Arvind Kumar

Keeping something in reserve

Do not waste all your energy in competiting against usual competition. There is always a superb move from your competition. Keep some reserve to fight back and survive.

Another strategy that works well for leaders is to keep “something in reserve.”

While an attacker should go all out, it’s not always desirable for the leader to spend as much money as possible on marketing operations. Much better to spend only as much as necessary to “keep the competition in line.”

Keep the rest as a reserve. Should the competition attack with an unusually attractive offer, you’ll have the wherewithal to defend your position.

Anheuser-Busch has used this strategy effectively with their Budweiser beer. They “lay low” in certain markets until Budweiser sales start to falter.

Then they move in with a massive advertising program to get Bud moving again. Called “pulsing,” this strategy not only conserves dollars but also provides a reserve for use if and when the competition launches an all-out attack.

“The number of fresh reserves,” says Clausewitz, “is always the chief point looked at by both commanders.”

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