Introduction
The shop chosen for the analysis now has three significant competitors. The analysis of their activities can help identify the weak and strong points that can create a competitive strategy. Because the flower industry is a potentially profitable business that is always relevant, in five years, the city has the potential to adopt more flower-oriented businesses. It is possible that it will be more challenging to maintain the same flow and number of customers due to the potential occurrence of the new shops.
SWOT Analysis of the Competitors
Becky’s Cottage Floral Shop has three major competitor shops. In the current paper, the strengths and weaknesses will be analyzed. The first shop is the Haentze Floral. Its main strength is offering gift cards and more extended categories for presents and bouquets. Moreover, based on the website of the shop, the administration has a particularly attractive ideology in encouraging customers to buy their products. The major weakness is the lack of cooperation with the customer, such as the client’s cards or sales for regular customers. The second shop is Wood’s Floral & Gifts, which has special services for rentable decoration for various events, which is a significant advantage of the shop. The weakness of the shop is the same as with Haentze Floral the lack of customer communication-oriented events or programs. Moreover, the shop’s website lacks organization for categories which disturbs the perception of the customer about the services and products provided. The last shop, LiL House Floral’, has strengths in selling such products as candles and spheres and providing decoration services. However, this shop’s website combines both types of weaknesses mentioned above.
The Motives of the Competition
The competitors’ motives are to attract customer’s attention and increase sales. The focus of the three analyzed shops is to extend the business strategy, including selling and renting decorations and other related celebration products. Such actions of the hosts of the shops highlight some flower industry’s peculiarities. For example, despite being relevant, the floral industry requires additional revenues to increase the quality of the bought flowers, the delivery of which constantly increases. The flower industry needs funding to create unique products and services, which is hard to gain from stakeholders. As a result, small shops strive to implement additional services in order to raise more money for development.
Competitive Strategy
The primary aim of the competitive strategy is the formation of competitive advantage. This notion is defined as unique characteristics that distinguish this economic entity from other similar entities on the market (Bhasin, 2020). The competitive strategy is primarily focused on making the weaknesses of the competitors this shop’s strengths. Thus, the significant inquiries of the strategy are to conduct promotions on holidays and develop a loyalty program for regular customers. The chosen strategy includes the factors of innovation and differentiation strategies (Bhasin, 2020). The flower shop should focus on keeping the regular customers, increasing their interest in returning to precisely this place.
Conclusion
The initial proposal is directly related to the competitive strategy because it is centered on creating more beneficial conditions for customers by adjusting communication and attracting the attention of new potential clients. The introduction of customer-focused services is a unique procedure for this region. It can make the shop more attractive to the competitors. Moreover, such a strategy also focuses on the development of positive attitudes and perceptions of the shop by the customers.
Reference
Bhasin, H. (2020). Competitive strategies: Definition, limitations, and the importance. Merketing91. Web.