What Is Meant by (a) Market Leader (b) Market Follower; And(c) Market Challenger? Discuss the Different Challenges That a Market Leader Faces as Compared to the Market Follower. Write Your Answer in the Context of a Nepalese Market

What is meant by (a) market leader (b) market follower; and(c) market challenger? Discuss the different challenges that a market leader faces as compared to the market follower. Write your answer in the context of a Nepalese market. 

Market leader is the company that has the largest share in an industry. Typically, the company which innovate new products and business model. It has a dominant position on market(Brain, 2011).

Market follower is the company which follows other firms that already has a dominant position on marketplace. They develop strategies parallel to market leader to be on safe side(Brain, 2011). For example: Xiaomi follow Apple Inc. to lunch new products, developing same type products or services and apply same concept on different way (Bell, 2014).

Market challenger is the firm that aggressively work to gain market share and huge revenues. Typically, they target market leader or competitors (Brain, 2011). Market challenger search for the weakness of market leader to overtake the position in market. For example, Samsung challenge Apple by innovative new kind feature on Samsung smartphones that Apple use to lack.

Market leader pioneer new product and service on. There are lots of challenges to market leader as compared to the market follower. Market leader should have to be careful to maintain dominant position on market share. Market leader get challenged by technology. They need to focus on existing innovation products and also need to adapt technological changes before market challengers overtook them. Market leader are surrounded by market challengers to attack for their position on market share. Market challenger challenge market leader by increasing product differentiation, improving customer service and launching new innovative products (Patel, 2016).

Whereas market follower is less targeted by market challenger in comparison to market leader. Market follower copy or clone new product of market leader to generate high profit by taking strategy for being on safe side. However, in my opinion the challenges market follower face are legal issues like copy right, patent right and others.

In the context of Nepal, for example, Buddha Air is the market leader in domestic airlines of Nepal. Buddha Air pioneer new domestic flight services to provide proper transportation in Nepal. Buddha Air is the only airline in Nepal to have international standard hangar facility. They research and focuses on flight safety and security(Hangar). Whereas Simrik Air can be taken as market follower as they copy the services and strategy of market leader. They don’t take risk for any initiation in order to compete with rivals.