Definition:Identifying your competitors and evaluating their
strategies to determine their strengths and weaknesses relative to
those of your own product or service .A competitive analysis is a
critical part of your company marketing plan. With this evaluation,
you can establish what makes your product or service unique--and
therefore what attributes you play up in order to attract your
target market.Evaluate your competitors by placing them in
strategic groups according to how directly they compete for a share
of the customer's dollar. For each competitor or strategic group,
list their product or service, its profitability, growth pattern,
marketing objectives and assumptions, current and past strategies,
organizational and cost structure, strengths and weaknesses, and
size (in sales) of the competitor's business. Answer questions such
as: Who are your competitors? What products or services do they
sell? What is each competitor's market share? What are their past
strategies? What are their current strategies? What type of media
are used to market their products or services? How many hours per
week do they purchase to advertise through the media used in this
market? What are each competitor's strengths and weaknesses? What
potential threats do your competitors pose? What potential
opportunities do they make available for you?A quick and easy way
to compare your product or service with similar ones on the market
is to make a competition grid. Down the left side of a piece of
paper, write the names of four or five products or services that
compete with yours. To help you generate this list, think of what
your customers would buy if they didn't buy your product or
service.Across the top of the paper, list the main features and
characteristics of each product or service. Include such things as
target market, price, size, method of distribution, and extent of
customer service for a product. For a service, list prospective
buyers, where the service is available, price, website, toll-free
phone number, and other features that are relevant. A glance at the
competition grid will help you see where your product fits in the
overall market.
Competitor analysisinmarketingand strategicmanagementis an
assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and
potentialcompetitors. This analysis provides both an offensive and
defensive strategic context to identify opportunities and threats.
Profiling coalesces all of the relevant sources of competitor
analysis into one framework in the support of efficient and
effective strategy formulation, implementation, monitoring and
adjustment.[1]Competitor analysis is an essential component of
corporate strategy.[2]It is argued that most firms do not conduct
this type of analysis systematically enough. Instead, many
enterprises operate on what is called informal impressions,
conjectures, and intuition gained through the tidbits of
information about competitors every manager continually receives.
As a result, traditional environmental scanning places many firms
at risk of dangerous competitive blindspots due to a lack of robust
competitor analysis.[3]Contents[hide] 1Competitor analysis
2Competitor profiling 3Media scanning 4New competitors 5See also
6Notes 7ReferencesCompetitor analysis[edit]One common and useful
technique is constructing acompetitor array. The steps include:
Define your industry - scope and nature of the industry Determine
who your competitors are Determine who your customers are and what
benefits they expect Determine what the key success factors are in
your industry Rank the key success factors by giving each one a
weighting - The sum of all the weightings must add up to one. Rate
each competitor on each of the key success factors Multiply each
cell in the matrix by the factor weighting.This can best be
displayed on a two dimensional matrix - competitors along the top
and key success factors down the side. An example of a competitor
array follows:[4]Key IndustrySuccess FactorsWeightingCompetitor#1
ratingCompetitor#1 weightedCompetitor#2 ratingCompetitor#2
weighted
1 - Extensive distribution.462.431.2
2 - Customer focus.341.251.5
3 - Economies of scale.23.63.6
4 - Product innovation.17.74.4
Totals1.0204.9153.7
In this example competitor #1 is rated higher than competitor #2
on product innovation ability (7 out of 10, compared to 4 out of
10) and distribution networks (6 out of 10), but competitor #2 is
rated higher on customer focus (5 out of 10). Overall, competitor
#1 is rated slightly higher than competitor #2 (20 out of 40
compared to 15 out of 40). When the success factors are weighted
according to their importance, competitor #1 gets a far better
rating (4.9 compared to 3.7).Two additional columns can be added.
In one column you can rate your own company on each of the key
success factors (try to be objective and honest). In another column
you can listbenchmarks. They are the ideal standards of comparisons
on each of the factors. They reflect the workings of a company
using all the industry's best practices.Competitor
profiling[edit]The strategic rationale of competitor profiling is
powerfully simple. Superior knowledge of rivals offers a legitimate
source of competitive advantage. The raw material of competitive
advantage consists of offering superior customer value in the firms
chosen market. The definitive characteristic of customer value is
the adjective, superior. Customer value is defined relative to
rival offerings making competitor knowledge an intrinsic component
of corporate strategy. Profiling facilitates this strategic
objective in three important ways.[5]First, profiling can reveal
strategic weaknesses in rivals that the firm may exploit. Second,
the proactive stance of competitor profiling will allow the firm to
anticipate the strategic response of their rivals to the firms
planned strategies, the strategies of other competing firms, and
changes in the environment. Third, this proactive knowledge will
give the firms strategic agility. Offensive strategy can be
implemented more quickly in order to exploit opportunities and
capitalize on strengths. Similarly, defensive strategy can be
employed more deftly in order to counter the threat of rival firms
from exploiting the firms own weaknesses.[3]Clearly, those firms
practicing systematic and advanced competitor profiling have a
significant advantage. As such, a comprehensive profiling
capability is rapidly becoming a core competence required for
successful competition. An appropriate analogy is to consider this
advantage as akin to having a good idea of the next move that your
opponent in a chess match will make. By staying one move ahead,
checkmate is one step closer. Indeed, as in chess, a good offense
is the best defense in the game of business as well.[3]A common
technique is to create detailed profiles on each of your major
competitors.[6]These profiles give an in-depth description of the
competitor's background, finances, products, markets, facilities,
personnel, and strategies. This involves: Background location of
offices, plants, and online presences history - key personalities,
dates, events, and trends ownership, corporate governance, and
organizational structure Financials P-E ratios,dividend policy, and
profitability various financial ratios, liquidity, and cash flow
profit growth profile; method of growth (organic or acquisitive)
Products products offered, depth and breadth ofproduct line, and
product portfolio balance new products developed, new product
success rate, and R&D strengths brands, strength of brand
portfolio, brand loyalty and brand awareness patents and licenses
quality control conformance reverse engineeringordeformulation
Marketing segments served, market shares, customer base, growth
rate, and customer loyalty promotional mix, promotional budgets,
advertising themes, ad agency used, sales force success rate,
online promotional strategy distribution channels used (direct
& indirect), exclusivity agreements, alliances, and
geographical coverage pricing, discounts, and allowances Facilities
plant capacity, capacity utilization rate, age of plant, plant
efficiency, capital investment location, shipping logistics, and
product mix by plant Personnel number of employees, key employees,
and skill sets strength of management, and management style
compensation, benefits, and employee morale & retention rates
Corporate and marketing strategies objectives, mission statement,
growth plans, acquisitions, and divestitures marketing
strategiesMedia scanning[edit]Scanning competitor's ads can reveal
much about what that competitor believes about marketing and their
target market. Changes in a competitor'sadvertisingmessage can
revealProductnew product offerings, new production
processes,StrategyBranding strategy, positioning strategy,
segmentation strategy, pricing strategy, promotion strategy,
distribution strategy.a newbranding strategy, a newpositioning
strategy, a newsegmentation strategy,line extensionsand
contractions, problems with previous positions, insights from
recent marketing or productresearch, a newstrategic direction, a
new source ofsustainable competitive advantage, orvalue
migrationswithin the industry. It might also indicate a newpricing
strategysuch aspenetration,price discrimination,price
skimming,product bundling, joint product pricing, discounts, or
loss leaders. It may also indicate a newpromotion strategysuch as
push, pull, balanced, short term sales generation, long term image
creation, informational, comparative, affective, reminder, new
creative objectives, newunique selling proposition, new creative
concepts, appeals, tone, and themes, or a new advertising agency.
It might also indicate a newdistribution strategy, new distribution
partners, more extensive distribution, more intensive distribution,
a change in geographical focus, or exclusive distribution. Similar
techniques can be used by observing a competitor'ssearch engine
optimizationtargets and practices.[7]For example, by conducting
keyword research, one may be able to determine a competitor's
target market, keywords, or products. Other metrics allow for
detection of a competitor's success.[8]Little of this intelligence
is definitive: additional information is needed before conclusions
should be drawn.A competitor's media strategy reveals budget
allocation, segmentation andtargeting strategy, and selectivity
andfocus.[9][10]From a tactical perspective, it can also be used to
help a manager implement his own media plan. By knowing the
competitor's media buy, media selection, frequency, reach,
continuity, schedules, and flights, the manager can arrange his own
media plan so that they do not coincide.Other sources of corporate
intelligence include trade shows, patent filings, mutual customers,
annual reports, and trade associations.Some firms hire competitor
intelligence professionals to obtain this information. TheSociety
of Competitive Intelligence Professionalsmaintains a listing of
individuals who provide these services.[11]New competitors[edit]In
addition to analysing current competitors, it is necessary to
estimate future competitive threats. The most common sources of new
competitors are: Companies competing in a related product/market
Companies using related technologies Companies already targeting
your prime market segment but with unrelated products Companies
from other geographical areas and with similar products New
start-up companies organized by former employees and/or managers of
existing companiesThe entrance of new competitors is likely when:
There are high profit margins in the industry There is unmet demand
(insufficient supply) in the industry There are no major barriers
to entry There is future growth potential Competitive rivalry is
not intense Gaining acompetitive advantageover existing firms is
feasible
Competitor Analysis Template: 12 Ways To Predict Your
Competitors BehaviorsBenchmarking-May 3, 2013ByRoss Beard.2524
The best companies in the world remain at the top of their game
