CLARKE-HILL, C., ROBINSON, T. and CLARKSON C., (1999) in their “Service Strategy in Commodity Chemicals markets to hierarchies: escaping the commodity trap”, International Journal of Customer Relationship Management, v2, i3, p. 243(15) note:
“In an era of strong competition, over
capacity in many sectors and extreme price sensitivity, chemical companies are
attempting to break out of the commodity trap. Companies that are operating in
mature markets with commodity type products and with large investments in
production capacity and the need to produce at or near optimum efficiency have
begun to consider alternative marketing strategies for their products and have
started to get nearer to their customers”.
Generalizing for commodity producing companies (not only chemical), we suggest the use of an alternative approach of marketing, other than the 4Ps, using a
Relationship Marketing approach and values, to offer to those companies “the
other way” of continuing doing a profitable business “getting nearer to their customers”.
Market globalisation and easiness of the information diffusion accompanied by the international financial crisis have leaded customers to change themselves from passive consumers to active partners of the sale.
ReplyDeleteSuppliers from all over the world offer attractive alternative of products, service and prices and competition is more intensive than ever.
Especially for products of a commodity nature that the customer hardly finds any real difference on specifications or technical characteristics the need to find other dimensions of Differentiation is the only way to avoid the commodity trap of a continuous and disastrous price reduction