Introduction
In formulating business strategies, the competitors become one of the critical impediments. They competitors operate in the same market where the home health Agency is operating. They also lay strategies on how to take the market from the home health Agency. The main goals for the home health Agency in analyzing the competitor practices are numerous.
The analysis will help the home health Agency to identify the competitors of whom to compete with in the market. It will also identify the planned strategies by the competitor and hence formulate counter strategies in the market. In the analysis the Agency will establish how the competitor will react to its planned actions; this possibly helps the Agency to influence the competitor’s actions for the firm’s advantage in the market (Hussey and Jenster, 2003).
Changes that Home Care Agency would consider
To counter the competition from the competitor, the Home Care Agency would initiate the provision of quality services at a lower cost. The Agency will now focus much in providing public health that targets a larger customer base as opposed to behavioral care. The strategy for diversification is also a possible strategy to be established; the Home Care Agency can expand its service provision to retain most of the customers. The customers will get all the services at one stop point. Diversification would also entail expansion to other areas; this will ensure a bigger market share for the Agency. They may do this by investing in other areas like the financial markets. Investment will improve their capital base.
Obstacles of competitor analysis
When carrying out competitor analysis, there are obstacles that you will undergo. The information concerning the competitor’s strategy is not easy to come by in your search. In Youngman (1998), they just don’t let their formulated strategies to get into the hands of their competitors. The Agency will have to carry intensive research access any single information. Here is counter strategy formulation; when a competitor realizes that you have taken a strategy to over come it in the market, it will also take a counter action to retain the market. This crafts a challenge to the Agency of which strategy to undertake in an attempt to have a competitive advantage in the market.
Finally there is time and money; it will take the Home Care Agency to spend much time and funds to useful information on how to formulate a winning strategy. When funds are not available, the Agency will hardly get any information.
Service areas for which my organization could better strategically position it-self to be more competitive.
Since the competitor provides services only in the behavioral care, the Home Care Agency will expand to provide services in other service areas like the public health, administration & finance, medical care and environmental health, these services are lacking in this geographical market. The Identified service area will help the Agency to expand fast due to the market demand.
Part II (filling out the grid)
Service Are Is Public Health
Strengths
Weaknesses
Organizational strengths which create competitive advantage and why
The two strengths of the home Health Agency are; the provision of high quality home care services to the customers and the high skilled trained personnel. The high quality services builds trust to the customers, the competitors have been accused of low quality service this has made the homecare to get more customers daily. The skilled personnel help in quality service provision. Most of the competitors do not hire qualified personnel to reduce cost. This contributes error as they provide care to their customers.
Weaknesses which decrease your organization’s ability to compete and why
The organization lacks enough resources for expansion. The competitors with high capital base have made enormous expansion capturing a wider market of operations. Secondly, there is no unique product provided by the company, other organizations that have diversified provide different chain of products to their customers. This reduces the organizations competitive ability.
References
Hussey, D., and Jenster, P. (2003). Competitor analysis: turning intelligence into success. New York: John& sons Willey.
Youngman, I. (1998). Competitor Analysis in Financial Services. Chicago: Woodhead Publishing.