This entrepreneurial marketing strategy of business is not limited to the protection of borders. It involves spreading the leader’s influence to new territories and forming a base for subsequent attacks or the creation of defensive structures.
In order to expand its borders, the company not only spreads its brand, but also expands and diversifies its markets, which allows it to increase its strategic depth and withstand attacks from its opponents.
In accordance with the expansion of the market environment,
The company ceases to focus on a specific product. It begins to closely study the needs that satisfy the product category as a whole, and conducts research and development work along the entire technological chain. Thus, enterprises producing gasoline began to call themselves “energy”, which required immersion in related areas of the oil, coal, hydroelectric, nuclear and chemical industries.
In line with the active market expansion strategy, the company adheres to two key military principles. The first is the setting of tasks (clear and achievable goals). The second is the principle of concentration (it is necessary to concentrate efforts on the weakest areas of the enemy).
It is not worth formulating the task for the enterprise in an abstract way: to conduct the energy business. Conducting such a business presupposes activities aimed at satisfying not one need, but several (heating, lighting, etc.). Due to the multiplicity of goals resulting from the broad interpretation, the enterprise, when preparing for battles, stops monitoring what competitors are doing.
Marketing farsightedness is replacing marketing myopia. That is, the company focuses on the future at the expense of what is happening in reality.
It is possible to expand the market wisely. If earlier the Armb World Industries enterprise called its direction the production of denmark phone number material carpet coverings, now it produces decorative home coverings, satisfying the wishes of customers to create aesthetic interiors using various materials.
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Another way to create strategic depth is to diversify the market by entering unrelated areas. When U.S. tobacco the importance of digital marketing for a growing business manufacturers Reynolds and Philip Morris faced smoking restrictions, they did not even try to take a defensive position. Instead, they went the other way: they began buying up food companies that produced beer, frozen foods, and soft drinks.
Forced reduction
It happens that large-scale deb directory enterprises understand that their resources do not allow them to reliably defend themselves against competitors, while the rival, meanwhile, attacks on several fronts.
In this situation, it is best to resort to a planned reduction (strategically withdraw). This is only about leaving territories that are impossible and unjustifiably to defend. The most optimal solution is to concentrate resources on promising areas.
The planned reduction is being undertaken in order to consolidate competitive production and focus on solving clearly defined tasks.
In recent years, this marketing strategy has been successfully used by Heinz, General Mills, Del Monte, and General Electrics.
Challenger firms prefer offensive strategies, while leaders do not.
There are many examples of companies wishing to lead their industry successfully winning positions from market favorites. Thus, the position of Canon, which in the mid-1970s occupied only 1/10 of Xerox, is now more advantageous than that of the former leader in the production of copying machines. Toyota today produces more cars than General Motors. Nikon produces more cameras than Leica. British Airways carries more passengers on international flights than the former leader Pan American.
The challenger is strong because it sets a high goal and devotes resources to achieving it. As for the market leader, it does the day-to-day routine work. The most intense competition between competitors and intense price wars are observed in the areas with the highest fixed costs, where serious R&D expenditures are required and primary demand is stable: chemicals, automobiles, paper, metallurgy and industrials.
Now let’s look at competitive attack marketing strategies in international business used by companies that are aiming for leadership.
First of all, offensive strategies differ in their goals.
Attacking the market leader’s position . The strategy is associated with fairly high risks. However, it can give the best results, especially if the market leader is performing poorly.
First, the challenger must find out what customers want and how well their needs are being met. The ideal target is a large market segment that is either not served by the leader or that customers are not satisfied with the quality of its product or service. Miller’s Lite Beer was extremely popular because the low-calorie, unsaturated beer appealed to so many people.
An alternative strategy is understood as capturing a leader’s segment with a fundamentally new product. For example, Xerox was able to conquer the copier market when it announced copying using innovative technology. Canon took a significant share from Xerox by introducing the audience to portable devices.
An attack on similarly sized competitors that are unable to fully satisfy market needs, are in a difficult financial situation, and produce products that are not in demand due to high prices or low technical characteristics.
Attacking smaller local and regional companies that are struggling financially and unable to meet customer demands. For example, large-scale breweries have been increasing their market shares primarily through “guppies” – local breweries – with little or no serious competition.
Once the goals have been determined, the company should choose one of five marketing strategies.
