Discussion Question Response

Please read the below paragraph and write a response. Also provide an example with references.

As mentioned in the particulars about how Best Buy is a retailer competing with other retailers to sell the end products manufactured by electronics companies to customers. Thus, by nature of the business Best Buy doesn’t have much say in the price as well as the ability to differentiate itself on the offered products level. Meaning, an identical TV made by Samsung will most likely cost the same at Best Buy or at Walmart or Target.

By definition, a best-cost provider strategy is a hybrid strategy that mix elements from low-cost provider and differentiation strategies; the goal is to deliver the lowest prices while being able to give customers more value for the money with add on value proposition (Gamble, Peteraf & Thompson, 2018).

Additional support for why Best Buy fits as a best-cost provider strategy is also found in the particulars with “Best Buy customers also appreciate that demonstration […] electronics are fully powered and ready for in-store use. Best Buy’s Geek Squad tech support and installation services are additional customer service features that are valued by many customers.”

Therefore, while Best Buy needs to keep the prices of its offering at the lowest to be competitive, the company is able to gain differentiate itself from the competition through add on value propositions such as product demonstration and technical support.