Examine and discuss competitive strategies that manufacturers can use to gain competitive advantage. “Competitive Strategy is defined as the long term plan of a particular company in order to gain competitive advantage over its competitors in the industry.” (mbaskool.com, 2018). As a competitive market environment, manufacturers will need to focus on cost strategy and differentiation strategy. According to Erickson (2018), “…long-term competitive advantages are difficult to analyze and/or reproduce, and because of this, they deliver an extended, high impact marketplace advantage that can last years.” Focusing on lowering product costs can give manufacturers an advantage when distributing product. Additionally, offering a uniqueness through focusing on differentiation, will entice customers to purchase one product over a competing manufacturers product. As the two most common strategies are to focus on cost and differentiation, companies must be creative with the way they strategize. If you look at Apple’s iPhone, the company has created a uniqueness even though you can essentially get most if not all features on a less expensive cell phone. Apple has immense brand strength which “…gives companies great visibility in the marketplace and helps build consumer loyalty.” (Linton, 2018). Apple really opened up the market for much sleeker, innovative wireless products like cell phones and tablets. “Apple’s innovation strategy of developing products that complement each other strengthens customer loyalty and helps build a barrier to competition…” (Linton, 2018). As stated earlier, companies must be creative in their competitive strategizing. An example of this is partnering with, or even owning, supplier companies required for production. “The company owns chip manufacturers, controls manufacturing, follows extremely strict software standards and operates its own stores. Deals with leading music and entertainment companies provide a vast source of media for all the company’s products. It also has a community of more than 6 million independent software developers creating applications for Apple products. This gives Apple control over the entire process of product development, manufacturing and marketing -- an advantage that competitors find difficult to match.” (Linton, 2018). One thing Apple does differently is their pricing strategy. Much like luxury Examine and discuss competitive strategies that manufacturers can use to gain competitive advantage. vehicles, Apple prices their products high and rarely offers discounts or promotional pricing in order to establish and maintain their message of value. References Erickson, P. (2018, February). Gaining a Competitive Advantage in Manufacturing. MakeTime, (), Manufacturing. Retrieved from https://www.maketime.io/blog/gaining-competitive-advantagemanufacturing/ Linton, I. (2018, June). What Is Apple's Competitive Advantage in Its Industry?. bizfluent, Retrieved from https://bizfluent.com/info-8734236-apples-competitive-advantageindustry.html mbaskool.com. (2018). Competitive Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/marketing-and-strategy-terms/7394competitive-strategy.html
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