STRATEGIC OPTIONS

Strategic Options give direction to the actions of the company by answering the basic question of the company. What do we want to identify and take into perspective?

• Cost - appeals to cost-conscious or price-sensitive customers and the firm must be able to operate at a lower cost than its rivals.
• • high asset utilization
  • achieving low direct and indirect operating costs
  • control over the value chain encompassing all functional groups (finance, supply/procurement, marketing, inventory, information technology etc..) to ensure low costs
• Differentiation - appropriate where the target customer segment is not price-sensitive, the market is competitive or saturated, customers have very specific needs which are possibly under-served, and the firm has unique resources and capabilities which enable it to satisfy these needs in ways that are difficult to copy.
• • patents or Intellectual Property (IP)
  • unique technical expertise
  • design skills
  • animation prowess
  • talented personnel 
  • innovative processes
• Focus - a competitive advantage through product innovation and/or brand marketing rather than efficiency
• • Target Markets / Marketing Mix
  • Niche Markets
• New Shareholder Model