A competitive strategy is a comprehensive action plan

At the very beginning, the term "strategy" was used only in the military sphere. He denoted the art of the commander, the ability to manage military operations, develop and, of course, direct the movement of troops. Subsequently, this term was applied to the leaders of almost any organization. The leader must own this art.

Set goals should indicate the direction of movement, the direction of the organization. The outcome depends on this: will the organization achieve the results that have been outlined. Obvious is the fact that you can move to the same goal in different ways. The goals set for the organization answer the question: "What will the organization strive for?". The action plan answers the question: "What to do to achieve the goals?". The strategy, however, answers the following question: "In what way and how will the organization act and move, striving to achieve its goals?"

The strategy should:

1. Link the past and the future.

2. Indicate the way of development of the organization.

What is the strategy?

This is a general direction, it is a set of rules, principles, guided by which, competitive advantages are achieved, and stable. As well as other goals set for the organization, based on the opportunities that it really has. Also, relations that have developed with the elements of the external environment are important.

There are many strategies that achieve competitive advantages, but the basic competitive strategies are as follows:

1. Leadership in costs.
2. Differentiation.
3. Focusing (concentration).
4. Early access to the market (innovations).
5. Synergism.

Competitive strategy "Leadership in costs" is aimed at achieving competitive advantages due to the fact that the cost of important elements of the goods should be low. Accordingly, the cost price of the goods will also decrease, in comparison with the goods of competitors. In short, with the help of lower costs get the maximum profit. But this strategy is acceptable in such conditions, when the demand for products is highly elliptical at a price, and also homogeneous. At the same time, the difference in trademarks does not play a significant role for consumers. But the enterprise must have access to cheap raw materials, labor, use unique equipment, as well as advanced technologies. All these factors allow to reduce the cost price. The main attention, in this case, should be paid to reduce costs, and quality, service here is not so significant.

In contrast to the "Leadership in Costs", aimed at servicing the entire market using a standard product, the competitive strategy of "Product Differentiation" is aimed at the production of special products (goods) for consumers who have specific requirements ready to pay for uniqueness. In this case, the prime cost rises, and the price, respectively, too. It is this strategy that determined the variety of goods on the market. She also provided branded products, which are of high quality.

The following types of differentiation are distinguished: there are four of them:

1. Product differentiation (the basis - the product range of the enterprise).
2. Service differentiation.
3. Differentiation of staff.
4. Differentiation of the image.

For each industry, the sources of uniqueness are peculiar. But the application of this strategy may be unsuccessful if the increased price does not cover the additional costs.

Competitive strategy "Focusing" (or narrow specialization) is a choice limited by the scope of its own economic activities. The circle of consumers is sharply outlined.

"Focusing" is radically different from the strategies described above. Based on the choice of narrow competition, within the industry niche market, is inherent in small enterprises. The choice of this strategy is mainly due to a lack of financial resources, but a more important reason is the barriers to entry into the industry.

The competitive strategy of innovators is as follows: the firm offers the market an original product (service), while receiving a stable competitive advantage, grows rapidly, receives a monopoly high profit. Features are: high degree of risk, the danger of imitation on the part of competitors, unstable quality. A similar strategy is inherent in large and small enterprises. But it requires highly qualified personnel, as well as large financial resources.

The competitive strategy "Synergism" is the combination of two or more business units under the overall guidance. In business practice this means that (2 + 2)> 4. This is the transition of quantity into a new quality. Assumes the effective operation of the enterprise, contributes to high profitability, but reduces the efficiency and flexibility of management.

The development of a competitive strategy is a continuous, adaptive and creative process that takes into account changes in the external as well as the internal environment of organizations.

The strategic plan is a program of socio-economic activities of the enterprise (organization) and all units, which is aimed at achieving the set goals.