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 MARKETING STRATEGY & COMPETITIVE POSITIONING
Sixth Edition
Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positiowning 6e deals with the process of developing and
implementing a marketing strategy. The book focuses on competitive positioning at the heart of Sixth Edition
marketing strategy and includes in-depth discussion of the processes used in marketing to achieve
competitive advantage.

The book is primarily about creating and sustaining superior performance in the marketplace.
It focuses on the two central issues in marketing strategy formulation – the identification of MARKETING STRATEGY
& COMPETITIVE
target markets and the creation of a differential advantage. In doing that, it recognises the emergence

MARKETING STRATEGY & COMPETITIVE POSITIONING

of new potential target markets born of the recession and increased concern for climate change;
and it examines ways in which firms can differentiate their offerings through the recognition of
environmental and social concerns.

New to this edition

POSITIONING
• Updated to reflect the on-going global economic crisis and its impact on business and marketing.
Graham Hooley
• New coverage including the impact of emerging market on innovation, the perverse customer as a
market force, the new realities in competing through services and market analysis and segmentation.
Nigel F. Piercy
• Updated chapters on strategic customer management and strategic alliances.
• Increased emphasis on competing through innovation including new business models such as Brigitte Nicoulaud
Uber, Netflix and new types of retailing.
• Updates vignettes at the beginning of chapters focusing on companies such as Amadeus, John M. Rudd
Mastercard and Samsung Pay and including discussion questions.
• New cases throughout the book including Ryanair, Amazon and Lego.
• Up-dated online resources include an Instructor’s Manual and PowerPoint slides for instructors,
along with additional case studies for students.
• The book is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate students taking modules in Marketing
Strategy, Marketing Management and Strategic Marketing Management.

Graham Hooley is Emeritus Professor of Marketing at Aston University. He is a past President of

the European Marketing Academy, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, British Academy
of Management, EMAC and the Higher Education Academy.
Nigel F. Piercy was previously Professor of Marketing & Strategic Management & Associate
Dean at Warwick Business School, Warwick University.
Brigitte Nicoulaud is Senior Teaching Fellow at Aston Business School.
John M. Rudd is a Professor of Marketing and Head of the Marketing Group at Warwick
Business School.
Sixth
Edition
Nicoulaud Rudd
Hooley Piercy

Cover photograph: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images www.pearson-books.com

CVR_HOOL7310_06_SE_CVR.indd 1 14/12/2016 12:31

 Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
xi
xiii
Part 2
Publisher’s acknowledgements xiv Competitive Market
Analysis

Part 1 Chapter 3
The Changing Market Environment
MARKETING STRATEGY 54

Introduction 55
3.1 A framework for macro-environmental analysis 56
Chapter 1 3.2 The economic and political environment 57
Market-Led Strategic Management 4 3.3 The social and cultural environment 59

Introduction 5
3.4 The technological environment 63

1.1 The marketing concept and market orientation 6

3.5 Changes in marketing infrastructure
1.2 The resource-based view of marketing 12
and practices 64

1.3 Organisational stakeholders 14

3.6 New strategies for changing
1.4 Marketing fundamentals 19
macro-environments 66

1.5 The role of marketing in leading strategic 3.7 The Five Forces model of industry
management 23
competition 68

Summary 25
3.8 The product life cycle 72

Case study: Lego builds new dimension 3.9 Strategic groups 75

with digital vision 25

3.10 Industry evolution and forecasting 78
3.11 Environmental stability 80
3.12 SPACE analysis 82
Chapter 2 3.13 The Advantage Matrix 84
Strategic Marketing Planning 28
Summary 85
Introduction 29 Case study: Food group shifts strategy
2.1 Defining the business purpose or mission 30 to volume growth 86
2.2 The marketing strategy process 33
2.3 Establishing the core strategy 34 Chapter 4
2.4 Creation of the competitive positioning 43 Customer Analysis 88
2.5 Implementation 46
Summary 50
Introduction 89

Case study: Amazon eyes online sales 4.1 What we need to know about customers 89

boost through ‘Fire’ smartphone 50

4.2 Marketing research 92
4.3 The marketing research process 100
4.4 Organising customer information 102
Summary 104
Case study: Balderton plugs into teenagers’
attention spans 105

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 viii Contents

Chapter 5 Summary 185

Competitor Analysis 106
Case study: Nestlé refines its arsenal
Introduction 107 in the luxury coffee war 186
5.1 Competitive benchmarking 108
5.2 The dimensions of competitor analysis 110
Chapter 8
5.3 Choosing good competitors 122
Segmentation and Positioning
5.4 Obtaining and disseminating Research 188
competitive information 124
Summary 127 Introduction 189

Case study: Adidas kicks off US drive 8.1 A priori segmentation approaches 190

to close in on Nike 128 8.2 Post hoc/cluster-based segmentation

approaches 194
8.3 Qualitative approaches to positioning
Chapter 6 research 200
Understanding the Organisational 8.4 Quantitative approaches to positioning
Resource Base 130
research 202
Introduction 131 Summary 211
6.1 Marketing resources as the foundation Case study: A passion that became a brand 212
for differentiation 132
6.2 Value-creating disciplines 133
Chapter 9
6.3 The resource-based view of the firm 135
Selecting Market Targets 214
6.4 Creating and exploiting marketing assets 139
6.5 Developing marketing capabilities 147 Introduction 215

6.6 Dynamic marketing capabilities 149 9.1 The process of market definition 216

6.7 Resource portfolios 151 9.2 Defining how the market is segmented 218

6.8 Developing and exploiting resources 152 9.3 Determining market segment attractiveness 220

Summary 153 9.4 Determining current and potential strengths 227

Case study: Family tradition in domestic 9.5 Making market and segment choices 229

partnership 154 9.6 Alternative targeting strategies 231

Summary 233
Case study: No-frills Ryanair faces
test with Business Plus 234

Part 3
Identifying Current
and Future Competitive Part 4
Positions Competitive Positioning
Strategies
Chapter 7
Segmentation and Positioning Chapter 10
Principles 158 Creating Sustainable Competitive
Advantage 238
Introduction 159
7.1 Principles of competitive positioning 160 Introduction 239
7.2 Principles of market segmentation 163 10.1 Using organisational resources
7.3 The underlying premises to create sustainable competitive
of market segmentation 163 advantage 239
7.4 Bases for segmenting markets 164 10.2 Generic routes to competitive advantage 241
7.5 Segmenting consumer markets 165 10.3 Achieving cost leadership 242
7.6 Segmenting business markets 176 10.4 Achieving differentiation 245
7.7 Identifying and describing market segments 180 10.5 Sustaining competitive advantage 253
7.8 The benefits of segmenting markets 181 10.6 Offensive and defensive competitive
7.9 Implementing market segmentation 182 strategies 255

