Assignment 2. Business & Marketing Research Paper

Marketing Assignment
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Explain Step 5 of constructing a market-attractiveness/competitive-position matrix for evaluating potential target markets. When should a manager consider a market segment to be desirable? Construct a matrix, and provide an example illustrating these concepts.
The five steps of constructing a competitive-position or market-attractiveness matrix are mentioned below:
1 Selecting a criterion to measure competitive position and attractiveness (Valdani & Arbore, 2013).
2 Weighing factors of competitive position and attractiveness to have an idea of their potential outcomes and significance (Valdani & Arbore, 2013).
3 Assessing the current position of potential target markets based on these factors (Valdani & Arbore, 2013).
4 Projecting the future positions of all markets by the customer, competitive and environmental trends (Valdani & Arbore, 2013).
5 Evaluating implications of possible changes in the business strategies and resource materials (Valdani & Arbore, 2013).
A market segment provides the companies with a solid foundation for current or long-term profits. Brands consider different options of the market segment to have an idea of when to target new customers and how to penetrate into emerging markets. There are times when the manager should consider a market segment, such as when the competition in the business world is at its peak, and the company wants to generate lots of revenues, and when its target audience is extensively large and needs to be broken down into small, more homogenous groups (Valdani & Arbore, 2013, p. 185). Lifestyle, geography, behavioral traits and demographics are commonly used approaches of market segments, and companies may or may not try all of them. If every aspect is paid attention to, the chances of increasing the number of customers, generating more revenues and penetrating into new markets become higher than before (Valdani & Arbore, 2013).
From this competitive-position or market-attractiveness matrix, it is evident that the CEO of a company, let’s say PepsiCo, directs all his messages to the director, who then forwards those messages to the manager, followed by individual employees. It is like a chain in which every person is responsible for fulfilling his tasks. If he does not perform well, the chance is that the organization (PepsiCo) will have to lose many clients and its reputation will be significantly damaged (Sawyer, 2014).
Define niche market strategy and growth market strategy. What are some strategies used by organizations looking to build and sustain competitive advantage in niche markets and growth markets? Provide relevant examples.
According to Marlena Grabowska, a niche marketing or niche market strategy helps an organization understand what its target market is, and the growth market strategy allows the company to target potential customers from across the globe and ensures its long-term growth. Both of these strategies are deployed to penetrate into the specific market which is new or unique and where the organization had not introduced its products previously (Grabowska, 2014, p.165). Businesses are looking to grow, build and sustain competitive advantages opt for different strategies to be ensured of their short-term and long-term success. Many of them focus on methods and techniques for gaining a leg up on the competition. These methods are cost leadership, differentiation, defensive strategies and alliance (Grabowska, 2014).
Cost leadership is all about offering the same quality and type of products that are already present in the market. For example, if a company’s competitors are providing customers with a smartphone at higher prices, then the brand can consider offering the same product at cheaper costs. In such a situation, its chances of generating more revenues will be higher than that of the competitors. Differentiation is another strategy that a business can use to set itself apart from its competitors (Grabowska, 2014, p. 167). The process will involve conducting in-depth research and the development of niche-oriented products that possess far better features and characteristics than the products of competitors. Defensive strategies are extensively trusted when it comes to gaining competitive advantages. It allows the company to distance itself from the competition by maintaining its brand image and offering better quality products at lower rates. Last but not the least, a business can seek strategic alliances within the same or different niches but should be careful about the thin line between collusion and alliances (Grabowska, 2014).
Explain why share gains are worth more in a growth market than in a mature market, and what factors affect this concept. Provide examples of companies in both types of markets in your response.
We cannot neglect the fact that share gains are more valuable and worthwhile in a growth market than in a mature market because the revenues generated through them conti...