This week, you will apply the specific knowledge of market structures you have gained in class to ABBOTT Laboratories. Create an analysis report addressing the following points:
•Describe the market structure in which the company competes with regard to its products. In your report, answer the following questions:
Who is a major competitor of the company?
Do the company and the competitor share the same target market?
What differentiates the company's products from its competitor's in terms of utility?
What differentiates the company's products from its competitor's in terms of packaging, size, and availability?
Are the company's products available in the same geographic location, both domestic and international, as those of its competitor?
Who has more global reach, the company or its competitor?
•In your report, answer the following questions with regard to the company's pricing strategy for its products:
In reference to its competitors, is the company the price leader? If not, who is?
Is the pricing of the company at the skimming (high) or penetration (low) level? Provide a rationale for your answer. Include at least three competitors' prices.
•In your report, answer the following questions with regard to the measures the company has taken in an effort to sustain or enhance its competitive position in the given market structure:
Does the company have a strong marketing budget to create awareness for its products?
What types of media advertising has the company used?
Which two countries has the company entered? Has it been received favorably?
Does the company offer value-added benefits, such as an extended warranty, rebates, buy-one-get-one promotions, seasonal or quantity discounts, free samples, etc., with its products that its competitor does not?