"It's sad but all human beings are herd animals. And we all suffer from herd mentality. This means we do things not because we want to do them but because we think we should. We do things because everyone else around us are doing it," emphatically ascertained Jack Trout, a leading figure in the marketing world, addressing a packed hall. | |
| He was speaking at the 'Strategy Summit with Jack Trout', organised by Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College's Centre for Management Studies here on Thursday. |
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| Illustrating with examples, Trout said that 'the ugly fact of the new world' where global economy prevailed was that if a company made a mistake, customers would move to the competition and most often not return. |
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| He said, in this new economy there came into the marketplace the element of 'tyranny of choice' or several divisions within a category which leads to killer competition. |
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| "The US is the original and biggest laboratory where competition was played out. India is at the stage where it is about to enter such a landscape. At this point it is important to learn by the mistakes made there, such that it does not happen here. In other words, we have to go back to the past and draw lessons for the future," he elaborated. Thus setting the scene, Trout went on to explain how strategy was key to surviving in a tough world. |
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| Drawing from his books on marketing and strategy, Trout explained, "Strategy is about seven key elements. They are perception, difference, competition, specialisation, simplicity, leadership and reality. And always remember, you have to mix strategy with marketing to succeed in the marketplace." |
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| He also said that the mind was the ultimate battleground and companies should look at brands not from the economic point of view, but from the mind's point of view. Keeping that in mind, he said line extension of brands could become extremely dangerous in a market where specialists could strike back. "You can be either a fish or a fowl. But companies can't be both simultaneously," he warned. |
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| Jack Trout, is credited with introducing the concept of 'positioning' in 1980 and is the author of several books, seven of which were best-sellers. His latest book, Trout on Strategy, brings together the best of all his earlier works. |
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| He has consulted for many an industry and heads Trout and Partners consulting firm. The summit, which will cover strategy as the key topic, was arranged to enlighten corporates of the concepts and procedures employed by the world's best in management disciplines. |
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