Getting down and dirty

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Wanted: CEOs from India

: you are not looking for a fight, but you are faced with a situation where confrontation is inevitable. In a real life fight of this sort, it is safe to make some assumptions: first, the other person is probably far more experienced; second, he probably has far less to lose, or at least thinks so; and third, you can expect him to fight dirty. The same assumptions hold if you are forced into a street fight in the marketplace. What do I mean by a street fight in the context of marketing? Here are some examples:

1. A PR issue blows up in your face when consumers start complaining of adverse effects from using your product, and you find out that one of your competitors may be “encouraging” them.

2. You turn on the TV and see a competitive ad showing your brand and talking about how it is inferior to another.

3. Your launch plans for a new product are leaked and a competitor beats you to market with a copycat product with similar packaging, proposition or price. Do these scenarios sound outlandish? Well, welcome to the world of real-life marketing. These have all happened. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, here are a couple of things you could do:

1. Set your lawyers to work immediately to find out the quickest and best legal recourse available. Marketers are usually loath to work with lawyers, but in a situation like this, your lawyer is your best friend. From recommending the best way to defend your claim to forcing offending material off the air, lawyers can give you ideas that you probably would not think of yourself.

2. Your second best friend is your PR manager. If damage control is what you need, you need to get your side of the story out fast, and that is where your PR contacts come in.

* Lesson 420

Real fights are over faster than you think—Move quickly and win in the consumer’s mind