kỹ thuật tinh tế cho phép công ty để tính phí nhiều hơn cho sản phẩm của họ bởi vì khách hàng sẵn sàng trả giá cao hơn này. Porsche và Mercedes-Benz người mua trả phí bảo hiểm cao giá để thưởng thức các phương tiện phức tạp của mình, khi làm khách của Godiva Chocolate, bán lẻ cho khoảng $26 một pound — nhiều hơn, nói, một hộp bánh kẹo của Whitman hoặc một thanh Hershey.Consider the high-price segment of the car market, in which customers are will-ing to pay more than $35,000 to satisfy their needs for a “personal luxury vehicle.” In this segment, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus, Lincoln, Audi, Volvo, Acura, and others are engaged in a continuing battle to design the “per¬fect” luxury vehicle—the one that best meets the needs of those who want such a vehicle. Over time, the companies that attract the most luxury car buyers—because they have designed the cars that possess the innovative features or excellent quality and reliability these customers desire the most—are the ones that achieve a sustained competitive advantage' over rivals. For example, some customers value a sporty ride and performance handling; Mercedes-Benz and BMW, because of their cutting-edge technical design, can offer this driving experience better than any other carmaker. Toyota’s Lexus division is well known for the smoothness and quietness of its cars and their exceptional reliability. Lexus cars consistently outrank all other cars in published reliability rankings, and this excellence appeals to a large group of custom¬ers who appreciate these qualities. Infinity’s reputation for both sportiness and reli¬ability has increased steadily in the 2000s as has its market share, and both Bentley and Rolls-Royce that produce prestige cars can sell all they can make. Other luxury carmakers have not fared so well. Cadillac, Lincoln, Audi, Acura, Saab, and Volvo have found it more difficult to differentiate their cars, which sometimes compare unfavorably to their rivals in terms of ride, comfort, safety, or reliability. Although these less successful companies still sell many cars, customers often find their needs better satisfied by the attributes and qualities of their rivals’ cars. It is the latter that can sustain their competitive advantage over time. Even in the luxury car segment, however, carmakers must be concerned with efficiency because price affects a buying decision, even for highly differentiated products. Luxury carmakers compete to offer customers the car with the ride, performance, and features that provide them with the most value (satisfies their needs best) given the price of the car. Thus, Lexus cars are always several thousand dollars less than comparable cars, and Toyota can price these cars lower because of its low cost structure. For example, the Lexus LS460 at about $64,000 costs at least $20,000 less than the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S Class, its closest rivals. Most customers are discriminating and match price to dif¬ferentiation, even in the luxury car segment of the market, so BMW and Mercedes have to offer customers something that justifies their vehicles’ higher prices.At every price range in the car market—under $15,000, from $15,000 to $25,000, from $25,000 to $35,000, and the luxury segment above $35,000—many models of cars compete to attract customers. For each price range, a carmaker has to decide how best to differentiate a particular car model to suit the needs of customers in that price range. Typically, the more differentiated a product is, the more it will cost to design and produce, and so differentiation leads to a higher cost structure. Thus, if a carmaker is to stay within the $15,000 to $25,000 price range and yet design and produce a differentiated car with a competitive advantage that allows it to outper-form its rivals in the same price range, its managers have to make difficult choices.
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