Marketing Warfare - What's Your Battle Strategy?

The concept behind Marketing Warfare, written by Al Ries and Jack Trout, is that marketing strategies in the modern world of business, can be compared to battle strategies and terms from history, not only in the literal sense of actual wars, but also in the marketing sense, as it has related to various product wars from the past.

Ries and Trout start from the basis that in order to successfully win the marketing war, entrepreneurs need to shift their efforts from being “customer-oriented” to “competitor-oriented.”

In the aftermath of World War II, the leading companies became customer-oriented.  The marketing expert was in charge and the prime minister was marketing research.  But today every company is customer-oriented.  Knowing what the customer wants isn’t too helpful if a dozen other companies are already serving the same customer’s wants.  American Motors’s problem is not the customer.  American Motors’s problem is General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and the imports.  To become successful today, a company must become competitor-oriented.  It must look for weak points in the positions of its competitors and then launch marketing attacks against those weak points.

Ries and Trout go on to illustrate real marketing stories of success utilizing this tactic.  Although this book was published in 1986, it remains a favorite among business people specifically in the marketing business, but it’s principles can also be applied to marketing for any company.  

The chapters briefly described below demonstrate how this book is not written like a business textbook; rather, it approaches the issues the way you, the business person, would expect them to be addressed: in a practical and intriguing way.

• Marketing is war: Introduction to the concepts of warfare strategies and how that can be applied to marketing.
• 2500 years of war: Introducing marketing people to some of the world’s most historic battles.
• The principle of force: The principle of big fish eating little fish, big companies eating small companies.
• The superiority of the defense: No military commander would seek to battle an opponent with the odds stacked against him, and how this applies to business marketing today. 
• The new era of competition: Learning the language and strategies from the military.
• The nature of the battleground: Marketing battles aren’t fought on an actual battlefield, but in the minds of the prospect.
• The strategic square: There are four ways to fight a war, and knowing which type of warfare to fight is the most important decision to be made.
• Principles of defensive warfare: Defensive strategy is for a marketing leader, with 3 key principles to be followed.
• Principles of offensive warfare: The primary principle in this approach is to find the weakness in the leader’s strength and then attack at that very point.
• Principles of flanking warfare: The most successful marketing results have been a result of flanking moves.
• Principles of guerilla warfare: How small companies can survive among the giant competitors.
• The cola war: A closer look at the Pepsi vs. Coke strategies.
• The beer war: The process of consolidation in the beer business, and how smaller breweries should be concentrating their forces together. 
• The burger war: Examining the marketing warfare between McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King.
• The computer war: How big name computer companies can fail when trying to fight a battleground they don’t own.
• Strategy and tactics: Strategy should follow tactics and start from the bottom up, not from the top down.
• The marketing general: The key attributes for marketing generals include flexibility, mental courage, and boldness.

What is your marketing strategy?

Is it working? 

Are you getting the results you want 

Or

Are you in need of a better "battle" plan?  

You will also want to read How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success.

Do You Have THESE Success Forces?

Success Forces, written by Joseph Sugarman back in the 80’s, is unfortunately out of print.  But if there is a way for you to get your hands on this book, you will greatly benefit from one of the most brilliant business minds of our time.  He achieved great success in the direct sales marketing business, selling millions of dollars worth of Blublocker Sunglasses, digital watches, and was even the pioneer of using the “800 number” to have customers call in to give their payment information.

Sugarman saw that every “force” he encountered in business could be learned from and utilized in a positive way.  Here are the main “forces” he pegged as key pillars in guiding his growth in business.

Always Be Honest  

Sugarman employed this principle by always telling the truth, no matter what embarrassing position he may be put in.  He explains that honesty is the best policy, even by acknowledging what might be the challenges of your particular product and finding a way to turn it into an opportunity.

