Three fundamental forces and their superior utilization in competition drive market success: Competitive differentiation, customer value, and cost efficiency.
Competitive Differentiation and Customer Value
The better a company can distinguish itself from its competitors, the greater its potential to create special value and benefits with its offering in the perception of its target customer groups, thereby establishing a distinct, defensible market position and achieving increased price realization and value creation. The greater the advantage of a product or service offering is perceived by the potential customers, the higher their willingness to purchase and accept the price.
Conversely, in the case of competitive exchangeability of offerings and their companies, a ruinous competition ensues in the struggle for the same target groups using the same weapons, leading to ongoing pressure on price margins and revenues, resulting in receding profitability and increased investment requirements.
Cost Efficiency
A competitively superior cost efficiency ensures survival in price-aggressive competition. With the same price positioning and enforcement the company with the better cost structure realizes higher value creation, thereby potentially having more financial resources available for further corporate and business development to further widen the gap to competition.
All three success drivers require continuous future-oriented development to adapt to the ever-changing conditions of markets and competition in a dynamic business environment, enabling successful responses to emerging opportunities and risks. Therefore a continuous process of forward-looking development of a company’s capabilities, strategies and tools is required.