This document provides an overview of branding and marketing strategies. It defines a brand and explains why brands are useful for both customers and companies. Brands help differentiate products, create customer loyalty, and build barriers to switching. However, brands can also fail if they are not managed properly. The document then discusses attack strategies in marketing warfare, including guerrilla attacks, bypass attacks, and focusing attacks on a competitor's weaknesses. It emphasizes the importance of intelligence in marketing battles.

1. Part 4

2. Module 3
Brands and
Branding

3. Agenda: Module 3
•What are “branding” and “brands” and
how have they evolved?
•Levels of meaning and how brands are
used
•Brand typology and brand value
•Why brands fail
•The impact of the internet on brands

4. Core
Generic
Expected
Augmented
Potential!

5. Definition of a Brand
A brand is a name, term, sign,
symbol, or design or any
combination of them, intended to
identify the products (goods,
services or anything else,) of one
seller or group of sellers, and to
differentiate them from those of

6. Why Brands? For Customers
•Give customers a range of choices to meet their
needs
•Make a product instantly identifiable and familiar,
and therefore saves time in making choices and …
•Create customer loyalty, confidence & reassurance
•Make a promise to deliver a specific set of features,
benefits, advantages and quality to customers
•Specific brands are associated with specific
feelings

7. Why Brands? For Customers
Thus, brands are
useful because they
help us to avoid
confusion

8. Why Brands? For Companies
•Create resources (through increased sales
and larger profits) to build marketing
strengths…
•That are easy to defend....
•And reduce impact of rivals’ advertising &
promotional efforts, (cause challengers to
think twice: high barriers to entry)
•Create barriers to switching for customers

9. Brand Myths – Taken by Surprise
•If a product is good, it will succeed
•Brands are more likely to succeed than fail
•Big companies will always have brand success
•Strong brands are built on (expensive)
advertising
•If it’s something new, it’s going to sell
•Strong brands protect products

10. Such a powerful brand that the last time we
bought 1,5 litres we paid R44.00!

11. Module 4
Customers and
Competitors

12. Agenda: Module 4
•The factors that influence buying behaviour,
and how to influence
•Use of market research
•What customers want – and don’t want
•Carrying out a competitor analysis
•Principles of marketing warfare
•Attack and defence strategies and tactics

13. If you’ve made the choice to differentiate
your company, products and services, then
there are hundreds of possibilities that
exist…•First, list the many stages of the buyers’
experience cycle
•Next, list the dozens of ways (at least 82,) in
which you can add value – at each stage
•Then decide which factors are most viable for
you, and most important to customers
•Finally, redraw the value curve for your

14. For example, in the airlines industry…
•Booking process
•Price
•Getting to (and from)
airport, and parking
•Check in queues
•Lounges/ Freq Buyer
Prog.
•Different classes
Now look at your own
industry factors
•Seating arrangements
•Friendly/fun service
•Meals
•Speed/turnaround
•Frequent point to point
departures

15. Case Study: Virgin Atlantic
• Industry assumptions: Let’s walk away
from 1st Class, you can have fun and offer a
massage, serve snacks between meals, drive
customers to and from airport, etc.
• Strategic focus: Who cares what BA and others do!
“Upper Class” service for Business Class fares
• Customers: Let go of the snobs, but go for “Upper
Class” and the “riff raff” - and spoil them to bits with
legendary personal service.

16. • Assets & Capabilities: Let’s redesign
the ‘planes with sleeper seats, mini-casino,
showers & gym, TV sets for everybody, and create
a feeling of spaciousness when they walk in
• Product & service offerings: “We’re in the business
of time management.” Includes door-to-door
“limobikes”, breakfast and showers at the end of
the journey, choice of more than 48 channels,
transporting goldfish, etc.
Case Study: Virgin Atlantic

17. Priceadvantage
Checkin
queues
Lounges
FreqBuyer
Prog.
Different
classes
Speed/turnaround
Frequentpointto
pointdepartures
Gettingto(and
from)airport,
andparking
Friendly/fun
service
Meals
Entertainment
Virgin
Kulula.com
SAA
Airlines Value Curves