by keeping a close on eye on their competitors.Honda was able to
enter the U.S. motorcycle market with a small motorbike because
they saw that the U.S. manufacturers had assumed there was no
market for small bikes.A competitor analysis is a great way to
obtain information about important competitors and use that
information to predict competitorbehaviorswhilst making better
business decisions.Using acompetitor analysis templateyou can
compare how your company rates against your competitors across a
wide range of aspects.This article will focus on explaining what a
competitive analysis is and how you can use the template I have
created to make better informed business decisions.My competitor
analysis template has been adapted from Michael Porters,
Competitive Strategy 1980, with theories and thoughts taken fromJim
Riley,Daniel BurteinandBusiness Lifestyle Solutions.Before I go
straight into showing you the customer analysis template, I wanted
to bring to light some of the key reasons why you would want to do
a competitor analysis and what benefits you can get out of doing
one.Why do a competitor analysis?The main goals of a competitor
analysis are to understand who your competitors are, what
strategies they are using and have planned, how competitors might
react to your companys actions, and how to influence
competitorbehaviorto your advantage.A lot of the time, this data is
easily accessible so you will need to dig deep into annual reports,
press releases, product brochures, patent applications and much,
much more!I will take you through the most common places to find
each piece of information in the customer analysis template.So now
you know why you should do a competitor analysis, what are the real
benefits? Can assist your management with developing marketing
strategies Can identify opportunities in the market that
areunder-served Can help you take advantage of competitors
weaknesses to grow market share Can allow you to make better
informed decisions about your strategy and ensure you can create
sustainable competitive advantages Can help you with forecasting
future investmentsNow lets get into the competitor analysis
template. I recommend youdownload and print the template hereso you
can fill it in while I take you through each section.I break the
template down into 12 key sections: Competitor Profile Overview
Competitive advantage Marketing Profile Target market Market share
Marketing strategies Product/ Service Profile Product/Service
offerings Pricing and costs Channels SWOT Profile Strengths
Weaknesses Opportunities ThreatsAs I go through each of these
sections, make sure analyseyour company,then analysethreeof your
most important competitors.Competitor Profile: OverviewThe
competitor profile and overview involvesanalyzingcompetitors using
Michael Porters framework based on four key aspects: Competitors
objectives Competitors assumptions Competitors strategy Competitors
capabilitiesObjectives and assumptions drive the competitor while
the strategy and capabilities are what the competitor is capable of
doing. See the diagram below to see the components:Competitor
Objectives:these objectives are not always financial; they can
commonly be related to a companys growth rate and market share. The
reason you want to know a competitors objectives is so you can
better plan for their strategies.Lets say your competitor is
focusing on short term revenue you can likely suspect they will
spend most their efforts on holding strong positions for the top
performing products as opposed to investing in research and
development to roll out new products.Competitors
Assumptions:assumptions are made by management most the time based
on past experience, but can also include beliefs about its
competitive position, regional factors, industry trends and rules
of thumb.The Honda example I brought to light earlier is a classic.
U.S. manufacturers had failed in the past with attempts to sell a
smaller motorbike and as such had written off the market segment,
leaving a gaping opportunity for Honda to grab market
share.Competitors Strategy:this information is often hard to find.
A lot can be revealed in annual shareholder reports, 10K reports,
interviews with analysts, statements by managers and press
releases.Cash flow is also a great indicator of a competitors
strategy, try looking up their hiring activity, R&D projects,
capital investments, promotional campaigns, strategy partnerships,
mergers and acquisitions.Competitors Capabilities:once you have
knowledge of the above three aspects, you can make better informed
decisions about the capabilities of a competitor. These decisions
can help fend off competitor attacks and help you make strategic
attacks based on competitors abilities to respond quickly and
effectively.A companys capabilities are also linked to its
strengths. So completing a SWOT analysis (I go through this
later)can provide further interesting intelligence.How to find
information for your competitor profileDavidson (1997) believes the
sources of competitor information can be neatly grouped into three
categories: Recordeddata: this is easily available in published
form either internally or externally. Good examples include
competitor annual reports and product brochures;
Observabledata:this has to be actively sought and often assembled
from several sources. A good example is competitor pricing;
Opportunistic data:to get hold of this kind of data requires a lot
of planning and organisation. Much of it is anecdotal, coming from
discussions with suppliers, customers and, perhaps, previous
management of competitors.The table below lists possible sources of
competitor data using Davidsons categorization:
Task 1: Competitor ProfileComplete your competitor profile use
the recommended sources to find the data and try get as much info
as possible.Competitor Profile: Competitive AdvantageThis section
is important. Do you know what your competitive advantage is?I like
to define competitive advantage as your point of differentiation
something that makes you different from your competitors.Jim
Rileydefines it as an advantage over competitors gained by offering
consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by
providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher
price.Jim is spot on, but I like to keep things simple.Task 2:
Competitive AdvantageThink about what makes your company different
than your competitors. Next, do the same thing for your three
competitors. If youre struggling, pick up the phone and give your
competitors a call just ask them!Go one step further and actually
talk to their customers ask them why they shopped with the
competitor company. Youll get some lovely responses and more than
likely find out their competitive advantages.Marketing Profile:
Target MarketDid you know that some of your competitorsmay not
actually be your competitors?In this step I want you to define your
primary target market.Your primary target market is the group of
customers that you service the most. For instance, you are an IT
Company that services Accounting firms in New York. Thats a very
specific target market, but for demonstration purposes your
competitors are the ones competing with you for a share inthat
market.You can broaden things out and target a number of different
