MRKT 18

**Question 92:** Companies that pursue a clear strategy will likely perform well. Firms that do not pursue a clear strategy are called ________. Options: A) jack-of-all-trades B) middle-of-the-roaders C) niches D) red oceans E) laggards

B

6) Question: To plan effective marketing strategies, a company needs to find out all it can about its competitors. It must constantly compare its marketing strategies, products, prices, channels, and promotions with those of close competitors. This is an example of ________. Options: A) blue ocean strategy B) competitor analysis C) organizational evaluation D) perfect competition E) quantitative analysis

B

**Question 95:** When a company provides superior value by leading its industry in price and convenience, it has obtained ________. Options: A) product leadership B) focus C) operational excellence D) customer intimacy E) differentiation

C

40) Question: An industry often contains "good" and "bad" competitors. Good competitors ________. Options: A) break the rules of fair competition B) ensure minimum competition between firms C) play by the rules of the industry D) typically dominate the market E) share their marketing strategies with other firms

C

**Question 102:** Which of the following is a competitive position or role that firms play in the target market? Options: A) surrogate consumer B) market analyst C) market maven D) market nicher E) laggard

D

**Question 99:** If a company's aim is to make its own and competing products obsolete and serve customers who want state-of-the-art products and services, it is using a value discipline called ________. Options: A) overall cost leadership B) product activation C) product binning D) product leadership E) customer intimacy

D

34) Question: Which of the following are examples of close competitors? Options: A) Applebee's and Subway B) Taco Bell and T.G.I. Friday's C) Pizza Hut and Burger King D) McDonald's and Taco Bell E) McDonald's and Burger King

E

63) Question: The existence of competitors in a market may cause a decrease in total demand.

FALSE

57) Question: Benchmarking involves comparing the firm's products and processes to those of the competitors to identify best practices to improve quality and performance.

TRUE

71) Question: Describe a strategic group. Name a few companies that belong to the same strategic group, and discuss why they are in the same group.

A strategic group is a group of firms in an industry following the same or a similar strategy in a given target market. General Electric and Whirlpool belong to the same strategic group because each produces a full line of medium-price appliances supported by good service.

1) Question: A competitor analysis requires the assessment of all of the following EXCEPT the competitors' ________. Options: A) objectives B) organizational hierarchy C) strategies D) strengths and weaknesses E) reaction patterns

B

61) Question: In some markets, competitors live in relative harmony.

TRUE

10) Question: Companies can identify competitors from one of two points of view: ________. Options: A) manufacturing or selling B) engineering or producing C) consumer or business D) industry or market E) unique or similar

D

43) Question: An example of a company exhibiting a blue ocean strategy is ________. Options: A) Amazon's online shopping convenience B) a Starbucks opening in the same vicinity of an independent coffee house C) Nike's brand image of the "swoosh" D) Whirlpool's full line of medium-priced, energy-saving appliances E) the first digital tablet iPad released by Apple

E

51) Question: To plan effective marketing strategies, the company must ignore its competitors.

FALSE

54) Question: A group of firms in an industry following the same or a similar strategy in a given target market is known as a strategic group.

FALSE

**Question 80:** Which of the following statements is true of the approaches to marketing strategy? Options: A) Intrepreneurial marketing applies to companies that sometimes lose their marketing creativity and passion that they had at the start. B) As small companies achieve success, they inevitably move away from more-formulated marketing. C) Within a company, a single strategy exclusively applies to all different businesses and products. D) Formulated marketing seldom involves developing formal marketing strategies and adhering to them closely. E) Formulated marketing encourages more marketing initiative and "intrepreneurship" at the local level.

A

21) Question: A company's objectives indicate its satisfaction with its current situation and ________. Options: A) its strength with its current management B) in what areas it intends to develop further C) how strong it is financially D) how it might react to different competitive actions E) its areas of concern, if any

A

47) Question: The competitive intelligence system does all of the following EXCEPT ________. Options: A) sends relevant information to decision makers and responds to inquiries from managers B) takes action against the competitors once the data has been analyzed C) collects information from the field and published data D) checks the information for validity, interprets it, and organizes it E) identifies vital types of competitive information needed and the best sources

B

27) Question: Country Kitchen and Perkins are both a chain of family restaurants featuring diner-like menus with reasonably priced items. These companies are in the same ________. Options: A) focus group B) control group C) strategic group D) target group E) experimental group

