Divide and Rule: for marketing success!
WHEN BIG ATTACKS SMALL: WHAT TO DO?
War strategies for marketing! 11
WHEN BIG ATTACKS SMALL: WHAT TO DO?
(Eleventh in the series called “The Martial Marketer”. War strategies for work!)
Have you seen a large cat attacking a smaller one?
As they sat around the campfire, Agastyan and Rajarajan analyzed the actions in the past few months.
What worked, what did not? How they won some battles, and why they lost some too? Questions, ideas, thoughts, discussions. A chat where there is no end time. Just the key people, the fire in front, and the stars above. Wind whistling past, rekindling the dying embers and igniting conversations once again.
Agastyan asking a question Rajarajan:
“Have you seen a large cat attacking a smaller one?”
“Yes, I have.”
“What did you observe?”
“The larger one tried to use force. It tried to jump on the little one and swat it to the earth. Always trying to use its superior strength and at times, height, to its advantage. Always using might”.
“What did the little cat do?”
“It tried to survive every attack. Bending, jumping, moving back, rolling over. The little one tries to find a nook or cranny to hide into. The little cat used the bushes, the trees, the shrubs, and every defense she could find. She used small spaces that the large one will have difficulty getting into.”
“And…..”
“When the large cat got stuck in the small entrance of a hole, the little one attacked the face of the cat with everything she had. Of course, I did not see it, but I noticed the larger cat’s bloodied face as she got out of the fight. Completely.”
“So, what did you learn from this observation?”
“We need to have different strategies for different enemies, and use the natural environment around us, to our advantage.”
“So, now that we are on the cusp of facing a rather large army, what should we do?”
Agastyan posed this question and remained silent. He then got up, patted Rajarajan on his shoulder, and went to bed. Rajarajan kept staring at the red coal in front of him. Some answers are provided. Sometimes a question is provided, and we need to find the answers ourselves.
The next morning, Rajarajan walked up to Agastya and laid out his plan to attack Manickam’s forces, which had camped nearby. War was afoot.
Rajarajan’s army was split into four platoons, each heading out in different directions with specific instructions. The orders were clear, and Agastya ensured the commanders and the soldiers knew what was expected of them. Each platoon targeted one particular portion of the vast army.
One platoon hid in the supply pathway and ensured none reached the waiting Pandyan army. Instead, the supplies were routed to the Chozha base camp. This was done across all possible routes, in and out.
Another platoon consisted of commandos trained in hand to hand combat. They embarked on lightning attacks aimed at the younger soldiers of the enemy. These professionals could sneak in and out of the enemy camp. In, kill, and out, before the enemy even realized what was happening.
A third attack from the rear ensued. They doused the land with oil and lit fires. There was no place now for the enemy to retreat. The earth will be scorching hot for another few days. The enemy men were now in despair. Anxiety made them yearn for some action, to get back at the Chozhas.
The fourth platoon provoked the enemy. A slow attack and move back. When this was done for the third time, the Pandya forces started the chase. All the way into the ambush laid for them. The other three platoons had returned for a united front at that location.
Arrows were let loose as Manickam, and his men died; in the same manner, Rajarajan’s father was killed.
Each platoon targeted one specific area of the enemy camp.
The small cat used the natural terrain and its skills to hit out at the big cat’s weakness.
“Attacking one body part at a time. Death by a thousand cuts. Good learning and implementation, Sire”, praised Agastyan.
Rajarajan smiled. The best learning is where you are prodded in the right direction, but you find the solution yourself.
There was only one more bastion to break, one big war to fight.
For now.
**
- Use what you have in, around, and within you.
- Your strategy is dependent on what you have and what your enemy has.
- Use the strategies of size to determine your attack strategy.
- Divide and rule.
- Attack one part at a time, whether it is war or a marketing problem.
Lessons from Sun Tzu.
- — — — — — — — — — -
This is the eleventh in the series called “The Martial Marketer”. War strategies for work!
1. Marketing Camouflage! Success is sweet.
2. A Trojan variation to defend and attack.
3. Victory at all costs.
4. Size does matter.
5. Fight the fight within, first.
6. The (marketing) warrior without vanity.
7. Playing with Perception.
8. Fools rush in.
9. An alliance is the way forward.
10. What will you do once your strategy is known?
Pravin Shekar is an outlier marketer, parallel entrepreneur and a raconteur.
mic @ PravinShekar.com .
For creative collusions, join: http://bit.ly/JoinMyOutlierTribe
Pravin is the author of seven books: Devil Does Care, Marketing lessons from Mythology, Getting paid to speak, a Virtual Summit Playbook, Climb your way out of hell & a collection of travel pics/romantic poems, and stories from the heart!
http://tiny.cc/PravinShekarBooks
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