Bulletin No. 19 | January – February 2004

BRIEFING ALERTS

Gathering Intelligence

1. Investing resource for us in a specific competitive situation seems to be a must. Money and manpower already committed to one conflict cannot be used for another.
2. Competitive actions will continue and the competitors attempt to position themselves or one decisive encounter. Smart executives win victories, achieve understanding and surpass others. They know critical information in advance. They know the minds of the targeted constituents
3. Critical advance information, is not provided by wishful thinking nor speculation.
4. Really useful intelligence comes from people who have the first hand knowledge and personal experience with the competition and constituents.
5. Intelligence has two distinct goals. The first is to obtain accurate, timely information of the objectives, resources and activities of the competitors and the second, to provide the competition with misleading information about your own.
6. A powerful but mysterious network should be created. This network is the most precious asset of the chief executive officer.
7. Local sources are good channels for disseminating misleading information to confuse the competition. 
8. Internal sources of information are people working for or with the competition or important constituents who have access to important data.
9. The most valuable agents are those of competition. Use them for own benefit. 
10. Provide the competition with misleading information. 
11. No activity is more closely tied to our success then effectively gathering and disseminating intelligence. 
12. Only supremely wise and superbly subtle executive can make effective intelligence. 
13. As the impact of intelligence is universal, no activity is useless.
14. If plans for gathering and disseminating intelligence are known, all involved will be doomed to failure.
15. It does not matter what type of competitive actions are planned or whose reputation is to be attacked, it is necessary to know the names of those involved.
16. The rise and fall of many executives and organization is the direct result of the effective use of intelligence. 
17. Smart executives employ only the most capable people in their intelligence networks. Intelligence is the essence and foundation of all competitive actions.

(Source : The Art of War for Executives, Donald G. Krause)

MARKETING

Customer Relationship Marketing

The formal study of marketing has focused on an evolving range of marketing sectors over the past few decades. In 1950’s, marketing interest was merely focused on consumer goods. In 1960’s, increased attention started toward industrial markets. In 1970’s considerable academic efforts was placed on the area of non-profit or societal marketing. In 1980’s more attention directed at the service sector, an area of marketing that had received remarkably little attention in view of its importance in the overall economy. In 1990’s, relationship marketing is the area that will receive increasing attention. The emphasis is moving from a transaction focus to a relationship focus. These are the changes.

(Source : Relationship Marketing, M. Christopher, A. Payne, D. Ballantyne, 1999)

FAQ
What is the relationship between Marketing and Public Relations anyway?

• Public relations and marketing are two major management functions within an organization, but how they are organized depends upon managerial perceptions, organizational culture and historical precedent. The role play by PR staff and marketing management is complicated by a lack of understanding of these two functions by practitioners themselves. 
• Marketing represent primarily the view point of customers or clients (external public)
• Public relations is responsible for a broader scope, both internal (the employees and their unions, the shareholders) and external (developing relationship with consumers but also with governmental agencies, the mass media, financial publics, the community, the activist groups, strategic publics or generally termed as stakeholders)
• Organizations with excellent PR functions integrated their communication activities into a central PR department through a senior corporate communication executive responsible for several communications units.
• Excellent PR department seldom reported to other management function such as marketing, human resource or finance.
• PR activities were not subordinated to the role of providing only technical communication support for marketing or other management functions – although they do help other management functions manage their communication activities. 

(Source: IABC Excellence Study, Grunig et al, 2002)