Introduction

The product is the main object on the market. It has cost and use value (or value), has a certain quality, technical level and reliability, usefulness specified by consumers, efficiency indicators in production and consumption, and other very important characteristics. It is in the product that all the features and contradictions of the development of market relations in the economy are reflected. A product is an accurate indicator of the economic strength and activity of the manufacturer. The effectiveness of the factors that determine the position of the manufacturer is checked in the process of competitive rivalry of goods in the conditions of a developed market mechanism, which makes it possible to identify the differences between a given product and a competing product both in terms of the degree of compliance with a specific social need and in terms of the costs of satisfying it. To do this, the product must have a certain competitiveness.

The competitiveness of a product is a level of its economic, technical and operational parameters that allows it to withstand rivalry (competition) with other similar products on the market. In addition, competitiveness is a comparative characteristic of a product, containing a comprehensive assessment of the entire set of production, commercial, organizational and economic indicators in relation to the identified market requirements or the properties of another product.

It is determined by the totality of consumer properties of a given competing product according to the degree of compliance with social needs, taking into account the costs of satisfying them, prices, conditions of delivery and operation in the process of productive and (or) personal consumption.

Competitiveness is a concentrated expression of the totality of the capabilities of a country, of any manufacturer, to create, produce and sell goods and services.

Therefore, the topic of the course work is relevant today.

The purpose of this work is:

– Definition directly of the concept of product competitiveness.

– Determination and analysis of those factors due to which the competitiveness of a product is formed.

– Identification of possible ways to increase the competitiveness of a product.

It should be noted that a fairly large number of studies and literary publications are devoted to the problems of ensuring competitiveness. In this work, we will consider methods for analyzing and managing the competitiveness of a product, set out in the sources indicated as a bibliographic list of references.

1. Assessing the competitiveness of the product

1.1 The concept of product competitiveness in marketing

In a market economy, the decisive factor in the commercial success of a product is competitiveness. This is a multifaceted concept that means the product’s compliance with market conditions, specific consumer requirements, not only in terms of its qualitative, technical, economic, aesthetic characteristics, but also in terms of commercial and other conditions for its sale (price, delivery time, sales channels, service, advertising). Moreover, an important component of the competitiveness of a product is the level of consumer costs during the period of its operation.

Due to the multidimensional application of this category in various fields of knowledge, there are a number of definitions in the scientific and technical literature, sometimes contradicting each other.

The following definition of competitiveness is proposed: “...competitiveness is understood as a complex of consumer and cost (price) characteristics of a product that determine its success in the market, that is, the advantage of this particular product over others in the context of a wide supply of competing analogue products.”

Dictionaries give the following interpretations of this word:

1) “...the competitiveness of a product is a set of consumer properties of a product that determines its difference from other similar products in terms of the degree and level of satisfaction of the buyer’s needs and the costs of its acquisition and operation”;

2) “...competitiveness of a product is the ability of a product to be more attractive to the consumer (buyer) compared to other products of a similar type and purpose, due to better compliance of its quality and cost characteristics with the requirements of a given market and consumer assessments.

In our opinion, all these definitions have one common drawback, presenting competitiveness as a set, that is, the sum, of all the properties of a product and not taking into account the fact that the consumer is more interested in the ratio: quality, price of consumption.

This definition, namely: “...competitiveness means the ability of a given item (potential and / or real) to withstand competition,” more accurately reflects the essence of this category, but does not explain how this ability can arise.

Competitiveness is a higher ratio of the totality of qualitative characteristics of a product and the costs of its acquisition and consumption, compared to substitute products, if they meet the requirements of the market or its specific segment. Otherwise: a product is considered competitive if its total beneficial effect per unit of cost is higher than that of others, and at the same time, the value of none of the criteria is unacceptable for the consumer.

A product with low quality may be competitive at the appropriate price, but if any feature is missing, it will lose its appeal altogether. For example, the lack of a flash on a camera is almost impossible to compensate for by reducing the price.

In addition to the requirements for the product put forward by each individual consumer, there are also requirements common to all products that must be met. These are regulatory parameters that are established by: current international (ISO, IEC, etc.) and regional standards; national foreign and domestic standards; current legislation, regulations, technical regulations of the exporting country and importing country, establishing requirements for products imported into the country; standards of manufacturers of these products; patent documentation.

If at least one of the requirements is not met, the product cannot be put on the market.

If the result of the analysis of regulatory parameters is positive, they move on to analyzing the competitiveness of the product in specific markets.

There are several methods for calculating the competitiveness indicator.

However, before calculating the quantitative value of the competitiveness indicator, it is necessary to conduct a number of additional studies.