18. It should be fairly obvious that customer
satisfaction is very important in terms of buying
again, buying more, and enhancing your
company’s image – and customer
dissatisfaction has the reverse effect!
But customer satisfaction is simply not enough
– it’s the minimum required. For loyalty,
customers need much more than that, and you
need to understand what are the factors that
affect this.
(We’ll return to this later)

19. You have already had a chance to do a competitor
analysis, and to understand how competitors play
a role in your decision-making.
But how do you need to focus? Where should you
spend your time and money? How much energy
should you put into fighting off competitor
moves?
Like many other situations we have examined
so far, the answer is “it depends”
Competitors and Rivals

20. Self-
Centred
Competitor
- Centred
Customer-
Oriented
Market
Driven
Minor
Major
Minor Major
Emphasis on
Customer Needs
Emphasis on Competitor Comparisons
Market Orientation
And it doesn’t
have to be
50:50.
Perhaps we
should be
looking to
make
competitors
irrelevant!

21. Marketing Warfare
“The study of marketing warfare is not
just a study of how to win – it is also
equally important to know how not to

22. The Marketing Battleground
Marketing wars are fought inside the
mind: this is the difficult and tricky
terrain that is so hard to understand.
You try to outmanoeuvre and outfight
your competitors in an intellectual war.
Thus, to be successful, you need to
study the terrain before the battle, so that
you eliminate as many surprises as
possible. Without information, you may

23. The good news is that most of your
competitors will be so busy trying to
understand their own territory…
that they may not notice you
studying theirs’

24. Three important principles underlie all
wars:
First, the principle of force
Always have larger forces than the enemy at the point which is
to be attacked or defended.
Second, the superiority of defence
Defence has always proved to be the stronger form of warfare.
(From 25 leading brands in 1923, 20 were in 1st place, four were
in 2nd, and one was in 5th place in 1998. However, things have
changed since)
Third, the necessity of intelligence
Without information, you may find yourself wandering around,
blindfolded or blind, making guesses about what should
happen, and hoping for the best.

25. •The superiority of force is such an overwhelming
advantage that it overcomes most quality differences
•Count on having a better strategy, especially if you
have a larger company with more people
•Better products will not always win the battle. Don’t be
fooled, because it’s more about perceptions. People
will say: “Hey, if your product is better, how come
you’re not the leader!”
•Winners always have the better product, and they’re
always available to say so)
But beware of the two fallacies of “better people”
and “better products”…

26. Attack Strategies: The Principles Of
Offensive Marketing Warfare
• The main consideration is the strength of the
leader’s position
• Find a weakness in the leader’s strength and
attack that point
• Launch the attack on as narrow a front as
possible

27. Attack Strategies: Some Important Points
• For Challengers, not for Leaders, or
Followers
• Main consideration: strength of leader’s
position. Find weaknesses in leader’s
strength, & attack there
• Launch attack on as narrow a front as
possible
• Set high aspirations & goals, then leverage
smaller resources while leader runs business
as usual

28. Attack Strategies: Some Important Points (Ctd.)
Attacker can choose to attack one of three types of
companies:
• Market leader (high risk, but high payoff
especially if leader’s position is fragile*)
• Companies their own size not doing the job
and under-financed
• Small local and regional companies not doing
the job and under-financed
*Fragile position of leader includes
consumer dissatisfaction, or lack of

29. Attack Strategies
Attacker Defender
Encirclement attack
Bypass attack: BOS?
Flank attack
Guerilla attack
Full front attack

30. Bypass Attack
Most indirect assault: involves finding
“easier” markets to broaden resource base
Usually three approaches:
• Diversifying into unrelated products
• Diversifying into new geographical
markets
• Leapfrogging into new technologies to
supplant existing products
(But Blue Ocean Strategy would
disagree!)