verticals in New York, but I recommend you try keep things as
targeted as possible to ensure you findthe most relevantcompetitors
to compare against.Task 3: Target MarketIdentify who your target
market is (if you dont already know) and then do some research on
your competitors to see who their target market is. A good place to
start would be their website and marketing communications see who
their existing clients are, have a look at their messaging.Note: if
you find out your actual competitors are different from what you
original selected make sure you change them and redo section one:
competitor profile.Marketing Profile: Market ShareMarket share can
be defined as the percentage of the market you account for. In the
previous task you identified your target market now its time to
calculate your market share.In a survey by the Marketing
Accountability Standards Board (MASB), 67% of respondents prefer to
calculated their market share metric as a dollar value for instance
you have $300,000 share in a $1.8 million dollar market which
equates to a 16.7% market share.So why is this relevant for your
competitive analysis?Well, you want to know how you stack up
against your competitors to ensure you can make better business
decisions read more this in my article oncompetitive
benchmarking.This metric can help you with setting goals and
objectives for the future to ensure you grow your business and take
a bigger piece of the revenue available.Looking at these
statistical trends overtime can also give you good intelligence on
your competitorsbehavior If their market share has increased
steadily over the past couple of years you can safely bet they are
looking to gro market share in your market,which means stealing
market share from you!If you are aware of this, you can make
necessary defensive strategies to combat their attacks.Task 4:
Market ShareComplete a market share analysis.Marketing Profile:
Marketing StrategiesYour closest competitor is ramping up a new
radio campaign wouldnt it be nice to know that ahead of time?Well,
it certainly would but unless you have some overfriendly
competitors that love sharing, chances are you probably wont.That
doesnt mean you cant strategically predict what your competitors
might do.In this section of the template, make sure you fill in
your marketing strategies and predict those of your competitors. If
you are not familiar with what they are doing, do some research and
observe what they are doing good sources to be looking at include
their advertising campaigns and promotions. The goal here is to try
and predict what they might have planned for the futureand how that
will affect you.Let me demonstrate this with an example. You might
have a competitor in your list that primarily services another
particular market but have a couple of clients in your market. They
recognise an opportunity for growth and think they can steal a bit
of the market share that you hold and as a result, launch a radio
campaign targeted at your market!Now what do you do?Hopefully youve
been doing your analysis and have a defensive marketing strategy in
place. For example, you can be proactive and reach out to all your
clients with a specialvalue adding quarterly meeting giving you an
opportunity to strengthen your relationship andretain your clients.
By being prepared, you can stay one step ahead of your
competitors.Task 5: Marketing StrategiesWrite down your current
marketing strategies and any you have in the pipeline. Now get
moving and see what your competitors are doing give them a call, do
some research on their site do whatever you can to become more
familiar with their strategies. Youd be surprised how many
competitors would actually tell you what they are
planning.Product/Service Profile:Your product and/or service mix
includes your range of products and services. This section of the
competitor analysis template involves comparing your offerings to
those of your competitor.It is important here to take a look at
your product range, product quality and brand credibility.I
recommend you firstly take a look at your product range and see
where your strengths lie. Next, be honest with yourself and rank
your quality standard on scale of 1 to 10. Lastly, rank your brand
credibility and if you hold any.Now do the same for your three
competitors, using the same judging scale. Look out for areas where
your product or service differs from your competitors.This section
gives you the opportunity to identify new viable markets that can
be exploited with a new product, or make product variations to fill
a gap in an existing market. These opportunities can be explored
further with more research and by completing section four of this
template which discusses the SWOT.Task 6: Product/Service
ProfileComplete the product/service profile rate your company then
your competitors on a consistent performance scale.Product/Service
Profile: Pricing and CostsPricing can tell a lot about your
competitors. Here you want to be looking at what pricing strategies
you and your competitors are implementing.Key questions to be
asking about yourself and your competitors include: Am I a low-cost
or high-cost provider? What are my mark-ups? 75% but currently
offering 15% to get stock moving? Do I work off volume sales or
once off purchases? Do my prices differentiate depending on the
medium online vs brick n mortar? Am I using a cost-based,
customer-based or competitor-based pricing strategy?Task 7: Pricing
and CostsAnswer all these questions about your company and your
competitors. Pricing is an observable source so you should be able
to get most of the answers by looking at your competitors
offerings.Product/Service Profile: Distribution ChannelsThe
internet has disrupted the more traditional distribution channels.
This section involves looking at how you distribute your
product/service to your customers and how your competitors do
it.Jim Rileytalks about how each layer of marketing intermediaries
that performs some work in bring the product to its final buyer is
a channel level.I recommend you break down your distribution
channels down as a percentage.Task 8: Distribution ChannelsFirst,
start with your company how do you get your products or services
into your customers hands?It might be that 50% of the work is done
remotely, 30% on site and the remaining 20% done automatically?Now
look at your competitors distribution channels are they automating
more aspects? Do they use more middle men? Do they spend more
timein front of the clients?Two questions I love asking are: Does
there strategy resonate better with customers than yours? Do they
have bettercustomer satisfaction metricsthan you?SWOT Profile:
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, ThreatsThe final section of
the competitor analysis template includes analyzing four aspects
from the traditional SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats).A SWOT analysis is traditionally used by
companies to audit their current business processes and monitor
competitors. I like to break the SWOT down to internal and external
factors.Internally, lays your companysstrengths and weaknesses.
These are things that you have control over hence internal.Examples
of strengths include your brand and your perceived quality.