C

28) Question: Companies use secondary data, personal experience, and word of mouth to ________. Options: A) identify competitors' target customers and strategies B) identify competitors' target locations and market share C) learn about their competitors' strengths and weaknesses D) select competitors to attack or avoid E) estimate competitors' sales projections

C

44) Question: Tomorrow's leading companies will succeed by seeking out unoccupied positions in uncontested market spaces. Such strategic moves, termed ________, create powerful leaps in value for both the firm and its buyers, creating new demand for new products. Options: A) customer lifetime value B) customer equity C) value innovation D) market segmentation E) customer intimacy

C

45) Question: Which of the following is the first step taken in the competitive intelligence system? Options: A) collect published data and information from the field B) check, interpret, and organize gathered information C) identify the vital types of competitive information needed D) respond to inquiries from managers about competitors E) create a new brand image and marketing concept for the firm

C

7) Question: The goal of performing a competitor analysis is to ________. Options: A) learn more about the competitors' sales structures B) find flaws in the competitors' manufacturing processes C) copy the best features that the competitors offer D) find areas of potential competitive advantage and disadvantage E) develop products in markets that the competitors are not in

D

17) Question: From a market point of view, Universal Pictures film studio might see its competition as ________. Options: A) Paramount Pictures B) Warner Bros. Pictures C) Walt Disney Pictures D) 20th Century Fox E) Broadway

E

31) Question: Benchmarking has become a powerful tool for increasing a company's ________. Options: A) product mix B) mass appeal C) employee training services D) distribution channels E) competitiveness

E

55) Question: Companies in competition within a strategic group do not compete with other strategic groups.

FALSE

58) Question: Continuous innovation is a weak response by a company trying to protect its market share.

FALSE

59) Question: Most companies prefer to compete against strong competitors.

FALSE

50) Question: Customers see competitive advantages as customer advantages.

TRUE

52) Question: A competitive analysis involves first identifying and assessing competitors and then selecting which competitors to attack or avoid.

TRUE

53) Question: At the narrowest level, a company can define its competitors as other companies offering similar products and services to the same customers at similar prices.

TRUE

56) Question: "Destroying" a close competitor can actually damage a company's market share in the long run.

TRUE

60) Question: Competitive exchanges such as comparison advertisements can provide useful information to consumers and advantages from brands. However, they also might reflect negatively on the entire industry.

TRUE

64) Question: The goal of a "blue ocean strategy" is to make competition irrelevant.

TRUE

69) Question: Explain how the United States Postal Service has "competitor myopia."

The U.S. Postal Service loses billions of dollars every year, but direct competitors such as FedEx and UPS aren't the problem. Instead, indirect competition from the Internet has hurt the U.S. Postal Service's revenue, as more people e-mail and make online transactions rather than mail transactions.

**Question 90:** Porsche is a German automobile manufacturer that competes against BMW and Audi, but only in the sports car and SUV segments of the automobile market. Porsche utilizes a(n) ________ strategy. Options: A) overall cost leadership B) focus C) middle-of-the-roaders D) market segmentation E) blue ocean

B

14) Question: Fosters and Mason House, two major coffee brands, competed neck and neck based on their product attributes and price promotions. They were soon blindsided by the arrival of Starcoffeez, which focused more on the coffee experience rather than the coffee. This resulted in major losses for the two companies. This is an example of ________. Options: A) self-competition B) competitor myopia C) competitor backlinking D) marketing myopia E) perfect competition

B

46) Question: The competitive intelligence system continuously collects information from the field through ________. Options: A) government publications B) online monitoring C) speeches D) online databases E) market surveys

B

**Question 91:** Bosch is a German firm that manufactures home appliances such as dishwashers, ovens, and ranges. It competes with companies such as GE Elite and LG. Bosch is perceived as the class of the industry. Bosch pursues a(n) ________ strategy. Options: A) focus B) blue ocean C) overall cost leadership D) differentiation E) middle-of-the-road

D

8) Question: Companies can identify their competitors from both ________ points of view. Options: A) industry and market B) product and customer C) customer and location D) location and product E) product and strategy

A

18) Question: From an industry point of view, Universal Pictures film studio might see its competition as ________. Options: A) West End theatre B) Columbia Pictures C) Tomorrowland D) Summerfest E) HarperCollins