31. Guerrilla Attacks
• Useful for challengers which are small and
under-capitalised
• Consists of small, focused, narrow, and
intermittent attacks on different aspects of
opponent’s “territory”: geographic,
demographic, industry, products, “high-end”
industries, etc. (Any narrow area in which
there are opportunities)
• Desired effect: Surprise/shock/awe: “They
can’t do that!”, draining resources, harassing
or demoralising competitor, & eventually
securing permanent foothold. (The drain of

32. Can take a number of forms:
• “Raiding the supplies”
• Local attacks which inflict disproportional
losses on competitor
• Bringing competitor into unprofitable attacks or
defences
• Causing excessively wide distribution of their
forces
• Exhausting moral, emotional, intellectual &
physical energy
Both conventional and unconventional means can be
used to attack opponents: selective price cuts, intense
promotional blitzes, & occasional legal actions

33. • A continual stream of minor attacks usually creates
more cumulative impact
• Not all guerrilla campaigns are low cost / easy to
mount: may be expensive, require much detailed
planning
• Consider a segment which is small enough to defend
when you lead
• Best opportunities occur when larger competitor
abandons the territory: jump in and fill void while
market still exists - quickly
• May even be used in preparation for conventional
“war” later
• Resist the temptation of changing from guerrilla
warfare when things go well
• Never act like the leader!

34. • If things are not going well, get out - at a
moments notice - and live to fight another
day
• Small guerrillas can consider strategy of co-
operating with each other as allies -
temporarily or permanently
• Create an army of guerrillas by franchising
certain operations (top-down approach)
• But also possible to get co-operation from
bottom-up (joint marketing, or mass-buying
of raw materials)

35. • Price discounting: Three assumptions must
be true for success:
• Challengers must persuade customers that
products/service are comparable to leader’s
• Buyers must be sensitive to price difference
• Must also feel comfortable about turning
backs on existing suppliers
• Market leader must refuse to cut prices in
spite of attack
Which Actual Marketing Strategies Are Available
to Challengers?

36. • Cheaper goods: Works only when sufficient
buyers are interested only in price. (Over time,
many challengers upgrade quality & price)
• Prestige goods: (Can later roll out lower-priced
products to take advantage of “name” &
charisma)
• Product proliferation: Attack leader by offering
buyers many more choices / much larger
variety
• Product innovation: Launching new, improved
version of leader’s products. (Also a good

37. • Improved services: The “We try harder”
strategy
• Distribution and logistics improvement:
Challenger may discover / develop new
channels of distribution. Some innovative
approaches: direct selling, multi-level
marketing, internet & e-business
• Manufacturing cost-reduction: The “low-cost
producer”. (Because of better raw material
purchasing, lower labour costs, increased
productivity, use of more modern technology,
and even outsourcing.) Company can use this

38. Intensive advertising promotion: Challengers attack
leader by increasing promotion expenditure. (Not
usually a sensible strategy unless product or
advertising message exhibits superiority)
Blue Ocean Strategy: Make competitors irrelevant
Remember: Challengers rarely improve
market share by relying on one strategy: a
combination of several over time works best.

39. A final word on attack
strategies
In any industry, most companies will be
waging guerrilla warfare, with a very small
number of the really big companies using
big offensive attacks
For every 100 companies, one will be leader,
(play defensively), two play offense, three
flank or encircle, and the other 94 are
guerrillas. (Generally)

40. • Only the market leader(s) should
consider playing defence
• The best defensive strategy is to have
the courage to attack yourself – even
cannibalising current offers
• Strong competitive moves should
always be blocked
The Principles of Defensive Marketing Warfare

41. Some points to remember about defence
• “The leader”, is defined from customer’s perspective.
Companies don’t create leaders - customers do. And
they don’t care what you think.
• “The leader” means the leader, not a leader. (A
pretender cannot will their way to the top through
positive thinking). Fool the competition, but never
fool yourself.
• The best way to improve leadership position is to
constantly attack yourself: introduce new products,
services, & systems making existing ones obsolete
• Why is this a superior strategy? Competitors
continually struggle to catch up

42. • Attacking self sacrifices short-term profits, but
has the fundamental benefit of protecting
market share
• Reverse is also true: a company which
hesitates to attack itself usually loses market
share & ultimate leadership
• Market leaders do get a second chance if they
haven’t attacked themselves, by copying
competitive moves. (But must move quickly:
no time for ego’s, & to “wait and see”)
• Why is defensive blocking effective? Because
battleground of marketing is customer’s mind.

