Management in the context of market segmentation is associated with certain specifics of the enterprise. In other words, the specialization of the company is determined by the number of sectors of the economy that it serves. At the same time, a situation is very often encountered when enterprises operate in the same segment. In this case, it is called a strategic economic zone. SZH is always a separate segment in which activities are carried out (or it is only planned to get into this area).
General information
Well, let's move on to the main subject of the article. So, what is a strategic economic zone? SZH organizations - what are these structures? How are they characterized? Strategic management zones have certain qualitative and quantitative parameters. ATas the main ones can be mentioned:
- Dynamical characteristics of demand (decreasing, stable, growing).
- Competitive position of the company in the market segment.
- SZH capacity, which can be characterized by current demand volumes.
- Expected sales volume in the current and prospective periods.
- Actual (in the case of activities) and forecast values of profit, profitability, as well as all other necessary indicators.
And what does it give?
Strategic segmentation and analysis of the attractiveness of a strategic business area allows you to create specific approaches based on their characteristics and the company's ability to act in a certain way in the market. But in any case, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the modern environment. Although for enterprises that specialize in one product, this is the same thing. In such cases, a strategy of concentration (focusing, specialization) in a certain area of activity is chosen. It should be taken into account that in this case there are both disadvantages and advantages. For example, diversified and diversified enterprises have a common strategy that is the union of a certain set of SBAs. At the same time, the disadvantages and advantages inherent in the individual components are included in it. Additionally, this situation requires the use of more advanced management methods.
About formation
The traditional approach involves highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise, after which the boundaries of its activities are determined. In this case, you can safely assess the limits of diversification and growth. But modern conditions require better approaches. Strategic business areas provide for the implementation of segmentation in order to highlight the part of the environment in which the enterprise can sell its products. This is a natural result of the formation of a whole group of markets, each of which has different prospects.
Therefore, the very first stage, when the activity in the strategic economic zones is evaluated, is the allocation of various segments. They are then examined without taking into account the architecture of the enterprise and its current products. As a result, an assessment is formed of the attractiveness of a strategic economic zone for a specific economic object in terms of organizing activities, increasing output, as well as the proceeds and profits received. These data are needed in order to solve a number of applied issues of the functioning of the enterprise, for example, to assess competitiveness.
Small workshop
Difficult to speak dryly and achieve understanding. Especially when it comes to strategic business zones. An example will allow you to understand the practical implementation of the subject of the article. Let's say that we have a company that operates in several markets. In this case, consumers decide on the purchase of certain goods, regardless of the purchase of anotherproducts of this company. In this case, the cross elasticity of demand acts as a criterion for the relationship between markets. It shows how much the quantity of sales of product B will increase if the price of product A is raised by one percent. If the level of cross elasticity exceeds 0.2, then it is difficult to talk about the autonomy of markets. It is rather an activity on different segments of one whole. Therefore, initially it is necessary not to define the industry, but to develop an idea of the totality of the various activities that the enterprise is engaged in.
About the meaning
The formation of strategic business zones of an organization is important from the position that it is an economic space in which the identification, growth and implementation of competitive advantages are carried out, on which the viability of the company depends. The most important property in this case is the homogeneity of the object, which can be characterized using parameters. Their totality should allow SZH to be singled out from one or several market segments. This concept, when forming a strategy, allows you to:
- Purposely analyze the various levels of the enterprise.
- Provides opportunities to rationalize the organization while diversifying its activities.
- Helps to identify the interaction of the enterprise in different industries.
- Reduces the complexity of preparing the strategy being developed and adopted.
Achievementwell-being
To run a successful enterprise, you need to take care of the availability of benefits. With their help, you can acquire the necessary resources in the market for factors of production and successfully compete with other companies. Here the question of quality comes to the fore. If good factors of production were obtained on the market, then this allows you to obtain significant competitive advantages in your strategic business area. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to the questions:
- Finance.
- Labour.
- Materials (components).
For example, if the conversation is about the financial market, then you should pay attention to the reliability of the enterprise, high (sufficient) return on invested funds, punctual servicing of loans. In the case of labor resources, the advantages are social guarantees, higher wages, the boundaries and length of the working day, the period of validity of the labor contract. That is, with a careful and thorough approach, all components can be subjected to a detailed classification. And this plays an important role in achieving the well-being of the company.
What do they pay the most attention to?
Currently, this is the company's products. Strategic segmentation and the allocation of strategic business zones usually involve the formation of a list of parameters that allow you to characterize the state of affairs and take into account aspects of the organization of the sale of goods. They must give constructivetechnological concept about:
- Distinctive features of products that are created within the strategic economic zone.
- Competitive advantages available to partners or customers of the enterprise.
Also analysis allows:
- Determine the rational scale of output for the organization.
- Evaluate the profitability of production and costs individually and in the whole enterprise.
But that's not all there is to know about activities in strategic economic zones.
Role of analysis
Research and analysis of the situation allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of the pricing strategy, brand, advertising, distribution channels used. In addition, the analysis is needed to justify investment and innovative decisions that are closely related to the renewal of the company's products and its production base. It is difficult to successfully implement this without a well-developed financial strategy, as well as without a competent personnel policy. Ultimately, the combination of these points allows you to identify and maintain competitive advantages. This should mention the criteria used during the analysis:
- Technological capabilities;
- Competition factors;
- Unified strategic planning;
- Destination of manufactured products;
- Relatively close strategic goals;
- Common key success factors.
Special Moments
ShouldIt should be noted that when strategic economic zones are assessed, the geographic reference to a specific region of production and sales is essential in terms of importance. Sometimes the enterprise is located near the point of sale, while it is removed from it for a while. This factor is of decisive importance both for the industry as a whole and for firms that operate in one area. The same considerations are relevant for the markets for factors of production, which are capital, labor and materials. As a result of the interaction of an array of different moments, there is often a mismatch between the physical location of the enterprise and the area where its products are sold.
Development and evaluation
Definition of a strategic area of management should always provide for the characteristics of a certain type of demand. In addition, it is necessary to include the creation, production and sale of competitive products. All these important points should be worked out by the strategic economic center. It is an intra-company organizational unit that is responsible for developing the strategic positions of the enterprise in one (several) business areas. This allows you to solve issues with a promising nomenclature and the formation of your own architecture, optimal for performing the tasks. This concept allows you to distribute the structural divisions and business units of the enterprise (workshops, technological and design services, production, sales divisions).
Identification of the target audience
Victory loves preparation. A high-quality approach to solving the tasks set helps to ensure future success. In this case, it is very important to adequately define the target market segment. This is the name of a set of consumers who differ in the same type of reaction to the product they offer. This approach allows you to clearly delineate the boundaries of activity. When studying a strategic business area, it is always necessary to evaluate growth prospects, which are associated not only with the pace of change, but also with the characteristics of the life cycle of products, product groups, the market itself or its segment. It should be noted that there is a clear downward trend. Thus, the life cycle of technologies and goods is decreasing. This is due to the acceleration of scientific and technological progress, improving the efficiency of enterprises, better promotion.
Conclusion
Here we have considered what the strategic economic zones are. Let's go over them briefly again. SZH - are certain market segments that are of great importance to the enterprise in terms of achieving satisfactory performance. Careful selection of the field of activity and allocation of the necessary resources is what the top management of the company has to decide.
