Want Big Success? Fight With a Bigger Enemy
Most businesses get afraid at the sound of the word enemy, which is why you should be grateful
Mario Puzo once wrote, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”
Little did he know/ realize that this statement would hold so much power in the world of content & marketing.
I’m sure you must be feeling lost at the moment wondering, “what does content and marketing have to do with (proverbial) enemies?”
Well, the idea is simple.
The easiest way to gain and build a community of loyal audience in the world of content marketing is to identify other brands/ content creators whose ideologies are opposite to the mindset, goals and ideologies of your target audience.
Let me give you a simple example.
Have you ever heard about “gothic fashion”?
If not, I’d suggest you run a quick search and experience the shift in mindset of people who have accepted gothic fashion as their style statement.
Now, how could someone who’s accepted the gothic fashion sense, feel in tune with any other colourful/ pastel/ floral or any other style of fashion?
As a result, for the followers of gothic fashion, all other fashion styles are the proverbial enemy.
Let’s consider one more example.
For all OTT streaming services, the traditional movie going experience is the enemy.
Every streaming service would want you (as a consumer) to subscribe to the top-tier level of their service and stay away from visiting the cinema to watch the movie on the silver screen.
In the world of marketing/ business, the proverbial enemy refers to all the alternatives (of your product/ service) that are available to the consumer.
Let’s consider the benefits of identifying the proverbial enemy for your business and see how this label can help you in your business/ content/ marketing:
1. You can highlight the shortcomings of the enemy and show how your product mitigates the shortcomings of the enemy.
2. You can use all the differences between your product and the enemy’s as your unique selling propositions.
3. The differentiation between you and your enemy also ends up becoming the positioning of your business/ brand.
Every business/ brand needs to identify and label a proverbial enemy which makes it easier for the marketing to connect directly with the target audience.
I know this may seem like a disturbing idea if you’re reading this for the first time, but this has been happening since time immemorial.
Let me give you some more examples.
- Film roll/ analogue cameras were the enemies of digital cameras
- Physical books are the enemies of e-readers/ digital reading devices
- Computers are the enemies of laptops
- Traditional packaged food is the enemy of the newer healthier alternatives available in the market
- Retail businesses are the enemy of ecommerce brands and marketplaces
Hope you’re now able to connect the dots.
Have you identified the enemy of your business/ brand/ industry?
Do share your ideas/ thoughts regarding how you plan to implement the proverbial enemy strategy in your business.
Also, if you disagree with this chain of thought, make sure you share your POV.
Let’s continue this conversation (or ask your questions about the post) in the comments below.
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Prompt used to create the image for the note
P.S.: Image made on Meta AI using the prompt, “Imagine the entire team of a cosmetic brand celebrating because they just beat the competitor brand by a huge margin”