Customer Centric - Charm and Delight customers

      Read the attached case study and respond to the questions listed below rather than the seven case questions. In responding to the case questions, organize the content in a meaningful way and provide your own original examples of the illustrations for the various strategies covered. You will examine four types of competitive positioning strategies: 1) Cost Leadership -- Lowest price, Experience Curve, Cheapest 2) Differentiation - Pioneering-- First Mover Advantage to the Market 3) Differentiation - Fast Follower -- Copy Cat? Microsoft n X-Bos vs. older gaming systems or how Google leapfrogged Yahoo or Apple leapedfrogged Blackberry in the smart phone market 4) Differentiation - Customer Centrics - Charm and Delight customers 1) Comment on this statement: "Strategies most often fail because they are not executed well. Things that are supposed to happen, don't happen." 2) Describe each of the four competitive positioning strategies in the case using your own words, making sure that you also list some of their attributes and what constitutes success. 3) Provide at least two examples of companies you believe exude the characteristics of each of the four competitive positioning strategies and provide brief rationale for each of the 8 examples or illustrations. 4) Conduct a five forces of competitive analysis for an industry of your liking that was not covered in class. Describe and rate the intensity of each competitive force. Rate the forces as High-Medium-Low or StrongModerate-Weak. Analysis of Rivals: Identify key rivals and the nature of the competitive environment: Pure competition, oligopoly, monopolistic competition, and monopoly or some hybrid. Strong, Moderate, or Weak force Threat of New Entrants into the Market Strong, Moderate, or Weak Power of the Buyers Strong, Moderate, or Weak Power of the Suppliers Strong, Moderate, or Weak