This document outlines various offensive and defensive business strategies. Defensive strategies include position defense, mobile defense, flanking defense, counter-offensive defense, and contraction defense, which are used to protect market share. Offensive strategies aim to improve one's own position by taking market share from competitors, and include frontal attack, flank attack, encirclement attack, bypass attack, and guerilla attack. Both offensive and defensive strategies are used to gain competitive advantages and either retain or expand a company's market position.

1. Offensive & Defensive
Strategies
By
Nagarjuna Adiga

2.  Primary Purpose is to make possible attacks unattractive or
discourage competitors.
 It is a developed to protect market share, position and profitability.
 It is a strategy that can be used to keep up top position in local and
existing market.
 This strategy is most successful to keep up the customer’s
confidence which no new competitor can disturb.
Defensive Strategies

3. 1. Position Defense
 The position defense is the simplest defensive strategy.
 It simply involves trying to hold your current position in the market.
 To do this, you simply continue to invest in your current markets and
attempt to build your brand name and customer loyalty.
 Only negative aspect of this strategy is that it can make you a
target for new entrants to the market.
 Example – Rin soap by HUL

4. 2. Mobile Defense
 Making constant changes in the business.
 Involves new product introduction, entering new market or simply
making changes in existing products.
 Business must be flexible enough to adapt new environment.
 Example - ITC

5. 3. Flanking Defense
 Defending the market share by entering new market and
diversification.
 If you lose your market share in the existing market you can make
up for it in these new markets.
 Negative aspect is that there are chances of losing main focus.
 Example – FOGG deodorants

6. 4. Counter-Offensive Defense
 The counter-offensive defense is a retaliatory strategy
 When a competitor attacks your business, you strike back with your
own attack

7. 5. Contraction Defense
 Least desirable defense because it involves retreating from markets.
 This allows you to redeploy your resources into other areas.
 Example – TATA selling its soap making company to Unilever

8. Why Defensive Strategies?
 Retention of market share
 Raising the barriers of entry
 Long term contracts
 Intact reputation
 Market leadership

9. Offensive Strategy
 Improving own position by taking away market share of
competitors.
 Involves direct & indirect attacks
 Retaliatory in nature.
 Example – Samsung vs. Apple

10. 1. Frontal Attack
 Attacking a competitor head-on
 Attacking with similar products, price, quality, promotion &
distribution.
 Highly risky unless attacker has a clear advantage
 Focused on competitors strength rather than weakness

11. 2. Flank Attack
 Attacking the competitor at the weak point or blind spot
 Less risky when compared with frontal attack
 Follows the path of least resistance where competitor is incapable
of defending
 Example – Titan on HMT

12. 3. Encirclement Attack
 Combination of frontal & flank attack.
 Attacker must have superior resources.
 Surrounding with various brands so as to make competitor difficult to
defend
 Defender’s attention gets spread across various products making him
harder to defend
 Example – Maruti Suzuki

13. 4. Bypass Attack
 Also called leapfrog strategy
 Overtake the competitors by introducing new technologies
 Diversifying the products
 Example - PepsiCo

14. 5. Guerilla Attack
 Small hit-and-run attacks to destabilize the competitor
 Attacks take several forms
 Example – Pepsi vs. Coca Cola

15. Why Offensive Strategies?
 Destabilize the leader
 Acquire market share
 Sales Boost
 Leapfrog the competitor

16. “Do not assume the enemy will not come
but be prepared for his coming…
Do not presume he will not attack,
but instead make your own position unassailable.”