Download Marketing Insights - Ethics

Marketing Insights
Based on Marketing Warfare by Al Ries and Jack Trout
“Out of a thousand men who are remarkable,
some for mind, others for boldness or
strength of will, perhaps not one will
combine in himself all those qualities which
are required to raise a man above mediocrity
in the career of a general!”
Karl Von Clausewitz
The Four Types of
Marketing ‘Warfare’

Defensive:
– Only for the leader.
– Attack yourself is the best way.
– Block strong competitor moves.
The Four Types of
Marketing Warfare

Offensive:
– Only for and “also-ran”.
– Find a weakness in the leader’s strength.
– E.g.: Long queue.

Flanking:
– Uncontested area.
The Four Types of
Marketing Warfare

Guerilla:
– Find a segment in the market small
enough to defend.
– Never act like the leader.
– Develop Allies.
– Be prepared to bug out at a moment’s
notice.
Marketing Wisdom



There’s no such thing as good marketing
strategy in the abstract. Good strategy is
bad. And bad strategy is good. It all
depends on who is going to use it. The
business world is evolving to being
“competitor-driven” rather than “customerdriven”.
Ask yourself what position you occupy in the
market place before you apply a strategy.
The position is set by the customer:
Customer-mind map!
Marketing Wisdom


Unkept promises undermine morale.
The truth will out!
Marketing Wisdom


Without pursuit, no victory can have a
great effect: The “pour-it-on” principle.
Success breeds success.
Marketing Wisdom

When you own the pie, you should try
to enlarge the pie, rather than try to
increase the size of your slice.
Marketing Wisdom

“The statesman who, seeing war
inevitable, hesitates to strike first is
guilty of a crime against his country”:
Karl von Clausewitz.
Strategy Development

Ways to develop strategy:
– “The ivory-tower think-tank approach”
– “Get-away-from-the-phones, get-away-from-it-all
approach”
– BOTH ARE WRONG!


As form follows function, strategy should
follow tactics.
The use of advertising at the tactical level is
CRUCIAL!
Strategy Development

At any given point in time, ONE
objective should dominate a
company’s strategic plans.
Strategy Development



Attack and counterattack: For every action,
states a law of physics, there is an equal
and opposite reaction.
Many marketing commanders draw up
battle plans as if the enemy will make no
response. NOTHING is FURTHER from the
TRUTH!
Expect the COUNTERATTACK!
Is Marketing Really War?




Marketing is like a football match. You can’t
run straight to score the goal (make more
sales!)
“War belongs to the province of business
competition, which is also a conflict of
human interests and activities”: Karl von
Clausewitz.
War without bloodshed?
Ethical Considerations in Marketing
The AMA Code of Ethics
Could Egyptian Marketing Professionals Agree on a List of
Rules, Perhaps Similar to This? The IMI Journal.
Members of the AMA are committed to Ethical Professional
Conduct…
Responsibilities of the
Marketer

Marketers must accept responsibility
for the consequences of their activities
and make every effort to ensure that
that their decisions, recommendations
and actions function to identify, serve
and satisfy all relevant publics:
Customers, organizations, and society.
Responsibilities of the
Marketer

Marketers’ Professional Conduct must be
guided by:
– The basic rule of professional ethics: Not
knowingly to do harm;
– The adherence to all applicable laws and
regulations;
– The accurate representation of their education,
training, and experience; and
– The active support, practice, and promotion of
this Code of Ethics.
Honesty and Fairness

Marketers shall uphold and advance the
integrity, honor, and dignity of the marketing
profession by:
– Being honest in serving customers, clients,
employees, suppliers, distributors, and the
public;
– Not knowingly participating in conflict of interest
without prior notice to all parties involved; and
– Establishing equitable fee schedules including
the payment or receipt of usual, customary
and/or legal compensation for marketing
exchanges.
Rights and Duties of Parties in
the Marketing Exchange
Process

Participants in the marketing exchange
process should be able to expect that:
– Products and services offered are safe and fit for
their intended uses;
– Communications about offered products and
services are not deceptive;
– All parties intend to discharge their obligations,
financial and otherwise, in good faith; and
– Appropriate internal methods exist for equitable
adjustment and/or redress of grievances
concerning purchases.
In the Area of Product
Development and Management
– Disclosure of all substantial risks associate
with product or service usage;
– Identification of any product component
substitution that might materially change the
product or impact on the buyer’s purchase
decision;
– Identification of extra cost-added features.
In the Area of Promotions
– Avoidance of false and misleading
advertising;
– Rejection of high-pressure manipulations, or
misleading sales tactics;
– Avoidance of sales promotions that use
deception or manipulation.
In the Area of Distribution
– Not manipulating the availability of a product
for the purpose of exploitation;
– Not using coercion in the marketing channel;
– Not exerting undue influence over the
reseller’s choice to handle a product.
In the Area of Pricing
– Not engaging in price fixing;
– Not practicing predatory pricing; disclosing
the full price associated with any purchase.
In the Area of Marketing
Research
– Prohibiting selling or fundraising under the
guise of conducting research;
– Maintaining research integrity by avoiding
misrepresentation and omission of pertinent
research data;
– Treating outside clients and suppliers fairly.
Organizational Relationships
– Marketers should be aware of how their
behavior may influence or impact the
behavior of others in organizational
relationships.
– They should not demand, encourage, or
apply coercion to obtain unethical behavior
in their relationships with others, such as
employees, suppliers, or customers.
Organizational Relationships
– Apply confidentiality and anonymity in professional
relationships with regard to privileged information;
– Meet their obligations and responsibilities in
contracts and mutual agreements in a timely
manner;
– Avoid taking the work of others, in whole or in part,
and representing this work as their own or directly
benefiting from it without compensation or consent
of the originator or owner;
– Avoid manipulation to take advantage of situations
to maximize personal welfare in a way that unfairly
deprives or damages the organization of others.
AMA Code for MRKT on the
Internet
– PRIVACY: Info collected from customers should be
confidential and used only for expressed purposes.
Data should be safeguarded against unauthorized
access.
– OWNERSHIP: Info obtained from Internet sources
should be properly authorized and documented.
– ACCESS: Marketers should treat access to accounts,
passwords, and other info as confidential, and ONLY
examine or disclose content when authorized by a
responsible party. The integrity of others
information systems should be respected with
regard to placement of information, advertising or
messages.
Moral Judgment vs. Moral
Awareness
“Any AMA members found to be in
violation of any provision of this Code
of Ethics may have his or her
Association membership suspended or
revoked…”