One of the most common tactics of unscrupulous competitors is to either steal traffic which is destine for your company, by ranking their product or service for your company name, or more nastily to smear your company image and reputation by leaving negative comments about you which then find there way into the top results for a search on your company name.
Obviously in such a competitive environment and with many unscrupulous tactics being openly employed it is often sensible to address the potential problem before it has even begun.
That said it is a legitimate tactic to commence a campaign to populate the top places in the search engine results for your company brand with positive reviews etc. about your brand, thus squeezing out any potential gaps which competitors could occupy and use to either steal your traffic or tarnish your reputation.
Acting preemptively will avoid any potential problems before they arise and not only be an effective SEO strategy but a prudent campaign to avoid you months of havoc if you find yourself the victim of such an attack.