Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning pdf ebook

Figure 10.9 
Market challenger 
strategies
Frontal attack
Flanking attack
Encirclement attack
Bypass strategy
Guerrilla tactics
Figure 10.10
Frontal attack
Challenger
Attack where the competition is strong
and rely on outweighing them for victory
Defender

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276
CHAPTER 10 CREATING SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Segmental flanking involves serving distinct segments that have not been adequately 
served by existing companies. Crucial to a successful flanking strategy can be timing. The 
Japanese entry into the US sub-compact car market was timed to take advantage of the 
economic recession and concerns over energy supply. The strategy requires the identifica-
tion of competitor weaknesses, and inability or unwillingness to serve particular sectors of 
the market. In turn, identification of market gaps often requires a fresh look at the market 
and a more creative approach to segmenting it.
Encirclement attack
The encirclement attack, or siege, consists of enveloping the enemy and cutting them off 
from routes of supply to force capitulation (see Figure 10.12).
There are two approaches to the encirclement attack. The first is to attempt to isolate 
the competitor from the supply of raw materials on which they depend and/or the custom-
ers they seek to serve. The second approach is to seek to offer an all-round better product 
or service than the competitor.
Figure 10.12
Encirclement 
attack
Defender
Cut off the competitor from critical resources and
support, access to supply and access to market
Challenger
Figure 10.11 
Flanking attack
Challenger
Identify less obvious lines of attack. Attack the
weak points in the competitor’s defence
Defender

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277
OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
Bypass strategy
The bypass strategy is characterised by changing the battleground to avoid competitor 
strongholds (see Figure 10.13).
Bypass is often achieved through technological leapfrogging.
Guerrilla tactics
Where conventional attacks fail or are not feasible, guerrilla tactics may be employed. In 
chess, a player in an apparently hopeless situation may sacrifice a piece unexpectedly if it 
disrupts the opponent’s line of attack (see Figure 10.14). In boxing, it has been known for a 
contender on the ropes to bite the ear of his opponent to disrupt the onslaught!
Unconventional or guerrilla tactics in business are employed primarily as ‘spoiling’ activ-
ities to weaken the competition. They are often used by a weaker attacker on a stronger 
defender. Selective price cuts, especially during a competitor’s new product testing or 
launch, depositioning advertising (as attempted by Nokia with its product Lumia in the 
Galaxy S5-branded Terminal 5 at Heathrow), alliances, executive raids and legal manoeu-
vres can all be used in this regard. Guerrilla tactics are used by companies of all sizes in 
attempts to soften up their competitors, often before moving in for the kill. Their effective-
ness lies in the difficulty the attacked has in adequately defending against the tactics due to 
their unpredictability.