Category: Marketing

When choosing a market segment, not only is the potential considered. Also, consider threats. Sometimes it must be avoided, by looking for other segments. Even so, the easiest segment has threats. Michael E Porter formulated threat factors as well as generic competitive strategies, or outlines. Threats are dynamic, so the strategy is effective so that it needs to develop. The following threats in a business field.

The threat of hard competition.

Hard competition is not always caused by market attractiveness, for example large demand and purchasing power. It could also be because companies that enter the market are unable to get out of the business. They made large investments. Do not have the skills to strive in other fields. Such conditions encourage price wars and advertising wars. Profits shrink and costs increase.

The threat of newcomers

The most interesting market segment is that if newcomers find it difficult to enter and the old players are easy to get out. The terms are high entry barrier and low exit barrier. Therefore, the new players will have difficulty to enter a business sector.

That situation can change. The existence of the internet can change this, for example the circulation of rotiboy recipes, allowing new players in the same bread field. Thus, Rotiboy can no longer enjoy monopoly as before.

If entry barrier and exit barrier are high, profits may be high, if between players form a price agreement. But in such situations, players can compete hard, because they have no other choice.

If the entry barrier is low and the exit barrier is high, competition will tend to be tight. More and more players, there are no exits. Production exceeding market capacity can occur and prices fall.

Threats from substitute or substitute products

In this era of digital technology, more and more innovations, substitute products often appear. Symbian phones replace telecommunication shops. Symbian mobile replaced Android or Apple smartphone. It can also happen that these substitute products are cheaper and easier, so that they reduce prices and profits.

Threats from the bargaining power of buyers

A market segment is less attractive if the buyer has large and increasing bargaining power. Suppose that the bargaining power of national minimarket at suppliers will tend to be large along with the amount of turnover. The national minimarket erodes competitors, so that suppliers increasingly lose alternative buyers, then with a large turnover can reduce prices. The bargaining power of buyers increases if the product does not have a differentiator or an easy buyer switches to another supplier with risk and low cost. The best defense is to arrange good and inimitable products, so buyers do not move.

Threats from the size of the supplier’s bargaining power

Market segments are less attractive if suppliers can easily increase prices or reduce the amount of goods sold. The strength of suppliers is strong if goods are scarce and there are no substitutes or substitute materials, and it is difficult to change suppliers. The best defense is to build mutually beneficial relationships or use a variety of sources.

These factors influence the competitive climate. Each market segment has a different level of competition based on its industrial structure. With that insight, it is better to choose an industry with a low level of competition and not increasing. Even so, in general every business sector is always in competition.

Market challengers are companies number two, three and so on in acquiring market share that attacks the market. These challengers are aggressively expanding the percentage of their market share and undermining market leaders. The way to offer products with the same function, the same category in the same market as the market leader. This strategy promises a large share, but also risks and large costs. Market leaders generally react when they get an open attack. He can make special products to destroy competitors, or predator products. The fight is not only product, but price, distribution channel, promotion.

With the science of war parables, market challengers attack with one or a variety of strategies.

• Attack the strong side of the market leader. Attacking the strong side of the market leader requires a lot of energy too.

• Attacking the weak side. Challengers attack the weak side of the market leader. Weakness can be from various sides, product quality, service, price, distribution range, and promotion.

• Guerrilla. The guerrillas carry out small, disjointed and invisible attacks.

Followers Strategy

The followers referred to here are companies that imitate and modify market leaders. This company is still below the market leader. Followers avoid turmoil. Because it is risky to cause resistance reactions from market leaders who usually have strong resources. Followers have advantages, namely not spending a lot of money, energy and time to research products and introduce products to the market. He just imitates and modifies proven products and markets that have recognized the benefits. Followers can then become challengers.

Examples of followers are LA Light, Star Mild, Class Mild, GG Mild, Black Mild, U Mild who follow A Mild. A Mild controls 50-60 percent of mild cigarettes. Followers do not need to educate the market about the mild cigarette category, because A Mild has done that.

Being a market leader tends to be the center of attention. Competitors observe movements, strengths and weaknesses. Competitors try to beat, imitate the actions of market leaders. Competitors attempt to investigate products, materials, cost components, and marketing methods. At times competitors use weakness and weakness. The strategy of the market leader according to Porter is 3. That is to increase the demand market, maintain the acquisition of market cakes that have been obtained, and increase the percentage of market cakes obtained, or reduce the competition cakes.

Total demand development

The market leader strategy in developing this total demand does not attack competitors, but increases the number of consumers. For example Aqua as a market leader enlarges its consumers by removing gallon products for the housing market. Aqua bottles are usually used for consumers who travel. By issuing a special housing product, the bottled water market is getting bigger. In addition, when a provider of gallon water with a home water distiller made by a local factory appeared, a large bottled water company reacted by creating advertisements that discredited the home water distiller. He doesn’t attack competitors, but attacks other cheaper product categories.

Market leaders can develop market demand by encouraging more new consumers and new benefits from existing products. This is done by promoting more existing goods to new markets or promoting new benefits to old and new markets.

Maintain the share that has been obtained

The total demand development strategy has weaknesses. Strategy can drain energy. The risk, the share that has been obtained can be neglected. That is an entry opportunity for competitors to seize existing shares. Therefore there are market leaders who use defensive strategies.

Indomie has developed a market to the upper class by making premium products. Then Sedaap’s noodle appeared to rival the standard indie. Sedaap Mie offers more onions. Indomie reacts by removing a variety of fried noodles with lots of onions. That’s Indomie’s way to maintain the market share it has.

Attacking Competitors

In an attack strategy, the market leader narrows the competition space. This is done by promoting, controlling raw materials, lowering prices. Can happen, market leaders reduce prices, sell losses. So that competitors do not move. When competitors leave, the market leader raises prices as usual.

Companies with small resources usually avoid competition by entering into areas that are not attractive to large companies. Even so, large companies can also make various kinds of products and services for various niche markets or niches. This strategy follows a strategy focused on specific markets. That is what the market dredger is doing. Scrapers can also design specific niche market products. By focusing their resources and expertise on special markets, the services are getting better, because they know the niche well.

Examples of market niches are t-shirt fans that are printed to order. The term, print on demand. In America one of them is called teespring.com. In Indonesia the name is blazbluz.com. These shirts face competitors by going into niches, niches or territories that ordinary cashier shops cannot handle. Yes. Clothing stores that provide shirts are quite a lot, both in Indonesia and in America. Teespring offers printed shirts after an order. General people may design t-shirts and promote them. He will benefit from the difference between the selling price and the teespring base price.

With a print on demand platform, usually designers don’t design t-shirts that compete with general t-shirt designs. Common designs such as designs about Nike, city names, skulls, harley davidson, metallica and so on. Print on demand shirts usually enter more specific interests, such as fishing themes, birth month themes, cats, dogs, mathematics, and so on. Large t-shirt manufacturers will not be interested in entering into that particular interest, because it will be difficult to sell in shops.

The designer / seller of the t-shirt print on demand does not market his shirt in t-shirt shops in the city, but promotes his image by advertising on Facebook, Google, Instagram and so on. The internet allows the seller to find these special enthusiasts. The t-shirt business print on demand is now an extraordinary business. There are Indonesians who sell teespring.com shirts for more than 2000 pieces for one design. And teespring gives a profit per shirt of 5 USD. Total income of 2000 x 5 USD for one shirt. Net income is calculated from revenue minus advertising costs on Facebook. Teespring and blazbluz themselves do not charge registration fees.