Concept of a Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis is a concept that involves identifying the organization competitors and assessing their strategies to establish their weaknesses and strengths relative to those of the organization services or products. Competitor analysis is a vital part of a firm’s marketing plan since it assist in determining what makes the firm’s services or products unique and the attributes that a firm should play up to attract the targeted market (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2015). Competitor analysis is enhanced by placing organization competitors in strategic groups based on how indirectly or directly they compete for customer’s dollar share. The analysis involves listing services or products of each strategic group or competitor, their growth pattern, profitability, assumptions, past and current strategies, marketing assumptions and objectives, cost structure and organizational, size, weaknesses and strengths of the business of competitor (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2015). With this information, a company can manage to compare its product or services with those of the competitors and determine what need to be improved on to gain a higher competitive advantage in the market.
Importance of Competitive Advantage and why Understanding the Competition is Important
Competitive advantage refers to a business concept defining attributes which permit a company or business to outperform its rivals. These attribute might include new technologies, natural resources, or exceptional talents. A competitive advantage happens when the company is capable of delivering the same benefits as rivals but at a reduced cost, or deliver benefits which exceed those provided by competing products. Competitive advantage is the aptitude to stay ahead of potential and existing completion (Dash, 2013). Therefore superior performance attained through competitive advantage will guarantee market leadership. Competitive advantage is important since it puts organizational products or services in an upper position in the market. This ensures that the organization becomes a leader in price determination and not a follower. With high competitive advantage, an organization is able to win higher market shares, make high sales and register high profits (Dash, 2013).
Understanding who organization competitors are and the products or services they are offering is important since it can assist the organization to develop products or offer services that are outstanding. Understanding ones competitor helps the company to identify their weaknesses and to take advantage of them by strengthening those aspects in their products and services to win competitive advantage. It also assists in setting up competitive prices and assists in countering competitor marketing campaigns with unique and improved initiatives. With enough knowledge of the competitor, an organization can be able to define product improvement strategies and marketing strategies to be able to do better in the market, winning a higher competitive advantage (DePamphilis, 2015).
Example of a Brief Competitor Analysis that will Provide Information on Competitors in your Area, their Strengths and Weaknesses, and their Possible Strategic Moves
The first step will involve identifying the competitors in the surrounding. Our healthcare organization is located in Dallas, Texas with our major competitor being Pine Creek Medical Center. The facility offers a wide range of services that include gynecology, vascular surgery, pain management, general surgery, urology, orthopedics, ENT, podiatry and orthopedic & neurosurgical spine. The facility has 170 physicians serving in all above identified specialties. Its main strengths include low patient to nurse ratio, which guarantee personalized care for patients needing acute care. The employed nurses are highly experienced in their work. The facility other strength is extensive adoption of technology such that it has fully digitalized equipment, using wireless technology and houses digital OR to ensure that patient receive the leading age surgical procedures in sensitive areas such as urology, spine, bariatric and orthopedics. The center has also integrated advanced operating room technology in a relaxing environment that is spa like. The facility is also equipped with the modern state-of-the-art surgical imaging, communication technology and surgical control environment. This gives the facility extra advantage for in surgical related services. Beside this the facility has been acknowledge by various bodies for its outstanding performance and been accredited for meeting the required standard. Pine Creek Medical Center has Accreditation of Healthcare Organization from Joint Commission, and International Medical Tourism Board. It is also Medicaid certified. The center also has a membership in the International Board of Medicine and Surgery, and it has attained quality award from healthgrades.com. Another major strength is employment of highly trained workers to offer healthcare services to its patient. The organization culture also focuses on prioritizing on patients with intention of offering the best possible care services. Pine creek is also the only 100% physician owned facility in the locality. The facility facilitate viewing of patient records in pdf form meaning no unauthorized individuals are permitted to add, delete or edit patient data or record.
The main facility weakness is that it does not provide primary care. The facility only seems to concentrate on advance care where most patients are referred after serious diagnoses are made. This makes it a facility targeting a certain kind of patients and not any patient who may need primary care for different other condition. In addition, the medical services offered in the facility are limited such that the it blocks patients with other needs such as pediatric needs, cardiovascular, diabetes, psychiatric case, and maternity needs or even emergency room among other medical services The facility also only handles short hospital stay, meaning it does not handle complex cases that will need lengthy patients’ admission. Families may be required to transfer their patients if they have condition that may require lengthy hospital say. Based on the provided services and adapted technology, the facility also offers higher charges for its services.
Obstacles that Might Hinder the Ability to Conduct an Effective Service Area Competitor Analysis
Conducting effective competitor analysis requires that one should have all the required general information regarding competitor operations, technology available, facilities, and other specific information that is mostly known by organization workers and patients who have received services from different units of the facility. The main challenge that hinders the ability to conduct effective service area competitor is lack of information and ways to get all the needed information. One may need to work with the competitor or to be assisted by those who work in the competitor organization to have all the needed information. This may be considerably hard especially if the competitor has managed to win employees loyalty. There are also some hidden management tactics that influence workers performance which are only known by the leaders. These secretes play a great role in influencing performance (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2015). Although they contribute a great deal in influencing organization competitiveness, this is some of the information that no competitor analysis will manage to uncover. Another possible obstacle is obtaining wrong information especially if the source of information has intention of protecting the competitor interest. There is never guarantee that the information given by workers or other individuals directly related to the competitors are genuine or misleading to protect competitor’s interest.
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