By: Mike Ogden
www.bizjournals.com
Every company starts the year with plans and aspirations for growth
which should be laid out in the form of a direct marketing plan.
But for your company's marketing, which many expect to be the engine
of that growth, what really wields the greatest influence? It's the
competition.
For instance, if a competitor invades your market territory, you'd
take steps to defend it. Or, if you saw a weakness in a competitor's
defense, you might entertain the idea of capturing their customers.
The point is, in the battle for customers, it's you vs. the enemy --
the competition and a direct marketing plan can give you the advantage. And today, competition is greater and more
unpredictable than ever. The solution? Master the four strategies of
marketing warfare and be willing to commit your marketing arsenal to
any one of them on a moment's notice.
Defensive
It's often said that the best defense is a good offense. Here, that
means taking care of customers lest a competitor takes them away. That
calls for a defensive marketing strategy designed to retain customers
and continually win their business.
Customer newsletters and customer loyalty programs are two excellent
marketing tactics for circling the wagons around your best customers.
Direct mail helps ensure customers aren't picked off one by one by
your competitors' mailings. And while Internet commerce is the rage,
one big benefit of Web sites is the ability to treat customers
differently. Those who register at the site can be given special
access, express service, e-mail notices, you name it.
Never underestimate the importance of the defensive marketing
strategy.
All too often companies take customers for granted and overspend going
after new ones. Without competition, that's okay. But the day a
competitor goes after your customer, that’s the day everyone gets
serious about a defensive marketing strategy. By this time, the damage
is done and the real struggle is to minimize losses. Better idea:
reserve a good portion of your war chest for defense.
Offensive
With a direct marketing plan in place, you can mount an
offensive.
Maybe your company has a new service. Or you spot a weak area in your
competitor's defense. Perhaps it's an untapped opportunity for your
product offering.
Case in point: Las Vegas, better known as "Sin City." In 1999, the Las
Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will launch a major campaign
promoting Las Vegas as an entertainment resort to no gamblers.
It seems that while 87 percent of visitors hit the casino, over half
surveyed now perceive Vegas as more of an entertainment than a gaming
destination.
That's odds worth betting on.
Of course, whether it's Las Vegas or your business, you have to be
aware of the ramifications of implementing an offensive marketing
strategy. For Vegas, the danger is in alienating the gaming audience.
For most companies, the biggest fears are failure and competitors'
attacks. Both can be overcome with the last two marketing warfare
strategies.
Flanking
All-out marketing assaults are too costly and too risky. Instead you
have to pick your battles carefully. The flanking marketing strategy
makes this possible because it calls for attacking a competitor on the
side most vulnerable to your advances.
Does Wal-Mart have a weak spot? Duck wall-Alco, a national chain of
discount and variety stores, found one 10 years ago. It targets towns
with less than 5,000 residents that are too small for Wal-Mart stores.
Duck wall has been expanding its stores in small towns across America
and pleasing stockholders ever since.
No matter how big and dominant the competitor, there's an Achilles'
heel waiting to be discovered and exploited. That said, you better be
on the money because a savvy competitor will outflank you with
defensive strategies.
Guerrilla
The guerrilla marketing warfare strategy has long been the favorite of
small firms that lack the deep pockets of far larger competitors.
However, it really applies to any company in a competitive situation.
Consider the epicenter of apparel retailing, New York City. Stores
will do anything to get you in the door. The Gap, though, had a
creative idea that didn't require many resources to test. Its "Gap to
Go" summer program let busy Manhattanites fax in their orders and have
clothes delivered directly to their offices.
That's guerrilla marketing at its best. It's low cost, quick hit
initiatives that either succeed or fail without fear of sinking the
ship.
If the majority of your war chest is earmarked for defense and
assaults on your biggest competitor's turf, it doesn't leave much left
for anything else. Still, you need ways to test the waters. That's
where guerrilla marketing tactics like fax broadcast and publicity
stunts fit perfectly.
No doubt your company has big plans for growth. Unfortunately,
competitive and market forces will derail many companies' plans. Don't
let that happen to you. Implement a direct marketing plan. Use the four strategies of marketing warfare
to outfox the enemy and secure victory in the battle for customers.