Weaknesses might be your lack product range.Externally, lays your
companies opportunities and threats. These are aspects which you
have limited/no control over but must be aware of and monitor
closely. Examples of opportunities might be government strategy
that opens up doors to new markets, while threats might be a new
competitor deciding to enter your market.Understanding your own
SWOT is only half the challenge. The really value you get from a
SWOT analysis is when you complete one for your competitors SWOTs
are a great way to predict competitors strategies and their
competitive advantages.In fact, a SWOT analysis links closely to
what I talked about in an earlier section regarding competitive
advantage.To form a competitive advantage, you need your strengths
and opportunities to be matching.By understanding this dynamic, you
can put strategies in place that aim to convert your weaknesses and
threats into strengths and opportunities. This will allow your
company to find new competitive advantages that will help you grow
into new markets to defend attacks from competitors.Furthermore, by
understanding your competitors weaknesses and threats, you are able
to create strategies that can exploit them and help you towards
your objectives.Task 9: SWOT ProfileComplete a SWOT analysis for
your company and your competitors make sure you get your head
around internal vs external factors a lot of people tend to get
confused. This is the final step of my competitor analysis template
and really aims to wrap up everything and give you a good
understanding of where you lie in comparison to your competitors in
the market.In conclusionSome businesses think its best to just go
about their own plans and ignore the competitors.I hope by going
through this competitor analysis template you can now appreciate
the importance of analysing your competitors. When completed
correctly, a competitor analysis can help you your business form
strategies that will capitalise on opportunities and minimise the
impact of threats from competitors.
There are few documents that get the attention of product
planners and marketers the way that a competitive analysis does. A
good competitive analysis is a scouting report of the actual market
terrain that your company must navigate in order to be successful.
And there is no person better equipped to write one than a
market-savvy technical writer.To write a good competitive analysis,
you must: Be objective. Conduct fearless and thorough research.
Write well.If you're like most successful technical writers I know,
you have these skills already. So, how do you put these skills
together to do the job?A competitive analysis covers five key
topics: Your company's competitors. Competitor product summaries.
Competitor strengths and weaknesses. The strategies used by each
competitor to achieve their objectives. The market outlook.A List
of CompetitorsThe analysis begins with a list of your company's
competitors. Most of the time, such a list is comprised of what
your company cconsiders to be its chief competitors. However, there
may be other companies that indirectly compete with yours, ones
that offer products or services that are aiming for the same
customer capital.You will also want to include information on
companies that may be entering your market in the coming year. Once
you have compiled the list, you can highlight those companies that
will be the greatest challenge.Competitor Product SummaryAnalyze
the competition's products and services in terms of features,
value, and targets. How do your competitor's sell their wares? How
dotheymarket them? Customer satisfaction surveys conducted by the
trade press can help you tremendously. How do customers see your
competition? Ask your sales force for information -- they can be
your best source of information about your competitor's
customers.It's likewise important to include information on how
competitors distribute and advertise their products. You will want
to talk about product quality and, where possible, find out how
they are staffed.Competitor Strengths and WeaknessesAs you put
together the list of competitor strengths and weaknesses, be
objective. You'll do your company no good if you allow bias toward
your own products and services to cloud your judgment. Try to see
the competition's products as thoughyouwere the competitor. What
makes their products so great? If they are growing rapidly, what is
it about their product or service that's promoting that growth?You
can find this information in a variety of ways. Certainly there are
numerous Internet resources you can use -- the competitor's Web
site is always a good start. The trade press is an invaluable
resource, but don't do all your research through the Internet. Make
some phone calls, talk to the journalists and consultants who are
active in the industry. These people are a lot easier to find than
you'd think, and they are often happy to share facts and opinions
with you.Competitor Strategies and ObjectivesObserve how your
competitors market themselves through press releases and
advertising. Quarterly and annual reports reveal a great deal of
information, too. But more than likely you'll have to do quite a
lot of footwork to nail your competitors down.Interviews of
journalists and consultants can be valuable. You will have to go to
many different sources to get a complete picture. What about your
competitors' customers? Good sales people will know who they are
and can help you get this sort of information. It takes practice
and a little shrewdness on your part to piece together a complete
picture of strategies and objectives. Focus on the facts, be
persistent, and trust your intuition to help you.Market OutlookWhat
is the market for your company's product like now? Is it growing?
If so, then there are likely quite a few customers left to go
around. If on the other hand the market is flat, then the
competition for customers is likely to be fierce. Your company will
find itself scrambling to win market share. Is the market
splintering -- is it breaking up into niches?The outlook portion of
your analysis may seem like prognostication, but it's really a
measure of trends. By the time you've done most of your research,
you'll have enough information to determine what the outlook really
is.Writing a competitive analysis can be a challenging and
interesting piece of work. You'll learn a lot about your industry
and in the process become a more valuable resource for your company
or clients.