At the first stage, an experimental determination or calculation of all the characteristics of one’s own product is carried out, including those that can only be identified during its operation.

On the second, the goals of assessing competitiveness are determined, which depend on the stage of the product life cycle, on the strategy and development plans of the company, etc. Before introducing a new product to the market, you need to make sure that its performance is not inferior to its competitors and can attract the attention of buyers. Over time, the competitiveness of a product can either increase or decrease due to changes in consumer preferences, the emergence of new competitors or the departure of old competitors from the market, etc.

In the third stage, market segmentation and justification of the target segment are carried out using marketing methods.

1.2 Parameters of product competitiveness

The competitiveness of a product shows the degree of its attractiveness for a real consumer, i.e. the level of preference for a given product in a specific market during a certain period of time.

Competitiveness is determined by three groups of parameters: consumer, economic, organizational (commercial).

Consumer parameters characterize the following properties: parameters of purpose, quality (including from the consumer’s point of view), ergonomic, aesthetic and regulatory parameters, product image, its popularity, trademark, etc. Purpose parameters are related to the areas of application of the product and the fictions that it is required to fulfill. Ergonomic parameters characterize the compliance of products with the capabilities of the human body when performing labor operations or consumption, i.e. show the degree of comfort and convenience. Aesthetic parameters characterize informational expressiveness, rationality of form, perfection of production execution and stability of presentation. Regulatory parameters reflect the properties of products, which are regulated by mandatory norms, standards and legislation.

Economic parameters form the consumption price, which includes the selling price.

Organizational (commercial) parameters include a system of discounts, terms of payment and delivery, after-sales service, guarantees, etc.

One of the main factors of competitiveness is product quality. There are currently four quality levels:

1) compliance with the standard, i.e. regulatory requirements;

2) compliance with use, when the product must meet not only the requirements of standards, but also operational requirements;

3) compliance with actual market requirements, expressed in high quality and low price of the product;

4) compliance with latent (hidden, unobvious) needs, as a result of which the product will be preferred.

It is impossible to identify concepts such as “competitiveness” and “quality level”, since “competitiveness” is a broader concept than “quality,” although the latter most often forms the basis of competitiveness. The competitiveness of a product is determined by the totality of its properties that are of interest to the buyer and satisfy his needs. Since products are targeted at certain segments of buyers, they use the characteristics of the product that guide the majority of buyers in a particular segment when making a purchase.

The list of significant components of competitiveness and the degree of their importance for different buyers may vary even in the same market, so in each specific case it is necessary to highlight its own components. The meaning of the components and the consumer’s attitude towards them may change over different periods of time, even for the same product, so determining the set of components of competitiveness is one of the key points in its assessment.

Competitiveness should be understood as a characteristic of a product that reflects its difference from a competing product both in terms of the degree of compliance with a specific need and in terms of the costs of satisfying it. Indicators expressing such a difference determine the competitiveness of the analyzed product in comparison with a competing product. One of the main indicators is the level of competitiveness.

In practice, competitiveness is most often assessed using a sample product that is already in demand in the market and is close to social needs. Thus, the sample acts as an embodied requirement that a product in demand must satisfy. The parameters involved in the assessment are determined based on the results of market research and customer requirements. In this case, the criteria that the consumer uses when choosing a product should be used. The degree of importance of each criterion can be determined using expert and sociological methods.

Some experts differentiate the components of competitiveness into conditionally hard ones, which are easily measurable (for example, the level of quality, price), and conditionally soft ones, which are associated with the characteristics of the buyer’s perception of the product and are not always easy to measure (for example, the image of the product).

1.3 Methodology for assessing the competitiveness of a product

The success of any company ultimately depends on the level of competitiveness of the products it offers to consumers. Thus, we have to recognize the need to develop a clear methodology for assessing and managing the competitiveness of products, based on the close relationship of generally accepted laws of economics and management, psychology and sociology, statistics and probability theory, and other sciences.

In the process of assessing the competitiveness of products, the following principles must be followed:

– opposition of goals and means of market subjects;

– taking into account the characteristics of various market segments;

– predominantly rational behavior of market subjects.

The principle of opposition between goals and means when managing product competitiveness means that product competitiveness as an economic category should be considered in a dual aspect, i.e. in the process of assessing and managing competitiveness, it is necessary to take into account the interests of both subjects of market relations (consumers and producers), whose targets are interrelated and opposite: for the manufacturer, parameters that affect the level of costs are important, and for the consumer, parameters that influence the consumer properties of the product are important.

