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General Sun Tzu's famous work of ancient wisdom has a permanent eye on the territory, with two entire chapters dedicated to this dimension.
“Know the enemy and yourself and you will achieve victory without any danger;
know the terrain and the conditions of nature, and you will always be victorious”.
Knowing the terrain is as important as knowing yourself
Several market studies focus on analyzing the practices of competitors, without delving into the region itself where one will operate.
Knowledge of the territory allows for a strategic design that explores its advantages and risks, allowing those who explore this path to have the terrain as an ally in their campaigns.
Comments on the types of terrain in the light of Geomarketing:
Dispersive: When a prince undertakes a campaign on his own territory, the place is called dispersive.
In the days of Sun Tzu, the highest executive functions were performed by the nobles, and today that role is left to the board of directors.
Therefore, let's imagine a board that decides to reinforce its presence in a territory where it already operates, this would be a dispersive strategy, possibly aimed at increasing the points of presence.
Marginal: The enemy territory into which it enters, but does not penetrate deeply, is called marginal.
The saying goes, “hot soup is eaten on the sidelines”.
There are places where the occupancy cost is very high, such as the Faria Lima region in São Paulo or Visconde de Pirajá in Rio de Janeiro.
While there are places where occupation can be risky, such as areas dominated by criminals.
In cases like these, the ideal strategy is the marginal one, that is, reaching the market without necessarily being contained in it, but very close.
Litigation: Territory whose occupation is favorable both to the enemy and to our forces is called contentious terrain.
Shopping centers are typical contentious territories where all the players are concentrated.
Esse contentious Here it is positive for customers, who find more options to choose from, which ends up increasing the attractiveness of customers in these areas.
Open: Land that is accessible to both sides is called open ground.
Discovered markets, places where there is minimal demand but do not yet have suppliers acting directly there, are open territories.
When it comes to expanding networks, many people are looking for this, places with potential and still without competitors.
Convergent: A territory where neighboring regions meet and which has important intersections.
The one who acquires your control first will also gain presence among the neighbors.
Strategic points, places that represent ancestry over nearby regions.
They are often central places in cities, but not always.
This nuance is central to understanding how much certain points can concentrate the attention of people from nearby places.
Critical: When a prince penetrates deep into hostile territory, after having crossed many enemy cities, he finds himself in critical territory.
A typical accelerated expansion process that leaves loose ends in the way, the most critical of which is the logistical difficulty in integrating such a widespread network.
Entrepreneurs tend to value a wider geographical presence to the detriment of spatial concentration, which strains the operation too much, exposing the network to flaws such as lack of products, higher communication costs, or even insensitivity to regional differences.
Difficult: Terrain with high mountains, dense forests, and impenetrable swamps, or any place where it is difficult to travel is called difficult terrain.
This one is easy to understand, the terrain is difficult. Whether due to the climate, logistics, or seasonality of income, such as in tourist regions or regions dependent on agricultural crops.
Fencing: A terrain to which access is narrow and any return requires a detour, so that a troop, even a small one, will suffice to defeat a large army, is called fenced terrain.
It is enough to raise cases in which major brands were unable to establish themselves, either because the local characteristics are so peculiar that all the power of a major brand was not enough, or because the big brands act in a generalist way, they have a great appeal but are not very flexible and adaptable to local customs.
This leaves them in territory surrounded by the smaller ones.
Desperate: A terrain where only a desperate battle with all your strength will save you, but which if you fail, will be defeated and destroyed, is called desperate terrain.
The expansion cycle of a brand starts with some successful operations, whether stores that are doing well or territories where the offer is being well received.
Then, less profitable operations begin to appear, even those with a loss.
Bets were placed based on weak fundamentals or “I'm going to fill that space soon” assumptions.
Desperation occurs when when the network is threatened to its root territories, places so important that if they are compromised, the entire rest of the network can collapse.
Did you want to conquer territories?
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