Strategic profiling, positioning and competitive strategy

Operation Manual : Strategy

Use profiles for positioning

This page covers strategic profiles. Please be aware that strategy functions are only available in the meineZIELE Pro edition.

Where is the market gap?

Optimal positioning is the most effective lever of competitive strategy.

The most important instrument for the recognition of market gaps is the comparison of different profiles. Sometimes these profiles do not compare properties, but efforts. Where do you concentrate your power and where do your competitors? There is a means of visualization. Strategists sometimes call it "Strategic contours".

Let us have a brief look at an example that can be found in a number of strategy books: The strategic positioning of Southwest Airlines.

A strategic decision that was worth billions of dollars in the following years: Comparing the strategic contours of average Airlines with those of car traffic, Southwest Airlines went a special way: The decision was to avoid the major hubs in air traffic and to spend as few money as possible for catering, seating systems and suchlike. While the argument of the friendly service could also come from any other airline, two things could considerably be improved: Southwest was faster and more frequently in medium-sized cities, see example (3).

As a result Southwest was the most profitable airline in the world for several years.