Dominant: A firm is in a dominant position, has control over other competitors. Dominance in the market gives a firm chance to enjoy more freedom to select suitable strategic options.

Strong: A strong firm doesn’t control behaviour of other competitors, but can take independent actions without jeopardizing its long-term position. But, other competitors’ actions do not have a notable impact on its position.

Favorable: These firms are in position to exploit opportunities to improve their positions. They need to constantly adjust their strategies to continue enjoying the better-than-average opportunities for which they have to remain alert and struggle constantly.

Tenable (Average): These firms have satisfactory performance, but they suffer due to dominant and strong competitors. These firms have less-than-average opportunities to improve their positions.

Weak: Weak firms have unsatisfactory performance. However, they need to keep a watch on opportunities to improve their positions. Weak firms must change or adjust constantly to exist.

Nonviable (non-survivable): Such firms have unsatisfactory performance and have no opportunity to improve their performance and position.

Depending on the position of firms in market, there are four types of market dominance strategies. These are market leader, market challenger, market follower, and market nicher.

Market leader: Market leader has the largest market share in the relevant product in the industry. It has a dominant position in the market. Obviously, it leads in new product development, price change, distribution coverage, promotional activities, and novel experiments. The leader may or may not be respected by other firms, but other firms have to acknowledge its dominance. Other firms can challenge, follow or avoid the market leader. In India, well-known market leaders are Maruti Suzuki in cars, Hero Honda in two-wheelers, TCS in Information Technology, HDFC in Banking, Hindustan Unilever in consumer goods, Coca-Cola in soft-drink, McDonald’s in fast food, Life Insurance Corporation in life-insurance etc.

A few market leaders enjoy monopoly in the market. They need to remain alert all the time for maintaining their leadership position. Other firms constantly challenge leadership position. A little mistake here and there can force the leader into second or third position. It has to adopt innovative practices in all the marketing areas. Sometimes, it has to incur excessive costs to maintain the number-one position.

A leader position firm which desires to maintain market- leader position has to adopt one or more strategies such as Expanding Total Market, Defending Current Market Share and Expanding Certain Segment Market Share. To remain a leader the firm needs to remain alert in market.

Market challenger: Market challengers are known as runner-up firms. They occupy second, third or lower ranks in an industry. Bajaj Auto in two-wheelers, Tata Motors and Hyundai in cars, Reliance Petro and Essar Oils in refineries challenging ONGC, Pepsi-Cola in soft-drink, Procter and Gamble in consumer goods, Vodafone in cellular service providers, Sony and Samsung in cell-phone instruments, etc., are some of the market challengers in India.

Market challengers are capable to attack the leader and other competitors. Sometimes, capable challengers can overtake the leader. Market challengers also target smaller, more vulnerable competitors. The fundamental principles involved are: to assess the strength of the target competitor, keep searching opportunities to attack the target, to keep a watch on the amount of support that the target might muster from allies. Challengers usually choose only one target at a time. Challengers prefer to attack the target at a vulnerable moment. Challengers usually launch the attack on narrow front.

Usually challengers adapt these strategies: price discounts or price cutting, line extensions, introduce new products, reduce product quality to cut on costs, increase product quality, improve services, change distribution strategies and intensify promotional activity.

Market follower: These firms prefer to follow leader rather than to use new strategies and waste energy and resources. They do not face the leader directly. Some followers are capable to challenge but they prefer to follow. However, market followers always react strongly in case of any loss. In some capital goods industries like steel, cement, chemical, fertilizer, etc., product differentiation is low, service qualities are similar, and price sensitivity is high. They decide to provide similar offers by copying the market leader. But, one glaring fact is that followership is not always satisfying path to pursue.

Market followers prefer to follow the leader doesn’t mean that they don’t require specific market strategies. They cannot be simply passive or simply carbon copy strategies adopted by leaders. They need to hold current customers and win a fair share of new customers. Followers usually keep manufacturing cost low and offer better quality products with satisfactory services. At the same time, they do enter new markets as and when there are opportunities. Market followers are bound to exist in a mature market. The market followers are wider in case of online marketing because online marketing has lower entry barriers and higher returns. Thus, in online commerce itself, you will see that companies like Snapdeal, Flipkart, Jabongg have all started one after the other. Off course, the market leaders were Ebay and Amazon. And, today e-Bay and Amazon are facing tough competition.

