List of All Symptoms

The market “symptoms” have been divided into categories. You may select a specific symptom below or view them by category.


	The market structure is changing as shares shift in the channels of distribution
	Some companies in the industry have begun to replace their direct sales forces with independent distributors (or vice versa)
	Fast growing competitors focus on the industry’s large customers
	Large customers are getting higher discounts
	Medium sized customers are under pressure from both their larger and smaller peers
	Distribution channels are undergoing a shakeout
	Competitors are upgrading their channels of distribution
	Industry customers are forming buying groups
	Customers are consolidating their purchases
	Customers are adding suppliers because incumbent suppliers failed them
	Customers are taking on more suppliers because shortages have appeared
	Customers are making significant changes in their supplier arrangements

Competition Symptoms

	Share is tougher to shift
	New entrants are penetrating the distribution channels of the industry’s leading competitors
	Most share shifting in the industry seems to be coming from volume gained within existing customer relationships rather than from new customers
	The industry leaders are losing share
	Competition is beginning to focus resources on market segments as market growth slows
	Competitors in Formerly Underdeveloped Markets Have Begun Meeting One Another
	While still growing some competitors are losing share

Price Point Coverage Symptoms

	New entrants are growing much faster than the market
	Low end products are gaining share of the market
	Price points are growing at differential rates as companies enter higher end niches to improve profits
	Companies are trying to create upscale niches
	Some competitors proliferate products around the heart of the market
	One or more companies have introduced a better product at a lower price
	The larger companies are squeezing out the smaller

Performance Innovation Symptoms

	Leaders Stress Quality to Offset Competitors’ Lower Prices
	Competitors are changing features of the product
	Product innovation has accelerated
	Competitors are emphasizing reliability in product quality
	Some competitors have formed partnership services with their channels of distribution
	Competitors are improving the product by emphasizing the customer’s purchase process
	The level of convenience offered to customers has increased
	Competitors are aiming their marketing at narrower segments

Pricing Policy Symptoms

	The industry is seeing its first price wars
	Foreign competitors are expanding with low prices
	Customers are more price sensitive
	Most competitors are offering low prices after a period where leaders held prices high
	As large competitors match low prices, other competitors face difficulties
	Large competitors are maintaining price levels as smaller competitors discount
	Some competitors seek price increases more aggressively than others

Price and Margin Levels Symptoms

	Demand in the industry is falling
	Revenue growth has been high, but has slowed
	Competition is expanding with the appearance of discounters
	Small discounting competitors have gained a market toehold
	Demand continues to grow but margins are low and new entrants are taking share
	New competition is entering a settled market
	Margins are falling but competition continues to expand aggressively
	Both new entrants as well as existing competitors have added capacity
	Industry profits are low but downsized capacity remains
	Demand has turned up bringing a tight market and more capacity
	After high growth, demand has leveled and capacity has increased
	Substitute products have grown in importance
	Profits are under pressure despite demand growth
	Technology improvements bring falling prices
	The industry cannot pass on cost increases
	Price wars are spreading in the industry
	Demand rose quickly for some time in the past
	Observers expect industry capacity reduction
	The company believes the industry will be more diplomatic about adding capacity
	Profits are high because the company is in a niche segment
	Prices on niche products continue to rise while other prices fall
	Prices are rising as the industry runs out of capacity
	The industry has been able to preserve margins by increasing prices

	The industry is adding new, more efficient capacity in the effort to reduce costs
	The industry is reducing costs aggressively
	The industry is consolidating through mergers and acquisitions
	The number of industry competitors is on the decline
	Part of the industry is automating to offset wage advantages of some competitors
	Some competitors automate to become the lowest cost players
	Outsourcing is a growing phenomenon in the industry
	Some competitors are using growth to reduce their costs
	Some industry leaders have lower returns than the smaller competitors