We all constantly hear about the competitiveness of products, companies, etc., but not everyone can understand what is at stake. A huge number of special terms penetrate everyday life, and this is just the case. What is competitiveness all the same? This is a property of the object, which shows how much it can satisfy the needs compared to similar ones. For example, you can consider this term as an example of two brands of washing powders. Product A is cheaper, less quality, does not wash the fabric well and does not completely wash it out. Powder B cleans better, rinses well from the material, and costs the same. Obviously, a brand B product is more competitive. Although in reality, things can be a little different.
This is a very simple example, actually assessing competitiveness is a rather complicated matter. A large number of factors affecting the popularity of a product or company are taken into account. And although the analysis ultimately comes down to assessing the price-quality ratio, it is not so easy to correctly assess competitiveness in the case of a product.
What is it for? In order to understand whether this or that product will fail on the market, whether the company will burn out, or whether it will succeed. Of course, no one can say for sure, and yet it often helps to avoid unpleasant surprises. Be that as it may, the buyer - and he is the chief judge and appraiser - must be satisfied with the product and service, otherwise they may disappear from the market. That is why every manufacturer constantly thinks about how to surpass his rivals, and invents new methods of competitiveness and its improvement. That is why every large company has a marketing department that deals with this.
Among marketers and economists, the term "sustainable competitive advantage" (UPC) is often used. It denotes a unique feature of a product, which can help in its implementation and popularization in the consumer environment. A unique taste, smell or color, chemical or physical properties, exclusivity, free maintenance, pleasant things, like a toy inside a breakfast cereal box — anything! When advertising a product, manufacturers usually very persistently mention one or another feature of this product - this is the very UKP.
Managing competitiveness is also not an easy task. It is necessary to consider a large number of different factors and
find the right combination, a formula that will help the product stay on the market and gain popularity. You can go in simple ways - to improve quality and lower the price, or you can turn to non-standard approaches, for example, introduce a lifetime warranty.
What is competitiveness? This is not such a simple question. Sometimes, for non-obvious reasons, consumers choose a lower-quality product for a higher price. Packaging, advertising, placement, availability of components, tips from acquaintances - marketers, in addition to economics, have to study the psychology of customers, as well as brand positioning in the market. Competitiveness is a mixture of many, many components, which, with the right combination, lead to success, and if not, in the worst case, to collapse.