Segmentation and Competitive Strategy Strategies are directional statements. The direction is primarily set by four choices. Arena: the market to serve and customer segments to target Advantage: the positioning theme that differentiates the business from competitors Access: the communication and distribution channels used to reach the market Activities: the appropriate scale and scope of activities to be performed (e.g. purchasing manufacturing or processing, design, sales distribution and service). When these activities are assembled together, with the necessary organizational structures, controls, and technology linkages, they establish the value chain for the business. h:\share\rabino\information and marketing strategy.ppt

Aspects of Quality in Product Design & Segmentation Functionality – the product features and characteristics that provide value to the customer; Reliability – the product’s ability to perform as desired without failure; Reproducibility – the ability to manufacture products that consistently conform to technical specifications; Human-machine interaction – the product design elements that affect users; for example, efficiency, safety, fatigue, and stress factors; Maintainability – the ease of performing the operational processes needed to ensure the stability of the product’s hardware and software components; and Backward compatibility – the ability of new products to work with previous product releases. Ultimately, for customers, the interplay between price and quality determines product value. In addition to market imposed quality standards that are based on meeting customers’ expectations vendors/suppliers are required to conform to a variety of industry, legal and regulatory standards (e.g. telecommunication). h:\share\rabino\information and marketing strategy.ppt