Asymmetric warfare, also known as guerilla warfare, is a war between a professional army and a numerically smaller, lesser-armed movement.
While the former mostly sticks to conventional methods of warfare, the latter uses unconventional or asymmetric warfare tactics to gain an advantage over the enemy.
Interestingly, the principles of asymmetric warfare are applicable as much in business as they are on the battlefield.
Asymmetric Warfare in Business
Business and war have more in common than many people think. Your competitors are ruthless, you have to fight hard to gain market share, and fight even harder to retain and increase it.
The military principle of not ceding your ground at any cost applies here too, as it can be incredibly difficult to regain lost market share, just as it is hard to recapture lost territory in a war.
This is why Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ remains one of the most widely read and discussed books in business schools around the world.
Applying Asymmetric Warfare Tactics in Business
Knowledge is Power
First and foremost, you need to have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors as well as your own.
Merely gathering information is not enough, as we live in the age of information overload, where everyone has access to pretty much any information they want. You need to separate the wheat from the chaff – ignore irrelevant data and focus only on accurate and relevant information that can help you devise a successful business strategy.
Flank Attack
You should never go head-to-head with a competitor who has an unlimited amount of resources (or more than you) at their disposal. You should instead employ the flank attack strategy – identify and attack the weakest points and blind spots of your competitors.
Even large companies have weak points – they might not have covered certain segments of the market, their products and services might not address the needs of a particular subset of the customer base, some of their products might be overpriced, and so on.
If you can offer a product or service that addresses the needs of that particular segment or customer base, you can get a foothold in the market easily.
Niche Specialization
Large companies always cater to the majority. They need to make sure their products are used by a large section of customers, as it is the only way they can recoup their enormous production and marketing costs. Small businesses, on the other hand, can afford to choose ultra specific niches that the big guys do not even know exist.
You can easily spot upcoming trends in undeveloped fields and in small subsets of established market segments, come up with a product or service to tap into those trends, and set up shop before the large companies even notice your presence. This kind of a surprise attack is extremely effective – be it on the battlefield or the market.
Flexibility
One of the key aspects of asymmetric warfare is flexibility. Insurgency forces never rely overly on a particular tactic, even it has proved to be effective in the past. They constantly change their tactics – depending on the conditions and the enemy’s response. Small businesses too need to be flexible for the same reasons.
Large businesses take their time to research a market before releasing a product. This is because if it fails, it could not only result in monetary losses, but could also harm their reputation.
You, on the other hand, can afford to test the waters by introducing your product on a small-scale level, gauge the reactions of the customers, and try again if necessary. In other words, you can afford to fail many times, change your tactics as and when needed, and try until you succeed.
Whereas the same tactic could prove to be too costly for a large company.
Asymmetric Warfare as a Business Strategy
Asymmetric warfare is all about utilizing your strengths to the fullest extent possible against the weak areas of your competitors. It is a tried-and-tested strategy that can help you carve a niche for yourself in a market dominated by large players.