point of sale of goods;
Product availability;
Display of goods;
Ease of access to the product.

Staff and people

It may be important for the consumer who represents the product, and when demonstrating the advantages in this category, they become a powerful motivator for purchase. These benefits may include:

Company employees who provide free advice on product characteristics;
Store personnel who are ready to recommend or consult about a product;
Manufacturer, whose name characterizes the quality of the product;
Public figures advertising a product.

Is it always necessary to demonstrate competitive advantages and benefits?

In the framework of fierce market competition, demonstrating to consumers the advantages of a company, product or service and the benefits that they will receive as a result, becomes almost the only way to promote your business and work for the future. This is a fairly simple option for promoting and positioning your name, which does not require financial investments, but at the same time is an effective tool for competing. Therefore, do not ignore our recommendations, work on your competitive advantages in order to soon take a leadership position in your niche.

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Introduction

Competitive advantages of goods are the advantages of some goods over others, due to their increased competitiveness. Competitive advantages are created due to the predominance of product advantages ( strengths) over their shortcomings (weaknesses).

Competing goods (services) are means of satisfying similar or identical needs in a certain market segment, interchangeable and related.

1. Types of competing products, their characteristics

Competition between goods is possible only with the creation and maintenance of a competitive environment, a high degree of market saturation and limited effective demand.

The most important features of competing products are their common functional purpose, satisfaction of similar or identical needs, and interchangeability. Thus, a person can satisfy the physiological need for water with non-alcoholic water, drinking water, juices, fruit and berry drinks, kvass, fruit drinks, etc., as well as beer, tea and other drinks that are competing products in a specific market segment. However, they will not be competitors in different geographic market segments. Yes, Coca-

Cola, Fanta and similar imported drinks were not competitors to Russian kvass, fruit drinks and other native Russian drinks until they were introduced to the Russian market.

Before classifying competing goods and services, it is necessary to determine their classification groups. We noted earlier that the general means of satisfying needs are goods in the broad sense of the term. Goods as a means of satisfying needs are divided into genera: material goods, services, works (technologies), securities, etc. The genus is divided into classes and subclasses, which in turn are divided into groups, subgroups, types, subtypes, names of homogeneous objects . The lowest and indivisible object of classification are names or trademarks and their modifications.

Intergeneric competing goods - material goods and service results belonging to different types,

JHO satisfying similar needs of the same consumers. Their peculiarity is that they belong not only to different types, but also to industries and spheres (for example, material goods as products of processing industries and material results of services related to the service sector). The basic consumer properties of such competing products may be the same or similar, but in some cases they may be fundamentally different. The product and consumer market segments of intergeneric competitors do not completely coincide.

When marketing market research it is necessary (to take into account inter-generic competitive relations between [products, sometimes presented in different segments commodity market, but focused on the same [consumer, i.e., a specific consumer market segment in which certain needs can be satisfied either by goods or services.

Such competitive relations (CR) are shown using examples of the flour market. confectionery and the market for services for the production of confectionery products, as well as the footwear market and the market for household services for individual tailoring of shoes, connecting intergeneric competing goods

Intergeneric competitive relations between goods and services arise because they satisfy the same needs and are interchangeable. Flour confectionery products produced in industry and the catering services sector are in a competitive relationship in the same segment of the consumer market. However, the segment of consumers for cake preparation services can be wider due to the production of cakes according to individual orders at a precisely designated execution time. As a result, in the market of flour confectionery products, along with a segment in which intergeneric competitive relations exist, there is also a possible segment where these relations are absent (custom-made products).

A similar situation arises in the footwear market, where cross-generic competing products include shoes mass-produced by shoe industry enterprises, custom-tailored shoes, and refurbished shoes, which are the result of a repair service. With limited solvency, a consumer who repairs shoes will not buy new ones to replace them.

The competition-free segment of the footwear market will be represented by products manufactured in special cases by individual order. Consumers of such a service may give preference to it due to the fact that they require shoes of non-standard sizes or a special style that are not produced by the industry.

Intergroup competing goods are goods (or services) of different homogeneous groups that satisfy similar or identical needs due to their common functional purpose. Their features are belonging to different groups of the same kind (either goods, or services), as well as a common functional purpose with a discrepancy between other consumer properties and indicators. Their product and consumer segments are largely the same.

Thus, the same similar or identical physiological needs can be satisfied by various homogeneous groups of food or non-food products. The body's energy needs can be satisfied practically through many food groups. Tourist services can be competitors of recreational services of holiday homes, since they also satisfy recreational needs. The result of intergroup competitive relations is intergroup competing goods or services.

