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RUNNING HEAD: MARKETING STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise
before defeat
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MARKETING STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
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Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise
before defeat
Abstract
Business entities nowadays experience a lot of pressure while raising sales in the commodity
market. Often companies experience high cost while selling their products due to poor planning
and unreasonable strategic plans. Use of poor marketing strategies and tactics has significant
negative impacts. The company will fail to reach the target that sustains the company leading to
business closure.
Sun Tzu came up with a saying that “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.
Tactics without strategy are the noise before defeat” he gave the statement in His publication at
around 500BC in the book The Art of War. His book is applicable in marketing situations,
especially where the competitions exist between companies selling similar commodities while
targeting same customers. Managers and other administrating staff use his knowledge a move
that has made many organisations to prosper (Sunzi, & Cleary, T. F. 1988).
Business enterprises differ in size and role. Each company has its way of production, which leads
to a difference in the product. This means that different companies have different products. This
is what brings about competition among the companies due to customers tastes and preferences.
This document briefly describes some of the tactics and strategies that managers and other
company support staff should apply to realise a successful business in the international market.
Introduction
The growth of every business depends on the quantity of sale made within a particular market
period. For this reason, companies will put up all the possible tactics and strategies that ensure
that the product meets the customer requirements. This will enable the company or organisation
to win the market. Companies have different strategic ways and tactics that ensure that their
supplies get the customers. For this reason, a kind of “war” exists between companies producing
similar commodities or substitute goods. Therefore, every business must come up with a
different strategy, different from others to ensure that it is at the top of other companies. Any
companies that will take poor strategic movement get out of the market due to weak sales. The
statement “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy are
the noise before defeat” by Sun Tzu has a meaning that it is necessary for one to know the
procedure of handling a situation before acting (Sunzi, & Cleary, T. F. (1988). The purpose of
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setting a strategy is to establish a vision and a goal that an organisation or a business organisation
opts to accomplish. Plans established by a company forms the foundation where the tactics
emerge. Once the appropriate strategies are set, the tactics that will lead to successful sales
becomes apparent.
If the marketing strategy taken by an organisation in the international market is right, then sets
tactics that suit the strategy are in a consistent measure (Wiklund, E. 1987).
Identification of the ideal clients
Organisations and other business enterprises try to find ways through which they can satisfy the
demand of every customer in the market. There is a belief that meeting the requirement for every
client maximise the sales thus increasing the company surplus. This is not true in some cases. It
may seem as if the enterprise is growing due to the growth of new customers but it may happen
that the customers are not a good fit for the business. Working with clients who are not a good fit
stunts the company growth. Business organisations and businesses should be suited best to serve
a narrowly business segment that is well defined. This ensures that any given time there is a set
of ideal customers for the organisation (Jantsch, J. 2013).
Some difficulties arise when discovering how an ideal client should look like to build a
marketing strategy that attracts such kind of client. Firstly, an ideal client can afford to pay for
what the organisation is offering. It is better to have few customers in the market who are able
and willing to pay for the commodity in the market than to have many people who cannot afford.
In addition, the client versus organisation relationship is a factor to consider (Jantsch, J. 2013).
For instance, the company may find the customers who will have a long-term relationship with
the company in the sense that they will remain in need of the company product for a long time.
A perfect fit implies that the clients that require the company commodity have the need that the
business is producing. Besides, a perfect fit considers the value of the product that the industry is
building. A perfect fit customer has respect to the company staffs who are offering the
commodity. The company should also consider less ideal customers as they also contribute to the
company income. A less than ideal customer is the business client with whom the company may
wish to provide her services. A good client relationship is important to that customer to get him
out of his previous company and join the company services.
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The following tactics identify the best clients who an organisation should work with to realise
business sales (Jantsch, J. 2013). First, the company should find the most profitable customers.
From the list of the international customers identified, the company should determine the clients
that refer. The company should then find some of the standard demographic characteristics
among its clients. The company should then consider the behaviour that makes her selected
customers ideal. All these facts assist the company in developing a biographical sketch that will
assist the company in marketing.
Business differentiation
A business that prospers is the one that creates their strategy in a way that they differentiate their
services from other companies who deliver similar services to the customers within the same
geographical location. All the companies producing the same kind of commodity will do the
same thus making the “war” stiffer. Coming up with a new concept that outdoes other
companies, therefore, become hardest to the companies competing.