B

12) Question: A company is guilty of ________ if the company forgets latent competitors and only focuses on current competitors. Options: A) perfect competition B) self-competition C) Cournot competition D) competitor backlinking E) competitor myopia

E

**Question 89:** Dell produces and delivers PCs of competitive quality at lower costs. The company constantly aims to achieve low production and distribution costs to win a large market share. Dell utilizes a(n) ________ strategy very effectively. Options: A) overall cost leadership B) differentiation C) focus D) blue ocean E) market segmentation

A

**Question 96:** Walmart, Costco, and Southwest Airlines serve customers who want reliable, good-quality products or services that are also reasonable and easily available. These companies are all known for pursuing a value discipline known as ________. Options: A) operational excellence B) customer intimacy C) product differentiation D) product leadership E) focus

A

**Question 97:** When companies serve customers who are willing to pay a premium to get precisely what they want and the company responds quickly to satisfy these customers' needs, the company has achieved ________. Options: A) customer intimacy B) product differentiation C) operational excellence D) product leadership E) focus

A

20) Question: Each competitor has a mix of objectives. The company wants to know the relative importance that a competitor places on all of the following EXCEPT ________. Options: A) company history B) current profitability C) market share growth D) cash flow E) technological leadership

A

3) Question: Gaining ________ requires delivering more value and satisfaction to target consumers than competitors do. Options: A) competitive advantage B) first-mover advantage C) economies of scale D) comparative advantage E) differentiation

A

35) Question: A firm should compete with ________ competitors in order to sharpen its abilities. Succeeding against these competitors often provides greater returns. Options: A) strong B) international C) weak D) distant E) smaller

A

36) Question: In conducting ________, the company first identifies the major attributes that customers value and the importance customers place on these attributes. Next, it assesses its performance against competitors on those valued attributes. Options: A) a customer value analysis B) benchmarking C) entrepreneurial marketing D) intrepreneurial marketing E) a customer lifetime value estimate

A

5) Question: ________ involves first identifying and assessing competitors and then selecting which competitors to attack or avoid. Options: A) Competitor analysis B) Self-competition C) Blue ocean strategy D) Quantitative analysis E) Perfect competition

A

73) Question: What is the purpose of benchmarking?

A company uses benchmarking to identify best practices and find ways to improve its own product quality and performance.

68) Question: Discuss the different levels at which competitors can be identified.

At the narrowest level, a company can define its competitors as other companies offering similar products and services to the same customers at similar prices. However, the company might also define competitors as all firms making the same product or class of products. Even more broadly, competitors might include all companies making products that supply the same service. Finally, and still more broadly, competitors might include all companies that compete for the same consumer dollars.

**Question 101:** Some companies successfully pursue more than one of the three value disciplines at the same time. For example, FedEx excels at operational excellence as well as customer intimacy. However, more companies focus on excelling at a single value discipline while ________ the other two. Options: A) choosing a second one to also focus on B) meeting industry standards on C) ignoring D) achieving minimal goals on E) developing plans to improve on

B

**Question 81:** Companies that operate large marketing departments, conduct expensive marketing research, spell out elaborate competitive strategies, and spend huge sums on advertising are using ________ marketing strategies. Options: A) informal B) formulated C) entrepreneurial D) intrepreneurial E) blue ocean

B

**Question 84:** When Gary Hirshberg started the Stonyfield Farm yogurt company, he stated that his company could do better with less advertising, less marketing research, and more guerrilla marketing. He came up with innovative marketing ideas to promote his products such as having sales personnel dress up as large yogurt cartons to distribute free yogurt samples. Which of the following marketing strategies was being implemented by Hirshberg? Options: A) formulated marketing B) entrepreneurial marketing C) ambush marketing D) undercover marketing E) intrapreneurial marketing

B

**Question 85:** As small companies achieve success, they inevitably move toward more ________ marketing. They adopt more-developed marketing tools and adhere to them closely. Options: A) ambush B) formulated C) entrepreneurial D) intrepreneurial E) multi-level

B

16) Question: Nintendo, producer of the Wii video game console, might define its competitors as other makers of physically interactive video games. But from a(n) ________ point of view, it would include all firms making physically interactive recreational products. Options: A) industry B) market C) segment D) niche E) interdependent

B

22) Question: A company that pursues ________ will react much more strongly to a competitor's cost reducing manufacturing breakthrough than to the same competitor's advertising increase. Options: A) product differentiation B) low-cost leadership C) customer intimacy D) a middle-of-the-roaders strategy E) product leadership