Intra-group competing products are goods (or services) of homogeneous groups that satisfy the same needs, but differ in the assortment of different types.

Thus, different types of goods of homogeneous groups, differences in some consumer properties (mainly ergonomic and aesthetic), and common functional purposes constitute the characteristics of intra-group competitors. The product and consumer segments of intragroup competitors coincide, but there may be discrepancies in individual subsegments and niches.

Examples of intragroup competitors include different types of bread (rye, rye-wheat, wheat), pasta (pasta, noodles, noodles, etc.), alcoholic beverages (vodka, liqueurs, tinctures, liqueurs, wines, etc.). However, not all products of the same group can enter into intra-group competitive relations

Such relationships arise only for goods of the same functional purpose. For example, in the group of dairy products, milk, cream, and fermented milk drinks are considered intra-group competitors, but cheese, cow butter, ice cream, canned milk and baby food products are not competitors, since they have different nutritional purposes and satisfy different organoleptic, energy and other needs.

Consequently, the fact that goods or services belong to a homogeneous group does not necessarily mean that intra-group competition will arise. Intraspecific competing goods are goods (or services) of the same type that satisfy the same needs.

The features of intraspecific competitors-goods (or services) include belonging to the same type, but different subtypes or brands that have the same functional purpose. The differences between these products lie in unequal quality levels, including organoleptic indicators, in different names and/or trademarks. For individual subtypes, names and/or brands, these differences may also be due to social purpose (for example, the prestige of the brand). Examples of intraspecific competitors include different brands of beer (Zhigulevskoe, Ochakovskoe, Klinskoe, Baltika, etc.), vodka (Stolichnaya, Kristall, Pshenichnaya, etc.), tea (Maisky, Imperatorsky, Nikitin, Bodrost, etc.). d.). Competing products of the same or different types can be produced by different manufacturers. Then inter-firm competitive relations arise between them and inter-firm competing products of homogeneous and heterogeneous groups appear. Interfirm competing goods are goods (or services) of homogeneous and heterogeneous groups of the same or different types, produced by different firms, but satisfying similar or identical needs. The features of these goods are the same functional purpose, despite differences in other consumer properties, the ability to satisfy the same basic needs, which creates the preconditions for the struggle for limited effective demand. In terms of assortment, such competing products may differ (for example, beer and carbonated fruit and berry drinks), or they may be of the same type and name (for example, Bird's Molok, Leningradsky and others cakes are produced by many confectionery factories, as well as catering establishments; sausages Amateur, Dairy, Krakow, etc. - also different manufacturing companies).

Thus, in a saturated market, competitive relations arise between goods and/or services of homogeneous and heterogeneous groups and types, determined by the struggle for a limited volume of effective demand and expressed in the form of different types of competition. In a competitive environment, the manifestation of the law of unity and struggle of opposites is expressed in the desire of business entities to expand and update the range of goods produced and sold to better satisfy needs, which leads to the emergence of competitive relations between previously produced and new goods.

2. Situational task

competitive product interchangeability

The reinforced concrete products plant produces building materials and components used for the construction of residential buildings, and also delivers them to the construction sites of customer organizations.

Assignment: What basic and additional needs of customers and end-users - homeowners - does this enterprise satisfy? What means does the organization use to satisfy these needs?

The main needs of homeowners are physiological needs - needs intended to maintain the constancy of a person’s internal environment, namely the need for protection from adverse external influences - a need caused by the need to create favorable conditions for the life and health of humans and end consumers

The main needs of customers are prestigious - needs aimed at creating and maintaining a certain status, legal status, the image of an organization or consumer, as well as to establish or confirm membership in a certain social environment

Additional needs for owners are also:

1)prestigious

2) mental needs - needs that arise on the basis of the laws of mental activity and relate to the internal factors of social interaction,

3) Ergonomic needs - needs that determine a feeling of satisfaction and comfort by achieving and maintaining compliance with the anthropometric characteristics of a person.

For customers - 1) the need to comply with the requirements of society - a need caused by an awareness of obligations and responsibilities to the state, society, as well as other contact communities.

2) Economic needs - needs intended to ensure the financial and economic activities of the organization, individual entrepreneurs, as well as consumers.

In order to meet the needs, the enterprise uses mass protection equipment such as buildings, structures, and some types of household appliances (for example, air conditioners, fans, etc.).

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