May Day May Day.. Is There Anyone Out There?

“So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win hundreds of battles without a single loss. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself."

The Art of War Sun Tzu



While it’s harsh comparing marketing to war philosophy, Sun Tzu would have been a brilliant marketing strategist. He understood a key concept that many people trying to re-brand their companies or product forget: know your competition.



It is essential to kick off any project with a complete understanding of the landscape. Too many companies rush into developing strategic marketing tactics without investigating who else is in the space, identifying their target audience, and how best to reach them. This results in spinning wheels and throwing money at tactics that will not drive results.



When branding a company or product, the very first question that should be asked is “What makes you different to your competition?" Many times when I ask this question, I get the same answer: “I have no competitors, my product is unique." This, however, is a myth.



Not to be a wet blanket but to make an entirely unique product in today’s market is highly unlikely—if not impossible. The marketplace floats around a lot of ideas, products, and companies, one bounding to be similar to yours. Every product has some sort of competition and the best thing you can do for your branding is not to ignore it but to identify and understand it.



So when prepping your troops, take Sun Tzu’s advice. Before anything else complete a competitive analysis. Identify your competitors. Evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Are large are they? What products do they sell or offer? What strategies are they using or have used in the past? What have they done that you might want to mimic and more importantly what mistakes have they made that you do not want to replicate? Once you have outlined your competition, you’ll be able to identify what actually makes your product unique and superior.



Creating an entirely unique product may be a myth, but your product will have unique aspects as well as distinct advantages to your competition. However, you will better understand those characteristics once you contrast them to your competitors. Through a competitive analysis, you’ll identify where the market has openings and can develop strategies to specifically target them. In other words, no more spinning wheels that burn money. You’ll effectively create a marketing strategy and be bound to win hundreds of battles without a single loss!!