Business

Broad Target Low Cost                         Narrow Target Differentiation
A lower costs, the brand targets middle and low level customers in the market and aim to enhance leadership in the costMore costly brands that target high class and more affluent people in the market, there is differentiation

Targets the local market, and ordinary customers, it is very focused on the cost of the products and services

Targets the very affluent customers that consumes more and it is differentiation focused

The sales made on the product are very moderate, there are no frills
Moderate sales made due to the average value added to the products and services and their average prices. The prices are relatively low

Very high sales made due to the high perceived added value and very low prices. The low prices could however discourage some buyers who associate good quality with high prices (hybrid marketing system).

Differentiation is very clear. The best operating point in business, the high quality and average prices of products and average prices is likely to lure more customers to the goods and services being offered. Mass appeal of products and services is witnessed.

High prices and high quality means the goodsservices are not affordable to most people even though they have a high perceived added value. The products in question would mostly be purchased by the rich in the society. Focus is restricted to specific sections of the market.

Average perceived value and high prices the demand based on value and price would be low as most people would opt for the high perceived value with low of average prices. There is risk of losing the market share.

Low perceived value and high prices would hardly attract any customers. No customer would be willing to spend a lot of cash on goodsservices that have no value to them. There is low growth with very low profitability thus failure is imminent.

Low perceived value and moderate prices attracts few customers.  There is loss of the market share by the business.

The low price strategies do not effectively favour the market unless the business is a cost leader all the sources of cost advantage have been exploited over the business competitors.

Political
-Influence the pricing policy through tax rates, standards, price control measures and other market regulations and operations e.g. privatisation, decentralisation Economic
-Determines the utilization capacity by the market population, increases business competition
-Inflation, interest rates and unemployment levels determine the market patternsSocioCultural
-influence the business sales, marketing and production patterns through peoples lifestyle through culture commodity modification
-population size and status determine the purchasing powerTechnological
-Technological business leadership gives competitive advantage to the business by reducing operations costs, relevance of physical place and create mass market by enabling mass production
-Speed of technology transfer and obsolescence is crucial in businessEnvironmental
-Influence the expansion levels
-Uncertain, dynamic and complex environments are hard to invest in and need a lot of research before investment is done.
- Political, economic, technological and social issues must all be put into a business perspectiveEducational
-Ensures proper understanding of the product use and purchase definitions
-Influence levels of innovation in products and processes and purchase patterns

Legal
Dictates the ownership structure, production standards and distribution channels. Protect new entrants and unfriendly business practices such as market monopolies.

Politic and political trends influence the manner in which the prices of the products and services are determined in the market. This could be done through control of taxes imposed on the products, standardization levels imposed by the government, price control systems and other regulations imposed by the government.

Economic development has a great influence on the capacity of market consumption and business development. Good economic development leads to increase business performance and may also result in higher competition due to conditions that encourage business practices in the market.
Social and cultural practices influence the manner in which consumers respond to various marketing activities.  Population size, consumption practices and preferences also influence the manner in which business competition takes place.

Technological leadership gives a business a competitive advantage through the reduction of the operations costs, increase in the business relevance and reaching out to more consumers.

Changes in the environmental factors influence the expansion levels. Dynamic, complex and uncertain environment results in a more complex business environment and business operations.
Education of the consumers normally results into increased awareness of the market.

Legal structures in a business environment determine the business ownership structures, work frames and other relevant business conditions.

Various levels of competitiveness do exist among the market players. Each market player always targets to realise maximum benefit from the business environment. The business, new existing and the potential market entrants, buyers, suppliers and the producers of the substitute products and services always compete to accrue the most benefits from the business possible.

The buyers aim to get good brand of goods, with desired features and quality at a cost effective price and may change allegiance if they perceive that the business organization doesnt offer that. The higher the bargaining power and discounts, the more consumer-friendly the business is.

Substitute products aim to offer better quality, brand, quantity and the most desired taste to the consumers in comparison to what they receive from the competitors. Substitute products and always threats to the existing products.

On the hand, the potential entrants are ever on the look for any unsatisfied consumer needs, expectations and gaps in the business operations of the business and then strategise to offer it in the best possible way. Economies of scale, hefty capital requirements, complexity in the access to distribution channels and high expected retaliation from the market players discourage new entrance to the market.

However, the suppliers mainly struggle to ensure that their clients get better offers from them in order to maintain the good business relationship thus continuity of business. They struggle to have a good bargaining power and win more business operators.

Same as competitors or easy to imitateBetter than competitors and difficult to imitateResources

-Availability of the necessary resources
-more common services and products that do not offer any uniqueness-Very unique resources
-very durable, efficient and cost effective resourcesCompetences

-The competency levels are at threshold levels.
-could be easy to do substitution

Core competency values should be enhanced over those of the business competitors Johnson, Scholes  Whittington, 2005

When the resources being employed are either similar to the competitors or very easy to be imitated, it is likely that the resources in question are easily available, common in the market and may also be cheaper to acquire and cost effective

However, when the resources in use are much better that those of the competitors and difficult to imitate, this automatically give the business a competitive advantage over its competitors. It implies that the resources in question are very unique, durable, more efficient but may need more expertise in order for them to be put into use. These resources may also be hard to acquire in the market.
When the competency levels needed are similar to those required by the competitors are easy to imitate, the unit could mean that the competency levels are indeed the threshold levels in business. There is however a need to make substation in the competency involved in the business operation. Otherwise, then the core competency levels need to be enhanced over those of the competitors.
 Human resource infrastructure normally identifies the major business operations of the business and how strong the firm may withstand competition in the market. Strong infrastructure acts as a better foundation for both the current and future investments.

Human resource management offers support activities to the business organization in order to ensure that all competitive avenues are fully and adequately exploited and utilized. Procurement efforts could also be utilized through the use of various technologically advanced systems in the business environment.

Inbound logistics, services, the marketing and sales department, outbound logistics and other business operations are always put in line with the necessary procurement activities through the integration of various relevant technologies. This results in a firm that properly incorporates all these systems together having a competitive advantage over its competitions in the market.