Reference no: EM133049977

Response to the following

The fundamental relationship among key buying criteria, competition, and my Capstone firm is the marketing mix. There are constraints to what a firm can do, due to the reality of there being no existence of unlimited resources (Guest, 2019, p. 13). Thus, the firm has to focus on the 4Ps, which are product, price, promotion and place, to determine what activities they need to proceed with to maximize their performance on the market. Traditionally, marketing covers the 4Ps of product, price, promotion, and place, and the way a company configures these elements is the marketing mix (Guest, 2019, p. 18).

Identifying buying criteria, in relation to the peculiar product and the target market segment of the customer base, is necessary to determining what level of fulfilling these criteria is satisfactory to attract a customer and maximize the product's market share within its given industry. Firms must make trade-offs on the basis of what they do best, what their competitors are offering, and what criteria they think matter most to their customers (Guest, 2019, p. 13).

When it comes to an organization, competition can affect fortunes a lot. Competition is an external factor in determining the current strategic positioning of a company and how it performs. If a company is outdone by most of its competition, it will end up with a smaller market share and, thus, will have less sales volume, which will shrink its profits. This means if costs increase over time, the company's financial sustenance would become infeasible and the company will have to acquire external funding or assistance, be sold or be folded as a business entity.

As an effect, competition has made my organization to innovate and create new solutions, features, ideas and facilities in my organization's products to appeal to customers to maximize their willingness to complete a purchase and keep transactional relationships. It has made it necessary for my firm to do surveys to determine what things customers desire that are lacking among the current products available. Timely market research, to ensure you have an up-to-date understanding of your market and customers, helps keep decision-making on track (Guest, 2019, p. 14). Thus, the research and development department is used to develop more utility friendly products, based on new technology and knowledge, to improve my fortunes to potentially increase revenue and market share. No matter how good a firm is at offering its products and services, it has to strive for constant improvement because satisfying the customer is a never-ending process (Guest, 2019, p. 13).

Competition has also made my organization focus on the needs of its customer base. My organization has done this by making choices and operational decisions that serve to satisfy what its customers expect of them and, thus, increase the trust and interest they have in the finished product and its quality. This choice is because of the fact that customers can make or break an organization in the long run. Once my organization builds such a quality assurance relationship, competitors may struggle to use tactics to steal or persuade customers away from it, due to the trust that has been built over time. A satisfied and/or loyal customer-a "captured" customer-is, in simple economic terms, an asset that yields future cash flows and contributes to a firm's future growth (Guest, 2019, p. 13).

Lastly, competition has made it imperative that my organization establish a peculiar image to stand out within the competitive environment. A company's marketing strategy has one goal: to deliver value to customers while making a profit (Guest, 2019, p. 19). Creating a specific quality signature, perception or symbol is key to generating interest within a potential customer and causing them to be attracted to try out a purchase. My organization has used efforts such as marketing, adding markers of quality and bonus accessories to leave a memorable impact on customers and cause them to become repeat purchasers of a product, choosing it over other options on the market. Customer service specialties can cause customers to begin a positive and durable transactional relationship with your brand and product. Differentiating yourself by providing additional, incremental value over time to customers is key to competing, which has helped my organization grow in prominence and recognition.