Market Follower Strategies

The four broad categories of market follower strategies include counterfeiting, cloning, imitating and adapting. The competitive dynamics of an industry, the strengths and weaknesses of a company itself, its ability to compete on price, innovation or service, and its distribution strategies and even its supply chains have a direct influence on which market strategy is chosen. The first strategy mentioned (Kotler 2005), counterfeiting, is the practice of creating an exact replica of a product, often in violation of copyrights. Counterfeiting has become one of the major contention points in American-Chinese trade due to copyright infringements, and is a strategy relied on in those nations whose laws are not as rigorous in prosecuting companies who engage in this strategy. Yet it is one many competitors face as they become more successful selling globally. Cloning strategies are the second type mentioned (Kotler 2005) and involve taking the most common features and characteristics of a product and then reproducing them legally, with the intent of creating a significantly lower production costs. Many consumer electronics products including DVD players, TVs and PCs are produced with this strategy in mind. Imitators is the third follower strategy, and Chrysler, in designing the 300M grill work to resemble the Bentley automobile front grill is an example of this strategy. The final follower strategy is that of being an Adapter. Many of the Japanese auto manufacturers excel at this strategy, including Toyota and Hondo, who have through adaptation of car designs and more efficiency of production, have overtaken the American cars they were initially adapting from. This is particularly true with the Toyota Camry overtaking all mid-size sedans globally in sales, with over 40,000 sold per week in the United States alone. Of all follower strategies, the adapter one retains the greatest profitability over time.

Reference:

Kotler (2005). Marketing Management. 12th Edition. Philip Kotler. Prentice Hall Publishing. Saddle River, NJ. May, 2005. Chapter 11 on competition.