A01_HOOL7310_06_SE_FM.indd 8 04/01/2017 18:30

 Contents ix

Summary 266 Part 5

Case study: Volvo’s heart will ‘remain Implementing
in Sweden’ 267
the Strategy
Chapter 11
Competing Through the New Chapter 14
Marketing Mix 268
Strategic Customer Management
and the Strategic Sales
Introduction 269 Organisation 365
11.1 The market offer 270
11.2 Pricing strategies 280
Introduction 366

11.3 Communications strategies 285

14.1 Priorities for identifying strategic
11.4 Distribution strategies 290
sales capabilities 369

11.5 The extended marketing mix – people, 14.2 The new and emerging competitive
processes and physical evidence 292
role for sales 372

11.6 New businesses and business models 293

14.3 The strategic sales organisation 375

Summary 295
14.4 Strategic customer management tasks 382

Case study: Sensory ploys and the scent 14.5 Managing the customer portfolio 384

of marketing 296
14.6 Dealing with dominant customers 386
Summary 397
Case study: Power of the ‘mummies’ key
Chapter 12 to Nestlé’s strategy in DR Congo 398

Competing Through Innovation 298

Introduction 299
Chapter 15
Strategic Alliances and Networks 400
12.1 Innovation strategy 300
12.2 New products 314 Introduction 401
12.3 Planning for new products 317 15.1 Pressures to partner 402
12.4 The new product development process 320 15.2 The era of strategic collaboration 406
12.5 Speeding new product development 326 15.3 The drivers of collaboration strategies 407
12.6 Organising for new product development 326 15.4 Network forms 411
Summary 329 15.5 Alliances and partnerships 413
Case study: Apple moves into fashion 15.6 Strategic alliances as a competitive force 417
business with Watch launch 330 15.7 The risks in strategic alliances 419
15.8 Managing strategic alliances 420

Chapter 13 Summary 425

Competing Through Superior Case study: UPS and FedEx turn focus
Service and Customer to consumer behaviour 426

Relationships 332

Introduction 334
Chapter 16
Strategy Implementation
13.1 The goods and services spectrum 337
and Internal Marketing 429
13.2 Service and competitive positioning 339
13.3 Relationship marketing 342 Introduction 430
13.4 Customer service 347 16.1 The strategy implementation challenge
13.5 Providing superior service 347 in marketing 433
13.6 Customer relationship management 351 16.2 The development of internal marketing 436
13.7 E-service quality 352 16.3 The scope of internal marketing 437
13.8 Measuring and monitoring customer 16.4 Planning for internal marketing 447
satisfaction 354 16.5 Cross-functional partnership as internal
Summary 357 marketing 450
Case study: Property portals hand control 16.6 Implementation and internal marketing 456
to homeowners 358 Summary 457

A01_HOOL7310_06_SE_FM.indd 9 04/01/2017 18:30

 x Contents

Case study: EasyJet blazes trail Summary 494

on customer service 458 Case study: How Skanska aims to become
the world’s greenest construction company 494

Chapter 17
Corporate Social Responsibility
and ethics 460
Part 6
Introduction 461
Conclusions
17.1 Marketing strategy and corporate
social responsibility 465 Chapter 18
17.2 The scope of corporate social responsibility 467 Twenty-First Century Marketing 500
17.3 Drivers of corporate social responsibility
initiatives 470
Introduction 501

17.4 The other side of corporate social 18.1 The changing competitive arena 501

responsibility initiatives 474

18.2 Fundamentals of strategy in a changing
17.5 Defensive corporate social responsibility world 506

initiatives 478
18.3 Competitive positioning strategies 510

17.6 Corporate social responsibility Summary 518

and innovative competitive advantage 484

Case study: Twitter builds on its character 519

17.7 How companies are responding

to the CSR mandate 488 References 521
17.8 CSR and customer value 492 Index 545

A01_HOOL7310_06_SE_FM.indd 10 04/01/2017 18:30

 Preface

Since the fifth edition of this book, published in 2011, In parallel the technology revolution is in full swing:
developed economies around the world have continued driverless cars are a reality, members of the Y genera-
to feel the aftershocks of the deepest recession since the tion communicate and share their feedback via social
Great Depression of the 1930s that started with the media, customers are looking for consistent experi-
well-publicised “credit crunch”. Despite some continu- ences across all shopping channels even the traditional
ing academic debate about the causes and extent, there taxi business model has been disrupted by an app.
is now little doubt that climate change and global Within this context, throughout this sixth edition
warming is beginning to have a significant impact on we have attempted to identify new approaches to doing
our physical environment. Technology and the ever- business that will promote sustainability, both for the
growing acceptance and use of social media are having organisations adopting them and for the environment
a profound effect on customer expectations and (economic, social and natural) in which they operate.
experience. Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning 6e
Whilst appearing to move out of recession and deals with the process of developing and implement-
beginning to enjoy some degree of economic growth, ing a marketing strategy. The book focuses on competi-
governments of major national economies are still left tive positioning at the heart of marketing strategy and
with unprecedented levels of national debt and auster- includes in-depth discussion of the processes used in
ity programmes introduced in 2010 are continuing in marketing to achieve competitive advantage within the
an attempt to rebalance the books for example in the context introduced above.
European Union. These have caused severe hardship to The book is primarily about creating and sustaining
citizens of countries such as Greece and Spain where superior performance in the marketplace. It focuses on
unemployment reached a high of around 24% in 2015. the two central issues in marketing strategy formulation
Despite these on-going economic difficulties climate – the identification of target markets and the creation
change has not been ignored. Caused by a combination of a differential advantage. In doing that, it recognises
of factors including build up of CO2 in the atmosphere the emergence of new potential target markets born
due to emissions from the burning of fossil fuels such of the recession, increased concern for climate change
as coal and oil, deforestation and animal agriculture, and disruption from on-going technological advances.
and feedback loops created through the shrinking of It examines ways in which firms can differentiate their
the polar ice caps and glaciers that reflect solar radia- offerings through the recognition of environmental and
tion, a number of implications are becoming apparent. social concerns and innovation.
As ice melts so sea levels rise, and weather patterns Topics examined include service quality and rela-
become less predictable. Extreme weather events come tionship marketing, networks and alliances, innovation,
more frequent, water and food security become greater internal marketing and corporate social responsibility.
concerns, and subtropical deserts expand. Climate Emphasis is placed on the development of dynamic
change poses significant challenges for businesses. Sus- marketing capabilities, together with the need to reas-
tainable energy technologies such as wind, solar, wave sess the role of marketing in the organisation as a criti-
and thermal biomass are now being pursued more vig- cal process and not simply as a conventional functional
orously and attempts to reduce energy consumption specialisation.
(of cars, buildings and airplanes) are creating new busi-
ness opportunities. Increasingly companies, public sec- The book structure
tor organisations, individuals and nations are signing
up to measures such as sourcing more raw materials Part 1 is concerned with the fundamental changes that
locally to reduce ‘carbon miles’ and limiting the use are taking place in how marketing operates in organisa-
of high-emission travel options to reduce their carbon tions and the increasing focus on marketing as a process
footprint as in the Paris Agreement of December 2015 rather than as a functional specialisation. The central
where 195 countries adopted the first ever legally bind- questions of the market orientation of organisations
ing climate deal. and the need to find better ways of responding to the

