How to Compete and Communicate in Nature Industrial Products

This article addresses the subject of how manufacturers of mature industrial products compete among themselves and how they communicate with customers. Data collected in this research lends credibility to the hypothesis that within mature industrial products there are profound differences regarding how firms compete (based on cost, quality or delivery) and which variables firms use to promote their products (advertising, sales force, etc). The survey data suggests that it is possible to predict which type of competition and promotion will dominate, based on two contextual characteristics faced by the firms: The risk of product malfunction and the risk of product availability. The study concludes by advancing suggestions for future research and by suggesting some implications for, managers. The implications respect which areas of the firms should managers FOCUS on. That is, which areas of firms should receive most of managers attention, firms budget and people.N/