Attack strategies : 3 options of whom and 19 ways of how

1. Head-On attack on the chosen competitor with the intention of grabbing the entire market of the said competitor and thus to injure the competitor so seriously that he exits the market. But sometimes the competitor turns on you and signals his willingness to “fight till finish” and it can cause much blood letting from both the sides. Ultimately one side either withdraws from the market or withdraws into a small corner. ( This happened to HMT when attacked by Titan).
   
2. Because of the risk and uncertainty involved in head-on attacks, a flanking attack
   is much more common. The attacker aims only for a small part of the competition’s pie. In such cases the defending company also may not fight as hard - and may even cede to you – if the market segment ( customers, geography, application) is small or not worth picking a fight on. ( This happened when SONY sliced off a segment of the laptop market with VAIO which catered to the segment of customers who wanted a good audio visual and gaming experience on their laptops ) 
   
   
3. Bypass attack is actually an attack on the future of the competitor. You, the attacker, figure out what the competition is likely to do next and then do it before he does. ( This happened when Kent attacked Eureka Forbes Ultra Violet Water Purifier business by figuring out that the demand for Reverse Osmosis products will go up when the customers - increasingly using borewell water - will find that only RO softens the water. They first launched RO in their attempt to stop Eureka Forbes in its tracks )

Note : If you plan to convert non-users of the category into users, you do not need to attack anyone at all. When Nirma launched its low priced detergent, it was designed to convert people using soap suds and not detergent users at all !

19 ways "How to attack" 

7 Ways of "street smart" attack 

1. Counterfeit ( and ride on him )
2. Imitate ( and confuse the market )
3. Overpower
4. Move fast and reach markets earlier than him
5. Block his entry
6. Initiate litigation against him
7. Create a fighter brand / unit
   

12 ways of attacking with differentiation

You can create differentiation not only through a better value proposition but also through a better Go-To-Market strategy

BETTER VALUE PROPOSITION CAN BE ACHIEVED BY

1. Better targeting  of customers /  regions / applications
2. Better insight (understanding of what matters : needs, wants and motivations)
3. Better offer (based on "what matters")
4. Better "Reason Why"

BETTER CONNECTION CAN BE ACHIEVED BY

1. Better insight into how customer behave which make following possible
2. Better ways to search (or be searched by) potential customers
3. Better ways to contact (or be found by) such customers
4. Better ways to engage ( or be engaged with) such customers
5. Better ways to communication ( or inbound inquiries by ) customers
6. Better ways to facilitate purchase by customers
7. Better ways to transact ( take order, deliver, get paid) with the customer
8. Better ways to service after purchase ( AMC, spares, recondition, replace)