Cherish Your Failures  

Failures are what most of us (especially in business) seem to avoid at all costs.  We see our successes as what we must focus on, so that we can repeat them.  However, Sugarman said in one of his talks that he was probably the one in the room who had failed the most.  He cherished his failures because he saw them as opportunities to create “success forces” for future possibilities.

Relish Your Problems  

Most of us look at problems as inconveniences or roadblocks keeping us from reaching the goals we desperately want to reach.  But Sugarman viewed them as opportunities to take a difficult situation and see what could be improved for the next time.  

Concentrate Your Powers  

Sugarman encourages you to focus on one particular aspect of your business that you need to improve.  The point is to not get sidetracked by other things that you need to improve on; otherwise, your attention is divided by too many things which ultimately prevent you from making any real change.  Focus on one aspect, one day at a time until you have mastered it.

Do It Differently 

This addresses the fact that many entrepreneurs are great at “copying” ideas from others, but Sugarman says that there will always be copycats.  The people you should be concerned about are those who are innovators, those who are taking steps to improve what is already a great product or service.  Be an innovator, he says; not a copycat.

Clean Your Desk  

Sugarman had an early experience of interviewing presidents of various companies his father did business with.  What stood out most to him was the fact that these companies were well organized at every level, but most importantly, it started from the president’s desk.  He admits that his own desk is messy and piled up all day long; but he adopted the discipline of cleaning off his desk at the end of every day and putting every item in its own place.  He even went as far as requiring his employees to do the same.  He recounts having had people write to him about this “force” saying that this one discipline changed their entire lives.

The last "success force" presents a challenge to all of us.  Whether you have a desk or area of your home that you work from day in and day out, what would happen if you purposed to clean it at the end of your work day, every day for the next 30 days?  We'd love to hear the results of incorporating this simple discipline into your life.

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8 PROVEN Ways To Experience Excellence in Business

What Are The Business Secrets You Most Want to Discover?

Whether you chose to pursue business with a formal education or simply just went for it and learned along the way, you had to start somewhere.  This is what all entrepreneurs have in common, but the details of each one’s story will vary.  People who are truly interested in learning what it means to go into business will ask questions, because they believe the answers to these questions will help set them on a path toward success.

• What first inspired you to go into business?
• What principles do you run your business by?
• What were the first steps you took when deciding to pursue your dream as an entrepreneur?
• What books/seminars did you attend to find the best way?
• What business situation did you remain in too long?
• What was the best risk you decided to take?

Try to remember back when you started out as an entrepreneur, what were the questions you wanted answers to?  Imagine you were given the opportunity to sit down with some of the greatest business minds of our time.  Who would you choose to meet with?  What would your top questions be, now that you have actually experienced the ups and downs of being in business?

“In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best Run Companies,” is a book that gives you the opportunity to be a fly on the wall of the most successful companies in America. You’re able to explore firsthand the 8 common principles and practices that these diverse businesses found to contribute to their success.

1. A bias for action: a preference for doing something - anything - rather than sending a question through cycles and cycles of analyses and committee reports.
2. Staying close to the customer - learning his preferences and catering to them.
3. Autonomy and entrepreneurship - breaking the corporation into small companies and encouraging them to think independently and competitively.
4. Productivity through people - creating in all employees the awareness that their best efforts are essential and that they share in the rewards of the company’s success.
5. Hands-on, value-driven - insisting that executives keep in touch with the firm’s essential business.
6. Stick to the knitting - remaining with the business the company knows best.
7. Simple form, lean staff - few administrative layers, few people at the upper layers.
8. Simultaneous loose-tight properties - fostering a climate where there is dedication to the central values of the company combined with tolerance for all employees who accept those values.

One of the greatest contributions you can make in this industry is to give the gift of your wisdom and experience.  Remember what it was like when you were starting out - you were hungry for direction, wisdom, and tangible advice.

If you could choose just three of these principles to pass along to someone who is just starting out in business, which would you choose and why?  We'd love to hear your pearls of wisdom.