For the consumer, the purpose of purchasing a product is to acquire its quality - the ability to satisfy specific needs. The cost of factors that satisfy these needs can be represented as consumption prices. Each consumer, when choosing a specific product, strives to achieve an optimal balance between the level of consumer properties and the costs of its acquisition and use, i.e. obtain the maximum consumer effect per unit of cost. To measure the degree of satisfaction of needs, consumer satisfaction indices can be used, which are widely used in Western Europe and the USA (see Appendix 1).

From the manufacturer's point of view, the usefulness of products is determined by cost and price factors. In the long term, the goal of any manufacturer is to achieve the maximum difference between the selling price of the product and its own production costs. In this regard, the primary task for the manufacturer is to form an opinion in the minds of the consumer about the high degree of usefulness of this product. The quality level of the product production process, expressed through production and technological indicators and embodied in product quality, ensures satisfaction of the manufacturer’s needs and acts as a means of achieving the goal - making a profit.

Thus, for both market subjects, products are a set of useful properties, materialized into a certain substance, which is a means of satisfying the needs of both the consumer and the manufacturer.

The principle of taking into account the characteristics of various market segments is based on the rich practice of market relations, which has shown that consumers in the market do not act as a single, monolithic community. They react differently even to the same product with the same properties. When making a purchase, the consumer carries out the process of selecting the product he needs among a number of similar ones offered on the market, and purchases the one that best satisfies his needs. At the same time, the consumer determines the degree to which the product parameters correspond to their own needs and financial capabilities.

Since the needs of each individual buyer are influenced by a wide range of factors, evaluations of the same product by different consumers may not coincide. Accordingly, their preferences, which determine the patterns of consumer choice, will also be different. Consequently, each consumer will evaluate the level of competitiveness of a particular type of product purely individually. Therefore, the idea of ​​some kind of absolute competitiveness of products not related to a specific market is invalid.

However, the aggregate demand of representatives of any reference group of consumers is concentrated, as a rule, around a certain level of quality and price of the product, due to the fact that the motives of their behavior are influenced by similar external factors. By analyzing the psychological aspects of behavior and value orientations of the consumer, the researcher is able to identify some types of mass reactions of people in relation to a certain product. By releasing products with characteristics close to the most popular ones, it is possible to satisfy a significant part of the total effective demand with the help of a relatively small assortment. The optimal segment is considered to include 20% of consumers of products of this type, who purchase approximately 80% of the product.

At the same time, one should not equate mass sales with strong competitiveness of products, since products may be targeted at narrow layers of wealthier consumers. At any given moment in time, the structure of effective demand is quite definite, which makes it possible to segment consumers according to the significance (importance) of individual quality indicators and the magnitude of their budget constraints.

Thus, the competitiveness of products in different segments of the consumer market is different. Consumers segmented according to these criteria have a different structure of attitudes and evaluate the competitive advantages and disadvantages of products differently. To ensure its competitiveness, it is necessary to carry out correct segmentation of consumers.

In order to avoid internal inconsistency of the main parameters of the model for assessing the competitiveness of products, it is necessary to consider a period of time during which the psychological aspects of the perception of the usefulness of goods by subjects of market relations, the production capabilities of manufacturers and the purchasing power of consumers, the market positions of competitors and other conditions should remain unchanged. The main factors in determining the duration of the period of unchanged market conditions can be the level of income and structure of consumer spending, fashion, habits; qualitative leaps in science, technology, commerce and other fields of knowledge; instruments of state economic management (tariffs, GOSTs, quotas, limits, tax and interest rates, etc.); principles of socio-political structure; elements of the competitive environment, the speed of reaction of subjects of market relations to the actions of each other and (or) competitors, etc. Incomparability thresholds, which characterize fluctuations in the factors described above as insignificant, and the state of market conditions as static, are established expertly based on the experience and judgment of specialists in the field of marketing.

Although these time periods are extremely short in terms of possible changes in the external and internal environment, they are long enough to collect statistical information for building an econometric model. All events must be synchronized in discrete time intervals. So, for example, the consumer’s income and expenses must be made during the period under review, and their value and structure must change only from period to period.

The principle of predominantly rational behavior of market subjects is based on the assumption that the behavior of each of the subjects of market relations - be it a consumer or a producer - can be considered as a series of interrelated rational actions with a predetermined goal. The essence of these actions is that the subject chooses rational goals only in accordance with his natural and reasonable social needs, and carefully calculates the optimal path to satisfying his needs.

This model of behavior is largely implemented by manufacturers. Any entrepreneur will strive to sell products at a price as high as possible above cost. It should be noted that even those enterprises that use dumping prices in their competition are well aware that this tool is acceptable only as one of the tactical methods of squeezing competitors out of a certain market segment, and not as a factor in the strategic development of the company, a long-term tool for strengthening its market positions.

Each manufacturer strives to use all reserves to obtain maximum returns from the resources at its disposal. Any efforts in the field of improving product quality or reducing costs are motivated by only one thing - obtaining additional benefits, which can be expressed in strengthening the competitive position and (or) increasing the share of the enterprise’s profit in the selling price.

The actions of most product consumers are also subject to the principle of rationality. Commitment to rational behavior increases with an increase in the share of consumer expenditures to satisfy a given need or with tightening control over the process of spending funds. Both of these factors are characteristic of describing the behavior of consumers of industrial goods. Every consumer strives to get the maximum for his money in terms of quantity and quality of products. Most of the consumer space can be characterized by rational demand, i.e. demand due to the qualities inherent in a given product.

Irrational demand means that part of the aggregate demand is due to some other factors not related to the quality of the product. For any category of goods, there are three components of irrational demand:

External influences on the perceived usefulness of a product;

Speculative demand;

Irrational demand.

The most significant part of irrational demand is determined by external influences on the utility of the product. The amount of perceived utility consumers derive from a given good increases or decreases depending on whether other consumers buy the good or whether the good is priced higher than other similar goods. All consequences of the influence of these factors on demand are described by the corresponding effects.

The joining the majority effect involves an increase in demand for a product due to the fact that other members of a given consumer group are buying it.

If the majority acts rationally, then the actions of the minority can also be considered rational.

With speculative demand, the primary goal for the consumer is not to satisfy the need at the present time, but to attempt to preserve or increase wealth in the future. In this case, two points need to be noted:

The fact of product consumption and the result from this fact are significantly separated in time, which is not consistent with the principle of quasi-stability;

The consumer, showing speculative demand, acts as an entrepreneur, since the targets in his activities are not aimed at choosing the optimal price indicators for consumed products at the present time, but at increasing economic benefits in the future. Often this correlates with losses in the present moment.

The nature of irrational demand is characterized by an aggravated conflict between the main factors of consumer behavior (psychophysiological and sociocultural, instincts and pleasure). Thus, a consumer can behave irrationally when the pleasure and inconvenience (or pain) from the consumption process are separated in time. Cases when inconvenience first occurs when developing skills to use a product do not make it possible to enjoy the purchase of the product. The benefits of purchasing a product for the consumer seem dubious, and he refuses it, which causes a lack of experience of rational consumption. Conversely, the “pleasure-inconvenience” cycle allows you to accumulate experience of rational behavior. However, the large time gap between the fact of consumption and the negative consequences does not allow the consumer to draw conclusions about the irrationality of his behavior. In this regard, one of the conditions for making a rational decision is the introduction of prohibitions and other obstacles on the part of the state and society to protect consumers from their own irrational actions, as well as providing the most complete information about the quality of the relevant products and the state of market conditions. The lack of information leads to the fact that consumer behavior can become rational in form, but not in results.

Thus, the principle of rational behavior of market subjects allows us to apply the laws of the general theory of value, the theory of utility and other laws of psychology and sociology in the process of modeling the competitiveness of products.

The proposed principles are the result of a synthesis of previously known laws and concepts and are put forward as basic for solving a specific problem - assessing the competitiveness of products and determining the strategy and tactics of possible actions in the field of managing them in order to most fully satisfy the interests of consumers and producers at the same time.

The problem of product quality and competitiveness is universal in the modern world. Much depends on how successfully it is solved in the economic and social life of any country and almost any consumer.

The competition factor is coercive in nature, forcing the manufacturer, under the threat of being ousted from the market, to constantly engage in the quality system and, in general, the competitiveness of their products, and the market objectively and strictly evaluates the results of their activities.

In a developed competitive market, marketing becomes an effective means of solving the problem of quality and competitiveness of goods, experiencing, in turn, their reverse impact, which expands or reduces its possibility.

The ultimate goal of every company is victory in competition. The victory is not a one-time, not accidental, but as a natural result of the company’s constant and competent efforts. Whether it is achieved or not depends on the competitiveness of the company’s goods and services, i.e. on how much better they are compared to analogues - products and services of other companies. What is the essence of this category of a market economy and why, despite all the efforts of any company, cannot be strictly guaranteed?

Usually, the competitiveness of a product is understood as a certain relative integral characteristic that reflects its differences from a competing product and, accordingly, determines its attractiveness in the eyes of the consumer. But the whole problem lies in correctly defining the content of this characteristic. All misconceptions begin here.

