Swing strategy in business competition

Swing strategy originally introduced in stock trading focuses on profiting from trend changes in prices over short period of time within a fairly long time span. In business competition swing strategy is applied in the following manner:

1. Understand the market concentration of your opponent in a particular region or an area

2. Spot few locations where you can enter into, without much risk on your part

3. Assay the degree of concentration in terms of value, volume and the number of sales personnel allotted to, by your opponent in such locations

4. Hit one of the locations with your sales professional showcasing your competitive products and offering them at reduced prices in a make-shift store

5. Move away from this location temporarily

6. Once again hit the location with more sales personnel present and offer products along with incentives such as “buy one & get one free”

7. Do not prolong your presence

8. Again visit the same location but refrain from any sales activity, in contrary removing whatever remains of the make-shift store you used to operate at

9. Pretend that you are not interested in pursuing any more competition thereby putting the opponent at ease. Your opponent assumes that he has got the coast clear for him to do whatever he pleases

10. After the lapse of 6 to 8 weeks open your permanent stall with a big bang thereby swooping big time sales. Your opponent is rendered clueless while you are riding a great wave of victory.  

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist

Two pitfalls in business competition

There are several pitfalls in business competition. But two of these could lead to major disasters: misinterpretation and misunderstanding. Here is a short preview:

Misinterpretation is basically about words, phrases or statements made most of the time orally or in press releases issued by firms. This borders between informal to formal circumstances. As it happens most of the time the originator is not challenged promptly to explain what he has really meant.

Receiver is pushed into dark and presume the meaning of the utterance according to his viewpoint and/or perception. He looks at the texture, words meaning implied rather than what precisely conveyed in essence. Here comes the trouble. Relying over misinterpretation sinking in, firm would probably make moves that could lead to further cloudy thinking resulting ultimately in a wrong or unwarranted action that gives away the trust which has been built so far in business relationship with the originator.

A good example is the originator in a press conference alludes to your firm as a partner ‘who counts profit more than long term alliance’.

Misunderstanding is more about conduct and less about facts, except when these facts are presented in a manner that has potential to lead you to misty thinking. Put it in another way, the style of presentation rather than the content itself abrades you. As regards to conduct, a good example is your collaborator in public forum pats on the shoulders of the officials of a company whom you consider as a mortal enemy.

‘Facts are sacred while criticism is free’ goes the adage. The chance of misunderstanding occurs when your opponent publishes vital statistics of product and market share of your industry. He innocently alternates your precise market share to another player and imputes his one onto you. You take umbrage of this error & omission. Promptly your opponent admits mistake and expresses his regret and urges you to close the matter. You misunderstand his apology as somewhat not genuine and wishes to wreak revenge at the next opportune time when you can settle the score.

Your misunderstanding has a toll upon you in your relationship with not only your competitor but within the length and breadth of the market. Whereas the opponent has moved on, you are still smarting about this incident!  

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist

 

Internal, external paradigms in business competition

A paradigm is the way of looking at anything; it incorporates standard, perspective or set of notions bound together to make a pattern or model. Facing business competition a firm must have both internal and external paradigms. Read for more:

No business can compete in the market without stipulating two sides of a paradigm. One is the internal side where the central theme of making revenue and profit hinges on approach to business competition. The bottom line always remain as the sustainability in the short and long terms.

Internal paradigm

All issues related to internal paradigm could be summed up in few words: maintaining the edge. This pervades in all departments of a firm. Chiefly Research & Development, production, marketing, human resource and financials. Even thigh every company is focussed on making more sales along with higher margins, it cannot be ignored that the right approach to customers is a sine-qua-non. R&D takes the initiative by fashioning a new product or the existing one with additional features.

Production department must be able to manufacture it with least cost with optimum use of human and other inputs. Concurrently, finance boss should be able to marshal momentary resources for this purpose optimally. In doing so marketing side continuously updates both production and R&D regarding fashions and fads prevailing in the market currently and in the foreseeable future. It behoves on marketing to illustrate the probable reception of the new or improved product and the likely market share it could bring about.

External paradigm

All issues regarding the external paradigm could be summed up in few words: maintaining the competitiveness. Unlike in the case of internal paradigm this one does not pervade throughout the length and breadth of a company but solely sits on the marketing department where the proverbial “buck ends here” maxim hanging like Damoclean Sword over the heads of the marketing professionals. They are mostly treated ad a useful idiots if the new product is not scaling the heights envisaged initially. Where the innovation fails to take off they are simply guillotined.

Simply put, it is the marketing that gets into the crosshairs of management for anything bad that could happen. Hence, it is doubly important that marketing does its homework thoroughly before pitching itself upon sale and distribution of an untested product. Plainly speaking, marketing is forever in tight situation in keeping competitiveness glowing. If at any time anything contrary is seen in the radar it must appraise management that it would be better to keep product innovation in cold storage until the right moment appears in the horizon!  

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist