Strengthening A Company's Competitive Position

Competing in the marketplace is like war. You have injuries and casualties, and the best strategy wins. 

-John Collins- NHL executive

In the virtual economy, collaboration is a new competitive imperative. -Michael Dell- CEO of Dell Inc.

Our success has really been based on partnership from the very beginning.

 -Bill Gates- Founder and CEO of Microsoft.

Don't form an alliance to correct a weakness...The only result from a marriage of weaknesses is the creation of even more weaknesses. 

-Michel Robert- Author and consultant

Anyway, this topic all about how a company apply a strategic option in order to improve their company market position. First and foremost a company need to choose the basis for competitive attack, they need to avoid directly challenging a targeted competitor where it is strongest. In addition, in order to attack a company need to attack where the weaknesses of the competitors. One important thing for a company is, they need to be prepared four challenging the threatened competitors and beware of them.

Indeed, there is a principal offensive strategy option to follow; Let's take a look :)

1. Offering  an equally good or better product at a lower price.
2. Leapfrogging competitors by being first to market with next generation products.
3. pursuing continuous product innovation to draw sales and market share away from less innovative rivals.
4. Adopting and improving on the good ideas of other companies (rivals or otherwise)
5. using hit-and-run or guerrilla warfare tactics to grab market share from complacent or distracted rivals.
6. Launching a preemptive strike to secure an advantages position that rivals are prevented or discouraged from duplicating.

A special kind of offensive (Blue-Ocean Strategy)

It's defined as offers growth in revenues and profit by discovering or inventing new industry segments that create altogether new demand. It's seeks to gain a dramatic and durable competitive advantage by abandoning efforts to beat out competitors in existing market and, instead, inventing a new industry or distinctive market segment that renders existing competitors largely irrelevant and allows a company to create and capture altogether new demand.

I think that all from me..

p/s: keep smiling people :)