Impediments to Competitor Analysis Discussion
The management of business entities like healthcare facilities is very important because it greatly helps in improving the service quality. For a business entity to remain competitive, it is necessary to ensure that effective competitor analysis is conducted because this helps in monitoring its actions and intentions. Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, (2018) delineate that competitor analysis gives a business entity an overview of strengths and weaknesses thus realizing a gap market to improve on its weaknesses and scout for other opportunities for service quality improvement as well as enhancing the company’s business strategy. It is important to note that understanding and monitoring the action of competing business entities is not easy because it involves diverse activities that cannot be entirely exhausted (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2018). However, some impediments to effective competitor analysis that greatly slows down response time to competitors moves and may lead to the selection of wrong competitive approach by the competing organization. In so doing, the organization fail to acquire the foreseen opportunities that would improve the market space and place the organization at a competitive edge. Such impediments erode the organization’s market position and profitability thus leading to losses. Impediments to Competitor Analysis Discussion
Therefore, some of the impediments to competitor analysis includes poor identification of the competition, faulty assumptions about the competition, more emphasis on where to compete rather than how to compete, the misjudgment of the industry and service area boundaries, paralysis by analysis, and putting more emphasis on competitors’ visible competence (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2018). When looking at poor identification of the competition, it is important that an organization have a clear understanding of the competition before embarking on the competitor analysis because this will help in understanding how to compete and not where to compete. Shujahat et al. (2017) explain that understanding the art of competition creates an easy way to maneuver around the assumptions and identify the assumptions that will lead to market penetration and strategies to grow market share thus improving the organization by all means. Industry and service are boundaries is another factor that can help in understanding and realizing a market gap when appropriately analyzed. However, Shujahat et al. (2017) add that misunderstanding or misjudging the service area boundaries and the industry act as an impediment to competitor analysis because an organization should have an understanding of the services they offer and its target market and population and compete with other facilities offering the same services. Impediments to Competitor Analysis Discussion
Healthcare facilities and other business enterprises can overcome these impediments to competitor analysis by understanding the importance of competitor analysis. When the management of a healthcare organization understand that new business opportunities, development of market penetration, and the ability to anticipate surprises can be improved through competitor analysis, then all the blind spots can be avoided by doing everything right the first time (Nassos & Avlonas,). It is also important to note a clear competitive advantage can be identified through effective competitor analysis. In the healthcare field, a large healthcare facility can face competition from smaller and local facilities thus making it necessary for facilities to avoid having a narrow focus as it is important to define situation in broader terms and perspectives. Additionally, it is important for organizations to study their competitors and learn more on how to develop their products and ensure that effective advertisements with appealing editorials and magazines that will allow the management and strategic planner to determine where profit margins lie and the prospects (Desfitrina, Zulfadhli, & Widarti, 2019). Therefore, efficiencies and low costs, high quality services, competent and recognized staff, and the brand of the organization are some of the factors that a competitive advantage can be centered in. Impediments to Competitor Analysis Discussion
References
Desfitrina, D., Zulfadhli, Z., & Widarti, W. (2019). Good Service Strategies Affect Competitive Advantage. International Review of Management and Marketing, 9(6), 135. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.8853
Ginter, P. M., Duncan, W. J., & Swayne, L. E. (2018). The strategic management of health care organizations. John Wiley & Sons.
Nassos, G. P., & Avlonas, N. (2020). Practical sustainability strategies: how to gain a competitive advantage. John Wiley & Sons.
Shujahat, M., Hussain, S., Javed, S., Malik, M. I., Thurasamy, R., & Ali, J. (2017). Strategic management model with lens of knowledge management and competitive intelligence: A review approach. VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems. https://doi.org/10.1108/VJIKMS-06-2016-0035 Impediments to Competitor Analysis Discussion