Strategi samudera biruDari Wikipedia bahasa Indonesia,
ensiklopedia bebasBelum DiperiksaStrategi samudera biru, atau lebih
populer dengan istilahnya dalam Bahasa Inggris,Blue Ocean Strategy,
adalah strategi yang menantangperusahaanuntuk keluar dari samudra
merah persaingan berdarah dengan cara menciptakan ruangpasaryang
belum ada pesaingnya, sehingga kata kompetisi pun menjadi tidak
relevan. Strategi samudra biru berfokus pada menumbuhkan permintaan
dan menjauh dari kompetensi dengan menciptakan suatu nilai dan
keunikan yang tidak sembarang unik, namun juga merupakan pangsa
pasar menguntungkan.[1]Daftar isi[sembunyikan] 1Perbandingan
denganred ocean 2Inovasi sebagai pijakan strategi samudera biru
3Kanvas Strategi 4Kerangka Kerja Empat Langkah 5Skema
Hapuskan-Kurangi-Tingkatkan-Ciptakan 6Strategi Pengembangan Pasar
7Referensi 8Pranala LuarPerbandingan denganred
ocean[sunting|sunting sumber]Dalam duniabisnisterdapat dua macam
area,red oceandanblue ocean. Di dalamred oceansendiri merupakan
gambaran persaingan bisnis yang ada saat ini dan ruang pasar yang
sudah dikenal sedangkanblue oceanmenciptakan ruang pasar yang baru
, yang belum dimasuki oleh pesaing sebelum nya atau belum dikenali
. Di dalamred ocean,batasan-batasan dalam industri telah
didefinisikan dan diterima oleh para pelaku bisnis.Di sini,
perusahaan berusaha mengalahkan lawan mereka demi mendapatkan
permintaan dari pangsa pasar yang lebih besar. Sebaliknya di
dalamblue ocean strategyditandai oleh ruang pasar yang belum
terjelajahi, penciptaan permintaan, dan peluang pertumbuhan yang
sangat menguntungkan. Di dalamblue ocean strategy, kompetisi itu
tidak relevan karena aturan-aturan permainan baru akan
dibentuk.[1]Inovasi sebagai pijakan strategi samudera
biru[sunting|sunting sumber]Menurut Kim, strategi samudera biru
jarang sekali berkaitan dengan inovasi teknologi. Sebagai contoh
pabrik perakitan mobilFordyang revolusioner dapat dilacak awal
penerapannya pada industri pengepakan daging di Amerika Serikat.
Begitu juga perusahaan-perusahaan lama seringkali merupakan pemain
yang menghasilkan samudera bitu dan seringkali dihasilkan oleh unit
bisnis utama mereka.[2]Inovasi nilaimerupakan batu-pijak dari
strategi samudra biru. Inovasi nilai memberikan penekanan setara
pada nilai nilai dan inovasi. Nilai tanpa inovasi cenderung
berfokus pada penciptaan nilai dalam skala besar. Inovasi tanpa
nilai cenderung bersifat mengandalkan teknologi, pelopor pasar,
atau futuristis, dan sering membidik sesuatu yang belum siap
diterima dan dikonsumsi oleh pembeli.
Inovasi nilai merupakan cara baru untuk memikirkan dan
melaksanakan strategi yang mengarah pada penciptaan samudra biru
dan ditinggalkannya kompetisi. Penciptaan samudra biru adalah soal
menekan biaya sembari meningkatkan nilai bagi pembeli. Karena nilai
pembeli berasal dari utilitas (manfaat) dan harga yang ditawarkan
perusahaan kepada pembeli, dan karena nilai bagi perusahaan itu
dihasilkan dari harga dan struktur biaya, maka inovasi nilai
tercapai hanya ketika keseluruhan system kegiatan utilitas, harga,
dan biaya perusahaan terpadu dengan tepat. Inovasi nilai adalah
lebih dari sekadar inovasi. Inovasi nilai adalah soal strategi yang
merangkul seluruh sistem kegiatan perusahaan. Inovasi nilai
menuntut perusahaan untuk mengarahkan seluruh sistem pada tujuan
mencapai lompatan dalam nilai bagi pembeli dan perusahaan itu
sendiri.Kanvas Strategi[sunting|sunting sumber]Kanvas strategi
adalah kerangka aksi sekaligus diagnosis untuk membangun strategi
samudra biru yang baik. Ia merangkum situasi terkini dalam ruang
pasar yang sudah dikenal. Hal ini memungkinkan anda untuk memahami
di mana kompetisi saat ini sedang tercurah, memahami faktor-faktor
apa yang sedang dijadikan ajang kompetisi dalam produk, jasa, dan
pengiriman, serta memahami apa yang didapat konsumen dari penawaran
kompetitif yang ada di pasar.[2]Kerangka Kerja Empat
Langkah[sunting|sunting sumber]Menurut Kim terdapat empat
pertanyaan kunci untuk menantang logika strategi dan model bisnis
sebuah industri:1. Faktor apa saja yang harus dihapuskan dari
faktor-faktor yang telah diterima begitu saja oleh industri?2.
Faktor apa saja yang harus dikurangi hingga dibawah standar
industri?3. Faktor apa saja yang harus ditingkatkan hingga di atas
standar industri?4. Faktor apa saja yang belum pernah ditawarkan
industri sehingga harus diciptakan?
