Marketing as an Art of War
1
Spandan
Marketing as an Art of War
Malini Pande
____________________________________________________________
__________
The true nature of marketing today is beyond serving the customer; it is outwitting, outflanking, and outfighting your competitors. In short marketing is a war where the enemy is the competition and the customer is ground to be won. Marketing battles are not fought in physical places but in the minds of the prospective consumer. The mind is the tricky terrain both difficult to understand and difficult to win over. A marketing war is a totally intellectual war with a battleground that no one has ever seen. It can only be imagined in the mind and that is why marketing warfare is one of the most difficult disciplines to learn.
Even though the language of marketing has been borrowed from the military, we talk and act like generals, but do not plan like generals. This paper attempts to deal with the application of the principles of military strategy to our marketing operations and thus increase the chances of success in this era of fierce competition. ____________________________________________________________
__________
INTRODUCTION
"The Economic Times" or "The Hindu Business
Line" carries more blood thirsty language than is found in any of the general newspapers. "We 'll murder them", "Its kill or be killed", "This is a life or death struggle", these quotes form a part of the conversation of business leaders discussing their marketing campaigns. The language of business is becoming littered with similes of war and military analogies.
Articles dealing with competitive strategy are on the rise and business people frequently use military talk to describe their situations. There are " price wars" ,"border clashes" and
"skirmishes" along the major computer manufacturers; "an escalating arms race" among cigarette manufacturers, "market invasion" and
"guerilla warfare" in the coffee market. A company 's advertising is
Spandan
Marketing as an Art of War
Malini Pande
____________________________________________________________
__________
The true nature of marketing today is beyond serving the customer; it is outwitting, outflanking, and outfighting your competitors. In short marketing is a war where the enemy is the competition and the customer is ground to be won. Marketing battles are not fought in physical places but in the minds of the prospective consumer. The mind is the tricky terrain both difficult to understand and difficult to win over. A marketing war is a totally intellectual war with a battleground that no one has ever seen. It can only be imagined in the mind and that is why marketing warfare is one of the most difficult disciplines to learn.
Even though the language of marketing has been borrowed from the military, we talk and act like generals, but do not plan like generals. This paper attempts to deal with the application of the principles of military strategy to our marketing operations and thus increase the chances of success in this era of fierce competition. ____________________________________________________________
__________
INTRODUCTION
"The Economic Times" or "The Hindu Business
Line" carries more blood thirsty language than is found in any of the general newspapers. "We 'll murder them", "Its kill or be killed", "This is a life or death struggle", these quotes form a part of the conversation of business leaders discussing their marketing campaigns. The language of business is becoming littered with similes of war and military analogies.
Articles dealing with competitive strategy are on the rise and business people frequently use military talk to describe their situations. There are " price wars" ,"border clashes" and
"skirmishes" along the major computer manufacturers; "an escalating arms race" among cigarette manufacturers, "market invasion" and
"guerilla warfare" in the coffee market. A company 's advertising is
References: Kotler, Philip & Singh, Ravi. Marketing warfare in the 1980s. Mckinsey Quarterly. Ries, Al & Trout, Jack. Marketing warfare. Levitt, Theodore. Marketing myopia. Harvard Business Review www.etstrategicmarketing.com/smJan-Feb1/brand_mul.htm www.rechargermag.com/article.asp?id=200212116 The author, Malini Pande, is a second year PGDM students of the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode and may be reached at malinip08@iimk.ac.in.