Strategy is the organized deployment of resources to achieve specific objectives, something

that business and warfare have in common. In the 1980s business strategists realized that there
was a vast knowledge base stretching back thousands of years that they had barely examined.
They turned to military strategy for guidance.

MARKETING WARFARE STRATEGIES

 Offensive Marketing Warfare Strategies - Attack the target competitor with an

objective such as “liberating” some of its market share
 Defensive Marketing Warfare Strategies - Strategies intended to maintain your
market share, profitability, sales revenue, or some other objective.
 Flanking Marketing Warfare Strategies - Operate in areas of little importance to
the competitor.
 Guerrilla Marketing Warfare Strategies - Attack, retreat, hide, then do it again,
and again, until the competitor moves on to other markets.

Defensive Marketing Warfare Strategies

In Marketing and Strategic Management , marketing warfare strategies are a type of Marketing
Strategy that uses military metaphor to craft a businesses strategy.

Defensive marketing warfare strategies are a type of marketing warfare strategy designed to
protect a company's Market Share , Profitability , product positioning , or Mind Share .

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

There are five fundamental principles involved:

#Always counter an attack with equal or greater force.
#Defend every important market.
#Be forever vigilant in scanning for potential attackers. Assess the strength of the competitor.
Consider the amount of support that the attacker might muster from allies.
#The best defense is to attack yourself. Attack your weak spots and rebuild yourself anew.
# Defensive strategies should be the exclusive domain of the market leader.

TYPES OF DEFENSIVE STRATEGIES

The main types of defensive marketing warfare strategies are:

 Position defense - This involves the defense of a fortified position. This tends to be a
weak defense because you become a “sitting duck”. It can lead to a Siege situation in
which time is on the side of the attacker, that is, as time goes by the defender gets
weaker, while the attacker gets stronger. In a business context, this involves setting up
 fortifications such as barriers to market entry around a Product , Brand , Product Line ,
market, or Market Segment . This could include increasing Brand Equity , customer
satisfaction, customer loyalty, or repeat purchase rate. It could also include exclusive
distribution contracts, patent protection, market Monopoly , or government protected
monopoly status. It is best used in homogeneous markets where the defender has
dominant market position and potential attackers have very limited resources.

 Mobile defense - This involves constantly shifting resources and developing new
strategies and tactics. A mobile defense is intended to create a moving target that is
hard to successfully attack, while simultaneously, equipping the defender with a flexible
response mechanism should an attack occur. In business this would entail introducing
new products, introducing replacement products, modifying existing products, changing
market segments, changing target markets, Repositioning products, or changing
Promotion al focus. This defense requires a very flexible organization with strong
marketing, entrepreneurial, Product Development , and Marketing Research skills.

 Flank position - This involves the re-deployment of your resources to deter a flanking
attack. You protect against potential loss of market share in a segment, by strengthening
your competitive position in this segment with new products and other tactics. (see
Flanking Marketing Warfare Strategies )

 Counter offensive - This involves countering an attack with an offense of your own. If you
are attacked, retaliate with an attack on the aggressor’s weakest point. If you are being
attacked with an Advertising campaign, initiate your own promotional campaign aimed at
the aggressor’s weak spot. If a competitor introduces a new product, retaliate with a
fighting brand that is designed to nullify any advantage the new product might have had.

 Pre-emptive strike - This is a “defensive” attack initiated because an enemy attack is

believed to be imminent. The objective is to use the element of surprise to create chaos.
The enemy will need time to regroup and might have second thoughts about an attack.
The advantages are that you gain first-strike advantage and you get to choose the
battlefield, a battlefield that you can win on. This strategy is similar to the counter-
offensive strategy except that it is proactive rather than reactive.

 Strategic withdrawal - This involves freeing your resources deployed in untenable

positions. If an objective becomes strategically unimportant or tactically impossible to
defend, then the best strategy can be to withdraw. The resources can be re-deployed
 where they will be more effective. In business, this can entail dropping unprofitable
products, product lines, or brands. It could also involve exiting a market or market
segment. At one extreme, a radical strategic withdrawal involves closing down the
business completely. At the other extreme, it involves a contraction of resources in a
market segment.

Offensive Marketing Warfare Strategies

Offensive marketing warfare strategies are a type of marketing warfare strategy designed to
obtain an objective, usually market share, from a target competitor. In addition to Market Share ,
an offensive strategy could be designed to obtain key customers, high margin Market Segment
s, or high loyalty market segments.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

There are four fundamental principles involved:

#Assess the strength of the target competitor. Consider the amount of support that the target
might muster from allies. Choose only one target at a time.
#Find a weakness in the target’s position. Attack at this point. Consider how long it will take for
the target to realign their resources so as to reinforce this weak spot.
#Launch the attack on as narrow a front as possible. Whereas a defender must defend all their
borders, an attacker has the advantage of being able to concentrate their forces at one place.
#Launch the attack quickly. The element of surprise is worth more than a thousand tanks.

