There are many books, articles, and training workshops published on the subject of Market Warfare.
This is one of the most popular and controversial topics in marketing circles.
It has prevailed and almost achieved cult classic status.
In the early 1980s, given my ambition, drive, and appetite to discover ways to stand out and outperform the competition, I began to study and then apply what was available to core business challenges, opportunities, and problems.
At the time, this was a lonely road, as most companies neither understood nor were willing to favor warfare techniques over traditional (safe) marketing approaches.
This prompted me to publish a white paper titled “Marketing Technology: The Missing Link,” which argued that a company’s marketing strategy and program mix should be approached in a similar way to how companies designed and developed their products and services. .
Market Technology outlined a unique methodology/approach and demonstrated how to apply a variety of warfare techniques to outperform the competition.
It also reinforced how critical this was to commercial success.
The pioneers of Market Warfare established a relationship between historical military strategy and business.
This was an effective approach, however, many of the war techniques were applied to public/media relations, promotions, and other “soft” areas, with an emphasis on competitive positioning.
It was not clear to potential users how to apply these techniques to other business areas to generate tangible results.
Over the past two decades, we have taken these market warfare techniques and integrated them into forceful campaigns that have focused on product launches and deployments, competitive attacks and product replacements, distribution network and effectiveness of strategic alliances, vertical industry and new Market development, development of large accounts and opportunities, etc. – examples of waging war at the expense of competitors.
These Programs have generated $500 Million – $750 Million in revenue for Client companies and have left the competition behind.
Is the market war a myth or a reality?
Here are several practical examples, based on real-life Customer experiences:
1) Competitive replacement: Based on strong competitive intelligence, a technology company realized that its main competitor was repositioning its business into a new growth market. As a by-product, although this was not passed on to the market, the competitor would eventually leave its installed base “high and dry”.
The Client company realized that this transition period represented a “period of vulnerability” for the competitor and, if exploited effectively, could mean capturing the competitor’s installed base, with little investment and effort.
The Client company developed and launched a campaign called “Mission Possible”, which was carried out worldwide. The program included account plans/strategies, competitive analysis, playbook and tactical guide, contact details, direct response, pre-qualified sales leads, sales aids and collateral.
The campaign was coordinated with the client company’s direct sales and external partners for uniformity and consistency. After three business quarters, the client company generated $4.6 million in new sales and acquired a new group of customers who were targeted by other products and services.
The competitor was caught off guard and never knew what hit him.
2) Vertical Industry Development: A small manufacturer was expanding its core business to focus on military and defense market segments.
Although this was not consistent with its traditional business and expertise, its product suite was transferable to the military and defense market.
This also represented a growth segment where its traditional core business was declining. Successful entry was an obligation for the Client Company and they had no margin for error.
In addition, the client company’s direct competitor was well established and entrenched in the military and defense market. This was a considerable challenge and the selected approach and program had to work from the start.
The Company chose to develop a Program called “COTS Mission-Ready”, as its launch in the selected Vertical.
This powerhouse program provided a framework and implementation guidance that brought together government/military, defense contractors, and COTS technology vendors to solve critical compatibility and lifecycle challenges for target programs and platforms. This established the Client Company as an authority/expert and outperformed the established competitor. This program was expanded to include Industry Seminars and Problem Solving Workshops, which were not previously held in this Target Market segment.
The client company generated 32 new customers, representing $44.8 million in new designs won at full implementation/production value.
3) Strategic Alliance and Major Account Development: A well-known consulting firm considered expanding its business to include application-based computer systems based on its core expertise.
This was an emerging trend and other competitors had already made the transition and were building their position and opportunity base.
We could conclude that the client company was late to market.
After researching the market and gaining a solid understanding of the landscape, the client company decided that it could not enter this growing segment and successfully transition without strategic alliances and partnerships.
The client company contacted a major computer supplier and a key industry trade association, both of which were well connected with the potential target audience.
You successfully sold the opportunity and aligned yourself with these key sources.
Given the power of three (the complete solution) and the connections/relationships the Industry Trade Association maintained, it was easy to gain access to key decision makers.
The client company generated several million dollars in new system sales, on initial launch, and delivered a knockout blow to competitors who couldn’t figure out the client company’s game plan/strategy.
A case example of outmaneuvering and innovating more than the competition.
These examples are simple, however, each one has taken a basic Market Warfare technique and put it into practice to achieve results.
There are countless examples that can be shown to impact literally every area of your company’s marketing mix.
With the battle cry of “Market Warfare,” it may be time for your company to master the techniques and redefine the rules of engagement.
Is the market war a myth or a reality?
Just ask the trail of competitors that have been neutralized and dominated by our Clients and the answer will be obvious.
Copyright 2008
Edmond Hawkeye Hennessy
Performance Marketing Group