Opportunity Assessment Paper

When examining competitive advantage, it is also important to consider the market and take into account the existing competition against larger firms.

Distinguishing one 's firm from the alternatives is a major concern for any business. Strategic analysis provides the starting point in the strategic management process organizations use to evaluate and choose the competitive advantages that distinguish them from other organizations within the market. Dominating businesses should also "choose among alternative grand strategies to guide the firm 's activities, particularly when they are trying to decide about broadening the scope of the firm 's activities beyond its core business (Robinson & Pearce, 2009)."

Imagine you are part of a strategic planning group at a large corporation that is considering developing a new proposed product. The marketing director has asked your team to do a competitive market analysis to determine the product’s potential success. The analysis will focus on your primary competitor in the product’s market.

1. The objective of the strategic analysis was to identify which products were world-class in terms of “competitive position and potential,” products which could become world-class, and products which have no hope of becoming world-class.

My goal is to develop an effective and practical coaching plan for a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) under my supervision. In the Huizenga College, Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) have several functions to perform under the supervision of a Faculty Support Coordinator. Their duties and responsibilities includes online literature searches; order literature through Alvin Sherman Library for faculty; perform data analysis for faculty; preparation of power point presentations for faculty; data entry for faculty; collating marketing materials for faculty; assist a faculty member with a research project; multimedia presentation and editing video for faculty; make photo copies for, and scanning documents to faculty.

To survive and thrive, an organization must create a competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is a product or service that an organization’s customers place a greater value on than similar offerings from a competitor. Unfortunately, competitive advantages are typically temporary because competitors often seek ways to duplicate the competitive advantage. In turn, organizations must develop a strategy based on a new competitive advantage.

Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business structure. Your brand is meant to increase the competiveness against your company. “your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates

According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), a brand is a “name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition”. However, as Keller highlights, a brand is also “something that has actually created a certain amount of awareness, reputation, prominence, and so on in the marketplace”. Therefore, a brand is an identity created to differentiate itself from the competitors and to be remembered in consumer’s mind.

Only one firm in any sector or industry can have this advantage (Porter, 1985). The alternate source of competitive advantage is differentiation, this is where the firm "provides something unique that is valuable to buyers beyond simply offering a low price” (Porter, 1985; p120). The firm needs to show that it is different in some way, this may be a product or service characteristics, or may be an intangible aspect such as a firm image or brand (Porter, 1985). The brand is a useful tool that can support the differentiation, by creating the image or association that the consumers will link with the differentiation (Kotler and Keller, 2008). There are many examples; from premium quality brand such as Cartier, to high tech firms such as Apple and mass market brands such as Coca-Cola, in each case the brand has been developed to be associated with specific values and characteristics that help to identify the firm and why it is different (Kotler and Keller, 2008).

To remain competitive a company must consider who their biggest competitors are while considering its own size and position in the industry. The company should develop a strategic advantage over their competitors’

It has become for every business’s prime objective or acumen to be aware of strength or opportunities which can be exploited, improve management or eliminate threats and weakness which can cripple a business organization’s future. It has become a vital reason or idea to include an effective method for analysis within the strategic marketing planning process (Aaker, 1995) to face and overcome the brutal forces of the competitive world and stand out differently among the rest. Therefore an effective tool

Competitive analysis is an important part of your business plan, there are a lot of different alternatives in the market, costumers usually look for different sets of values to focus on, benefit levels and what does the item include when they are choosing where to buy the product from. Even though costumers usually choose similar products to those alternatives, and that’s where competition is created.

Any organisation that wishes to succeed in their market, needs to analyse their competitor 's strategies. Competitor analysis is a vital part of the marketing planning process. A strong competitor can hinder business success, even lead to business failure. Competitor analysis helps firms to anticipate their competitor 's actions and exploit competitor 's weaknesses. It also helps firms to identify their firm 's unique selling points, so that these can be promoted in marketing campaigns. Competitor analysis is an ongoing task, as successful competitors will continuously develop their marketing strategies, in response to changes in the market place.

"The naming of the product, service or company is called branding. A brand or name is the label that consumers associate with your product. For this reason, a brand or name should help communicate the product's positioning and its inherent drama for the consumer" (Roman G. Hiebing Jr and Scott W. Cooper; The successful marketing plan, a disciplined and comprehensive approach; 2003).

Knowing who your competitors are, and what they are offering, can help you to make your products, services and marketing stand out. It will enable you to set your prices competitively and help you to respond to rival marketing campaigns with your own initiatives. You can use this knowledge to create marketing strategies that take advantage of your competitors ' weaknesses, and improve your own business performance. You can also assess any threats posed by both new entrants to your market and current competitors. This knowledge will help you to be realistic about how successful you can be.