1. Competitive Advantages Part II BMI3C

2. Review… What are some of the ways that products can gain advantage over one another?

3. From yesterday… With a partner, list 10 products, and their main competitive advantage What are the most sustainable competitive advantages?

4. Competitive Advantage We’ve discussed the competitive advantages that products can have over one another, but what about services? What services does your family use? List on board What would make one service better than another in this category?

5. Service Competition Factors Service businesses are marketing intangibles, things that cannot be touched They compete with each other by attempting to gain a competitive advantage using: convenience, degree of service, selection, reputation, and price

6. Service Businesses Set up solely to perform specific services for customers Ex: Parcel delivery service

7. Value-added service A company that provides activities to support the sale of their product or service Ex: a store that offers free home delivery of the customers’ purchases

8. Convenience To make something easier or more comfortable Ex: Internet shopping To gain the competitive advantage, some offer value-added services Ex: 30 minute delivery for pizza, drive- through window for fast food Some service companies sell convenience Ex: limo service, cleaning service

9. Degree of Service Some businesses offer similar services, with the competitive advantage coming from the quality or variety of the services offered Ex: hair salon Some companies cut out services to lower costs Ex: Airlines, Ikea

10. Selection Some offer a greater selection of services Ex: video store The selection can be wide – meaning a large number of different types of merchandise OR the selection can be deep – meaning a large quantity of one specific type

11. Reputation Since service is intangible, the business must maintain a good reputation Service evaluation is frequently communicated to consumers through magazines, newspapers, television Word of mouth is more important Good reviews bring more business, bad reviews can ruin it The internet facilitates great sharing of reviews and experiences

12. Price If the two services are similar, the business with the lower price has the competitive edge Prices depend on supply & demand Ex: Vacations cost more during peak season Specialized services have no standard price – when services are needed, people are willing to pay a great deal of money to get them Ex: lawyers, architects, gourmet chefs, computer consultants

13. Activity Write up a review of a movie you have recently seen