Secara bersama-sama, keempat pertanyaan ini memungkinkan anda
secara sistematis mengeksplorasi cara anda merekonstruksi
elemen-elemen nilai pembeli di sepanjang industri-industri
alternatif demi menawari pembeli pengalaman yang sama sekali baru,
sambil secara bersamaan tetap mempertahankan struktur biaya anda
pada level rendah.Skema
Hapuskan-Kurangi-Tingkatkan-Ciptakan[sunting|sunting sumber]Menurut
Kim alat ini adalah alat analisis pelengkap bagi kerangka kerja
empat langkah. Skema ini mendorong perusahaan untuk tidak hanya
menanyakan empat pertanyaan dalam kerangka kerja empat langkah,
tapi juga bertindak berdasarkan keempat pertanyaan itu untuk
menciptakan suatu kurva nilai baru. Skema ini memberikan empat
manfaat utama kepada perusahaan:1. Mendorong perusahaan untuk
mengejar diferensiasi dan biaya murah secara bersamaan untuk
mendobrak pertukaran nilai-biaya.2. Menyerang perusahaan lain yang
hanya berfokus pada upaya meningkatkan dan menciptakan, sehingga
menaikkan struktur biaya mereka, serta menyerang perusahaan lain
yang sering memodifikasi produk dan jasa secara berlebihan.3. Skema
ini dengan mudah dipahami oleh manajer di level apa pun, sehingga
menciptakan tingkat keterlibatan yang tinggi dalam penerapannya.4.
Karena penuntasan upaya-upaya dalam skema ini merupakan tugas
menantang, skema ini mendorong perusahaan untuk bersemangat dalam
menganalisis setiap faktorindustriyang menjadi ajang kompetisi,
sehingga ia menemukan berbagai asumsi implisit yang mereka buat
secara tak sadar dalam berkompetisi.Strategi Pengembangan
Pasar[sunting|sunting sumber]Menurut Tjiptono[3]strategi korporat
dapat dikelompokkan menjadi dua macam, yaitu strategi pertumbuhan
dan strategi konsolidasi. Masing-masing tipe terbagi lagi menjadi
beberapa jenis strategi berikut:1. Strategi pertumbuhan (''Growth
Strategies'')Strategi pertumbuhan dapat dijabarkan lagi berdasarkan
focus perusahaan pada pasar saat ini atau pasar baru Strategi
pertumbuhan untuk pasar saat ini.Perusahaan yang menjumpai banyak
peluang dan sedikit masalah dalam pasar yang dilayaninya saat ini
kemungkinan besar akan memilih alternatif strategi pertumbuhan
berbasis pasar yang ada saat ini. Strategi pertumbuhan untuk pasar
baru.Apabila pasar yang dilayani saat ini dinilai kurang prospektif
dalam hal pertumbuhan penjualan maupun profitabilitasnya,
perusahaan cenderung akan berusaha mencari pasar baru yang lebih
menjanjikan.1. Strategi konsolidasi (Consolidation Strategies).
Secara umum, terdapat tiga macam strategi konsolidasi: Strategi
penciutan (Retrenchment), yaitu mengurangi komitmen perusahaan pada
produk-produk saat ini dengan cara menarik diri dari pasar yang
dinilai lemah atau gagal. Strategi ini merupakan kebalikan dari
strategi pengembangan pasar. Strategi pemangkasan (Pruning), yaitu
strategi mengurangi jumlah produk yang ditawarkan pada sebuah pasar
spesifik. Strategi ini merupakan kebalikan dari strategi
pengembangan produk. Strategi divestasi (Divestment), yaitu menjual
sebagian bisnis perusahaan kepada perusahaan lain atau menutup unit
usaha tertentu. Maka pada prinsipnya strategi divestasi merupakan
kebalikan dari strategi diversifikasi.
Artikel Ekonomi & Bisnis : Blue Ocean VS Red Ocean
Strategy
Artikel Ekonomi dan Bisnis. Pada kesempatan ini kita akan
membahas dan membandingkan antara Blue Ocean Strategy dan Red Ocean
Strategy, sebagai bagian dari pendekatan/strategi kompetisi bisnis
di masa sekarang.
BLUE OCEAN STRATEGYBlue Ocean Strategy, merupakan salah satu
tema penting dalam wacana manajemen strategi lima tahun belakangan.
Digagas oleh Profesor asal Korea, Chan Kim dan rekannya dari
Perancis Renee Mauborgne, tema ini hendak mengajarkan kepada kita
tentang bagaimana memenangkan kompetisi bisnis yang kian
dinamik.Lalu apa itu sejatinya blue ocean strategy? Apa saja contoh
konkrit perusahaan yang telah menerapkannnya? Dan tahapan apa saja
yang mesti dilakoni guna menjalankannya dengan berhasil?
Konsep dasar Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) adalah Value Innovation.
Yaitu bagaimana kita mengalihkan diri dari persaingan di Red Ocean
yang sangat kompetitive dan berdarah, menuju pada Blue Ocean yang
membuat kompetisi jadi tidak relevan lagi.Blue ocean strategy pada
dasarnya merupakan sebuah siasat untuk menaklukan pesaing melalui
tawaran fitur produk yang inovatif, dan selama ini diabaikan oleh
para pesaing. Fitur produk ini biasanya juga berbeda secara radikal
dengan yang selama ini sudah ada di pasar.
Value Innovation tidak selalu berupa inovasi teknologi, tetapi
berupa inovasi untuk peningkatan keuntungan pelanggan yang
disesuaikan dengan harga jual dan biaya.Setiap strategi selalu
mempunyai resiko yang harus diperhitungkan denganseksama.Dengan
cara seperti diatas,blue oceanmendorong pelakunya untuk memasuki
sebuah arena pasar baru yang potensial, dan yang selama ini
dilupakan oleh para pesaing. Contoh yang paling fenomenal dari dari
kisah blue ocean ini misalnya dapat dilihat pada kisah keberhasilan
Yamaha dengan skutik Mio-nya. Dulu sebelum motor jenis ini muncul,
pasar sepeda motor didominasi oleh jenis konvensional dengan Honda
sebagai penguasanya.