Most beginners focus on the parameters of a product and then compare some integral characteristics of such an assessment for different competing products to assess competitiveness. Often this assessment simply covers quality indicators, and then (not infrequently) the assessment of competitiveness is replaced by a comparative assessment of the quality of competing analogues. The practice of the world market clearly proves the incorrectness of this approach. Moreover, studies of many product markets clearly show that the final purchase decision is only one third related to product quality indicators. What about the other two thirds? They are associated with significant and quite significant for the consumer conditions for the purchase and future use of the product.

In general, assessing the competitiveness of a product includes studying the market, competitors, customer needs and product evaluation parameters (see Appendix No. 2). In world practice, the quantitative assessment of a competitive product consists of three stages:

– market analysis and selection of the most competitive sample product as a basis for comparison and determination of the level of competitiveness of the product;

– determination of a set of compared parameters of two products;

– calculation of the integral indicator of product competitiveness.

To determine the competitiveness of goods, it is necessary to start with a market analysis: which countries, companies, manufacturers present their products.

– Determination of the list of groups of compared parameters and their numerical values.

– Selection of analogue products as a basis for comparison.

– Selecting an analogue. It can be specific, i.e. a real product, a competitor or an abstract one with given optimal parameters that are formed by the consumer and with maximum parameters obtained on the basis of market research.

– Information is collected on the performance of the product and its competitors.

Thus, at this stage, information about competitors and their products is collected, and groups of indicators are used in calculations.

1 group. Technical parameters are the qualitative characteristics of a product; these include functionality, packaging, maintenance, guarantees, accompanying documents, operating instructions, quality indicators. Regulatory characteristics show compliance with standards, norms and rules that regulate the boundaries beyond which these parameters cannot go.

2nd group. Economic parameters. These include: sales price, total costs of transportation, installation, maintenance, operation, repairs, taxes, insurance, disposal.

3rd group. Organizational non-price marketing conditions. Terms and conditions of delivery, payments, maintenance organization, company image, discount system, completeness of delivery, scale of the advertising campaign.

The requirement for an analogue product is to indicate that its class corresponds to the class of the original, similar product.

When determining a set of parameters, parameters characterizing the consumer properties of the product and parameters expressing its economic properties are selected. The consumer properties of a product, which make up its beneficial effect, are determined by a set of “hard” and “soft” consumer parameters.

“Hard parameters” describe the most important functions of a product and its associated characteristics, specified by the design principles of the product. They have a certain value, expressed in certain units (for example, power, size, temperature, etc.). The most representative group of “hard” parameters are technical, as well as parameters of compliance with national and international standards, regulations, legislative acts, etc.

“Soft” parameters characterize the aesthetic properties of the product, i.e. are an expression of design, packaging, color and give products a special appeal. “Soft” parameters, as a rule, do not have a natural physical measure and are difficult to quantify.

Determining a set of consumer parameters forms the basis for analyzing the competitiveness of a product. When analyzing all the parameters, those that are of greatest importance to consumers are brought to the fore. The value of each parameter is determined by a group of experts who have a sufficient amount of reliable market information. This approach does not exclude careful research of secondary parameters that can play a decisive role in competitive competition. The goal of this research approach is to maximize customer satisfaction.

An assessment is possible on the basis of organoleptic methods based on a person’s subjective perception of one or another property of an object and expressing the result of perception in digital (score) form. It may also be useful to evaluate a product not so much based on its direct perception, but rather on the basis of experience in marketing activities in the market, based on an intuitive determination of the role of a particular property in satisfying customer needs. This method is based on measuring various properties of a product. Taking into account the totality of all opinions, a quantitative assessment of the “soft” parameter is constructed.

This calculation is based on comparing the parameters of a given product with the parameters of an existing or developing product that most fully reflects the needs of customers.

The sample for comparative analysis is selected on the basis of information obtained as a result of market research on the nature of customer requirements, both direct - as a result of targeted collection of information, and indirect - taking into account data on sales volumes and market shares of the most competitive goods. To assess the relationship between the parameters of the product under consideration and the parameters of the sample, the percentage of the degree of compliance of this product with the parameters of the standard is found. The degree of compliance is determined in the form of a percentage ratio of the actual value of the parameter to the value at which the need is satisfied 100%. For example, the lifespan of an aircraft engine produced by a manufacturer is 80 thousand flight hours, while similar engines that are in active demand on the market have a lifespan of 100 thousand flight hours. It follows that the need for this parameter in our example is satisfied only by 80%, which, other things being equal, makes the manufactured engine not competitive in the market. Or another example. A hair dryer with automatic switching runs continuously for 30 minutes, and the consumer needs it to work until it turns off for 60 minutes. In this example, the need for this parameter is satisfied by only 50%. A similar calculation is carried out for all quantitatively assessed parameters in order to obtain a parametric index for each of them. Summarizing the results obtained, a general quantitative assessment of the “soft” parameter is constructed, which is correlated with a similar assessment of the corresponding parameter of the competitor’s product.

