Market Position Analysis- Wal-Mart

Throughout this course, you will conduct a strategy audit for a selected company. Begin this assignment by selecting an organization for your course project activities.

In this module, you will assess the product portfolio of your selected business unit by analyzing the value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage of its products and services.

Part I: Interview

To gain an understanding of your selected business unit’s market position, value proposition, and competitive advantage, conduct at least one interview with a mid-level or senior manager.

Use the interview to solicit the manager’s perception of his or her business unit’s product portfolio. Be sure to discuss the points of analysis listed below in Part II of this assignment.

Part II: Analysis

Based on the information gathered from the interview, analyze the product portfolio of your selected business unit (Wal-Mart) . In your analysis, identify the business unit of your company and the product(s) and service(s) on which you will focus.

Make sure to include the following points in your analysis:

• Describe the      target customer for the product/service in terms of relevant characteristics      that impact the marketing strategy, including location (how it should be      reached) and buying habits.
• Identify each      customer segment’s specific wants and needs. Explain why they buy your      company’s product or service, or a competing product or service.
• Justify how well      your product/service satisfies customer wants and needs. Identify any      wants and needs that are not met by your product/service.
• Analyze the      position of your product/service in relation to the competition. Identify      the main competitors. Explain how your product differs in terms of      features, function, quality, price, availability, brand image, and the      like. Explain why this differentiation is important to your customers.
• Describe the      source of competitive advantage for your product. Evaluate how sustainable      is this source of advantage.
• Assess the      long-term sustainability of the source of differentiation and competitive      advantage.

Include appropriate information from the interview in support of your answer.

Part III: Matrix

In comparing your product/service to that of the competition, construct a simple matrix in the following way:

• List the key      customer wants or needs on the left-hand vertical axis.
• List the      competing products on the top horizontal axis, starting with your      product/service on the left.
• For each      customer want or need, indicate how well each competing product satisfies      the need using a scale of 0–2.
  • 0 = need not       met
  • 1 = need       partially met
  • 2 = need fully       met

This is a simple but effective visual mechanism for comparing the relative position of multiple offerings from competing sources.

Write a 3-page paper in Word format and attach the matrix as an appendix. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M1_A3.doc. For example, if your name is John Smith, your document will be named SmithJ_M1_A3.doc.