Melalui skutik Mio, Yamaha mengintroduksi motor dengan fitur
yang berbeda secara radikal dengan produk yang selama ini ada di
pasaran. Ia juga segera membidik segmen pasar baru (new market
segment) yakni para pelanggan perempuan (female bikers). Dengan
pendekatan blue ocean ini, saat itu praktis Yamaha berenang dalam
arena pasar baru, yang tidak ada players lain didalamnya. Dengan
mudah Yamaha memimpin pasar baru itu, dan itu terus bertahan hingga
kini. Keberhasilan ini memang fenomenal, sebab melalui Mio-lah,
Yamaha kemudian pelan-pelan merangsek singgasana yang sudah puluhan
tahun digenggam sang jawara, Honda.
Contoh blue ocean strategy yang juga legendaris adalah drama
kemenangan produk iPod dari Apple yang merebut habis pasar musik
digital. Produk iPod ini sungguh inovatif, dan sama sekali berbeda
dengan produk sebelumnya, seperti walkman atau CD music player yang
dikuasai oleh Sony. Digitalisasi musik adalah fitur kunci dari
iPod, selain kemudahan penggunaannya. Dengan segera iPod menguasai
pasar baru musik digital, dan jauh meninggalkan Sony yang terpuruk
dalam debu keterpurukan dan luka kekalahan.Contoh lain blue ocean
strategy yang tak kalah dramatis tentu saja adalah kisah mendiang
mbah Surip dengan lagu Tak Gendong-nya. Ketika arena musik tanah
air didominasi oleh musik pop yang mendayu-dayu, ia hadir
menawarkan produk dengan fitur yang secara radikal berbeda dengan
yang selama ini ada di pasaran : sepotong lagu reggae yang jenaka
dalam balutan gaya bohemian. Plus selarik tagline yang amat brilian
: I love you full. Dengan segera ia menjelma menjadi ikon baru,
menciptakan new market space, dan dalam arena ini ia dengan mudah
menaklukkan pasar.
Kisah Yamaha Mio, iPod, dan mbah Surip adalah sepenggal kisah
tentang bagaimana konsep blue ocean strategy dibentangkan dalam
kenyataan. Semua kisah ini selalu diawali dengan kejelian melihat
potensi pasar yang selama ini diabaikan oleh para kompetitor. Dan
kemudian semuanya segera disertai dengan tawaran produk dengan
fitur yang unik, inovatif dan berbeda (different) dengan yang
selama ini ada di pasar.
Melalui cara itulah, para pelaku blue ocean strategy kemudian
bisa menciptakan ruang pasar baru, menjangkau new market demand dan
sekaligus membuat kompetisi menjadi tidak relevan. Atau mungkin
lebih tepatnya : mereka kemudian bisa meninggalkan para pesaingnya
dalam rintihan kekalahan. Mio melesat jauh meninggalkan Honda Beat.
iPod membuat produk audio Sony tergeletak sekarat dalam ambang
kehancuran. Dan nama mbah Surip tiba-tiba melambung, sebelum
akhirnya benar-benar melesat menembus langit tuju bidadari.
Inti dari Blue Ocean Strategy :1.Keluar dari persaingan Red
Ocean yang berdarah-darahdan pindahlah pada Blue Oceanyang
menguntungkan.2.Fokus pada Value Innovation, peningkatan nilai
tambah luar biasa pada pelanggan.3.Keluar dari kebiasaan berpikir
industri tersebut dengan menciptakan Market Space yang
baru.4.Gunakan Strategy Canvas dan 4 Action Framework untuk
menciptakan Value danLowcost secara bersamaan.5.Pemikiran haruslah
dari Keuntungan pelanggan, baru ke harga, biaya, dan bagaimana
mengadaptasikan keadaan yang dihadapi, baik internal maupun
external.
RED OCEAN STRATEGY
Red Ocean Strategy di ilustrasikan sebagai lautan yang di penuhi
berbagai jenis ikan yang bersaing ketat dalam memperebutkan
makanan. Dalam perebutan tersebut, terjadi peristiwa perkelahian
sengit sehingga laut yang biru berubah menjadi merah karena
percikan-percikan darah di antara mereka. Peristiwa ini
menggambarkan bahwa strategy yang di gunakan adalah bagaimana
membandingkan diri dengan pesaing (benchmark), menilai kekuatan dan
kelemahan, menentukan strategi dan mengimplementasikan taktik
mengalahkan lawan untuk mempertahankan pasar, mengambil porsi pasar
lawan, mematikan usaha lawan.
Red ocean, dimana semua kompetitor memberikan tawaran fitur
produk yang seragam, sama, dan semua saling memperebutkan pasar
yang juga sama. Alhasil, yang acap terjadi adalah pertarungan yang
berdarah-darah, lantaran arena persaingan diperebutkan oleh para
pemain yang menawarkan keseragaman produk dan pendekatan.