It is a simple way to follow the leader. The follower who wants to be imitator duplicates the leader’s product as well as package and sells it in the market through disrepute distributors. Products are marketed secretly to avoid legal complications. The product seems exactly similar to original product except basic quality and features. This is common strategy in auto-parts and electronics products. People, knowingly or unknowingly, buy such duplicate products as they are made available at low price.

They can also me Emulators. The emulator clones (emulates) the leader’s products, distribution, advertising and other aspects. Here, product and packaging may be identical that of leader, but brand name is slightly different. Market is full of cloned products especially in interiors of the country. You will find bottled water with labels of Bisleri, Aquafina; toothpaste tubes with Colgate, Cibaca labels but then the packaging is of inferior quality. This strategy is widely practiced in computer business also. The cloned products are openly sold in the market because of fake practices. The fake brands are pushed in the distribution of firms.

Market specialist or nicher: A niche is a more narrowly defined small market (limited number of buyers) whose needs are not being well-served by existing sellers. It is a small segment that has distinctive needs and is, mostly, ready to pay high price. Marketers can identify niches by dividing a segment into sub-segments or by dividing a group with a distinctive set of traits.

They may seek a special combination of benefits. Niches (small groups of buyers) are fairly small and normally attract a few competing firms. A nicher is the small firm serving only small specific groups of customers. The firm’s marketing efforts to serve the niches successfully is called nichemanship.

Nichers understand their niches’ needs so well and minutely that their customers are willing to pay a premium price. They design special products with distinctive features, qualities, uses, and value for special group which are tailor-made to suit the buyer’s needs. Nichers have special skills to serve their market in luxury goods segment and fashion industry. They gain certain economies through specialization. Nichemanship strategy is also called focus strategy. The objective is focusing marketing efforts on one or few narrow market segments and tailoring the marketing mix to give those chosen customers tailored offer. The firm typically looks to gain a competitive advantage through effectiveness. The most successful nichers tend to have the following characteristics:

• They tend to be in high value (luxury goods) industries and are able to obtain high margins.
• They tend to be highly focused on a specific market segment.
• They usually market high end products and are able to use a premium pricing strategy.

Conclusion: Today, the market scenario is so susceptible to the environmental vulnerability that many companies live a very short lifecycle.  The acronym VUCA has shaken the world. Political, economical, social, technological, legal and environmental parameters in the world have become Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous than ever before. Therefore, no company can take its position in market for granted. Though for many people the term VUCA is linked to negativity, but, a new wave of thinking shows that embracing vulnerability is actually crucial for sustainability of businesses.

DISC (Dominance, Influence, Conscientiousness, and Steadiness) is a behaviour assessment tool created by psychologist William Moulton Marston. The assessment centres on four different behavioural traits: dominance, influence, submission, and compliance. This theory was then developed into a behavioural assessment tool by industrial psychologist Walter Vernon Clarke. The creator of this instrument Marston was a lawyer and a psychologist; he also contributed to the first polygraph test (lie detector). Marston authored self-help books and created the character Wonder Woman (a comic character of super heroine).

His major contribution to psychology came when he generated the DISC characteristics of emotions and behaviour of normal people. Marston, after conducting research on human emotions, he published his findings in his 1928 book called Emotions of Normal People in which he explained that people illustrate their emotions using four behaviour types: Dominance (D), Inducement (I), Submission (S), and Compliance (C). Also, he argued that these behavioural types came from people’s sense of self and their interaction with the environment. He included two dimensions that influence people’s emotional behaviour. The first dimension is whether a person views his environment as favourable or unfavourable. The second dimension is whether a person perceives himself as having control or lack of control over his environment. His work was the foundation of the DISC assessment that has been used by more than 50 million people since it was first introduced in 1972.

In 1956, Walter Clarke, an industrial psychologist, constructed the DISC assessment using Marston’s theory of the DISC model. He did this by publishing the Activity Vector Analysis, a checklist of adjectives on which he asked people to indicate descriptions that were accurate about themselves. This assessment was intended for use in businesses needing assistance in choosing qualified employees. About 10 years later, Walter Clarke Associates developed a new version of this instrument for John Cleaver (fantasy character of serial killer created by Dan Wells). It was called Self Description. Instead of using a checklist, this test forced respondents to make a choice between two or more terms. Factor analysis of this assessment added to the support of a DISC-based instrument.

The DiSC profile is a non-judgemental tool used for conversation of people’s behavioural differences. If you participate in a DiSC program, you’ll be asked to complete a series of questions that produce a detailed report about your personality and behaviour.
The DiSC tool provides a common language that people can use to better understand themselves and adapt their behaviours with others – within a work team, a sales relationship, a leadership position, or other relationships. DiSC profiles help you and your team members.

