Never underestimate your opponent

You have a superior product; you have a loyal customer base; your sales growth is tremendous for the last couple of years. While you are basking in glory you get a knock on the door. A new competitor has just appeared out of the blue. He is spreading his wings in the same product and the market is looking at him with awe:

Anyone in your position will dismiss the new entrant as out of the town guy and the news consigned to the waste bin. You are not going to that. Because you know that in business strategy the first lesson you learned during your MBA programme is never underestimate your opponent.

True, you have a superior product. But that does not shut the door for a new and much improved product being unveiled by incoming opponent. The cardinal truth is that you have a guy out there to compete in your own field of expertise. That must sink-in before you undertake counter measures.  

In facing this adversary you have to treat him as equal as or even higher than you in terms of technology adopted and business manoeuvre used in the current campaign. Once you give higher marks to your adversary you are realist in the sense that you expect new entrant to fight you out with tenacity and enthusiasm. He may be new but not a green horn. He may have track record in unveiling winning products elsewhere in business arena.

Now you are getting ready to face the battle with much confidence yet in cool manner because you have overestimated the opponent and under estimated you. This mind-set allows you to concentrate on two areas: capacity and capability. More than quantum and quality in the above areas you must develop way and style of using these. Once you reach the level of 2 to 1 in your favour in terms of both capacity and capability you tend to improve your combat skill. What is required now is brilliant business manoeuvres from your side.

One such manoeuvre is not to take small picture but to take big one where several issues are intertwined. Customer care, after-sales service, giving off over the shelf discount, no question asked full refund if customer returns goods, being ready to part-exchange old product with newer one or exchange returning product with something else are some of the brass tactics involved in this manoeuvre.

In sum, you are not going to mount frontal attack on the product or the opponent but go for flank-attack manoeuvre that possibly bleed the opponent and erode effectiveness of his sales campaign.  Sports footwear manufacturers such as Adidas and Puma are experts in flanking business manoeuvre!   

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff Rajulu

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail:   cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist