Roberts John H
Australian Graduate School of Management, University of New South Wales.
Harv Bus Rev. 2005 Nov;83(11):150-2, 154, 156-7 passim.
There has been a lot of research on marketing as an offensive tactic-how it can help companies successfully launch new products, enter new markets, or gain share with existing products in their current markets. But for nearly every new product launch, market entrant, or industry upstart grabbing market share, there is an incumbent that must defend its position. And there has been little research on how these defenders can use marketing to preemptively respond to new or anticipated threats. John H. Roberts outlines four basic types of defensive marketing strategies: positive, inertial, parity, and retarding. With the first two, you establish and communicate your points of superiority relative to the new entrant; with the second two, you establish and communicate strategic points of comparability with your rival. Before choosing a strategy, you need to assess the weapons you have available to protect your market position-your brand identity, the products and services that support that identity, and your means of communicating it. Then assess your customers' value to you and their vulnerability to being poached by rivals. The author explains how Australian telecommunications company Telstra, facing deregulation, used a combination of the four strategies (plus the author's customer response model) to fend off market newcomer Optus. Telstra was prepared, for instance, to reach deep into its pockets and engage in a price war. But the customer response model indicated that a parity strategy-in which Telstra would offer lower rates on some routes and at certain times of day, even though its prices, on average, were higher than its rival's-was more likely to prevent consumers from switching. Ultimately, Telstra was able to retain several points of market share it otherwise would have lost. The strategies described here, though specific to Telstra's situation, offer lessons for any company facing new and potentially damaging competition.
关于营销作为一种进攻策略已有大量研究——它如何帮助公司成功推出新产品、进入新市场或在现有市场中凭借现有产品获取份额。但几乎每次新产品推出、新进入市场者或行业新贵抢占市场份额时，都会有一家现有企业必须捍卫其地位。而关于这些捍卫者如何利用营销来先发制人地应对新的或预期的威胁，却鲜有研究。约翰·H·罗伯茨概述了四种基本的防御性营销策略：积极防御、惯性防御、对等防御和延缓防御。在前两种策略中，你要确立并传达相对于新进入者的优势点；在后两种策略中，你要确立并传达与竞争对手的战略可比点。在选择策略之前，你需要评估可用于保护市场地位的武器——你的品牌形象、支持该形象的产品和服务，以及你传达它的方式。然后评估客户对你的价值以及他们被竞争对手挖走的可能性。作者解释了澳大利亚电信公司澳电讯在面临放松管制时，如何结合这四种策略（加上作者的客户反应模型）来抵御新进入市场的Optus公司。例如，澳电讯准备动用大量资金并展开价格战。但客户反应模型表明，采用对等策略——即澳电讯尽管平均价格高于竞争对手，但会在某些线路和一天中的特定时间提供更低价格——更有可能防止消费者转网。最终，澳电讯得以保住了原本可能会失去的几个市场份额点。这里描述的策略虽然是针对澳电讯的情况，但为任何面临新的且可能具有破坏性竞争的公司提供了经验教训。
