PROLOGUE: THE FOX & THE MONKEY

The monkey, having danced in an assembly of the animals and earned their approval, was elected by them to be king.

The fox was jealous. So, seeing a piece of meat in a snare one day, he led the monkey to it, saying that he had found a treasure. But rather than take it for himself, he had kept guard over it, as its possession was surely a prerogative of royalty. The fox then urged the monkey to take it.

The monkey approached it, taking no care, and was caught in the trap. When he accused the fox of luring him into a trap, the fox {laughed wickedly like a Nigerian politician that had finally entered into power} replied: “Monkey, you want to reign over all the animals, but look what a fool you are!”

It is thus that those who throw themselves into an enterprise without sufficient thought not only fail, but even become a laughing stock. FABLES AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C. an Excerpt from the Book: THE 33 STRATEGIES OF WAR, by ROBERT GREENE

Over the years, one of the greatest lessons we have come to learn is that, the true world of business is a battle field.

You must fight to survive, you must attack to win. I will be listing some invaluable strategies that will help your business succeed in the Online wars or Cloud wars or Star wars,… whatever, just keep reading:

1. COAT OF ARMS – IMPOSE YOUR BRAND

Every army has its mark of identification, so too must your business. Your identifying mark is your brand. You must create a strong brand personality; always see your business journey as a movie and your brand as the hero.

Consolidate on your brand persona so thoroughly; that in the battlefield of business, when your brand banner is seen waving or marching - it will strike a note of apprehension to competitors: but at the same time bring relieve and joy to your customers.

2. KNOW & CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS

The functionality of a Soldier in a battlefield is determined by his weapon of choice. There are times where long range - rapid fire - assault rifles are indispensable, but at other times all you may need is just a Berreta M9 Pistol for speed of maneuverability in short distance engagements (I used to be a gamer). For your business to be successful online, you need to know the right platforms to be engaged in.

For a B2C business, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are indispensable weapons, but when the warfare is B2B related, tools like LinkedIn, Youtube, CRM, Email Marketing need to be stacked in your arsenal. But in all cases, every business needs a Shrapnel grenade - Viral Contents. 

3. RECONNAISSANCE - KNOW YOUR FRIENDS & FOES

Before you engage, make sure you carryout thorough reconnaissance (fancy word for research). What strategies are your competitors using? What results are they getting? What is the Return On Investment (ROI)? But apart from knowing about the competitor, also carry out reconnaissance on your customers.

This is where tools like Google analytics, Facebook/Instagram insights etc. will come in handy. A simple Customer Profiling can help a long way in the war for your online business dominance.

4. HAVE A BATTLE PLAN

“If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.” - Yogi Berra.

Even though most plans do not turn out as you would have wanted, the act of planning in warfare and in business is indispensable. Even if your online business is blogging, it is pivotal to have a well-documented business plan for it.

You plan should outline your strategies, and the outcome you hope to achieve if you implement them. Whether you work alone or in a team: carryout periodic brainstorming sessions, use mind mapping methods to broaden the horizon, look for trends, and find advantageous waves which your business may surf on to the shores of business success.

5. BLITZKRIEG - LIGHTNING ATTACK

For a small business, most times the competitor you are called to confront is large and well resourced (corporate giant). If you are able to crack the line of defense, you can have access to some of the competitors aggregated customer base (Spoils of war). To succeed with this strategy, you need to know the Blitzkrieg method used by Germans in World 2, also known as the Lightning war. Concentrate the force of your attack and attack with speed.

Say you operate an e-Commerce business, and you have to go against the likes of Amazon, Alibaba or Jumia (if you are in Nigeria), you cannot attack such formidable opponents on all fronts; you will be crushed. Instead pick a dedicated service niche, say product delivery or dealing on only a particular product at cheaper price.

Go hard on this Unique Selling Point (USP), let the whole online space know that your business stands to deliver on this promise, and peradventure (who knows), you just might dent the shell or breach the defense line of the enemy (a corporate giant competitor). ~INSPIRATIONAL KEY - Remember David and Goliath. ~

6. GUERRILA WARFARE    

This is one indispensable strategy that can help you consolidate on your online business success. If you are reading this, then you most possibly belong to the group of Small Business owners it was intended for. One thing is common; you are under-resourced, not enough funds for marketing, not enough resources for rapid expansion. Then you must learn Guerilla Warfare, it is a technique that is non-conventional and requires lots of innovation and creativity.

Look for ingenious ways to meet your target customers with the least possible strain on your budget. Hopefully this strategy will be covered in details in upcoming posts – keep an eye out for it.

7. FLEXIBILITY - OPERATE LEAN

Your success on the long term will be determined by your skill to adapt to new trends in the online space. In a battlefield the soldier knows, he needs to be prepared for ambush, or sometimes he is called to quickly change from defense to offensive in a short time (Counterattack).

So also in business, it is important to always be alert, stay abreast of latest events and trends relating to your business niche. Be ready to adjust your business plans and online goals in accordance with what is attainable and relevant in the online world. Facebook, Twitter or Google can adjust their policy on a fly, be ready to change and swim with the tide, and not against it.

CONCLUSION

Becoming a successful online business goes beyond just having a non-committal website and creating social accounts which nobody knows even exists. It takes dedication and skill of a seasoned online veteran to make impact in the online battlefield for businesses. Get expert help from an experienced Digital Marketing and online presence individual or firm.

Don’t leave your business success to chance, fight for new territory and customers, strive to become king in your service niche. 

The Digital war has only just begun, and you can be a winner if you mean it!

EPILOGUE: LOSE BATTLES BUT WIN THE WAR – GRAND STRATEGY

Grand strategy is the art of looking beyond the battle and calculating ahead. It requires that you focus on your ultimate goal and plot to reach it. Let others get caught in the twists and turns of the battle, relishing their little victories. Grand Strategy will bring you the ultimate reward: the last laugh. ~ Excerpt from the Book: THE 33 STRATEGIES OF WAR, by ROBERT GREENE

We have one of the best team of Web Developers and Digital Marketing Professionals in Nigeria, we can help your business win big online with bullet proof strategies and tactics. We will be happy to work with you: let’s have a tête-à-tête, you only need to Get in Touch.