Companies have to carry out research that will give you information regarding the some of the
strategies that the competitors are using (Jantsch, J. 2013). This information will help the
company in question to come up with the plan that is most persuasive and applicable in the
market. Suggestions from the customers about the company products are necessary as they give
the manager information about their product in the market.
It is not always healthy for a business organisation to us price tactics while completing. Losing
the prices of commodities in international markets increases the product turnover. However,
producers of a product should consider the cost implications. A business will not be worthwhile
if its output is less that the factor input (Wiklund, E. (1987). Therefore an organisation considers
other factors that will increase sales, such factors includes; advertising, product differentiation,
improve on quality, promotions among other peripheral factors such as free product delivery.
The purchases of a commodity do not depend on whether the consumers like the product or not,
what determines if the commodity is awareness. The uniqueness of a good may not determine if
the customers want a product. The method of delivery is the key factor. A well-delivered
package attracts the customers will to pay for a product. Another factor that boosts the
commodity demand is the guarantee to get the commodity when needed. Consistency in the
supply of the product is always important. People will have less trust on the commodity if the
company product is unavailable when the client needs the merchandise. Brand promotion and
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other special touches also create awareness about the product in question. Consumer awareness
increases the number of loyal customers that demands the supply of the company (Jantsch, J.
2013).
Strategic thought axes
Every leader or any other strategist tends to explore strategic thinking approaches when deciding
on any situation that faces an organisation or any business entity. If it happens that, the situation
in the market calls for the revolutionary change of strategy or any other amendment such as
revision of the strategy and reevaluation axes of strategic thoughts are important. The strategies
taken will depend on the time span through which the change is expected. Regardless of the
period, nature or the dynamics the following are the axes of strategic thought encompasses the
following; time, cost and space (Kvint, V. L. 1999). All the ideas involving strategy is the
institutional prism, without these strategies evaluation of the three axes becomes difficult due to
lack of sufficient utility. The procedures set by any business organisation should ensure that the
set strategies achieve the following goals:
Firstly, the strategy that a company chooses optimises the limited resources considering time as
one of the significant factors. In addition, a good strategy considers the needs of the customers
and assumes what the customers want. The strategies that a company takes should be optimistic
and should not be rigid. It should be adjustable depending on the prevailing market conditions. A
successful strategy comes from the history. Finally, a good strategy has an attribute that it is
honest (Kvint, V. L. 1999).
Three scenarios may arise because of moving forward with a particular plan. The classification
of risk strategies includes low risk, moderate and extreme risk. The strategy categories are in
terms of risk because each strategy taken has its repercussion. The intended consequences vary
from one strategy to another. To consider a tactic and a strategy, every combination of strategy
and tactics has to undergo approval analysis that involves the use of conceptual and
mathematical models. This begins with support of the policy, and then tactic and later the
strategy under consideration.
A tactic determines the way of handling the greatest challenge that a business entity has in
implementation. Three primary tactics are prepared. These includes tactic, which gives minimum
risk level and minimise results, tactic that has moderate risk level and the tactic that has extreme
risk levels, which is applicable although it consumes many inputs. Tactics usually assist the
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managers in formulation and implementation of systems of management and other secretive
policy aspects (Kvint, V. L. 1999).
For a company to win the international market, the people involved, directly and indirectly, must
keep on the toe to the tactics and the strategies that are laid down. Every organisation is on toes
with her competitor, and any wrong move that made by the opponent company serves as an
advantage to the other company (Wiklund, E. 1987). Having the fact that the aim of every
commodity seller aims at winning the market; companies should be vigilant in the strategies that
they take. The strategy adopted depends on the magnitude effect that the enterprise in question
expects to encounter. Companies take the root that is favourable on their side regarding resource
use and input implications.
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References
Jantsch, J. (2013). Seven steps to marketing success. Retrieved from
https://www.ducttapemarketing.com/marketingguide.pdf
Kvint, V. L. (1999). The global emerging market in transition: Articles, forecasts, and studies.
New York: Fordham University Press.
Sunzi, & Cleary, T. F. (1988). The art of war. Boston: Shambhala.
Wiklund, E. (1987). International marketing strategies: How to build international market share.