the aggregation of factors that set a small business apart from its competitors and gives it a unique position in the market. Every firm must establish a way to create a distinct image in the minds of its potential customers. There is no business that can be everything to everyone.

the process of recording and providing a clear mission, vision, goal and action plan of an organization by assessing the business standing and where is it going. It is not just a result or product of an outcome but is a continuous process.

answer the basic question, "What do we want to become in the future? " The vision should reveal the type of business the organization engages in.

used by the organization to explain in simple and concise terms its purpose of existence. Establishing the purpose of the business in writing gives the company a sense of direction. It is the starting point of an organization's entire planning process.

the resources and capabilities that comprise the strategic advantages of a business. It is a unique set of lasting capabilities that a company develops such as quality, service, innovation and others. The key to success in building these core competencies is using creativity, imagination and vision to identify those things that it does best and that is valuable to target customers.

Positive Internal factors What do you do well?

Negative Internal Factors What do you need to improve?

Positive External factors What are your goals?

Negative External factors What obstacles do you face?

relationship between a controllable variable and a critical factor influencing the firm's ability to compete in the market.

Friendly employees, tighter cost control, and strict quality compliance

Level of Market Competition, Consumer Behavior, Supply of Raw Materials

the contest between organizations that provide similar products or services or that target the same audience of consumers. Businesses compete to convert and retain customers, increase revenue and gain more market share. It is a part of every entrepreneurs' journey in a typical market. They should always be one step higher than rivals in terms of quality, price and design to maintain customers and attract more.

achievable outcome that is typically broad and long-term. A company might use goals to inform yearly strategies that each department will execute. An objective, on the other hand, defines the specific, measurable actions each team employee must take to achieve the overall goal. To sum it up, the main difference between a goal and an objective is that goals provide direction whereas objectives measure how you should follow that direction.

This strategy is about reducing the cost of production so that you can end up with a unit cost of a product or service that is much less than the unit costs of your competitors' similar products or services.

A strategy used by businesses to highlight the unique features and benefits of its product or service to separate it from competitors. The marketing team communicates these unique qualities through their campaigns and promotions. Then the sales team uses them to demonstrate the product's competitive advantage.

competitive strategy to direct marketing and sales efforts to a specific market segment. This strategy seeks to exploit underserved or undiscovered segments of a target market. While many competitors try to sell as many products to as many customers as possible, a focus strategy picks one or more specific segments. It gains an advantage by offering either high quality or low cost to that segment. These efforts can increase customer loyalty.

Must be put into action. Entrepreneurs should convert those strategic plans into operating plans that will guide the company's daily operations.

refers to a strategic management performance metric used to identify and improve various internal business functions and their resulting external outcomes. Used to measure and provide feedback to organizations, balanced scorecards are common among companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Europe.

the practice of dividing your target market into approachable groups. _________ creates subsets of a market based on demographics, needs, priorities, common interests, and other psychographic or behavioral criteria used to better understand the target audience.

sorts a market by elements such as age, education, income, family size, race, gender, occupation, and nationality. Demographic is one of the simplest and most used forms of segmentation because the products and services we buy, how we use those products, and how much we are willing to spend on them is most often based on demographic factors.

can be a subset of demographic segmentation, although it can also be a type of segmentation in its own right. It creates different target customer groups based on geographical boundaries. Because potential customers have needs, preferences, and interests that differ according to their geographies, understanding the climates and geographic regions of customer groups can help determine where to sell and advertise, as well as where to expand your business.

similar to demographic segmentation, except that demographics look at individuals while firmographics look at organisations. would consider things like company size, number of employees and would illustrate how addressing a small business would differ from addressing an enterprise corporation

divides markets by behaviors and decision-making patterns such as purchase, consumption, lifestyle, and usage. For instance, younger buyers may tend to purchase bottled body wash, while older consumer groups may lean towards soap bars. Segmenting markets based on purchase behaviors enables marketers to develop a more targeted approach because you can focus on what you know they and are therefore more likely to buy.

considers the psychological aspects of consumer behavior by dividing markets according to lifestyle, personality traits, values, opinions, and interests of consumers. Large markets like the fitness market use psychographic segmentation when they sort their customers into categories of people who care about healthy living and exercise.

a strategic process that Involves creating an identity/ image of the brand or product within the target customers' minds. The process indicates how you differentiate your product/ service from that of your competitors and then determine which market niche to fill. A company's marketing positioning strategy is affected by plenty of variables related to customers' requirements and motivations, as well as by its competitors' actions.