The attractiveness of the goods being sold to the seller lies in the net proceeds equal to the contract price minus the costs of sale, delivery, taxes, duties, and excise taxes. The competitiveness of a product is constantly being improved, achieving maximum compliance of its consumer and cost characteristics with existing and especially predicted customer needs. Based on the identification of market changes, those groups of goods that best meet consumer needs are selected. Next, forecasts for the emergence of new competitors' products are studied - new products that have a clear likelihood of successful sales and that will cause fierce rivalry between competitors. After this, technical requirements for the parameters of the goods are formed. In conclusion, evaluation tables are compiled for the correspondence between the parameters of several interesting new products and those technologies without which the release of a new product is impossible.

Ultimately, the choice of option is determined by the limitations that exist for a given industrial firm in the field of technology, material support and communications. A correctly chosen option for increasing the competitiveness of a product will allow you to avoid senseless losses to the maximum extent, and the results obtained from the analysis of this wide range of parameters will allow you to formulate a program of targeted changes in the production, financial, economic and sales work of an industrial company to strengthen its position in the competitive struggle in the market.

3. Ways to increase the competitiveness of a product

For many decades in our country, in conditions of high monopolization of producers, the regulator of production was not real demand, but - exactly the opposite - production and the administrative-command distribution mechanism regulated consumption, shaped the needs and tastes of buyers. In these conditions, the problem of product competitiveness practically did not arise for manufacturers. With the development of the market mechanism, this problem in our country, naturally, has sharply worsened.

It was noted above that competition policy regarding a product takes into account the ability of the product to satisfy the aggregate needs of the buyer better than competing products. Creating such consumer value for a product is the most important condition for survival in the market. Thus, an excellent design of a passenger car with poor maintenance will not save a new car brand from failure in the market.

The spread of competition is pushing manufacturers to intensify the search for new competitive products and new markets for their sales. The key point in gaining positions in the market is the timely renewal of manufactured goods, preparation and organization of production of new types of products. However, the creation of a new product is an extremely complex process, since it is ultimately about creating a mass of goods that fully meets the requirements of the market.

The concept of creating a new product today is based not so much on compliance with traditional aspirations to achieve new technical and technical-economic parameters, but rather on the desire to create a “product of market novelty” with a high level of competitiveness relative to other similar products. When developing a market strategy, it is very important to learn how to promptly remove economically ineffective goods from the production program of an industrial company.

When choosing ways to increase the competitiveness of a product, it is often a very timely decision not to launch a new one, not to discontinue an obsolete product, but to modify the product. The decision to modify a product is made in order to meet the special requirements of customers to obtain greater profits. Indisputable is the development of such an area of ​​increasing the competitiveness of goods as the timely provision of a range of services related to the sale and use of machinery and equipment, i.e. service maintenance. With skillful organization, service is a decisive factor in increasing the competitiveness of a product.

The problem of selecting and developing new markets is becoming increasingly important. New sales markets can decisively change the competitiveness of a product and the profitability of sales activities. Increasing sales volumes in new markets will reduce production costs. In this regard, it is very important for the further development of the competitiveness of a product to try to enter a new sales market with it, since its competitiveness in the domestic market has dropped sharply. But at the same time, it is necessary to know exactly the degree to which new markets are supplied with highly qualified employees of repair and maintenance organizations, since otherwise buyers may demand increased reliability and simplified design of products sold.

Conclusion

The market for goods and services has a powerful impact on the economy of both a single country and the world economy as a whole, and the manufacturing firms that appear on it, as a component of the market, will invariably remain the focus of attention of economists. The goods (or services) they produce are also of no small importance for the formation of obvious and hidden currents and trends in the market, and providing the end user with reliable information about them is the key to fair competition between firms, and, as a result, the survival of the strongest of them, who have the best strategy and tactics that supply the best products in terms of quality / price / service.

A fairly large number of studies and literary publications are devoted to the consideration of problems of ensuring competitiveness, which we, to the best of our ability and the availability of material, analyzed and systematized in this work.

In our work, we achieved our goals, namely: we examined the essence of the competitiveness of goods, the process and criteria for its assessment, the importance of taking into account the qualities of a product relative to analogues in market conditions, and also presented an analysis of possible ways to increase the competitiveness of a particular product. Of course, our analysis is incomplete due to a number of circumstances. However, any analysis can be criticized, and any fact can be interpreted in many ways, and each time you come to new conclusions or erroneous theories. We did not consider all existing theories, but limited ourselves to classic, well-established ones that have stood the test of time and practice. Also, not being able to analyze the entire range of goods of civilization put up for market auction, we made an attempt to understand the constituent factors of the competitiveness of goods, since in a market economy, competitiveness is a decisive factor for success.

