Select a company or brand/business you are familiar with or find interesting. What field of business marketing is this company in? Look at its direct and indirect competitors. In what category (or cat

MBA 5841, Strategic Marketing 1 Cou rse Learning Outcomes for Unit II Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 2. Examine organizational growth opportunities. 2.1 Determine how a company analyzes it s competitors along its strategic marketing process. 2.2 Analyze a company’s competitive analys is process and profitability by measuring customer value. Course/Unit Learning Outcomes Learning Activity 2.1 Unit II Lesson Chapters 2 and 3 Unit II Article Review 2.2 Unit II Lesson Chapters 2 and 3 Unit II Article Review Reading Assignment Chapter 2: External and Customer Analysis Chapter 3: Competitor Analysis Unit Lesson Unit I focused, in part, on the strategic management process as shown in Figure 1.3 of the text book . The overview of the strategic planning process summ arized both the internal company and external analysis processes. The focus of Chapter 2 is customer analysis , which is the first step of the analysis. Customers need to be systematically identified and combined into profitable groups or segments. In this way, a company can use its business planning functions to create the necessary offerings and services that will appeal to the customer value proposition (CVP) of its targeted segments (Aaker & Moorman, 2018). Before that can be determined, however , much needs to be known about who a company’s current and potential customers should be and how well prepared the company is to exploit available customer opportunities. W ith a company’s internal analysis, it determines who the audience is, what business it is i n, what capabilities it has in order to stay in its business (e.g., human capital capabilities, asset structure, distinctive competencies , competitive advantages ), and the weaknesses it can and must improve to remain competitive. With those answers in min d, the next step is to systematically analyze the external environment where customers and the competition vying for those customers abound. The primary purpose of this exercise is for the firm in its market planning process to gather and analyze what is k nown about its customers and competitors so that the company can understand what it does not know but , in all probability, it need s to know about these strategic uncertainties. This is important because strategic uncertainties may prove to be an insurmount able barrier or a previously unseen opportunity. During the 1960s , the family car for a large family was the ubiquitous station wagon. Larger than a sedan, it could seat up to nine people. For large families, the station wagon was ideal for taking long f amily vacations. Station wagons were roomy enough for large families , luggage , and camping gear. With additional cargo space on the roof, it made for a cost -effective , on -the -road family excursion vehicle. W ith this vehicle, combined with the nation's new superhighway system, cheap fuel, and low -cost motel chains, a large family UNIT II STUDY GUIDE Finding Growth Opportunities Through Customer and Competitor Analysis MBA 5841, Strategic Marketing 2 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title could now tour the nation for a fraction of the cost of commercial rail and air travel. Station wagons were the ideal vehicle for the family summer vacation. Baby Boomers today have fond memories of those family vacations during those happy times. The once -popular station wagon is no longer manufactured by any automaker. Demand for these vehicles waned in the 1980s when final production stopped. Family sizes also dropped during tha t time. Commercial travel became deregulated and less expensive. Fuel prices increased dramatically. Both parents were now working to make ends meet. The long summer family vacation became a relic of a past generation. During that time, customers reacted to societal and economic changes. Boomers were aging. Subsequent generations had fewer children, and so forth. Carmakers , in their attempt to stay abreast of changing customer value propositions , were making dramatic changes to their offerings. Not only we re station wagons eliminated from their product ion lines, but whole car brands like AMC, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and others were deemed redundant and were eliminated too. Out of this competitive market maelstrom, the sports utility vehicle ( SUV ) was born. It was not a car, but it was a whole new vehicle built on a truck frame rather than a car frame. What emerged was a taller, sturdier station wagon. It became an instant hit that still reigns supreme in auto product ion line offerings today. The SUV was an of fering that both appealed to customers’ changing needs and tastes. Although the SUV could not seat as many as its predecessor (i.e., the family station wagon ), it could comfortably seat six , and it offered the option to remove two of the seats to increase cargo space. This made the vehicle very adaptable, stylish, and rugged. Today, SUVs remain top sellers and a must -have in every automaker's product line. Internally, the SUV proved to be beneficial for automakers . Since it was to be m anufactured on a tru ck frame, existing powertrain options and manufacturing expertise had been in place for years. The necessary modifications to turn the truck frame and heavy -duty drivetrain into a comfortable SUV was easy and inexpensive for automakers. This stylish rugged ness was all very appealing to customers who purchased SUVs in record numbers. In the end, customers wanted neither just a station wagon nor a truck. What they wanted was something that had not been created at that time . What they wanted was the SUV. Wha t were the competitive analys is processes that resulted in the creation of the SUV by the major U .S. automakers? First, they were all a part of a strategic competitive group , serving much of the same target market groups. A competitive strength grid is a w ay in which to measure a large but varied strategic group. Automakers, in their effort to appeal to as many submarkets within an overall auto industry market, have extensive, targeted product lines. Each of these automakers also competes via their assets a nd competencies while watching areas of secondary importance. By using a competitive strength grid in measuring the competitive factors in a