A01_HOOL7310_06_SE_FM.indd 11 04/01/2017 18:30

 xii Preface

volatile and hard to predict market environments lead us Part 5 examines implementation issues in more
to emphasise the market-led approach to strategic man- detail. The section includes chapters on strategic cus-
agement and the framework for developing marketing tomer management and corporate social responsibility
strategy which provides the structure for the rest of the as well as updated chapters on strategic alliances and
book. Our framework for strategic marketing planning networks and internal marketing.
provides the groundwork for two critical issues on which Part 6 provides our perspective on competition for
we focus throughout this volume: the choice of market the second decade of the 21st century. The various
targets and the building of strong competitive positions. themes from the earlier parts of the book are draws
Central to this approach is the resource-based view of together in order to identify the major changes tak-
marketing and the need to develop, nurture and deploy ing place in markets, the necessary organisational
dynamic marketing capabilities. responses to those changes and the competitive posi-
Part 2 deals with the competitive environment in tioning strategies that could form the cornerstones of
which the company operates and draws specifically effective future marketing.
on recent changes brought about by recession and
concerns for sustainability. Different types of strate-
New to this edition:
gic environment are first considered, together with
the critical success factors for dealing with each type. ● Updated content to reflect the on-going global eco-
Discussion then focuses on the ‘strategic triangle’ of nomic crisis and its impact on business and market-
customers, competitors and company in the context ing.
of the environment (social, economic and natural) that ● New coverage including the impact of emerg-
the firm operates in. Ways of analysing each in turn are ing markets on innovation, the perverse customer
explored to help identify the options open to the com- as a market force, the new realities in competing
pany. The emphasis is on matching corporate resources, through services and market analysis and segmen-
assets and capabilities to market opportunities. tation.
Part 3 examines in more detail the techniques avail- ● Updated chapters on strategic customer manage-
able for identifying market segments (or potential tar- ment and strategic alliances.
gets) and current (and potential) positions. Alternative ● Increased emphasis on competing through innova-
bases for segmenting consumer and business markets tion including new business models such as Uber,
are explored, as are the data collection and analy- Netflix and new types of retailing.
sis techniques available. Selection of market targets ● Updates vignettes at the beginning of chapters fo-
through consideration of the market attractiveness and cusing on companies such as Amadeus, Mastercard
business strength is addressed. and Samsung Pay and including discussion ques-
Part 4 returns to strategy formulation. The sec- tions.
tion opens with discussion of how to create a sustain-
● New cases throughout the book including Ryanair,
able position in the marketplace. Three chapters are
Amazon and Lego.
concerned with specific aspects of strategy formula-
● Up-dated online resources include an Instructor’s
tion and execution. The new chapter on competing
Manual and PowerPoint slides for instructors,
through the marketing mix has been retained from the
along with additional case studies for students.
fifth edition and expanded to reflect increasing use of
new media to promote, distribute and create market The book is ideal for undergraduate and postgradu-
offerings. The roles of customer service in relationship- ate students taking modules in Marketing Strategy,
building and innovation to create competitive advan- Marketing Management and Strategic Marketing
tage are considered in depth. ­Management.

A01_HOOL7310_06_SE_FM.indd 12 04/01/2017 18:30

 Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the support of many friends, Hassan, J. Mac Hulbert, Nick Lee, Peter Leeflang, Ian
colleagues, students and managers who have helped Lings, David Jobber, Hans Kasper, Costas Katsikeas,
shape our ideas over the years. Philip Kotler, Giles Laurent, Gary Lilien, Jim Lynch,
Our first and biggest thanks must go to Professor Malcolm MacDonald, Felix Mavando, Sheelagh Mat-
John Saunders, our friend, colleague and co-author of tear, Hafiz Mizra, Kristian Müller, Neil Morgan, Hans
the first three editions of this book. John is an out- Muhlbacher, Niall Piercy, Leyland Pitt, Bodo Schle-
standing marketing scholar who has made a very sig- gelmilch, David Shipley, Stan Slater, Anne Souchon,
nificant contribution to both marketing thought and Jan-Benedict Steenkamp, Vasilis Theohorakis, Rajan
practice over the years. Much of his contribution to Varadarajan, Michel Wedel, David Wilson, Berend
the early editions remains in the current edition and we Wirenga, Robin Wensley, Michael West, Veronica
thank him for his generosity in allowing it to continue Wong and Oliver Yau.
to be included. We would like to pay particular tribute to the role
We would also like to acknowledge the contribu- of our friend and colleague, the late Peter Doyle. We
tions of a number of outstanding management and have learned an enormous amount from Peter over the
marketing scholars with whom we have been fortunate years and owe him and incalculable debt for helping us
to work and learn from over recent years: ­Professor shape and sharpen our ideas.
Gary Armstrong, George Avionitis, Amanda Beat-
son, Suzanne Beckmann, Jozsef Beracs, Pierre Ber-
thon, Günther Botschen, Amanda Broderick, Rod
Brodie, Peter Buckley, John Cadogan, Frank Cespedes, Graham Hooley
David Cook, David Cravens, Adamantios Diaman- Nigel F. Piercy
torpoulos, Susan Douglas, Colin Egan, Heiner Evan- Brigitte Nicoulaud
schitztky, John Fahy, Krzysztof Fonfara, Gordon Foxall, John M. Rudd
Mark Gabbott, Brandan Gray, Gordon Greenley, Salah December 2016