Dominance: People with streak of dominance stress on accomplishing results and goals. They see big picture, they are usually blunt – they talk out their feelings easily, they are always ready to accept challenges, and without much ado they get straight to the point.
People with the D style place an emphasis on shaping the environment by overcoming opposition to accomplish results.

A person with a D style is motivated by winning, competition and success. He prioritizes accepting challenge, taking action and achieving immediate results. He is described as direct, demanding, and forceful, strong willed, driven, and determined, fast-paced, and self-confident etc, etc. At times, he may be limited by lack of concern for others, impatience and open scepticism. He often fears being seen as vulnerable or being taken advantage of. His goals are unique accomplishments, he sees new opportunities, and he tends to control the audience. He requires independence to expend work environment.  When communicating with the D style individuals, give them the bottom line, be brief, focus your discussion narrowly, avoid making generalizations, refrain from repeating yourself, and focus on solutions rather than problems.

Leadership style of D personality: Commanding, Resolute, Pioneering.

Influence: People who are influencers place emphasis on influencing or persuading others in work place or in relationship. They are enthusiasts, optimistic, and they like to collaborate. They dislike being ignored. A person with i style may be limited by being impulsive and confused. He may lack follow-ups but he is convincing, magnetic, enthusiastic, warm, trusting and optimistic. He prioritizes taking action, collaboration, and expressing enthusiasm. He is motivated by social recognition, group activities, and relationships. He may fear loss of influence, disapproval and being ignored. He values coaching and counselling. He enjoys freedom of expression and democratic relationships. He also speaks directly and candidly.

When communicating with the i  style individual, share your experiences, allow the i style person time to ask questions and talk themselves, focus on the positives, avoid overloading them with details, and don’t interrupt them.

Leadership style of i personality: Energizing, Pioneering, and Affirming.

Steadiness: Person with S style places emphasis on cooperation, sincerity, dependability. He doesn’t like to be rushed into doing anything. He comes across as a calm person. He is supportive in nature. People with the S style place an emphasis on cooperating with others within existing circumstances to carry out the task. A person with an S style is motivated by cooperation, opportunities to help and sincere appreciation. He prioritizes giving support, collaborating and maintaining stability. He comes across as a calm man who is predictable and stable. He is consistent in nature. His limitations are indecisiveness, overly accommodating and tendency to avoid change. He fears change, loss of stability and offending others. But, he values loyalty, helping others and security.

His personal goals are personal accomplishments, group acceptance, power through formal roles and positions of authority and he prefers maintenance of status quo and controlled environment.

When communicating with the S style individuals, be personal and friendly, express your interest in them and what you expect from them, take time to provide clarification, be polite, and avoid being aggressive, or rude.

Leadership Style of S Personality: Inclusive, Humble, Affirming.

Conscientiousness: People with streak of conscientiousness place emphasis on quality and accuracy, expertise, competency. They enjoy independence. They are clear in their objectives and they have clear reasons for all their actions.
They have an eye for details and they fear being wrong. People with the C style place an emphasis on working conscientiously within existing circumstances to ensure quality and accuracy.  A person with a C style is motivated by opportunities to gain knowledge, showing their expertise, and quality work. They prioritize ensuring accuracy, maintaining stability, and challenging assumptions. They can be described as careful, cautious, systematic, diplomatic, accurate and tactful. C style people can be limited by being overcritical, overanalyzing and isolating themselves. They fear criticism and committing mistakes. The C style people value quality and accuracy

Leadership Style of C personality: Deliberateness, Humble, Resolute.

Conclusion: Many studies have shown that careful analyses of personality throughout life reveal a core of traits that remain remarkably stable over the years and a number of other traits that can change drastically from age to age and situation to situation. One of the new studies has shown that three basic aspects of personality change little throughout life: a person’s anxiety level, friendliness and eagerness for novel experiences. But other traits, such as isolation, morale and feelings of satisfaction, can vary greatly as a person goes through life. These more changeable traits largely reflect such things as how a person sees himself and his life at a given point, rather than a basic underlying temperament.

The DiSC personality assessment shows blend of characteristics of personality in different situations and different roles in life. We cannot be the same everywhere; in place of work we are different than when we are at home.

Real intelligence is to recognise what roles you play in life and to make conscious efforts to play them with requiring traits to play them well. For example, at work place you might be a conscientious worker but while playing with your child the role demands to be an influencer. So, set times for changing between the various roles and this requires
a keen effort.