Bowman's Strategy Clock

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008)

This article may not meet the general notability guideline. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged or deleted. (November 2008)

Bowman's Strategy Clock is a model used in marketing to analyse the position of a company. It was developed by Cliff Bowman and David Faulkner as an elaboration of the three Porter generic strategies. Bowman's Strategy Clock represents eight possible strategies in four quadrants defined by the axes of price and perceived added value. The resulting star shape is reminiscent of a clock face, giving this tool its name.

Reference: Bowman, C. and Faulkner, D. (1996) Competitive and Corporate Strategy , Irwin;

The Strategy Clock: Bowman's Competitive Strategy Options The 'Strategy Clock' is based upon the work of Cliff Bowman (see C. Bowman and D. Faulkner 'Competitve and Corporate Strategy - Irwin - 1996). It's another suitable way to analyze a company's competitive position in comparison to the offerings of competitors. As with Porter's Generic Strategies, Bowman considers competitive advantage in relation to cost advantage or differentiation advantage. There are six core strategic options:

Option one - low price/low added value. • likely to be segment specific. Option two - low price. • risk of price war and low margins/need to be a 'cost leader'. Option three - Hybrid. • low cost base and reinvestment in low price and differentiation. Option four - Differentiation. (a)without a price premium: • perceived added value by user, yielding market share benefits. (b)with a price premium: • perceived added value sufficient to to bear price premium. Option five - focussed differentiation. • perceived added value to a 'particular segment' warranting a premium price. Option six - increased price/standard. • higher margins if competitors do not value follow/risk of losing market share. Option seven - increased price/low values. • only feasible in a monopoly situation. Option eight - low value/standard price. • loss of market share