A01_HOOL7310_06_SE_FM.indd 13 04/01/2017 18:30

 Publisher’s acknowledgements

We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce Association; Figure 17.4 from ‘The link between competitive
copyright material: advantage and corporate social responsibility’ by Michael E.
Porter and Mark R. Kramer, December 2006. Copyright ©
Figures 2006 by the Harvard Business School Publishing. Used by
Figure 3.2 from The Economist Newspaper Limited, London permission; Figure 17.5 adapted from ‘Walmart’s European
09/09/2008; Figure 3.5 adapted from ”Supplier Relationships: adventure’, in Market-Led Strategic Change: Transforming
A Strategic Initiative,” by Jagdish N. Sheth, Emory University the Process of Going to Market Taylor & Francis (Piercy,
and Arun Sharma, University of Miami. Figure 2, Shift in N.F.) p. 39 (ISBN 9781856175043), reproduced by permission
Organizational Purchasing Strategy, page 18. This paper of Taylor & Francis Books UK.
extends research published by the authors in Industrial Mar-
keting Management (March 1997). Please address correspon- Tables
dence to Arun Sharma, [email protected], Table on page 9 from Market Driven Management, John
Department of Marketing, University of Miami, P.O. Box Wiley & Sons (Webster, F.E. 1994), Reproduced with permis-
248147, Coral Gables FL 33124, Telephone: (305) 284 1770, sion of Blackwell Scientific in the format Republish in a book
FAX: (305) 284 5326; Figure 3.6 from COMPETITIVE via Copyright Clearance Center; Table 6.1 from The Global
ADVANTAGE: Creating and Sustaining Superior Perfor- Top Ten Brands, Interbrand’s 2001, 2009, 2010, 2013 Best
mance, Simon & Schuster, Inc. (Porter, M.E. 1998) Copyright Global Brands Report, www.interbrand.com; Table 7.1 from
© 1985 by Michael E. Porter. Reprinted with the permission Occupation Groupings: A Job Dictionary, 6th ed, 2006.
of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights https://www.mrs.org.uk/pdf/occgroups6.pdf. The Market
reserved; Figure 3.9 from iPodlounge.com, Data are for every Research Society.
two months from November 2001 to May, 2004. Thus 11 is
November 2001, 1.02 is January 2002 etc.; Figure 3.12 Text
adapted from Competitive Marketing: A Strategic Approach, Case Study on page 4 from Puma gives the boot to cardboard
3rd ed, Cengage (O’Shaughnessy, J. 1995) Reprint rights shoeboxes, Financial Times, 14/04/2010 (Wilson, J. and
ISBN: 978-0-415-09317-0, Table 9.1, Porter’s evolutionary Milne, R.), © The Financial Times Limited. All Rights
stages vs traditional PLC approach, page 315. Reproduced by Reserved; Case Study on page 25 from Lego enters a new
permission of Cengage Learning EMEA Ltd; Figure 6.9 dimension with its digital strategy, Financial Times,
adapted from Competing for the Future, Harvard Business 27/09/2015 (Milne, R.), © The Financial Times Limited. All
School Press (Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C.K. 1994) used by Rights Reserved; Case Study on page 28 from Asos founder
permission; Figure 9.1 adapted from Market-Led Strategic turns to online homeware, Financial Times, 28/06/2010
Change: Transforming the Process of Going to Market, Tay- (Kuchler, H.), © The Financial Times Limited. All Rights
lor & Francis Books (Piercy, N.F. 1997) (ISBN 9781856175043), Reserved; Quote on page 44 from Gov.uk website, https://
p. 298; Figure 10.4 adapted from COMPETITIVE ADVAN- www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-export-finance/
TAGE: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance (Por- about, accessed 2014, September, Gov.UK. OGL, licensed
ter, M.E. 1985) Copyright © 1985 by Michael E. Porter. under the Open Government Licence v.3.0; Case Study on
Reprinted with the permission of Free Press, a Division of page 50 from Amazon eyes online sales boost through “Fire”
Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved; Figures 11.5 and smartphone, Financial Times, 19/06/2014 (Mishkin, S.), ©
11.6 from New Scientist, 2004, October 16. www.newscien- The Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved; Case
tist.com. Reed Business Information Ltd; Figure 12.2 and Study on page 54 from Recession-hit Aga trials green energy,
Figure 16.4 adapted from Market-Led Strategic Change: Financial Times, 12/03/2010 (Jones, A.), © The Financial
Transforming the Process of Going to Market, 4th ed (Piercy, Times Limited. All Rights Reserved; Case Study on page 86
N. 2009) Copyright Butterworth-Heinemann (2008); Elsevier from Food group shifts strategy to volume growth, Financial
Ltd, Global Rights Department c/o Butterworth-Heinemann; Times, 10/01/2010 (Daneshkhu, S. and Wiggins, J.), © The
Figure 13.4 from Relationship Marketing for Competitive Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved; Case Study on
Advantage, Butterworth-Heinemann (Payne, A., Christopher, page 88 from Amadeus set to soar on airline bookings, Finan-
M., Clark, M. and Peck, H. 1995). Elsevier Science Ltd (UK); cial Times, 26/02/2015 (Hale, T.), © The Financial Times
Figures 13.6 and 13.11 adapted from Parasuraman, A., Limited. All Rights Reserved; Case Study on page 105 from
Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1985), ‘A conceptual model Balderton plugs into teenagers’ attention spans, Financial
of service quality and the implications for further research’, Times, 18/06/2010 (Bradshaw, T.), © The Financial Times
Journal of Marketing, Fall, 41–50. American Marketing Limited. All Rights Reserved; Case Study on page 106 from

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 Publisher’s acknowledgements xv

Gatwick seeks greater competition with BAA, Financial from Letting go can cut both ways, Financial Times,
Times, 21/06/2010 (Sherwood, B.), © The Financial Times 29/06/2009 (Southon, M.); Case Study on page 398 from
Limited. All Rights Reserved; Case Study on page 128 from Power of the mummies key to Nestlé’s strategy in DR Congo,
Adidas struggles to catch up with Nike’s runaway success, Financial Times, 01/10/2014 (Manson, K.), © The Financial
Financial Times, 07/08/2015 (Whipp, L and Shotter, J.), © Times Limited. All Rights Reserved; Case Study on page 400
The Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved; Case from MasterCard cashes in on smart transit, Financial Times,
Study on page 130 from Waterstone’s links up with Paper- 02/07/2015 (Edgecliffe-Johnson, A.), © The Financial Times
chase, Financial Times, 06/05/2010 (Felsted, A.), © The Limited. All Rights Reserved; Case Study on page 426 from
Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved; Case Study on UPS and FedEx turn focus to consumer behaviour, Financial
page 154 from Miele focuses on old-fashioned quality, Finan- Times, 12/08/2014 (Wright, R.), © The Financial Times Lim-
cial Times, 13/11/2003 (Marsh, P.); Case Study on page 158 ited. All Rights Reserved; Case Study on page 429 from GM
from Jaeger targets younger shoppers, Financial Times, backs away from drive to end use of ‘Chevy’ Financial Times,
15/04/2010 (Felsted, A.), © The Financial Times Limited. All 10/06/2010 (Simonin, B.), © The Financial Times Limited. All
Rights Reserved; Case Study on page 186 from Nestlé refines Rights Reserved; Case Study on page 458 from EasyJet blazes
its arsenal in the luxury coffee war, Financial Times, trail on customer service, Financial Times, 23/12/2013 (Wild,
28/04/2010 (Betts, P.), © The Financial Times Limited. All J.), © The Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved; Epi-
Rights Reserved; Case Study on page 188 from E-reader mar- graph on page 460 from Porter, M.E. and Kramer, M.R.
ket cuts prices again, Financial Times, 02/07/2010 (Gelles, (2011), ‘Creating shared value’, Harvard Business Review,
D.), © The Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved; January–February, 62–77; Case Study on page 460 from Eco-
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A01_HOOL7310_06_SE_FM.indd 15 04/01/2017 18:30

