COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES FOR MARKET CHALLENGERS,MARKET NICHERS & MARKET FOLLOWERS

SUBMITTED BY: KANIKA GUPTA NADIYA GUPTA MONIKA GUPTA PAWAN SUNEET BAKSHI

A runner up firm that is fighting hard to increase its market share.

MARKET CHALLENGER STRATEGIES

Many Market Challengers have gained ground or

even overtaken the leaders. Challengers set high aspirations , leveraging their resources.
Eg : Toyota

Competetive Attack Strategies Available To Market Challengers

Defining the strategic objective and

opponents:
A market challenger must first define its strategic objective .Most aim to increase market share .The challenger must decide whom to attack: 1. It can attack the market leader eg:- Microsoft & Apples.s

2 . It can attack firms of its own size that are not doing the job and are underfinanced. 3.It can small local and regional firms. Eg:- Tapal Tea of pakistan.

Choosing a general attack strategy:

Five attack strategies: Frontal Attack Flank Attack Encirclement Attack Bypass Attack Guerilla warfare

a)
b) c)

d)
e)

FRONTAL ATTACK
In frontal attack , the attacker matches its opponents product, advertising, price and distribution. Eg:- Amul- Amul Kool & Amul Masti Dahi.

FLANK ATTACK
An enemys weak spots are natural targets. eg:- Woodland

ENCIRCLEMENT ATTACK
It is an attempt to capture a wide slice of the enemys territory through a blitz. eg:- Microsoft, sun microsystems.

BYPASS ATTACK
The most indirect strategy is the bypass. This Strategy offers three lines of approach: 1. Diversifying into unrelated products.

2. Diversifying into new geographical

markets. 3. Leapfrogging into new technologies to existing products .

GUERILLA WARFARE
It Consists of frequents attacks in a variety

of areas. A guerilla campaign can be expensive, although less than a frontal, encirclement or flank attack.

Choosing a specific attack strategy:

The challenger must go beyond the five broad strategies and developed more specific strategies. Any aspect of the marketing program can serve as the basis for attack , such as lower-priced or discounted products.

MARKET- NICHER
A firm that serves small segments that the other firm in the industry overlook or ignore.

Eg: Mercedes.

MARKET-NICHER STRATEGIES
Almost every industry includes firms that

specialize in serving market niches. Instead of pursuing the whole market, or even large segments , these firms target subsegments. Nichers are often smaller firms with limited resources. Smaller firms normally avoid competing with larger firms by targeting small markets of little or no interest to the larger firms.

Contd.
Even large, profitable firms may choose

niching strategies for some of their business units of their companies. Firms with low shares of the total market can become highly profitable through smart niching. Such companies tend to offer high value, charge a premium price , achieve lower manufacturing costs.

MARKET-FOLLOWER
A firm that is happy to follow the leaders in a market place without challenging them, perhaps taking advantages of opportunities created by leaders without the need for much marketing investment of its own.
Market follower a low-share competitor that lacks resources, market position, research and development or commitment to challenge for extra sales and market share.

MARKET- FOLLOWERS STRATEGIES

Theodore Levitt in his article, Innovative

Imitation argued that a strategy of product imitation strategy might be just as profitable as a strategy of product innovation.

A Market Follower must know how to hold

current customers and win a share of new ones Each follower tries to bring distinctive advantages to its target market-- location, services, financing.

Contd.
Eg. S & S cycle has become a successful Market Follower s.

Four broad follower strategies:

1. Counterfeiter 2. Cloner 3. Imitator 4. Adapter

COUNTERFEITER
The Counterfeiter duplicates the leaders product and packages and sells it on the black market. Eg. : Music firms ,Apple, and Rolex .

CLONER
The Cloner emulates the leaders products,

name, and packaging, with slight variations. production of a product which is similar in look and functionality with an already established one but not by the original manufacturer. Example are the clones of apple ipods and IBM computers.

IMITATOR
The Imitator copies some things from the leader but maintains differentiation in terms of packaging, advertising, prices or location. It is to attract the same attention of the customers towards that product. E g : many car companies .

ADAPTER
The adapter takes the leaders products and adapts or improves them. The adapter may choose to sell to different markets, but often it grows into the future challenger, as many Japanese firms have done after adapting and improving products developed elsewhere.
E.g. many Japanese firms are excellent adapters.

THANK YOU.