Service marketing report 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Service marketing report 2 - Essay Example It is thus extremely important for modern business managers to appreciate the marketing component as an emerging frontier in business strategy. According to the author, â€Å"the center of gravity for most companies has tilted downstream†, where by activities like product delivery in unique and specific circumstances for consumption have become important. They inform consumer decisions in choosing certain brands over others are the basis for brand loyalty and as such are accounting for significantly larger proportions of costs in many businesses. Another important point the author puts across in his article is that business strategy today is more centered on what companies can do more for their customers. The market and customer therefore forms the core of business strategy today unlike traditionally where the factories and products formed the core. This calls on the companies to rethink their strategic pillars; drivers for competitive edge now are out of the companies, advantage cumulatively increases with more knowledge and experience. Focus is now on what the customer wants and therefore firms have to offer produc t propositions that have solutions for the specific purchasing criteria. Therefore shifts in the purchasing trends form the key driver of market growth and pace as opposed to technological or product enhancement. As opposed to upstream competitive advantage which is internally sourced and protected by companies, downstream advantage is found from outside the business. Downstream advantage is driven by the external links a company has with its customers such as strategic partnerships as well as complementors. Is anchored on the processes by which the company interacts with the target market, knowledge of the market and trends in behavior of customers. Information on the patterns of how consumers behave and there purchasing