 2  

M01_HOOL7310_06_SE_C01.indd 2 02/01/2017 21:20

 Part 1
Marketing
Strategy
The first part of this book is concerned with the role of marketing in strategy devel-
opment and lays the groundwork for analysing the two central issues of competitive
positioning and market choices.
Chapter 1 discusses marketing as a process of value creation and delivery to customers
that transcends traditional departmental boundaries. We examine the issue of market
orientation as a way of doing business that places the customer at the centre of opera-
tions, and aligns people, information and structures around the value-creation process.
We also recognise the role of organisational resources in creating sustainable competi-
tive advantage. The chapter concludes with a set of fundamental marketing principles to
guide the actions of organisations operating in competitive markets, and by identifying
the role of marketing in leading and shaping strategic management.
Chapter 2 presents a framework for developing a marketing strategy that is then adopted
throughout the rest of the text. A three-stage process is proposed. First, the establish-
ment of the core strategy. This involves defining the business purpose, assessing the
alternatives open to the organisation through an analysis of customers, competition
and the resources of the organisation, and deciding on the strategic focus that will be
adopted. Second is the creation of the competitive positioning for the company. This
boils down to the selection of the target market(s) (which dictates where the organisa-
tion will compete) and the establishment of a competitive advantage (which spells out
how it will compete). Third, implementation issues are discussed, such as the achieve-
ment of positioning through the use of the marketing mix, organisation and control of
the marketing effort.
The ideas and frameworks presented in Part 1 are used to structure the remainder of the
text, leading into a more detailed discussion of market analysis in Part 2, segmentation
and positioning analysis in Part 3, the development of competitive positioning strategies
in Part 4, and strategy implementation issues in Part 5.

M01_HOOL7310_06_SE_C01.indd 3 02/01/2017 21:20

 Chapter 1
Market-Led Strategic
Management

The purpose of marketing is to contribute to maximising shareholder value

and marketing strategies must be evaluated in terms of how much value they
create for investors.
Peter Doyle (2008)

Puma gives the boot to cardboard shoeboxes

Puma is to eliminate the humble cardboard

shoebox and plans to produce half of its
sportswear from sustainable sources as part
of a push to use ethical credentials to steal a
march on rivals.
Jochen Zeitz, former chief executive, said
Puma wanted to become the ‘most sus-
tainable’ sportswear company, but offered
collaboration with other companies on
its packaging technology, which includes
the use of a corn starch-based product to
replace plastic in wrapping clothing and in
carrier bags in the group’s stores.
The initiatives by the world’s third-larg-
Source: www.puma.com
est sporting goods maker – which vies for
Puma has unveiled a reusable bag to replace
consumer spending with Adidas, its German neigh-
boxes for shipping shoes from factories to consumers
bour and rival, and Nike of the US – shows how
from late next year. The company also said at least
environmental concerns are prompting consumer
half its footwear, clothing and accessories would in
goods companies to alter production and marketing
time be produced from recycled or organic products.
methods.
Puma, owned by PPR, the French luxury goods
Mr Zeitz said Puma had decided to pre-empt any
group, said its new packaging and production meth-
potential legislation that would enforce more environ-
ods would initially increase costs. ‘If you buy recy-
mentally sustainable practices. ‘Puma must face the
cled material or organic it costs more . . . we hope
reality that neither its business nor the retail industry
there will be more [cheap] supplies in the future,’
are currently sustainable in a way that does not affect
Mr Zeitz said.
future generations,’ the company said.

M01_HOOL7310_06_SE_C01.indd 4 02/01/2017 21:20

 Introduction 5

2014 marked a turning point in Puma’s footwear

packaging concept. Their customers and retail part- Discussion questions
ners repeatedly reported issues regarding difficulties 1 What issues are Puma trying to address?
in the handling of the Clever Little Bag in the retail
2 How are Puma’s plans in line with the market-
environment, which led to the development of a new,
ing concept?
more conventional footwear packaging. To uphold
CONFIDENTIAL: Uncorrected WIP proof, NOT for circulation or distribution. © Pearson Education.

high environmental standards, the new PUMA shoe-

box is made from over 95% recycled and fully FSC®
certified material.
Source: from ‘Puma gives the boot to cardboard shoeboxes’, Financial
Times, 14/04/2010 (Wilson, J. and Milne, R.).

Introduction

Peter Doyle (2008) points out that the primary overarching goal for chief executives of
commercial companies is to maximise shareholder value. Is this at odds with increasing
awareness and attention to environmental and social responsibility? Surely firms seeking to
maximise shareholder value will pay scant regard to the natural and social environment in
which they operate, taking what they can irrespective of the consequences, to make a quick
buck? Isn’t this the essence of market-based capitalism – red in tooth and claw?
Wrong! The essence of the shareholder value approach is the long-term sustainability of the
organisation through the creation of lasting value. Indeed, Doyle also argues that shareholder
value is often confused with maximising profits. Maximising profitability is generally consid-
ered to be a short-term approach (and may result in eroding long-term competitiveness through
actions such as cost cutting and shedding assets to produce quick improvements in earnings).
Maximising shareholder value, on the other hand, requires long-term thinking, the identification
of changing opportunities and investment in the building of competitive advantage.
The role of marketing in the modern organisation poses something of a paradox. As Doyle
(2008) again points out, few chief executives come from a marketing background, and many
leading organisations do not even have marketing directors on their boards. Indeed, in many
firms, the marketing function or department has had little or no strategic role; being relegated
to public relations (PR), advertising or sales roles. However, there has been a change over
the last decade or so, regarding the importance of the marketing concept in setting the stra-
tegic direction and influencing the culture of firms. Greyser (1997), for example, notes that
marketing has successfully ‘migrated’ from being a functional discipline to being a concept of
how businesses should be run. Similarly, marketing is talked of as a key discipline in organisa-
tions other than conventional commercial enterprises, for example in not-for-profit enterprises
such as charities and the arts, in political parties, and even in public sector organisations, such
as universities and the police service.
Managers increasingly recognise that the route to achieving their commercial or social
objectives lies in successfully meeting the needs and expectations of their customers
(be they purchasers or users of services). The concept of the customer has always been
strong in commercial businesses, and as supply has outstripped demand in so many indus-
tries so customer choice has increased. Add to that the vast increase in information available
to customers through media sources such as the Internet, and the power in the supply chain
has shifted dramatically from manufacturer, to retailer/supplier, to end customer. In such
a world, organisations that don’t have customer satisfaction at the core of their strategic
decision making will find it increasingly hard to survive.
In the not-for-profit world the concept of the ‘customer’ is taking more time to get estab-
lished but is no less central. Public sector organisations talk in terms of ‘clients’, ‘patients’,
‘students’, ‘passengers’, and the like. In reality all are customers, in that they ‘receive’ benefits