In this work, we examined methods of analysis and management of product competitiveness and completed the tasks that we set for ourselves, and therefore we consider our work to be quite qualified and successful.

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Competitiveness- this is the ability of a certain object or subject to meet the needs of interested parties in comparison with other similar subjects and/or objects. Objects can be goods, enterprises, industries, regions (countries, regions, districts). Subjects can be consumers, producers, the state, and investors.

Competitiveness can only be determined by comparing objects or subjects with others.

Competitiveness of the product and its assessment

competitiveness indicator consumer product

The competitiveness of a product is a set of consumer and cost characteristics of a product that determine its success in the market. This is a multifunctional concept, a complex category that characterizes the compliance of a product with market conditions and specific consumer requirements not only in terms of quality, technical, aesthetic characteristics, but also in terms of the economic and commercial conditions of its sale.

The competitiveness of a product is a relative value, since it can only be determined by comparing products competing in the market and during sales time.

Assessing and forecasting the competitiveness of a product is a complex job that consists of certain stages. At the initial stage, competitiveness goals are established. Depending on the specific conditions, it may be:

· Determination of the position of the newly developed product among analogues of the enterprise and industry

· Assessing the prospects for selling a product on the market

· Identification of indicators of a product (similar product) that provide it with the necessary level of competitiveness

· Development of measures to increase the level of competitiveness of goods

· Setting prices for goods

· Selection of strategies and tactics for working with a product in a specific market

At the second stage, product requirements are established. Their identification is based on the analysis of various information about the requirements and demands of consumers. The next stage is to establish parameters by which the level of competitiveness of a product can be assessed. All parameters for assessing competitiveness can be divided into 3 groups:

1. Regulatory (regulated)

2. Technical

3. Economic.

When choosing parameters, it should be taken into account that competitiveness is determined only by those indicators that are relevant to a specific consumer.

First of all, the parameters of the normative group are selected.

This work begins with assessing the patent purity of the product. Then the compliance of the product parameters with mandatory standards and norms regulating the level and boundaries of these parameters is established. If at least one of these regulatory indicators (environmental, safety, legal, interchangeability, sanitary and veterinary) does not meet the established requirements in force in a particular market, then further assessment of competitiveness is inappropriate. Therefore, studies of product compliance with standards, regulations and legislation in force in a particular country should be carried out first.

Methodological consideration of regulatory parameters when assessing competitiveness is ensured by the introduction of an index (indicator), which takes two values: 1 or 0. If the product complies with mandatory standards, regulations and conditions, the index is equal to 1, if not - 0. General (group) indicator for regulatory parameters is the product of single indicators for each.

Thus, if at least one of the individual indicators (indices) is equal to 0, then the overall indicator is also equal to 0. This indicates the non-competitiveness of this product in the target market.

The second group of parameters for assessing competitiveness is the technical characteristics of the product.

Market research allows a firm to identify which product properties the buyer considers necessary references, and then allows them to assess how well each of the product properties meets the needs or standard. This can be expressed quantitatively as the ratio of the value of a single technical parameter to the value of the same standard parameter.

Using this formula, you can calculate all the individual technical parameters of a product, that is, compare them in terms of power, capacity, capacity, productivity, fuel consumption, and others. To establish a group “general” indicator (index) for technical parameters, it is necessary to summarize individual indicators, taking into account the significance of the “weight” of each of them in the general set of parameters. In this formula, the problem is related to determining the significance of single indicators of technical parameters, that is, the weight coefficient. For this purpose, ranking of technical indicators is done.

Those that are of greatest importance to the consumer come to the fore. The calculation of the weight coefficient is carried out using the export method. To clarify this coefficient, additional information obtained from consumer research can be used.

The indicators that are most significant become the objects of careful analysis. This approach does not exclude the analysis of secondary indicators; in some cases, they may be important for the market success of a product. However, it should be taken into account that the greatest effect comes from improving the indicators that are most significant from the consumer’s point of view.

An important role of competitiveness is played by the establishment of a standard, the formation of groups of analogues of their indicators. The standard product must satisfy the consumer 100%. Products included in the group of analogues must meet the following requirements:

They must have the same values ​​of classification indicators characterizing this type of product (similar value and interchangeability)

Belonging to one market segment

Availability of an analogue product on the market at the time of evaluation.

