Game On - Fight Your Competition

How do you manage your competition? This is the money question. If you are clever enough to manage, fight, and fight back your competition that is the success mantra to survive in the modern environment. There are many theories around how you fight offensive warfare against your competition. 

This post contemplates on revealing this accepted theories. Most of the theories have evolved with the evolution military strategy. Military strategies have been cleverly adapted in a corporate environment in fighting competition.

a. Frontal Attack

Frontal Attack focuses on direct attack, Head-on attack with your competition. You go ahead with same products fighting on functional benefits, similar prices tightening for cost advantage and fighting head on with promotional tactics. This strategy attacks competition in all 7 P's tactics. Adaptation of a Frontal Attack has so many risks associate with it since with this strategy they are competing with strengths. Hence Frontal attack is not the most advised strategy in competing.

In a Sri Lankan Context Munchee biscuits adapted a frontal attack on the "Cracker Market Segment", Malliban was the market leader in the cracker market with its superior Maliban Cream Cracker product. Munchee went with a frontal attack with an improved product (Heavy Investment on Manufacturing Methodology), in par pricing with a huge investment in promotions Munchee was able to attract the market in an accelerated rate. And now Munchee is the market leader in the Cracker market. 

2. Flanking Attack

Flanking attack is direct adaptation of military strategy. In war attack is first done on the weakest point the competitor. In a corporate environment too the same strategy is adapted companies attack on a weakness. A weakness could be an untapped market, Product benefit not offered.

This was inevitable in the Dialog and Mobitel (Sri Lankan Communications Service Providers) battle grounds. Mobilte launched this huge marketing campaign targeting the governmental sector, state employees. Dialog is the market leader in the communications market in Sri Lanka. Although Dialog had an excellent product portfolio catering to a wider spectrum market segments. But this state sector market segment was un-touched. Mobitel Acquired this market segment with their "Upahara" Package and was successfully able to strengthen the Mobitel brand with many values in positioning the brand as a brand which serves the community. 

3. Encirclements Attack

This is a multi-pronged attack aimed at Diluting the defender's ability to leverage on its strengths. In this strategy the competitor is ready with to head on the defender in any aspect. The attacker is one step ahead all the time and is has the flexibility to adapt to any action which is taken by the competitor. 

4. Bypass Attack

Adapting this strategy attempts to avoid confrontation with the competition by moving into new and as yet contested field. This might be developing new products, diversifying into new Geographies. This strategy attempts to avoid competition and seek to capture market through by passing. 

5. Guerilla Warfare 

With this strategy the attacker attempts to do as much as damage in a limited time frame. Involves in small attacks in different locations. In applying this in the hospitality industry a Guerilla Strategy would be 5 star hotel which has less market share announcing a significantly reduced price for a buffet for a short period of time. This will surprise the market leader keeping him in question whether to retaliate, whether to wait, whether to attack. 

Choose your battlegrounds wisely and adapt these well practiced and accepted strategies.