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How can we differentiate our product in a homogenous market crowded with many followers?

Can any body tell how can we differentiate a product among a homogenous market full of followers? yet, you can do this utilising the marketing mix tools, focusing on pricing, promotion or distribution strategies. based on your SWOTs you can make many simple changes in your product mix to differentiate it and secure your market share from followers. subjected to each different product or service you adjust1 or more element of your product mix and have a dramatic change in sales.

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Question added by Mohamad Shams , Brand Manager , Caravan Marketing - Bonjorno Cafe
Date Posted: 2014/02/06

First know the USP of your product, and then pitch in front of the customer accordingly.

Fazal Ebrahim Dawood
by Fazal Ebrahim Dawood , Chief Executive Officer , Stardist Ltd

Price perception 

Quality perception 

Visibility in merchandising 

Corporate social responsibility 

ghazala rehman
by ghazala rehman , PR CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER , Pakistan International Airline.PIA

Planned  marketing approch, proper product launch,quality assurance ,added value  

 

Farid Al-Amoudi
by Farid Al-Amoudi , General Manager of Business Operations and Legal Affairs/ Company Head , Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics (KSA)

You will need to find a way that makes your products unique to the competition. I do not think that using different pricing strategies would help much in the market, as a lower price for example can be perceived as a something negative due to the psychological thoughts of the market (cheaper products can easily been seen as having less quality for example). The same is true if you go to the other scale and raise your product price, even though this might seem a better idea in some cases. For example, Lexus was making a loss until they increased their prices dramatically when they first came to KSA. The price change was not a marketing plan to increase sales, it was just something they needed to do in order to stay in the market. But to everyone's surprize, sales sky rocketed.

 

The question is not easy to answer as I would need to know what product you are talking about, what brand it is, where it is manufactured, what business got it in to KSA...etc.

 

But to keep it general. the marketing mix (4 Ps or7 Ps) is surely the key. But there is a whole world of play room that can be changed in the marketing mix that really makes my answer somewhat futile as nothing is known of the product or the market that you are intending to enter (or already have entered).

 

Hannes Krieg
by Hannes Krieg , Project Manager , University of Stuttgart

Assuming that in this market the products are also very similar or even identical: branding and/or pricing.

If you can compete via the price, you have to make sure the quality of your product is perceived as identical to others, but your price is better.

If you can´t do it via price, you have to brand your product in a way that separates it from competitors products. In the german market, sustainability is a good way of setting yourself apart from other products: reduce environmental impacts of a product, and use it for marketing. However, when doing this (or some other form of branding), make sure you don´t save at the wrong points: if you get caught greenwashing, you may as well ruin your reputation. Only communicate results that you actually achieved and that you can prove you achieved.

Enjy Moataz
by Enjy Moataz , Marketing Coordinator , Americana Group

you have to address your competitive advantage to differentitae your product among competitors in the market, and as the market nowaday is crowded by homogenuos products, so most of the companies have to differentiate it's product in the augmented product level

You should have a good strategy which should be out of box in terms of marketing, branding and sales and emphasize on benefits of products , features which will make it a unique one and its value proposition or USP should be well defined to make it stand out in market.

Ahmed Shamseldin Ahmed
by Ahmed Shamseldin Ahmed , Teaching Assistant , University of Khartoum

As an engineer, I am a big fan of Apple. They are really great, successful innovators; they come up with innovative ideas, innovative designs, and innovative technology, they are worldwide known and their products are broadly purchased.

Have you heard about Tesco, a renowned UK retailer? They were a losing retailer; they were getting beaten up in their business, they were not nearly as large as their competitors, and they have not the resources as to compete head-to-head in a market that focuses on bringing up the best service ever. Also, there customers where a huge, varied groups of people with different needs and wants.

So what did they do to grow their market share? They turned to deep understanding of their customers, as to change their business model. They studied which households were buying their meals from Tesco and which were not, and which products the "light" households were not buying. Then they developed a loyalty program; they new which kinds of discount coupons to send it to which kinds of households at which time, in order to get them to buy more.

When Walmart, the widely known american retailer, bought a small chain and entered the UK, Tesco already knew which customers were much vulnerable to switch to Walmart and which products those customers will likely buy from Walmart. Tesco knew, again, which coupons to send to which households at which time.

So here we have two approaches: the first one is to focus on developing the most innovative products or services; to excel your product performance and provide a superior experience for your customer. Then you produce a lot and a lot of it, keeping  the cost down and leveraging your market share, just like Apple does with its iPad, iPod, iPhone, and iTunes.

In the other hand, the second approach focuses more on understanding your customer; on aligning your R&D department (of your product/service) around the current and future needs of a select group of customers, just as Tesco does make.

I think the answer to your question depends on whether your company is a product-focused or customer-focused company. A product-focused enterprises come up with an innovative idea, produce a lot of it as to keep the cost down, and rise their market share.

A customer-focused enterprises study their customers, select a group of them, then try to provide a product that satisfies their needs. So, in a way you guarantee a select group of valuable customers  who is going to buy your product. 

Mohammad Faraz
by Mohammad Faraz , Foreman- Senior Procurement and Logistics Executive , Chemtech Trading WLL

The uses a product can be put to .How well its USP attracts its customers.

P A Cariappa Appaiah
by P A Cariappa Appaiah , back office executive , Inspire Hond

That's the reason , were we must be unique, in the market, seperated by other compititors.

DANYYAL NUSRAT
by DANYYAL NUSRAT , Marketing Manager , Chohan Estate

People of organization is the basic difference between the product. Whatever the competetors are, Only employee can make a difference between and can drag a success story.

 

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