Depending on the purpose of assessing competitiveness, the following products can be selected from the group of analogues as a sample:

Stably sold in a specific market in large volumes;

Those that have won the largest number of consumer preferences;

Selected groups of experts serve as “standards” for the most promising product.

When choosing a basic sample, one should assume that the response to changes in market conditions can be synchronous and proactive. With a synchronous response, the basic assessment is the competitor products that best satisfy the current needs and demands of consumers. In a proactive response, the products of potential competitors are taken as the basis for evaluation.

The third group of parameters being assessed includes economic indicators, that is, at what level of costs the need can be satisfied. To determine a group economic indicator (index), it is necessary to compare the consumption prices of the analyzed (new) product and the standard or product - an analogue of a competitor.

The consumption price of a product is set as the sum of the selling “market price” and all costs for the entire service life, as well as other expenses.

The formula shows that the lower the price of consumption of the i-th (new) product, the higher the level of competitiveness, that is, the consumer has the opportunity to purchase a unit of one compared product cheaper than another “analogue product”.

Based on group indicators of “indices” for regulatory, technical and economic parameters, a complex indicator or coefficient of competitiveness of the analyzed product is calculated.

Based on the data of the calculated competitiveness coefficient, a decision is made on the competitiveness of the analyzed (new) product. At Kk<1 - анализируемый (новый) товар уступает эталону или товару - аналогу по конкурентоспособности, при Кк=1 - имеет равные показатели, если Кк >1 - the analyzed (new) product is superior to the standard or product. When Kk >1, a decision is made on the production and introduction of this product to the market, if Kk<1, то необходима разработка мер по повышению технических и экономических параметров с целью достижения необходимого уровня конкурентоспособности.

Work on assessing the competitiveness of a product makes it possible, even at the stage of its creation, to determine the quality characteristics, level of service, production costs and prices that will satisfy the buyer to a greater extent than a competitor’s product. This also influences the decision to invest in expensive R&D and the creation of new production facilities.

In order to increase the competitiveness of their products, many companies use a more modern benzmaking approach. Benchmaking is the process of comparing products and business activities with those of competitors to find ways to improve their quality and the efficiency of the company.

Knowing the goals, strategies, strengths and weaknesses of competitors allows us not only to explain their possible actions, but also to anticipate the reaction of competitors to the company's decisions to reduce prices, stimulate sales, or launch a new product on the market. Knowing the possible reactions of its main competitors allows the company to optimally attack them or defend existing positions.

And the products of any enterprise depend on the level of its product - this is the level of its technical, economic and operational parameters that allow it to compete (compete) in the market with other similar products. In other words, this is the ability of a particular product to meet market requirements in a certain time period in comparison with analogue competitors.

The competitiveness of a product is formed by establishing, ensuring and maintaining a certain level of competitiveness at all stages of its existence: from the first stages of its creation to promotion to the consumer. carried out by entities such as suppliers, consumers and experts.

The competitiveness of products is influenced by factors that not only contribute to sustainable production, but also to the organization of high competition of goods on the market. Such factors can be divided into three groups:

· Level of quality of manufactured goods;

· Price of the product produced;

· Providing after-sales service, various types of free services, etc.

Along with competitiveness, quality plays an important role in the development of any modern enterprise. Quality is understood as a set of characteristics and (or any other object) that give it the ability to satisfy the expected and conditioned needs. It should be noted that product quality and competitiveness are two closely interrelated concepts. Both are a means of assessing the final results of labor, including the fact that they represent dynamic characteristics of a product, which are constantly changing due to the development of technical progress and social needs. But even despite this, it is not worthwhile to completely identify these concepts, since the competitiveness of a product is still determined by the totality of only those properties that are useful (interesting) for the buyer and ensure the satisfaction of all needs. The remaining characteristics of the product, which go beyond the scope of the identified interests, have nothing to do with assessing competitiveness.

Recently, one can increasingly hear that a high level of income for the consumer segment can be obtained if the competitiveness of a product increases by increasing its level of quality. Indeed, such a move by producers is completely justified, and it will also contribute to social progress.

It should be noted that competitiveness is a dynamic category, depending on the market situation, the nature of needs and their changes, service conditions, solvency of demand, etc. Thus, a high-quality product may become less competitive if its price increases noticeably due to endowing the product with properties that do not arouse significant interest among buyers. Consequently, in order to avoid a decrease in production volumes, and, accordingly, profits, enterprises must often decide to reduce prices for quality goods or introduce various conditions that will allow the consumer to make a purchase in favor of this product.

Thus, in order to increase the economic sustainability and efficiency of an enterprise, it is necessary to pay more and more attention to the quality of products, since it is this that allows us to ensure the production and promotion of competitive products.

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