43. There should be no surprises: good
reconnaissance must give info and
intelligence to make competitor predictable.
The intelligence is most important to
understand? The customer’s mind!
Leaders don’t spend much time on defense,
but should always have “something in
reserve”. (Lay low until sales start to falter.
Then launch massive campaign to get sales
moving again. A version of “attack
yourself” strategy.)

44. Module 5
Customer Loyalty
and Retention

45. Agenda: Module 5
• Why customer loyalty and management is important
• Why loyalty is more important than satisfaction, (hostages,
terrorists, mercenaries and angels)
• What customers want: ServQual, B2B needs, CES, and
activities in identifying touchpoints and customer journey
maps
• How to create customer loyalty – only four ways to do this
• Getting basics right, create barriers to switching, putting
relationships first, and value innovation
• Internal customer care
• A complete strategy for customer management

48. • R & D and market research
• Product & service development, and launch
• Advertising and promotion
• Getting new customers on board
Customer loyalty is extremely profitable
Year
0 1 2 3 4 5
CustomerProfit
Acquisition
Costs
Base Profit
Marketing Cost ↓
Cost to Serve ↓
Increased Sales
Referrals
Price Premium
But benefits also accrue from…

49. Oh, and one final challenge…
In recent surveys asking executives to rate
their success in customer care, customer
loyalty, and customer management, most rate
their companies as good, very good, or
exceptional
When asked the same questions, most of
their customers disagreed!

50. Customer
Loyalty
Behaviour
Low
High
Customer Satisfaction
Perceptions
Low High

51. So What is Customer Management?
Customer management is aimed at building a
portfolio of loyal customers by offering them
on a continuous basis a product/service
package tailored to their individual needs.
It is the strategic management process that
uses individual customer data to enable a
tailored, mutually trusting, valuable and
win:win proposition
(Today supermarkets and hotels are more

53. If you cannot be distinct, then
you’re going to be extinct
Be interesting, or be invisible
What is your competitive
advantage?
Why should anybody do business
with you?

54. Companies want their
customers to be loyal to
them…
But they are not prepared
to be loyal to their
customers

55. Who is Wayne Duvenage?

56. “Smooth” Touchpoints: Get the basics
incredibly right. Kill “dumb contacts” (3)
High
barriers to
switching
Continuous
value
innovation
Put
Relation-
ships First
Sustainable Customer Loyalty

57. “Smooth” Touchpoints: Get the basics
incredibly right. Kill “dumb contacts” (3)
Sustainable Customer Loyalty
Maximising Value through Customer Management

58. What do you want when you
spend your money?

59. Dimensions of Service Quality
Getting the Basics Right
Reliability: Consistency of performance and dependability. The
company performs its work right first time, and honours its
promises
Responsiveness: The willingness or readiness of staff to
provide service, (rather than apathy). It also involves timeliness
and a sense of urgency. It’s about short queues and no delays
Competence: The possession of the required skills and
knowledge to do the job and perform the service
Access: Approachability and ease of contact, both by
telephone, and in a “live” face-to-face situation. We can include
things like hours of business and convenient location in this
category

60. Courtesy: Politeness, respect, consideration, friendliness,
warmth, and even love from staff who deal with customers
Understanding the Customer: Knowing customer’s specific
needs & requirements, & who they are. Examples:
individual attention and recognising them
Communication: Keeping people informed always.
Especially true if something goes wrong, (reassure
customer that problems will be handled.) Includes
explanations, training & clarity about prices/costs. Half
communication is about listening
Dimensions of Service Quality
Getting the Basics Right

