Rules of engagement

In Marketing Strategy and Organization: Building Sustainable Business the following players in the marketing arena play a role:

• Who is the targeted customer (for whom)
  • Marketing is a battle of perceptions. Customer think in terms of brands and symbols. Thus companies must position themselves in dimensions that are Communicable to the target customers.
  • The strategy must further be relevant to these customers.
  • The quest for a 'mental monopoly' goes along the following lines:
    • It is better to be first than it is to be better (law of leadership)
    • If you cannot be first in a category then set up a category you can be first in (law of category)
    • It is better to be first in the mind than to be first in the market place (law of the mind)
• Who are the competitors (against whom)
  • The strategy must be distinguish itself on key customer benefits as perceived by the customer.
  • The strategy must be sustainable; the quest for sustainability goes along these lines:
    • 'God is always on the side of the big battalions'. Everything else being equal - size does matter
    • 'The defensive form of warfare is stronger than the offensive'
• Who is the initiating company (by whom)
  • A competitive strategy must, of course, be feasible
  • A competitive strategy lastly must be credible. A company cannot completely act against their brand's main values.