M01_HOOL7310_06_SE_C01.indd 5 02/01/2017 21:20

 6 CHAPTER 1 MARKET-LED STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

from an exchange with an identifiable entity or service provider. Where customers can make
choices between service providers (within the public sector or outside it) they will choose
providers who best serve their needs. Increasingly private sector providers are identifying
areas where customers are not well served by the public sector, and providing new choices
(in healthcare, education, security services and transport, for example).
While organisational structures, operational methods and formal trappings of marketing
can and should change to reflect new developments and market opportunities, the philoso-
phy and concept of marketing, as described in this chapter, are even more relevant in the
business environment faced today than ever before.
This first chapter sets the scene by examining the marketing concept and market orienta-
tion as the foundations of strategic marketing, the role of marketing in addressing various
stakeholders in the organisation, and the developing resource-based marketing strategy
approach.

1.1 The marketing concept and market orientation

1.1.1 Evolving definitions of marketing

One of the earliest pieces of codification and definition in the development of the market-
ing discipline was concerned with the marketing concept. Over 50 years ago Felton (1959)
proposed that the marketing concept is:
A corporate state of mind that exists on the integration and coordination of all the market-
ing functions which, in turn, are melded with all other corporate functions, for the basic
objective of producing long-range profits.

Kotler et al. (1996) suggested that the defining characteristic is that:

The marketing concept holds that achieving organisational goals depends on determin-
ing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions more
effectively and efficiently than competitors do.

At its simplest, it is generally understood that the marketing concept holds that, in
increasingly dynamic and competitive markets, the companies or organisations which are
most likely to succeed are those that take notice of customer expectations, wants and needs
and gear themselves to satisfying them better than their competitors. It recognises that there
is no reason why customers should buy one organisation’s offerings unless they are in some
way better at serving their wants and needs than those offered by competing organisations.
In fact, the meaning and domain of marketing remains controversial. In 1985 the American
Marketing Association (AMA) reviewed more than 25 marketing definitions before arriving
at their own (see Ferrell and Lucas, 1987):
Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, planning and
distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and
organisational objectives.

This has since evolved further, but very much embraces the broad ideas expressed in this
initial definition. The AMA’s most recent (July 2013) definition of marketing is:
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating,
delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and
society at large.

Taken together, these definitions position marketing as being embedded within an

organisation, and as something that has extensive impact outside the organisation. They

M01_HOOL7310_06_SE_C01.indd 6 02/01/2017 21:20

 THE MARKETING CONCEPT AND MARKET ORIENTATION 7

Figure 1.1
Mutually beneficial
exchanges

also reinforce the notion of the centrality of the marketing concept, value, process, mutu-
ally beneficial exchange and customer relationships. These issues may or may not be man-
aged by a marketing department or function. These definitions lead to a model of ‘mutually
beneficial exchanges’ as an overview of the role of marketing, as shown in Figure 1.1.
Definitions of marketing are, of course, extremely useful, however the reality of what
marketing means operationally, and in reality, is a much more difficult topic. Webster
(1997) points out that, of all the management functions, marketing has the most difficulty
in defining its position in the organisation, because it is simultaneously culture, strategy and
tactics. He argues that marketing involves the following:
● Culture: marketing may be expressed as the ‘marketing concept’ i.e. a set of values
and beliefs embedded in employees that drives organisational decision making through
a fundamental commitment to serving customers’ needs, as the path to sustained
profitability.
Strategy: as strategy, marketing seeks to develop effective responses to changing market
environments by defining market segments, and developing and positioning product
offerings for those target markets.
● Tactics: marketing as tactics is concerned with the day-to-day activities of product

management, pricing, distribution and marketing communications such as advertising,

personal selling, publicity and sales promotion.

The challenge of simultaneously building a customer orientation in an organisation

(culture), developing value propositions and competitive positioning (strategy) and
developing detailed marketing action plans (tactics) is complex. It is perhaps unsur-
prising that the organisational reality of marketing often falls short of the demands
suggested above.

1.1.2 Market orientation

Marketing Science Institute studies during the 1990s attempted to identify the specific activi-
ties that translate the philosophy of marketing into reality, i.e. to achieve market orientation.
In one of the most widely quoted research streams in modern marketing, Kohli and Jaworski
(1990) defined market orientation in the following terms:
a market orientation entails (1) one or more departments engaging in activities geared
towards developing an understanding of customers’ current and future needs and the
factors affecting them, (2) sharing of this understanding across departments, and (3) the
various departments engaging in activities designed to meet select customer needs. In
other words, a market orientation refers to the organisation-wide generation, dissemina-
tion, and responsiveness to market intelligence.

M01_HOOL7310_06_SE_C01.indd 7 02/01/2017 21:20

 8 CHAPTER 1 MARKET-LED STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Figure 1.2
Components and
context of market
orientation

This view of market orientation is concerned primarily with the development of what
may be called market understanding throughout an organisation, and poses a substantial
management challenge.
In another seminal contribution to this discussion, Narver and Slater (1990) defined
market orientation as:
The organisational culture . . . that most effectively and efficiently creates the necessary
behaviours for the creation of superior value for buyers and, thus, continuous superior
performance for the business.

From this work a number of components, and the context of marketing, are proposed
(see Figure 1.2):
● customer orientation: understanding customers well enough continuously to create
superior value for them;
● competitor orientation: awareness of the short- and long-term capabilities of
competitors;
● interfunctional coordination: using all company resources to create value for target
customers;
● organisational culture: linking employee and managerial behaviour to customer
satisfaction;
● long-term creation of shareholder value: as the overriding business objective.
Although research findings are somewhat mixed regarding the impact and efficacy
of market orientation, there is a significant and compelling amount of support for the
view that market orientation is associated with superior organisational performance, i.e.
financial performance and non-financial performance such as employee commitment, and
esprit de corps (Jaworski and Kohli, 1993; Slater and Narver, 1994; Cano et al., 2004;
Kumar et al., 2011).
However, it has also been suggested that there may be substantial barriers to achieving
market orientation (Harris, 1996, 1998; Piercy et al., 2002). The reality may be that execu-
tives face the problem of creating and driving marketing strategy in situations where the
company is simply not market oriented. This is probably at the heart of many strategy
implementation problems in marketing (see Chapter 16).
An interesting attempt to ‘reinvent’ the marketing concept for a new era of different
organisational structures, complex relationships and globalisation, which may be rel-
evant to overcoming the barriers to market orientation, is made by Webster (1994).

