Competitive Analysis

Designers need to survey the competition and analyze precedent designs, but methods for that purpose have not been evaluated in earlier research. This paper makes a comparative evaluation between competitive analysis and genre analysis. A randomized between-group experiment was conducted where graphic design students were conducted one of the two analysis methods. There were 13 students in one group and 16 in the other. The results show that genre analysis produced more detailed descriptions of precedent designs, but its process was more difficult to understand. It is concluded that genre analysis can be integrated into competitive analysis, to make use of the strengths of both methods in the analysis of precedents.

The purpose of this report is to identify potential markets for Aston Martin’s product and develop an entry strategy into a new market where it is not currently present.
The first part of the report is addressed to market screening. This research entailed collecting secondary data from various databases and using the GMMSO software in order to identify the country with the highest market potential for Aston Martin. Thanks to data such as macro, micro, accessibility data, two countries were highlighted due to their high market potential: Croatia and Finland.
However, thanks to in-depth market analysis, it appears that Finland is the country with the highest potential. Indeed, despite the small size of the population and the high level of tax, the country is economically and politically very stable. Plus the country has been rated as one of the most easiest countries to do business, and one the less corrupted countries around the world. Moreover, Finnish infrastructure, mainly communication and transport, are very well developed. And even if the competition is already present in Finland, Aston Martin is launching in 2019 the DBX model which will aim to make Aston Martin’s offer more attractive into customers’ mind.
In order to enter the Finish market, Aston Martin should choose Franchising and e-commerce as Market entry strategy. By doing so Aston Martin will avoid risk as this strategy involve few resources for the company, and will be able to enter quickly in the market. Plus the company will have access to the Franchisee’s knowledge of the local market. The company can also use the franchise as a delivery point for e-commerce orders.
The second part of this report aims to deliver the marketing plan of the company. Aston Martin is segmenting its market according to Demographic, Geographic, Socio-cultural and Psychographic criteria. With the new DBX model, Aston Martin is targeting family but especially women, as the company is trying to integrate women among its customer base, with a high quality of life and dynamic lifestyle. In order to increase brand awareness of this specific target and the desirability to get an Aston Martin, the promotion plan must be adapted and use specific communication channels. Communication through newspapers and magazines should be taken into account and the use of databases is very important in order to reach the real target.
Aston Martin is a global company has set up a standardized Premium pricing strategy. The aim of this strategy is by setting a higher price compared to standard competitors in order to increase the perceived value of the company’s product and to display the quality and experience associated with a product. However, the product requires few adaptations (tire and heater) to be driven in the finish extreme cold weather.
If Aston Martin cannot reach profitability in the next three years after its entry in the market, the company should rethink its strategy. The company can whether end-up its contract with the franchisee, renegotiate the contract with the franchisee, or can still in the course and increase its involvement in the Finnish market by investing in marketing activities.

Currently, multi-attribute auctions are becoming widespread awarding mechanisms for contracts in construction, and in these auctions, criteria other than price are taken into account for ranking bidder proposals. Therefore, being the lowest-price bidder is no longer a guarantee of being awarded, thus increasing the importance of measuring any bidder’s performance when not only the first position (lowest price) matters.
Modeling position performance allows a tender manager to calculate the probability curves related to the more likely positions to be occupied by any bidder who enters a competitive auction irrespective of the actual number of future participating bidders.
This paper details a practical methodology based on simple statistical calculations for modeling the performance of a single bidder or a group of bidders, constituting a useful resource for analyzing one’s own success while benchmarking potential bidding competitors.

The paper suggests a comprehensive three-stage model, which offers an overall assessment of the company’s performance, as well as external success factors, threats and opportunities. The analysis should enable the company to determine a set of feasible strategies and decide upon the most appropriate one, which implementation could improve its current position. Strategic decision making tools can be methodologically grouped into three stages, with the portfolio analysis representing its core. Portfolio methodology with all its limitations offers a solid ground in the strategy formulation process especially for companies in transition economies inexperienced in the strategic planning process. The basic idea is to enable companies build grounds for sustainable or long-term competitive advantage.