Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning pdf ebook

Figure 10.5 
Uniqueness drivers
Product
differentiation
Pricing
differentiation
Distribution
differentiation
UNIQUENESS
Brand
differentiation
Promotional
differentiation

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CHAPTER 10 CREATING SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
At the centre of the model is the core, or generic, product. This is the central product or 
service offered. It is the petrol, steel, banking facility, mortgage or information, etc. Beyond 
the generic product, however, is what customers expect in addition – the expected prod-
uct. When buying petrol, for example, customers expect easy access to the forecourt, the 
possibility of paying by credit card, the availability of screen-wash facilities, air for tyres, 
radiator top-up and so on. Since most petrol forecourts meet these expectations, they do 
not serve to differentiate one supplier from another.
At the next level, Levitt identifies the augmented product. This constitutes all the extra 
features and services that go above and beyond what the customer expects, in order to 
convey added value and hence serve to differentiate the offer from that of competitors. 
The petrol station where, in the self-serve world of today, one attendant fills the car with 
petrol while another cleans the windscreen, headlamps and mirrors, is going beyond what 
is expected. Over time, however, these means of distinguishing can become copied, routine, 
and ultimately merely part of what is expected.
Finally, Levitt describes the potential product as all those further additional features and 
benefits that could be offered. At the petrol station these may include a free car wash with 
every fill-up, gifts unrelated to petrol and a car valeting service. While the model shows the 
potential product as bounded, in reality it is only bounded by the limitations of the imagi-
nation and ingenuity of the supplier.
While in the past suppliers have concentrated on attempts to differentiate their offerings 
on the basis of the generic and expected product, convergence is occurring at this level in 
many markets. As quality control, assurance and management methods become more widely 
understood and practised, delivering a performing, reliable, durable, conforming offer (a 
‘quality’ product in the classic sense of the word) will no longer be adequate. Levitt predicts 
that in the future there will be greater emphasis on the augmented and potential product as 
ways of adding value, creating customer delight and hence creating competitive advantage.