COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
Disruption occurs quickly. Understanding how competitors operate and their possible impact on your business can help you craft more successful plans.
WHAT ARE COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
Devise counter strategies via War Games to prepare for potential competitor moves

Creating competitively advantaged strategies for your business requires an on-going assessment of competitors. While you know who they are, it’s dangerous to assume they follow the same rules or principles as you. A competitor’s unexpected move that disrupts the market or damages your business leads to unplanned reaction mode that is strategically disadvantaged.

Conducting a war games exercise helps you challenge assumptions and develop a more impartial evaluation. With that deeper understanding, you can proactively reexamine your own strategies to strengthen them.

WHAT ARE THE TYPICAL DELIVERABLES?
A one page Four Corners competitor synopsis and heat map of potential competitor initiatives, and list of ideas to guide your strategic response
WHAT CHALLENGES DOES THIS SERVICE ADDRESS?
Example questions our Competitive Strategy Service can address:
  • New competitors or new regulations are disrupting our market. What might it look like in 2-3 years?
  • Customers seem to be flocking to a new competitor. Is this indicative of a market shift or just a passing trend?
  • A competitor is growing share. What might they do to continue growing at our expense?
  • A competitor has a patent for a new technology. How might that impact us?
  • How might the additional capacity from a competitor’s new line affect our business?
  • You’re introducing a new product. How might competitors respond to your introduction?
  • You’re looking to enter a new market. How might existing competitors try to keep you out or minimize your success?
HOW DOES IT WORK?
  • Identify the war games focus business, issue and competitors to explore
  • Gather publicly-available & internal information about each competitor
  • Form teams to craft a profile for each competitor in a facilitated workshop using Michael Porter’s Four Corners model
  • Create a heat map of competitor initiatives and 2-3 integrated future scenarios
  • Explore strategies and initiatives to preempt or respond to potential competitor moves