Corporate Identity and Corporate Communications - Literature review Example

Introduction The future success of an organisation depends upon its ability to maintain and preserve its long-term existence in the market. Today's business world is characterised with ever changing competitive environment causing significant threats to companies. In such a situation it becomes imperative for organisations to have an advantage that can be utilised as a competitive edge in the market and maintain the company's presence distinctively among its competitors. This paper presents a study on the conception of competitive advantage and its significance for the future success of an organisation. This advantage can be achieved by an organisation through various means and respects of its capabilities and strategies. It encompasses several aspects of a company's marketing tactics and strategies in building a strong competitive advantage that can secure the company's future. Competitive Advantage- An Overview A competitive advantage is plainly a facet or capability of the organisation that it occupies or extends to the customers. For an organisational facet to form a 'competitive advantage', it needs to be unequalled in the market and not acquired by any other existing or upcoming competition in the market. This notion can also be translated in the words of Barney (2002, p9) as, "a firm experiences competitive advantages when its actions in an industry or market create economic value and when few competing firms are engaging in similar actions". Porter (1985, p3) explores the concept of competitive advantage as the capability of an organisation to create value for its customers in a way that procures more value to the customers than the competitors, he says, "Competitive advantage grows out of value a firm is able to create for its buyers that exceeds the firm's cost of creating it. Value is what buyers are willing to pay, and superior value stems from offering lower prices than competitors for equivalent benefits or providing unique benefits that more than offset a higher price. There are two basic types of competitive advantage: cost leadership and differentiation". Hence, a firm's competitive advantage has to be unique among all the other companies in the market. This implies that whatever company owns and provides to customers should have one or more differential aspect that can distinguish it form its competitors. Today, many organisations engage in providing almost same kind of products to a specific range of products. Consequently, the customers need to choose between a lot of options with slight distinction to satisfy their needs and problems. For a firm to win more customers than its competitors and sustain them in the long run, it needs to offer its customers something that is not being currently offered in the market. For instance, a different product with enhanced value, a courteous and friendly workforce, a well-known company image, and a breakthrough in technology helpful in satisfying customers in a much better way than the competitors. The customers would only be willing to buy the company's product or even pay a higher price for it if there's something in the product or service being by the company that the customers perceive to be valuable or different in satisfying their needs than other products in the market. The more the customers perceive the product to be valuable, the more the opportunity for the company to remain successful in the long run. The upcoming section of the paper investigates into some of the aspects of a company's marketing tactics and manoeuvres that could be utilised towards the achievement of a competitive advantage. Winning Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty And Trust Firms consistently endeavour to attain the mellowest possible levels of customer satisfaction and retention to survive in the modern competitive business arena. It is a factor that rightfully approximates a company's emplacement in the competitive market. If the customers are satisfied, the company is likely to be successful; otherwise it is doomed to be obscure in the future business domain. The enhancement of customer satisfaction consists in appraising customer wants, bringing forth incisively what they demand at the time they need it and making it beyond the customer anticipations. An organisation crucially requires satisfying its customers to arrive at a competitive advantage. If users admire whatever the company creates, it indicates that the firm is furnishing that clump of value to its customers that makes a company attain future success. An organisation can evaluate the extent of customer satisfaction through the rate at which old customers come back to the company. If the customers keep harking back, they are satisfied. Kandampully and Duddy (1999, p51) commit it as; "organisations must, therefore, constantly strive to develop and maintain their customers' loyalty or, as true in the majority of relationships, risk losing it to someone else". An organisation automatically lands at competitive advantage if the customers perceive its products and services to be of a quality superior to its competitors. This rests in stirring up a flavour of trust in the consumer's heart vis-a-vis the company's products. Today's customer is besieged with abounding choices in different value proffers at his disposal. It now reckons on the company to suss out and dissect what value package will be more magnetic to win the consumers. Kandampully and Duddy (1999, p51) consider that, "what establishes a firm's competitive advantage is their ability to serve customers' present and future needs indeed, it is the firm's awareness and fulfilment of customers' evolving needs that nurtures and validates their ongoing relationship with the customer". Thus, occupying a competitive sword in the market necessitates an unfathomed taste for customers and their demands, along with a crusade to cater to these needs more promptly than the competitors can even conceptualise it. Product Differentiation One of the best strategies a company can adopt to achieve a competitive is the product differentiation strategy. A company can project its product and services as different and provide more value to the customers than all the other competitors in the market to achieve a competitive advantage and maintain its long-term success in the business. Lumpkin, Dreoge and Dess (2002, p330) propound that "firms pursuing a differentiation strategy offer products or services that are viewed as unique and valued by customers. They achieve differentiation advantages when price premiums exceed the extra costs incurred in being unique" Corporate Culture The positive corporate culture of an organisation can also prove to be its competitive advantage. The more accented the culture and alliances partook in the organisation, the less attackable a company's competitive position in the market. Sadri and Lees (2001, p853) insist that, "while culture is not the only determinant of business success or failure, a positive culture can be a significant competitive advantage over organisations with which a firm competes". A positive culture that drives the workforce in an organisation to cultivate a commonality for the accomplishment of organisational ends, produces a corporate team environs, hurls employees for