B

23) Question: In the context of identifying competitors' strategies, the more that one firm's strategy resembles another firm's strategy, the more likely the two firms are to ________. Options: A) merge B) compete C) globalize D) form a partnership E) become market leaders

B

25) Question: An analysis conducted to determine what benefits target customers value and how they rate the relative value of various competitors' offers is known as ________. Options: A) customer lifetime value B) customer value analysis C) quantitative analysis D) brand value proposition E) benchmarking

B

26) Question: In the audio equipment industry, Philips and Sony belong to the same ________. Options: A) target group B) strategic group C) experimental group D) control group E) focus group

B

30) Question: Most companies will compete with ________ rather than ________. Options: A) distant competitors; close competitors B) close competitors; distant competitors C) benchmarkers; distant competitors D) market challengers; market followers E) market challengers; market nichers

B

33) Question: Marketers need an in-depth understanding of ________ if they want to anticipate how that competitor will act. Options: A) the industry B) a competitor's mentality C) a competitor's strengths and weaknesses D) a competitor's business model E) the market

B

39) Question: What is most likely a strategic benefit of the existence of competitors? Options: A) Competitors seldom lead to product differentiation. B) Competitors help legitimize new technologies. C) Competitors exclusively serve more-attractive segments. D) Competitors fracture the target market. E) Competitors decrease the total demand.

B

**Question 100:** Samsung and Apple actively generate new ideas, relentlessly pursue new solutions, and quickly work to get new products to market. They serve customers who want state-of-the-art products and services, regardless of the costs in terms of price or inconvenience. Which of the following value disciplines is illustrated from this example? Options: A) operational excellence B) customer intimacy C) product leadership D) product activation E) product binning

C

**Question 83:** Most companies are started by individuals who live by their wits. They visualize an opportunity, take risks, and knock on every door to gain attention. Which of the following stages in marketing strategy is being illustrated here? Options: A) exponential marketing B) formulated marketing C) entrepreneurial marketing D) affinity marketing E) ambush marketing

C

**Question 93:** Sears and Holiday Inn encountered difficult times because they did not stand out as the lowest in cost, highest in perceived value, or best in service of their primary target market segment. Both companies are ________. Options: A) niches B) jack-of-all-trades C) middle-of-the-roaders D) red oceans E) laggards

C

2) Question: Strategies that strongly position a company against competitors and that give the company the best possible strategic advantage are ________ strategies. Options: A) competitor analysis B) customer relationship C) competitive marketing D) competitive relationship E) customer identification

C

32) Question: A company's close competitors are ________. Options: A) considered "bad" competitors B) a serious threat and hence, must be attacked rather than ignored C) those that most resemble the company's operations D) typically ignored as they seldom pose any threat E) the sole focus of successful companies

C

38) Question: If a company's offer delivers greater value by exceeding the competitor's offer on important attributes, the company can charge a higher price and ________, or it can charge the same price and ________. Options: A) earn lower profits; gain higher profits B) earn higher profits; lose profits C) earn higher profits; gain more market share D) lose profits; gain more market share E) lose profits; gain higher profits

C

9) Question: Companies can identify competitors from a(n) ________ point of view by defining competitors as companies that are trying to satisfy the same customer need or build relationships with the same customer group. Options: A) customer B) blue ocean C) market D) myopic E) industry

C

72) Question: How can companies learn about their competitors' strengths and weaknesses?

Companies normally learn about their competitors' strengths and weaknesses through secondary data, personal experience, and word of mouth. They can also conduct primary marketing research with customers, suppliers, and dealers, or they can benchmark themselves against other firms.

67) Question: Discuss the steps in analyzing competitors.

Creating competitive advantage begins with competitor analysis. First, the company's competitors must be identified. The next step is assessing competitors' objectives, strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and reaction patterns. Based on this information, the company can select which competitors to attack or avoid.