TYPES OF OFFENSIVE STRATEGIES

the main types of offensive marketing warfare strategies are:

 Frontal Attack - This is a direct head-on assault. It usually involves marshaling all your
resources including a substantial financial commitment. All parts of your company must
be geared up for the assault from marketing to production. It usually involves intensive
advertising assaults and often entails developing a new product that is able to attack the
target competitors’ line where it is weak. It often involves an attempt to “liberate” a
sizable portion of the target’s customer base. In actuality, frontal attacks are rare. There
are two reasons for this. Firstly, they are expensive. Many valuable resources will be
used and lost in the assault. Secondly, frontal attacks are often unsuccessful. If
defenders are able to re-deploy their resources in time, the attacker’s strategic
advantage is lost. You will be confronting strength rather than weakness. Also, there are
many examples (in both business and warfare) of a dedicated defender being able to
hold-off a larger attacker. The strategy is suitable when
  ---the market is relatively homogeneous

 --- Brand Equity is low

 ---customer loyalty is low

 ---products are poorly Differentiated

 ---the target competitor has relatively limited resources

 ---the attacker has relatively strong resources

 Envelopment Strategy (also called encirclement strategy) - This is a much broader

but subtle offensive strategy. It involves encircling the target competitor. This can be
done in two ways. You could introduce a range of products that are similar to the target
product. Each product will liberate some market share from the target competitor’s
product, leaving it weakened, demoralized, and in a state of siege. If it is done
stealthfully, a full scale confrontation can be avoided. Alternatively, the encirclement can
be based on market niches rather than products. The attacker expands the market
niches that surround and encroach on the target competitor’s market. This
encroachment liberates market share from the target. The envelopment strategy is
suitable when:

 ---the market is loosely segmented

 ---some segments are relatively free of well endowed competitors

 ---the attacker has strong product development resources

 ---the attacker has enough resources to operate in multiple segments simultaneously

 ---the attacker has a decentralized organizational structure

 Leapfrog strategy -This strategy involves bypassing the enemy’s forces altogether. In
the business arena, this involves either developing new technologies, or creating new
Business Models. This is a revolutionary strategy that re-writes the rules of the game.
The introduction of compact disc technology bypassed the established magnetic tape
based defenders. The attackers won the war without a single costly battle. This strategy
is very effective when it can be realized.

Business model:

A business model describes how a business:

 Selects its employees and customers,

 Defines and Differentiates its product offerings,
 Creates Utility for its employees and customers,
 Acquires and keeps employees and customers,
 Goes to the market ( Promotion strategy and Distribution strategy),
 Defines the tasks to be performed,
 Develops a sustainable presence with respect to the environment and society,
 Configures its resources, and
 Captures profit.

 Flanking attack - This strategy is designed to pressure the flank of the enemy line so
the flank turns inward. You make gains while the enemy line is in chaos. In doing so, you
avoid a head-on confrontation with the main force.

Flanking Marketing Warfare Strategies

Flanking marketing warfare strategies are a type of marketing warfare strategy designed to
minimize confrontational losses.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

The fundamental principles involved are:

#Avoid areas of likely confrontation. A flanking move always occurs in an uncontested area.
#Make your move quickly and stealthfully. The element of surprise is worth more than a
thousand tanks.
#Make moves that the target will not find threatening enough to respond decisively to.

TYPES OF FLANKING STRATEGIES

flanking strategies can be either offensive or defensive:

 Flanking Attack (offensive) - This is designed to pressure the flank of the enemy line
so the flank turns inward. You make gains while the enemy line is in chaos. In doing so,
you avoid a head-on confrontation with the main force. The disadvantage with a flanking
attack is that it can draw resources away from your center defense, making you
vulnerable to a head-on attack. In business terms, a flanking attack involves competing
in a Market Segment that the target does not consider mission critical. The target
competitor will not be as concerned about your activities if they occur in market niches
that it considers peripheral. It usually involves subtle Advertising campaigns and other
discrete Promotional measures, like Personal Selling and Public Relations . It often
entails Customizing a Product for that particular niche. Rather than finding uncontested
market niches, the attacker could also look for uncontested geographical areas. The
strategy is suitable when:

 ---the market is segmented

 ---there are some segments that are not well served by the existing competitors

 ---the target competitor has relatively strong resources and is well able to withstand a
head-on attack

 ---the attacker has moderately strong resources, enough to successfully defend several
niches

 Flanking Position (defensive) - This involves the re-deployment of your resources to

deter a flanking attack. You strengthen your flank if you think it is vulnerable. The
disadvantage of this defense is that it can distract you from your primary objective and
siphon resources away from where they are needed most. In business terms, this
involves the introduction of New Products , Product Line s, or Brand s, the defensive Re-
positioning of existing products, or additional promotional activity in a market niche. It
requires Market Segmentation and/or Product Differentiation . You protect against
potential loss of market share in a segment by strengthening your competitive position
there.

