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Marketing Warfare. Offensive Warfare Is strategy for No.2 or No.3 in a category. Defensive Warfare Is what market leaders wage. Flanking Warfare Smaller or new players that are trying to get a foothold in a category by avoiding the main battle. Guerilla Warfare
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Marketing Warfare Offensive Warfare Is strategy for No.2 or No.3 in a category Defensive Warfare Is what market leaders wage Flanking Warfare Smaller or new players that are trying to get a foothold in a category by avoiding the main battle. Guerilla Warfare Is often the land of smaller companies
MARKETING WARFARE • SIMPLY THINK OF COMPETITORS AS THE ENEMY . ATTACK OR FLANK OR KEEP INNOVATING DEPENDING ON YOUR POSITION IN THE STRATEGIC SQUARE. NEVER HESITATE TO DESTROY COMPETITION OR ELSE U WILL BE A PART OF HISTORY.
Marketing Warfare Principles of Defensive Marketing Warfare • Only the market leader should consider playing defensive. • The best defensive strategy is the courage to attack yourself • Strong competitive moves should always be blocked. e.g : Gillette : The best a man can get. • Owned wet shaving market with Blue and Super Blue Blade. • Launched Trac II (nonadjustable ) and ATRA (adjustable double bladed razor)
Marketing Warfare • Launched Good News (inexpensive disposable razor to counter BIC (French company which launched disposable razor) • Mach 3:- 3 bladed razors Market share of over 60% in USA/Europe. Other examples: INTEL (286,386,486,PENTIUM etc.) J&J : :- Tylenol :- reduced price from $2.85 for 100 to $1.85 to beat Bristol – Myer’s Datril.
Marketing Warfare Principles of Offensive Marketing Warfare: • The main consideration is the strength of the leader’s position. • Find a weakness in the leader’s strength and attack at that point. • Launch the attack on as narrow a front as possible. e.g. : AVIS :-- “Rent from AVIS . The line at our counter is shorter”:- AVIS attacked Hertz:-- weakness inherent in Hertz’s position as the largest Rent-A-Car company. XEROX: Out-innovated the leader 3M (by developing a better copying process-dry instead of wet copying)
Marketing Warfare • Fed Express used principle 3 by saying “ When it absolutely , positively has to be there overnight” (small packages less then 70 pounds)= challenged the leader EMERY. • Wall Street Journal was the leader (2 Mn daily) for financial and business information. The name positions it as a financial paper , so the business side can be attacked == “Business Times” , The daily business newspaper.
Marketing Warfare Principles of Flanking. • A good Flanking move must be made into an uncontested area. • Tactical surprise ought to be an important element of plan. • The pursuit is as critical as the attack itself. • Michael Dell flanked the computer industry and Direct Marketed:- $ 500 Mn company in 5 years. • Miller Lite flanked the beer industry with Lite beer. • DEC flanked IBM (Minicomputers)
Marketing Warfare • Mercedes-Benz flanked GM (Cadillac cars ) at the high end. • Volkswagen's Beetle flanked GM’s big cars. • Avon flanked cosmetic companies who used traditional distribution methods by resorting to direct door-to-door selling. To launch a true flanking attack you must be the first to occupy the segment. Otherwise it’s just an offensive attack against a defended position. Flanking skill requires exceptional foresight because there is no established market for the new product or service. Indian examples: Nirma, Close-up.
Marketing Warfare Principles of Guerilla Marketing Warfare. • Find a segment of the market small enough to defend. • No matter how successful you become , never act like a leader. • Be prepared to bug out at a moment’s notice. e.g.: Rolls-Royce : High priced Guerilla : nobody competes because 1) existing market is small 2) The company initially has an enormous advantage. Indian examples: 1) Arun Ice-cream : T.N 2) Natural’s Ice-cream : Mumbai 3) Crown CTV : Gujarat. (Geographic Guerillas)