As a manager at a manufacturing company, Mary is responsible for activities that are directly connected to the organizational goals and its sources of competitive advantage. Mary should focus on the political strategy of _______ to grow her influence.

Product differentiation is a competitive strategy that aims at the consumer perceiving differently the product or service offered by a company, with respect to those of the competition.

Product differentiation can be based mainly on various attributes such as quality, color, size, after-sales service, specialized attention, location, brand recognition or luxury. But any attribute makes perceive a product or service differently is considered product differentiation.

It should be noted that the differentiation also has a subjective element since consumers can perceive that a certain brand is different from another based not on the comparison of objective characteristics but on the idea that they have made of the company and its image.