Evaluation of the competitiveness of the goods
Every enterprise operating in a competitive environment must have certain advantages in order to achieve its goal. Therefore, each company pays great attention to the goods produced in order to create the most attractive commercial offer, the realization of which will bring the greatest profit.
The essence of the competitiveness of the goods
Assessment of product competitiveness It is not a secret to anyone that any product brought onto the market has various characteristics, the positive assessment of which makes the product competitive, i.e., it gives it qualities superior to those of its competitors.
The competitiveness of the product is a set of product properties and the level of customer satisfaction compared with the properties inherent in competitors’ products.
This product can play the goods of the same type in one indicator, but surpass them in others. Taking this into account, the company’s management makes a decision to improve the product’s weaknesses or directs marketing efforts to the merits of its products. The choice is always the consumer, and sometimes it is completely unexpected. Therefore, when developing strategies aimed at improving the competitiveness of a product, one should focus on those characteristics that are important for a potential buyer, improve these indicators and provide the consumer with complete and reliable information that can help him make a decision on purchasing products. We must not forget that it is the consumer who evaluates the competitiveness of the product, determining for himself the most beloved brand. Moreover, the parameters by which the product is evaluated, and the degree of their importance may be different for each customer. Marketing research of consumers’ opinions about the products of a company is able to calculate the average statistical estimate that customers put to a particular product.
Product competitiveness indicators
There are three groups of indicators that the buyer analyzes and compares with each other.
1. Regulatory Shows how the product meets the norms and rules established by law Minimum quality; Compliance with State Standards, etc.
2. Technical Represents the characteristics and properties that are directly aimed at meeting a specific need, for the sake of which the product is purchased. ease of use; life time; after-sales service etc.
3. Economic Monetary valuation of expenses that a consumer will incur in the process of purchasing goods and further using the Selling price; the cost of consumables and spare parts, if they are needed to maintain the condition of the goods for operation as intended, etc.
Table 1 shows the general groups of indicators of the competitiveness of a product, to which you can add consumer attitudes to products of a particular brand, availability of goods for purchase, aesthetic criteria, and similar parameters. Of particular importance for the competitiveness of the goods is after-sales service, i.e. service. If the firm does not have the ability to provide adequate technical support for the goods purchased, it loses an important advantage. In this situation, consumers are looking for help from competitors, and then go to them altogether. Therefore, when creating and applying in practice marketing strategies aimed at improving competitiveness, it is necessary to plan after-sales service, providing for various options for technical support.
Competently thoughtful after-sales service of goods will bring the following results:
Creating prospects for the development of new markets and the positioning of its own goods as a commodity with reinforcement.
Getting more profit, so the cost of technical support for the product is several times higher than its retail price.
Establishment of relations with consumers of competitors who do not have their own service base.
Creating a positive reputation for the manufacturer.
Considering the competitiveness of the product in terms of key indicators, it can be noted that the consumer assessment of each product is constantly decreasing. This process is irreversible, so when forming marketing strategies, you need to plan a new competitive product to replace the product that has lost interest in the market. To improve competitiveness, you can improve the technical performance of the product, and you can reduce the price. As practice shows, the second method gives the most effective results. However, it is very difficult to reduce the retail price of a product without losing a substantial part of the profit. To do this, look for ways to reduce the cost of the cost of goods, as well as the use of new production technologies that consume less energy and other resources.