alteration and excogitation, orientates them towards figured riskiness and stirs up a sense of affiliation with the company, befalls the greatest factor required by organisations in the contemporaneous environment. The corporate acculturation that is modelled efficaciously to conserve and shield the workers' potency for forward motion eventually becomes a competitive advantage for a firm. Fostering Company Image And Repute Accented and opportune image of an organisation and its brands have a marked encroachment on its competitive pose. Every organisation in contemporary business domain endeavours to produce encouraging brand individuality and an incontrovertible company image. Corporations often involve themselves in operations salutary to society, surroundings, natural resources and humanity for the purpose of projecting a favourable and persuasive image in the marketplace. This technique does wonders for many companies, because as customers repute a certain brand or company's product to be beneficial for environment, health or society, they evolve a positive character of the company in their hearts. It sooner or later conduces the customers to purchase more its products than its competitors. Balmer and Gray (1999, p173) also express that; "a pervasive image and favourable reputation can be a powerful competitive weapon for a firm". Corroborating this sort of competitive advantage requires great efforts as the companies are always seeking ways to demolish the repute of their competitors. The companies therefore have to be cognisant of their surroundings and perpetually search directions to treasure their virtuous identities. Personnel Management Efficacious management of personnel in an organisation is critical to its success in the long haul. An organisation is nothing without the people who function persevering and wholeheartedly and make the organisation's position much potent in the competitive market. It is genuinely essential for an organisation to engage and uphold its proficient and propelled people that it has sustained and promoted for a long time. Balmer and Gray (1999, p173) corroborate this view as, "for today's knowledge organisations, the key to staying competitive is the ability to attract and retain skilled and motivated employees". It is the human asset or people armoury that perpetually communicate with the customers remain engrossed in evolving and raising customer-oriented products and services. Therefore if these valuable assets are not handled or gratified the right way, they will not rise up to their potential in pleasing customers. It is of most eminent significance for a firm to endeavour for the amelioration of employee's working feeling. Bowen and Lawler (1992) indicate that whatever workers undergo in the course of their work surely impacts on the perceptual experience customers hold of the company. Meliorating the impressions of workers concerning their tasks lies in embedding motivating factors into the organisation such as pays back, promotions, performance assessments, incentives and most importantly a salubrious working environment with galore chances to learn. Prolonging the competitive advantage accomplished through effective personnel management is yet tougher than actually hitting it. It involves inculcating an impression of trustfulness, empowerment and satisfaction among the workers. This can be rightfully attained through motivational elements. Thus, if a firm copes to preserve its trustworthy employees, it undoubtedly reflects that it has been successful in substantiating its most important competitive advantage. Advancing Through Technological Breakthrough A technical breakthrough or exposure is plausible to be a very potent competitive weapon for a company as long as it is different and worth seeking in the market. In addition to effectuating a technological eruption, a company can also endeavour to boost its progress and excogitation in any prevailing technology in a better way than its rivals so as to stay competitive in the market. Internet is among those technological opportunities that can provide a competitive advantage to any organisation landing successfully at the cyberspace. The contemporary businesses are systematically discovering advanced means to make their products more magnetic over the Internet and enhance this lasting experience for customers with the modern facilities of e-commerce. Lynn et al. (1999, p10) illuminate that; "by using the Internet low-cost electronic mail and mobile technologies such as cellular telephones and laptop computers small firms have been able to establish a local presence with a global reach on a shoestring budget". An organisation can consequently land up at dropping off its competitive advantage if its competitors get hold of even ameliorated technological arms heightening the customer satisfaction. It takes ordered exploration and evolutionary investigation in an organisation to keep on empowering its technological advantage once reached. Moreover, in today's active business domain, companies do not cease after any technological breakthrough; rather they seek to investigate into the opportunities in a consistent manner. Conclusion The above study reveals that the competitive advantage can be easily weaved into a company's marketing strategy. All that is required is an edge or the capability of the company that it can utilise towards the achievement of this goal. A competitive advantage in any form can save a company's future in the market and win customers for long-term. Competitors will come in and go out of the business posing severe threats to organisations in the market. However the companies need to strengthen their positions in the market even in the presence of so many threats. The strategic position of a company can only be maintained in the long run with the help of a competitive edge that is capable in the real sense to win a strategic position for the company in the competitive market. References Balmer, J. M. and Gray, E. R. (1999), "Corporate Identity and Corporate Communications: Creating A Competitive Advantage", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 171-176 Barney, Jay B. (2002), "Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage", 2nd ed. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Bowen, D.E., Lawler, E.E., (1992), "The Empowerment of Service Workers: What, Why, How, and When," Sloan Management Review, Vol. 33, No. 3, Spring, pp. 31-39 Kandampully, J. and Duddy R. (1999), "Competitive Advantage Through Anticipation, Innovation And Relationships", Management Decision, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 51-56 Lumpkin, G.T., Dreoge, G. D. and Dess, G. G. (2002), "E-Commerce Strategies: Achieving Sustainable Competitive Advantage And Avoiding Pitfalls", Organisational Dynamics, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 325-340 Lynn G.S., Maltz A.C., Jurkat, P.M. and Hammer M.D. (1999), "New Media In Marketing Redefine Competitive Advantage: A Comparison Of Small And Large Firms", The Journal Of Services Marketing, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 9-20 Porter, M. (1985), "Competitive Advantage", The Free Press, New York Sadri, G. and Lees, B. (2001), "Developing Corporate Culture As A Competitive Advantage", Journal Of Management Development, Vol. 20, No.10, pp. 853-859 Read More