A competitive strategy is a long-term marketing plan that companies develop to defend their position in the market and gain a competitive advantage. A competitive strategy focuses on how a business unit will compete against market competitors. The implementation of a business unit's competitive strategy should promote the strategy at the organizational level. Distinctive competencies refer to the strengths of the organization that allow it to achieve a competitive advantage in the market.
It's good to be aware of the competition, but you can easily become discouraged and weaken your brand if you focus on what others are doing and trying to replicate it. The continuous improvement of the quality of products and services (in fact, of everything a company does) is an indispensable condition for maintaining a competitive advantage for a longer period. Successful strategies often build on a company's existing competitive competencies or help the company develop new ones. The objective of a competitive strategy is to establish some type of competitive advantage in the market.
Michael Porter has identified four types of competitive strategies that can be applied in any business organization regardless of the size and nature of the products. Organizations that learn can stay on top of their competitors because they are always looking for knowledge. In today's era of social media, it's easier than ever to differentiate yourself from the competition with marketing that demonstrates that the people behind the scenes are real people who care. Competitive strategy consists of business approaches and initiatives undertaken by a company to attract customers and offer superior value by meeting their expectations and strengthening their position in the market.
The objective of competitive strategy is to win the hearts of customers by satisfying their needs and, finally, to achieve a competitive advantage and outperform the competition (or rival companies). In any case, the competitive strategy chosen will seek to take advantage of some characteristic of the entity at that stage of its life cycle. The adoption of “best industrial practices” helps to develop distinctive competencies and, therefore, to maintain a competitive advantage. In a market with hundreds (perhaps thousands) of competitors, it's becoming increasingly difficult for companies to leave a brand that impacts their core audience.
This is possible when the company emphasizes the four generic building blocks of competitive advantages, such as:. To be competitive in the market, a business organization must have distinctive competence in one or more areas of its activities.