M01_HOOL7310_06_SE_C01.indd 8 02/01/2017 21:20

 THE MARKETING CONCEPT AND MARKET ORIENTATION 9

Table 1.1 The fabric of the new marketing concept

1 Create customer focus throughout the business

2 Listen to the customer

3 Define and nurture the organisation’s distinct competencies

4 Define marketing as market intelligence

5 Target customers precisely

6 Manage for profitability, not sales volume

7 Make customer value the guiding star

8 Let the customer define loyalty

9 Measure and manage customer expectations

10 Build customer relationships and loyalty

11 Define the business as a service business

12 Commit to continuous improvement and innovation

13 Manage culture along with strategy and structure

14 Grow with partners and alliances

15 Destroy marketing bureaucracy

Source: Webster (1994).

He presents ‘the new marketing concept as a set of guidelines for creating a customer-
focused, market-driven organisation’, and develops 15 ideas that weave the ‘fabric of the new
marketing concept’ (Table 1.1).
Webster’s conceptualisation/ ‘checklist’ represents a useful and helpful attempt to
develop a pragmatic operationalisation of the marketing concept.
We can summarise the signs of market orientation in the following terms, and under-
line the links between them and our approach here to marketing strategy and competitive
positioning:
● Reaching marketing’s true potential may rely mostly on success in moving past market-
ing activities (tactics), to marketing as a company-wide issue of real customer focus
(culture) and competitive positioning (strategy). The evidence supports suggestions that
marketing has generally been highly effective in tactics, but only marginally effective in
changing culture, and largely ineffective in the area of strategy (Day, 1992; Varadarajan,
1992; Webster, 1997; Varadarajan, 2012).
● One key is achieving understanding of the market and the customer throughout the
company and building the capability for responsiveness to market changes. The real
customer focus and responsiveness of the company is the context in which marketing
strategy is built and implemented. Our approach to competitive market analysis in Part 2
provides many of the tools that can be used to enhance and share an understanding of
the customer marketplace throughout the company.
● Another issue is that the marketing process should be seen as interfunctional and cross-
disciplinary, and not simply the responsibility of the marketing department. This is the

M01_HOOL7310_06_SE_C01.indd 9 02/01/2017 21:20

 10 CHAPTER 1 MARKET-LED STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

real value of adopting the process perspective on marketing, which is becoming more
widely adopted by large organisations (Hulbert et al., 2003). We shall see in Part 4 on
competitive positioning strategies that superior service and value, and innovation to
build defensible competitive positions, rely on the coordinated efforts of many functions
and people within the organisation. Cross-functional relationships are also an important
emphasis in Part 5.
● It is also clear that a deep understanding of the competition in the market from the
customer’s perspective is critical. Viewing the product or service from the customer’s
viewpoint is often difficult, but without that perspective a marketing strategy is highly
vulnerable to attack from unsuspected sources of competition. We shall confront this
issue in Part 3, where we are concerned with competitive positioning.
● Finally, it follows that the issue is long-term performance, not simply short-term results,
and this perspective is implicit in all that we consider in building and implementing
marketing strategy.
A framework for executives to evaluate market orientation in their own organisations
is shown in Box 1.1. However, it is also important to make the point at this early stage
that marketing as organisational culture (the marketing concept and market orientation)
must also be placed in the context of other drivers of the values and approaches of the
organisation. A culture that emphasises customers as key stakeholders in the organisation
is not inconsistent with one that also recognises the needs and concerns of shareholders,
employees, managers and the wider social and environmental context in which the organi-
sation operates.

Box 1.1 Market orientation assessment

1 Customer orientation

Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly Don’t

agree disagree know

Information about customer needs and 5 4 3 2 1 0

requirements is collected regularly

Our corporate objective and policies 5 4 3 2 1 0

are aimed directly at creating satisfied
customers

Levels of customer satisfaction are 5 4 3 2 1 0

regularly assessed and action is taken
to improve matters where necessary

We put major effort into building stronger 5 4 3 2 1 0

relationships with key customers and
customer groups

We recognise the existence of distinct 5 4 3 2 1 0

groups or segments in our markets with
different needs and we adapt our offerings
accordingly

Total score for customer orientation (out of 25)

M01_HOOL7310_06_SE_C01.indd 10 02/01/2017 21:20

Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
It is humiliating to sit in a leaky boat—it is like a lame horse or a
crooked gun; of all the needful qualities of a boat the first is to keep
out the water. So I stopped at the first village, and got a man to mix
white lead and other things, and we carefully worked this into all the
seams, leaving it to harden while I had my breakfast in the little
auberge close by the shore, where they are making the long rafts to
go down to Paris, and where hot farmers come to sip their two-
penny bottle of wine.
The raft man was wonderfully proud of his performance with the
canoe, and he called out to each of his friends as they walked past,
to give them its long history in short words. When I paid him at last,
he said he hoped I would never forget that the canoe had been
thoroughly mended in the middle of France, at the village of ——,
but I really do not remember the name.
However, there were not wanting tests of his workmanship, for the
Rob Roy had to be pulled over many dykes and barriers on the
Marne. Some of these were of a peculiar construction, and were
evidently novel in design.
A "barrage" reached across the stream, and there were three steps
or falls on it, with a plateau between each. The water ran over these
steps, and was sometimes only a few inches in depth on the crest of
each fall, where it had to descend some eight or ten inches at most.
This, of course, would have been easy enough for the canoe to pass,
but then a line of iron posts was ranged along each plateau, and
chains were tied from the top of one post to the bottom of another,
diagonally, and it will be understood that this was a very puzzling
arrangement to steer through in a fast current.
In cases of this sort I usually got ashore to reconnoitre, and having
calculated the angle at which we must enter the passage obliquely
(down a fall, and across its stream), I managed to get successfully
through several of these strange barriers. We came at length to one
which, on examination, I had to acknowledge was "impassable," for
the chains were slack, and there was only an inch or two of "law" on
either side of the difficult course through them.

"The Chain Barrier."