**Question 82:** What are the stages that the approaches to marketing strategy and practice usually pass through? Options: A) ambush marketing, multi-level marketing, and guerrilla marketing B) guerrilla marketing, ambush marketing, and affinity marketing C) multi-level marketing, undercover marketing, and evangelism marketing D) entrepreneurial marketing, formulated marketing, and intrapreneurial marketing E) undercover marketing, affinity marketing, and ambush marketing

D

**Question 86:** Companies that have been in existence for some time often lose the marketing creativity and passion that they had at the start. They often need to refresh their marketing strategies and try new approaches, known as ________. Options: A) multi-level marketing B) formulated marketing C) ambush marketing D) intrapreneurial marketing E) affinity marketing

D

**Question 88:** According to Michael Porter, what are three effective competitive positioning strategies? Options: A) middle-of-the-roaders, focus, and overall cost leadership B) focus, differentiation, and middle-of-the-roaders C) overall cost leadership, differentiation, and middle-of-the-roaders D) overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus E) differentiation, market segmentation, and focus

D

13) Question: Kodak's film business didn't lose out to direct competitor Fujifilm; it lost out to Sony, Canon, and other digital camera makers, along with a host of digital image developers and online image sharing services. This is an example of ________. Options: A) a blue ocean strategy B) competitor backlinking C) self-competition D) competitor myopia E) marketing myopia

D

15) Question: From a(n) ________ point of view, Pepsi might see its competition as Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, 7UP, and the makers of other soft drink brands. From a(n) ________ point of view, however, the customer really wants "thirst quenching." Options: A) market; industry B) market; consumer C) industry; competitive D) industry; market E) company's; consumer's

D

19) Question: What is the LEAST relevant question to ask when assessing a firm's main competitor? Options: A) What are the competitor's objectives? B) What is the competitor's strategy? C) What are the competitor's strengths? D) What are the competitor's locations? E) What are the competitor's weaknesses?

D

24) Question: Companies need to know each competitor's product quality, features, and mix; customer services; pricing policy; distribution coverage; sales force strategy; and advertising and sales promotion programs. These are all the dimensions that identify ________ groups within the industry. Options: A) target B) focus C) control D) strategic E) experimental

D

29) Question: ________ is the process of comparing the company's products and processes to those of competitors or leading firms in other industries to find ways to improve quality and performance. Options: A) Segmenting B) Positioning C) Sales promotion D) Benchmarking E) Publicity

D

37) Question: A market research firm conducts a survey of soft-drink consumers to assess Pepsi's and Coke's strengths and weaknesses in attributes valued by both company's target customers. The market research firm is using a ________. Options: A) customer lifetime value estimation B) global marketing strategy C) competitive marketing strategy D) customer value analysis E) blue ocean strategy

D

4) Question: The first step in initiating competitive marketing strategies is to ________. Options: A) balance customer and competitor orientations B) design broad competitive marketing strategies C) assess long-term organizational objectives D) conduct competitor analysis E) conduct transaction analysis

D

41) Question: Most competitors in the music download industry see Apple's iTunes Music Store as a ________ because it created a closed system with mass appeal. Options: A) good competitor B) marginal competitor C) weak competitor D) bad competitor E) distant competitor

D

42) Question: Rather than competing head to head with established competitors, many companies seek out unoccupied positions in uncontested market spaces. They try to create products and services for which there are no direct competitors. This is called a ________. Options: A) horizontal integration approach B) commercialization process C) guerrilla marketing technique D) blue ocean strategy E) lean dynamics approach

D

**Question 87:** Many approaches to developing effective competitive marketing strategies exist. There may be ________ between the formulated side of marketing and the creative side, as creativity and passion help build and maintain success. Options: A) collaboration B) strong disagreements C) managerial conflicts D) productive meetings E) constant tension

E

**Question 94:** Which of the following are value discipline strategies? Options: A) operational excellence, overall cost leadership, and differentiation B) customer intimacy, operational excellence, and focus C) employee relations, product leadership, and overall cost leadership D) product leadership, customer intimacy, and focus E) operational excellence, customer intimacy, and product leadership

E

**Question 98:** American Express will do almost anything to build long-term customer loyalty and to capture customer lifetime value. Which of the following competitive marketing strategies is being pursued by American Express? Options: A) consumer capitalism B) customer equity C) product differentiation D) product leadership E) customer intimacy

E

11) Question: If a company identifies its competitors from an industry point of view, it must understand ________ if it hopes to be an effective player in that industry. Options: A) the trends in the industry B) the primary customers C) the impact of technological changes D) the potential customers E) the competitive patterns

E

70) Question: Give examples of competitor objectives and discuss the importance of knowing a competitor's mix of objectives.

