14Pk
Column 2 · Competition and Timing · Era 2, Planning (1970s)
Product-Market Definition
Formulation, content · Major · Cluster I, Strategic Choice
Description
They argued that product-markets should be defined from the customer's perspective, by patterns of substitution in use, rather than by producer characteristics, and reviewed customer-oriented approaches to identifying market boundaries.
Managerial Implications
Define your market by the customer's substitutes, not by industry codes. Ask which alternatives customers consider for the same use, and you will find competitors you were not watching and segments you were not counting. A narrow definition hides threats; a broad one dilutes focus. Revisit the definition when technology creates new substitutes, because that is when market boundaries move.