strategic competitive group, a firm can see how its sustainable competitive advantages (SCA s) help it to remain com petitive. Also, it can use the competitive strength grid to determine what may be its competitors' SCAs. This is central to strategy development and evaluation (Aaker & Moorman, 2018) . When Ford Motor Company produced the first SUV, the Ford Explorer, i t was an instant hit ( Koblenz, Katzka, Gallant -Stokes, & Geddrey, 1992). Ford used its competitive advantage in its manufacturing and sales of its highly profitable truck line as the basis for the new SUV . Already a market leader in light trucks, it sought to broaden its market share left by the elimination of the once -popular station wagon. The innovative Ford Explorer (IFCAR, 2006) MBA 5841, Strategic Marketing 3 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title spirit at Ford enabled it to leverage its asset expertise of truck building into a market -expanding new vehicle , effectively replacing the former station wagon market gap. The other major U .S. automakers also had successful and competitive light truck offerings, but they did not provide the innovation necessary to meet the new and potentially lucrative SUV market segment. Therefore, for a brief period, F ord became the innovative first mover into the newly created SUV marketplace . Ford combined SCAs in its manufacture and delivery of the freshly created SUVs , earning as much as a $10,000 profit per vehicle (Naughton, 2010). This newly created and rapidly growing SUV market did not go unnoticed by the other major automakers. Seeing how Ford had built these new vehicles based on an existing truck frame and drive train in an innovative way, the other automakers immediately began designing and manufacturing t heir lines of SUVs. They , too , were able to leverage their light truck manufacturing and car design assets quickly and began reaping their fair share of the newly created and highly profitable market. The other automakers identified with their competitor ’s SCAs and saw how they could use its assets and competencies to create keys for success . The other automakers were able to create new strategies with their customer analyses and capabilities to quickly counter and match what Ford had initially innovated. Since SCAs are not guaranteed, those that can be eventually duplicated by competitors over time can negate the initially competitive effects . The automotive industry is a part of a highly competitive and defined strategic group. What each automaker soon h ad was its own SUV market entry strategy. They were able to appeal to their car division customers' value propositions by expanding a light truck product into the customers' market awareness sphere. By keeping the SUV market focused on existing car custome rs and former station wagon customers, the automakers were able to effectively and quickly expand the new SUV market. The new vehicles were built like trucks, but they drove and handled like cars. They were easy to produce initially because the automakers had all of the necessary assets, materials, and expertise. It was Ford's initial approach in combining these capabilities in an innovative fashion that produced just the right vehicle offering for a receptive market. From the success of this strategic ma rket group, other international strategic market group s, which consist ed of automakers that were not known for manufacturing light trucks (e.g., BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz ), also began producing and marketing to the SUV target market. Their entries too k longer to hit the market, in part, because they had to build their vehicles from the frame up. Their approach was not the innovation of an existing light truck and car product. It is important to note that this international strategic group of automakers estimated that the SUV market would be significant and profitable enough to incur the product development costs to create marketing strategies and not let the SUV competition go unchallenged. References Aaker, D. A. , & Moorman, C . (2018). Strategic mar ket management (11th ed.) . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. IFCAR . (2006). Ford Explorer 1 [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ford_Explorer_1.jpg Koblenz, J., Katzka, P., Gallant -Stokes, T., & Geddrey, D. (1992). The black enterpris e 1993 auto guide. Black Enterprise, 23 (4) , 113. Retrieved from https://search -proquest - com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/217870116?accountid=33337 Naughton, K. (2010, June 14). Ford tries to jump -start the Explorer SUV. Business Week, 1. Retrieved from https://search -proquest - com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/375425865?accountid=33337 MBA 5841, Strategic Marketing 4 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title Suggested Reading In order to access the following resources, click the links below. A carefully chosen customer value proposition (CVP) is essential to create customer value. Both value creation from the customer and the corporate viewpoint gain from consistent and deliberate focus on key mark et segments and core competenc ies. Breur, T. (2006). The importance of focus for generating customer value. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 11 (1), 64 –71. Retrieved from https://search -proquest - com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/abicomplete/docview/195285738/774033C10D8E40C4P Q/1?accountid=33337 The following video discusses customer needs analy sis , which is crucial in a strategic market planning concept. Cornett, B. A. (2014 , January 23 ). 10. c ustomer needs analysis [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77tYsoFEl2 k Click here to access the video transcript. Learning Activities (Nong raded) Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information. Chapter 2 Flash Cards The following interactive presentation on Chapter 2 will assist you in better understanding the lesson. Click here to access the Chapter 2 Flash Cards presentation. (Click here to access a PDF version .) Chapter 2 “For Discussion” Questions Review the Chapter 2 “For Discussion” questions on page 35 in your textbook , and answer one to two questions. Submit your responses to your instructor for relevant feedback. Chapter 3 Knowledge Check Complete the Ch apter 3 Knowledge Check to gain a better understanding of the lesson. Click here to access the Chapter 3 Knowledge Check.