61. Credibility: Trustworthiness, believability, honesty, ethics and
integrity are all important here. It’s about having the customer’s
best interests at heart. Your name, brands and reputation
contribute to this, but so do the personal characteristics of the
people who work there
Security: Freedom from risk, danger, doubt, and/or worry.
Whether customers feel comfortable doing business with you.
Includes elements of physical safety, financial security, &
confidentiality.
Tangibles: The physical evidence which impacts on the
customer: appearance of staff, the physical facilities, the tools
and equipment, even other customers. Anything that affects or
attacks any of the five senses is important here. (Customers
use physical representations of the company as symbols of the
quality of products and service.)
Dimensions of Service Quality
Getting the Basics Right

62. Creating the “perfect customer
experience” begins with making it
easy to do business with your company
Getting the Basics Right – Part 2:
Customer Effort Score - CES

63. Why is CES a good idea?
•Drives advocacy value for loyalty
•Reduces customer churn from difficult experiences
•Applicable to all channels
•Resonates with and
engages staff
•Low effort usually also
means lower costs for
everyone – customers and
company

64. Customer Effort Defined
The physical, mental/cognitive/intellectual,
emotional, and time-effort energy needed to do
something

65. Making things
appear simple
Making things
simple

66. The Pillar ATM

67. Mapping the Customer Journey
Touch Points in Time Sequence
CustomerEffortScore
Location
Check In
Car Park
Lounges
Security
Shopping*
Signs
Hurry up and
Wait*
Home Check In
Aircraft
seating
Boarding
Gate
seating
Toilets
Gate
seating
Toilets
Aircraft
seating
Location
Car Park
Home Check In Lounges
No need
to wait*
Signs
Shopping*
Security
Boarding
“I hate this!
Why do I keep
doing it?
“Aaaah! If
only I could
do this
always”

68. “Smooth” Touchpoints: Get the basics
incredibly right. Kill “dumb contacts” (3)
High
barriers to
switching
Put
Relation-
ships First
Sustainable Customer Loyalty

69. Relationships First!

70. •1200+ flights
•Still don’t know who I am
•Unable to detect patterns
1986 20132001
So much
for CRM!

72. “Smooth” Touchpoints: Get the basics
incredibly right. Kill “dumb contacts” (3)
High
barriers to
switching
Continuous
value
innovation
Put
Relation-
ships First
Sustainable Customer Loyalty

73. Fish!
Your Personal
Power to Make a
Difference

76. How do we make ourselves
indispensable?
By giving them irresistible
experiences…
And thereby making
competitors irrelevant!

77. Commodity or Speciality - Is It Worth It?
“There is no such thing as a commodity” (Ted Levitt)
R11/kg
R5,50/kg
R28.50c/kg
R66/kg

88. How can you add
value to toilet paper?

89. Customer of the
Year
It’s very
possible to
create a lot of
perceived
value at not
much cost to
your businessAnd it was
unanimous
A Perfect Customer Experience?

90. Start spreadin’ the news…

93. But who can’t/won’t be friendly?

94. There’s
always an
answer!

95. • Did you send my goldfish to
London?
• Who is going to organise
my seatbelt?

96. The opposite is also true…
It is perfectly possible to spend a fortune
without creating much real loyalty in
customers! (Value, yes; loyalty, no)

97. There are at least
82 ways to add
value for Your
customers!
Getting to Unbelievable!

98. The Four Actions Framework
Reduce
Which factors should be
reduced well below
industry’s standard?
Raise
Which factors should be
raised to well above
industry’s standard?
Eliminate
Which factors that industry
takes for granted should be
eliminated?
Create
Which factors should be
created that the industry
has never offered?
A new
industry
value
curve

101. before
you can
get into
their
pockets
You have
to be
able to get
into your
customer’s
heads…

102. “There are only two things of importance. One is
the customer, and the other is the product. If you
take care of customers, they come back. If you
take care of products, they don’t
It’s just that simple.
And that difficult”
Stanley Marcus, Neiman Marcus

103. Every morning in Africa, a buck
wakes up and knows that it must run
faster than the fastest lion, or it will
be killed. But every morning in Africa,
a lion wakes up, and knows that it
must run faster than the slowest
buck, or it will starve to death.
In Africa, it doesn’t matter whether
you are a lion or a buck…
When the sun comes
up, you’d better be
running!
So just in case you need reminding…