Each competitor has a mix of objectives. The company wants to know the relative importance that a competitor places on current profitability, market share growth, cash flow, technological leadership, service leadership, and other goals. Knowing a competitor's mix of objectives reveals whether the competitor is satisfied with its current situation and how it might react to different competitive actions.

Question: Marketing managers need a deep understanding of a given competitor's mentality if they want to anticipate how the competitor will act or react. Discuss the different ways competitors act or react. Why do they do so? Use examples to support your thoughts.

Each competitor reacts differently. Some do not react quickly or strongly to a competitor's move. They may feel their customers are loyal; they may be slow in noticing the move; they may lack the funds to react. Some competitors react only to certain types of moves and not to others. Other competitors react swiftly and strongly to any action. For example, Procter & Gamble does not let a new detergent come easily into the market. Many firms avoid direct competition with P&G and look for easier prey, knowing that P&G will react fiercely if challenged. In some industries, competitors live in relative harmony; in others, they fight constantly. Knowing how major competitors react gives the company clues on how best to attack competitors or how best to defend the company's current positions.

66) Question: A good competitor plays by its own rules at the expense of the industry as a whole.

FALSE

Question: Although competition is most intense within a strategic group, explain why there is also rivalry among groups. Give examples.

First, some of the strategic groups may appeal to overlapping customer segments. For example, no matter what their strategy, all major appliance manufacturers will go after the apartment and homebuilders segment. Second, the customers may not see much difference in the offers of different groups; they may see the little difference in quality between GE and Whirlpool. Finally, members of one strategic group might expand into new strategy segments. Thus, General Electric's Monogram and Profile lines of appliances compete in the premium-quality, premium-price line with Viking and Sub-Zero.

Question: An industry often contains "good" competitors and "bad" competitors. Define each term and discuss scenarios with both "good" and "bad" competitors. How might "good" competitors choose to react to "bad" competition?

Good competitors play by the rules of the industry. Bad competitors, in contrast, break the rules. They try to buy share rather than earn it, take large risks, and play by their own rules. For example, Yahoo! Music Unlimited sees Napster, Rhapsody, AOL Music, Amazon.com, and most other digital music download services as good competitors. They share a common platform, so that music bought from any of these competitors can be played on almost any playback device. However, it sees Apple's iTunes Music Store as a bad competitor, one that plays by its own rules at the expense of the industry as a whole. A company might be smart to support good competitors, aiming its attacks at bad competitors.

Question: Discuss the need to understand competitors as well as customers through competitor analysis.

In order to prepare an effective marketing strategy, a company must consider its competitors as well as its customers. Building profitable customer relationships requires satisfying target consumer needs better than competitors do. A company must continually analyze competitors and develop competitive marketing strategies that position it effectively against competitors and give it the strongest possible competitive advantage. Competitor analysis first involves identifying the company's major competitors, using both an industry-based and a market-based analysis. The company then gathers information on competitors' objectives, strategies, strengths and weaknesses, and reaction patterns. With this information in hand, it can select competitors to attack or avoid. Competitive intelligence must be collected, interpreted, and distributed continuously. Company marketing managers should be able to obtain full and reliable information about any competitor affecting their decisions.

62) Question: Competitors may serve less-attractive segments or lead to more product differentiation.

TRUE

65) Question: The competitive intelligence system of a company supplies key information to relevant decision makers about the company's competitors.

TRUE

Question: Discuss the functions and goals of a competitive intelligence system.

The competitive intelligence system first identifies the vital types of competitive information needed and the best sources of this information. Then, the system continuously collects information from the field (sales force, channels, suppliers, market research firms, trade associations, Web sites) and from published data (government publications, speeches, articles). Next, the system checks the information for validity and reliability, interprets it, and organizes it in an appropriate way. Finally, it sends key information to relevant decision makers and responds to inquiries from managers about competitors. With this system, company managers will receive timely intelligence information about competitors in the form of phone calls, e-mails, bulletins, newsletters, and reports. In addition, managers can connect with the system when they need an interpretation of a competitor's sudden move, when they want to know a competitor's weaknesses and strengths, or when they need to know how a competitor will respond to a planned company move.

74) Discuss why a company really needs and benefits from competitors.

The existence of competitors results in several strategic benefits. Competitors may share the costs of market and product development and help to legitimize new technologies. They may serve less-attractive segments or lead to more product differentiation. Finally, competitors may help increase total demand