In today's business environment, absolutely any company can be targeted by its competitors. Moreover, the attack can be both from the beginners who want to enter the market and the active players who are trying to strengthen their positions. At this point, it is advisable for the defensive marketing, since the main purpose of the defensive strategy is to protect the competitive advantage and strengthen the position of companies. Defensive marketing is the use of a defensive strategy that reduces the risk of attack from competitors and helps to maintain an attack with the minimal losses for the company. Defensive marketing does not enhance the company's competitive advantage, but it allows preserving it and protecting the competitive position.
Defensive Marketing Strategy
The defensive marketing strategy involves closing off possible ways of attack and demonstrating the company's ability to respond. The defensive marketing strategy is most often used after the company achieves its assigned tasks when the development has passed qualitatively, the competitors have left behind and the need to protect them from their attacks has appeared. Let’s consider the defensive marketing tactics.
- Positional defense implies the creation of intractable barriers for competitors. The greatest success here can bring continuous product updates
- Flank defense implies protection of the weakest positions in the position of the enterprise in the market, which will most likely be used by the competitor.
- Proactive defense means actions that help to weaken a competitor's attack or make it impossible.
- Mobile defense means spreading the company's activities to new markets to provide the basis for a future offensive strategy.
- Compressing defense implies the company's exit from weak market areas and focusing efforts on the most significant.
- Defense with counteroffensive implies an analysis of the weak positions of the competitor and using them in their own interests. This tactic is used in case of the inefficiency of the anticipatory and flank strategy.
How to implement Defensive marketing strategies?
The main task of any company, regardless of the chosen name of the strategy, is to move forward, leaving competitors far behind, which, naturally, will lead the latter out of themselves. But, the more rapid the steps, the less will be spent on the competition. The main secret, which guarantees success in all endeavors, is unpredictability in actions.
The important characteristic of the defensive marketing is to reduce the risk of attack from the competitors and help to maintain an attack with the minimal losses for the company. In order to effectively implement a defensive strategy, you need to analyze your competitive advantages and determine what exactly the emphasis is placed on when attacking your competitors. Here you can find some methods of defensive strategy:
- expanding the range of products to fill the free market niche of potential competitors;
- developing products with similar characteristics of competitors, as well as offering these products at a lower price than competitors;
- ousting competitors by signing exclusive contracts with dealers and distributors;
- protection of own know-how in the development of the product, technology and other strategically important links in the value chain;
- making a public announcement about plans to create adequate production capacities to fill the existing market space and ensure predictable market growth.
It should be understood that there is little to preserve the existing situation. A good defensive strategy involves a quick response to changing the situation in the industry and pre-emptive actions against potential aggressors.
In fact, there are more options for implementing offensive strategies, and each of them implies its own subtleties and nuances since they can vary from both analysis and strategy tactics. Business, and even more competitive struggle - is not only an economic process but also a creative one. Therefore, eliminating rivals can be more sophisticated ways that have not been described anywhere and invented inside the company. In any case, it must be remembered that all actions must be within the framework of the current law.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Defensive Marketing Strategy
Let's look at the main advantages and disadvantages of this strategy. The strategy gives the company the opportunity to improve the quality and value of its products and services. If we consider the application of this strategy in the long term, then it is possible to constantly attract both new and old customers.
The main drawback is that the use of only a defensive strategy in the long term may not be sufficient. Similarly, if you do not conduct a detailed analysis of your competitive advantages, you may experience problems when the chosen tactics do not work correctly.