Greetings, readers, as we delve deeper into the wisdom of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” and its applications to modern Digital Marketing. Today, our journey navigates the essence of “Attack by Stratagem,” drawing parallels to principles of Digital Marketing Strategy to help succeed on the digital battlefield.
In this segment, Sun Tzu examines how an army can conquer adversaries with effective strategy, evading confrontation whenever possible. We’ve been embarking on a journey through his timeless wisdom, uncovering how we can harness these insights to improve our odds on the digital battlefield today we’re going to review the following concepts:
The Art of Taking the Enemy’s Territory Whole & Intact
Embracing Adaptability & Flexibility
5 Essentials for Digital Victory:
Strategic Engagement
Handling Superior & Inferior Forces
Unifying the Spirit of the Digital Army
Seizing Opportunities
Maintaining Autonomy of the Digital Marketing Team
Thank you for accompanying me on this journey through “The Art of Digital Marketing.” Fasten your seatbelts as we unearth more wisdom from Sun Tzu.
Digital Strategy
The Art of Taking the Enemy’s Territory Whole & Intact
Sun Tzu wisely advises us in “The Art of War“, “In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to capture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.”
On the digital battlefield, the goal isn’t to overwhelm competitors with brute force but to capture their audience’s attention without confrontation. The ultimate victory lies in intimately understanding your market, competition, and ideal customer so you can effectively deliver value and capture a larger market share, thus defeating your competition without confrontation.
The astute Digital Marketing Strategist, much like a master tactician, comprehends the art of outmaneuvering the competition and seizing the right moments to strike. It’s about understanding the digital landscape, anticipating your competitors’ moves, and leveraging data-driven insights to create engaging content, capture leads, and grow your market share.
Embracing Adaptability & Flexibility
Sun Tzu’s wisdom encourages a dynamic approach that fosters adaptability and flexibility. Just as he advises avoiding prolonged sieges of walled cities, Digital Marketers should steer clear of rigid tactics. Success in the ever-evolving digital battlefield demands adaptability and an understanding that one-size-fits-all approaches are insufficient to achieve victory.
Sun Tzu’s advice is clear: the skilled leader subdues the enemy’s troops without unnecessary conflict, capturing opportunities without needlessly dissipating resources. Digital Marketing, like war, requires a complete and efficient Strategy able to pivot based on market demands.
5 Essentials for Digital Victory
I. Strategic Engagement: Knowing When to Engage & When to Retreat
Sun Tzu’s first essential, “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” The fight on the digital battlefield is for attention. To capture the attention of your ideal customer in this crowded space you need to be calculated, and creative in your approach. Just as the warrior needs to know when to fight to win the battle knowing when to engage your audience will help propel your digital success.
II. Handling Superior & Inferior Forces: Dealing with Larger & Smaller Competitors
According to Sun Tzu, “It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy’s one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two. If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him. Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.” He sums these statements up, “He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.“
Akin to war, your organization will inevitably have competitors of every size at times, it may benefit you to ‘take over’ your competition through competitive advertisement, but in most cases, especially when dealing with much larger corporations you may find cultivating mutually beneficial relationships can help you both meet your achieve victory.
III. Unifying the Spirit of the Digital Army:
According to Sun Tzu, “He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.” Having a unified spirit within your Digital Marketing Team will help them work in unison toward a common digital victory.
Unity is established internally and will be reflected throughout your Digital Marketing Team’s efforts. If your Team exudes unity it will show throughout your inter-office communications and public relations. Your audience will notice an organization lacking cohesion so fostering an environment of open communication, mutual understanding, and respect will help on your journey to digital victory.
IV. Seizing Opportunities:
Sun Tzu says, “He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.“
Through continuous monitoring and gathering of data, your Digital Marketing Team will be armed with the knowledge necessary to successfully guide your Digital Marketing Strategy. Once you have a holistic understanding of your market you can capitalize on opportunities. This approach can save your budget, time, and help you gain an edge over the competition.
V. Maintaining Autonomy of the Digital Marketing Team:
In this Sun Tzu essential he explains, “He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.” But, what does this mean? The sovereign or state should allow the military to make real-time decisions with little interference from the state or governing body during wartime.
In the digital battlefield empowering your team to make decisions within their areas of expertise will help them provide more value to your organization. You hired them because of their personality, skills, and abilities so why micro-manage every aspect of their work? This will lead to underperformance and a lack of positive results on the digital battlefield. Trust your Team and you will bear the fruit of their hard work and experience.
Digital Success
Through Strategic Mastery
As we conclude this chapter on “Attack by Stratagem,” remember Sun Tzu’s wisdom can be applied to many facets of modern business. Applying these principles to your Digital Marketing Strategy can be transformative, propelling your brand to triumph in the digital realm. Today we explored how effective Digital Marketing Strategy can be effectively implemented to help you succeed by leveraging the wisdom of Sun Tzu we can see these principles have held through the test of time and can be applied to successful Digital Marketing in the modern business environment.
Stay tuned for the next blog where we’ll explore “The Art of Digital Marketing: 4. Tactical Dispositions,” delving into the art of implementing effective tactics to ensure success on the digital battlefield. Sun Tzu’s tactics can help us reign victorious on the digital battlefield, and your journey toward digital glory continues. Onward, faithful readers! Victory awaits your organization in the realm of Digital Marketing!
If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave a reply below or email me at david@dkdigitalstrategist.com.