Guerrilla Marketing Warfare Strategies

Guerrilla marketing warfare strategies are a type of marketing warfare strategy designed to
wear-down the enemy by a long series of minor attacks. Rather than engage in major
battles, a guerrilla force is divided into small groups that selectively attacks the target at its
weak points. To be effective, guerrilla teams must be able to hide between strikes. They can
disappear into the remote countryside, or blend into the general population. The general
form of the strategy is a sequence of attacking, retreating, and hiding, repeated multiple
times in series. It has been said that “Guerrilla forces never win wars, but their adversaries
often lose them”.

GUERRILLA MARKETING WARFARE INVOLVES

In the business arena, this involves :

# targeted legal attacks on the competition
# product comparison advertising
# executive raiding(raiding : A surprise attack by a small armed force. 2. A sudden forcible entry
into a place by police)
# short-term alliances
# selective price cuts
# deliberate sabotage(Destruction of property or obstruction of normal operations) of the
competitions test markets, marketing research, advertising campaigns, or sales promotions
# orchestrating negative publicity for a competitor
A guerrilla marketer must be flexible. They must be able to change tactics very quickly: this
may include abandoning a market segment, product, product line, brand, business model, or
objective. Guerrillas are not ashamed to make a Strategic Withdrawal .
Strategic withdrawal - This involves freeing your resources deployed in untenable positions. If an
objective becomes strategically unimportant or tactically impossible to defend, then the best
strategy can be to withdraw. The resources can be re-deployed where they will be more effective. In
business, this can entail dropping unprofitable products, product lines, or brands. It could also
involve exiting a market or market segment. At one extreme, a radical strategic withdrawal involves
closing down the business completely. At the other extreme, it involves a contraction of resources in
a market segment.

The strategy is suitable when:

 the target competitor has relatively strong resources and is well able to withstand a
head-on attack

 the attacker has moderately weak resources

It can involve choosing a modest market segment, geographical territory, or niche and
defending it, that is, it is incorrectly used to describe a niche strategy.
The term Guerrilla Marketing is sometimes used to refer simply to the use of unorthodox
marketing tactics.

It can involve choosing a modest market segment, geographical territory, or niche and
defending it, that is, it is incorrectly used to describe a niche strategy.
The term Guerrilla Marketing is sometimes used to refer simply to the use of unorthodox
marketing tactics.

 Guerrilla Marketing

It is up to the guerrilla marketer to be creative and devise unconventional methods of

promotion. He must use all of his contacts, both professional and personal, and must
examine his company and its Products , looking for sources of publicity. Many forms of
Publicity can be very inexpensive, and others are free.

It is argued that if one uses guerrilla tactics, one will find one's small size an advantage. One
will be able to obtain publicity more easily than a large company. One will be closer to one's
customers and more agile.

Levinson identifies the following principles as the foundation of guerrilla marketing:

 Guerrilla marketing is specifically geared for the small business.

 It should be based on human psychology instead of experience, judgment, and

guesswork.

 Instead of money, the primary investments of marketing should be time, energy, and
imagination.
 The primary statistic to measure your business is the amount of profits, not sales.

 The marketer should also concentrate on how many new relationships are made each
month.

 Create a standard of excellence with an acute focus instead of trying to diversify by

offering allied products and services.

 Instead of concentrating on getting new customers, aim for more referrals, more
transactions with existing customers, and larger transactions.

 Forget about the competition and concentrate more on cooperating with other
businesses.

 Guerrilla Marketers should always use a combination of marketing methods for a

campaign.

 Use current technology as a tool to empower your marketing.

GUERRILLA MARKETING TACTICS

although there are many unconventional marketing techniques, the following is a sample:

 Word Of Mouth campaign (Word of mouth also known as viva voce refers to oral
communication and the passing of information from person to person.)

 Reaching the consumer directly through their daily routine

 Personal canvassing

 Forehead Advertising / Headvertise campaign

 Blue jacking sending a personal message by Bluetooth (Blue jacking is the sending of
unsolicited messages over Bluetooth to Bluetooth-enabled devices such as mobile phones, PDAs
or laptop computers)

 Telemarketing by all members of the firm

 Personal letters

 Advertisements in the Yellow Pages

 Personal meetings

 Circulars and brochures distributed at parking lots, homes, offices, malls, etc.

 Classified ads
 Ads in local community newspapers

 Billboards

 Truck and automotive signs

 Direct mail campaigns

 Seminars, lectures, and demonstrations

 Searchlights

 Flags and banners

 T-shirts

 Matches, pens, and calendars

 Interactive Urinal Communicator

 Advertisements printed on your own as well as other stores receipts

Guerrilla marketing was designed for small businesses, but it is now increasingly used by
large businesses.

Reference link:

http://www.seattleluxury.com/encyclopedia/entry/marketing_warfare_strategies