However, a man happened to see my movements and the canoe,

and soon he called some dozen of his fellow navvies from their work
to look at the navigator.
The captain was therefore incited by these spectators to try the
passage, and I mentally resolved at any rate to be cool and placid,
however much discomfiture was to be endured. The boat was
steered to the very best of my power, but the bow of the canoe
swerved an inch in the swift oblique descent, and instantly it got
locked in the chains, while I quietly got out (whistling an air in slow
time), and then, in the water with all my clothes on, I steadily lifted
the boat through the iron network and got into her, dripping wet, but
trying to behave as if it were only the usual thing. The navvies
cheered a long and loud bravo! but I felt somewhat ashamed of
having yielded to the desire for ignorant applause, and when finally
round the next corner I got out and changed my wet things, a wiser
and a sadder man, but dry.
This part of the river is in the heart of the champagne country, and
all the softly swelling hills about are thickly covered by vineyards.
The vine for champagne is exceedingly small, and grows round one
stick, and the hillside looks just like a carding-brush, from the
millions of these little sharp-pointed rods upright in the ground and
close together, without any fence whatever between the
innumerable lots. The grape for champagne is always red, and never
white, so they said, though "white grapes are grown for eating."
During the last two months few people have consumed more grapes
in this manner than the chief mate of the Rob Roy canoe.
On one of these hills we noticed the house of Madame Clicquot,
whose name has graced many a cork of champagne bottles and of
bottles not champagne.
The vineyards of Ai, near Epernay, are the most celebrated for their
wine. After the bottles are filled, they are placed neck downwards,
and the sediment collects near the cork. Each bottle is then
uncorked in this position, and the confined gas forces out a little of
the wine with the sediment, while a skilful man dexterously replaces
the cork when this sediment has been expelled. One would think
that only a very skilful man can perform such a feat. When the
bottles are stored in "caves," or vast cellars, the least change of
temperature causes them to burst by hundreds. Sometimes one-
fourth of the bottles explode in this manner, and it is said that the
renowned Madame Clicquot lost 400,000 in the hot autumn of 1843,
before sufficient ice could be fetched from Paris to cool her spacious
cellars. Every year about fifty million bottles of genuine champagne
are made in France, and no one can say how many more millions of
bottles of "French champagne" are imbibed every year by a
confiding world.
The Marne is a large and deep river, and its waters are kept up by
barriers every few miles. It is rather troublesome to pass these by
taking the boat out and letting it down on the other side, and in
crossing one of them I gave a serious blow to the stern of the canoe
against an iron bar. This blow started four planks from the sternpost,
and revealed to me also that the whole frame had suffered from the
journey at night on an open truck. However, as my own ship's
carpenter was on board, and had nails and screws, we soon
managed to make all tight again, and by moonlight came to
Dormans, where I got two men to carry the boat as usual to an
hotel, and had the invariable run of visitors from that time until
everybody went to bed.
It is curious to remark the different names by which the canoe has
been called, and among these the following:—"Batteau," "schiff,"
"bôt," "barca," "canôt," "caique" (the soldiers who have been in the
Crimea call it thus), "chaloupe" "navire," "schipp" (Low German),
"yacht" ("jacht"—Danish, "jaht," from "jagen," to ride quickly—
properly a boat drawn by horses). Several people have spoken of it
as "batteau à vapeur," for in the centre of France they have never
seen a steamboat, but the usual name with the common people is
"petit batteau" and among the educated people "nacelle" or
"perissoir;" this last as we call a dangerous boat a "coffin" or
"sudden death."
An early start next morning found me slipping along with a tolerable
current and under sail before a fine fresh breeze, but with the same
unalterable blue sky. I had several interesting conversations with
farmers and others riding to market along the road which here skirts
the river. What most surprises the Frenchman is that a traveller can
possibly be happy alone! Not one hour have I had of ennui, and,
however selfish it may seem, it is true that for this sort of journey I
prefer to travel entirely seul.
Pleasant trees and pretty gardens are here on every side in plenty,
but where are the houses of the gentlemen of France, and where
are the French gentlemen themselves? This is a difference between
France and England which cannot fail to "knock" the observant
traveller (as Artemus Ward would say)—the notable absence of
country seats during hours and hours of passage along the best
routes; whereas in England the prospect from almost every hill of
woodland would have a great house at the end of its vista, and the
environs of every town would stretch into outworks of villas smiling
in the sun. The French have ways and fashions which are not ours,
but their nation is large enough to entitle them to a standard of their
own, just as the Americans, with so great a people agreed on the
matter, may surely claim liberty to speak with a twang, and to write
of a "plow."
I am convinced that it is a mistake to say we Britons are a silent
people compared with the French or Americans. At some hundred
sittings of the table d'hôte in both these countries I have found more
of dull, dead silence than in England at our inns. An Englishman
accustomed only to the pleasant chat of a domestic dinner feels ill at
ease when dining with strangers, and so he notices their silence all
the more; but the French table d'hôte (not in the big barrack hotels,
for English tourists, we have before remarked upon) has as little
general conversation, and an American one has far less than in
England.
Here in France come six or seven middle-class men to dine. They put
the napkin kept for each from yesterday, and recognized by the
knots they tied on it, up to their chins like the pinafore of a baby,
and wipe plate, fork, and spoons with the other end, and eat bits
and scraps of many dishes, and scrape their plates almost clean, and
then depart, and not one word has been uttered.
Then, again, there is the vaunted French climate. Bright sun, no
doubt, but forget not that it is so very bright as to compel all rooms
to be darkened from ten to four each day. At noon the town is like a
cemetery; no one thinks of walking, riding, or looking out of his
window in the heat. From seven to nine in the morning, and from an
hour before sunset to any time you please at night, the open air is
delicious. But I venture to say that in a week of common summer
weather we see more of the sun in England than in France, for we
seldom have so much of it at once as to compel us to close our eyes
against its fierce rays. In fact, the sensation of life in the South, after
eleven o'clock in the morning, is that of waiting for the cool hours,
and so day after day is a continual reaching forward to something
about to come; whereas, an English day of sunshine is an enjoyable
present from beginning to end. Once more, let it be remembered
that twilight lasts only for half an hour in the sunny South; that
delicious season of musing and long shadows is a characteristic of
the northern latitudes which very few Southerners have ever
experienced at all.
The run down the Marne for about 200 miles was a pleasant part of
the voyage, but seldom so exciting in adventure as the paddling on
unknown waters. Long days of work could therefore be now well
endured, for constant exercise had trained the body, and a sort of
instinct was enough, when thus educated by experience, to direct
the mind. Therefore the Rob Roy's paddle was in my hands for ten
hours at a time without weariness, and sometimes even for twelve
hours at a stretch.
After a comfortable night at Chateau Thierry in the Elephant Hotel,
which is close to the water, I took my canoe down from the hayloft
to which it had been hoisted, and once more launched her on the
river. The current gradually increased, and the vineyards gave place
to forest trees. See, there are the rafts, some of casks, lashed
together with osiers, some of planks, others of hewn logs, and
others of great rough trees. There is a straw hut on them for the
captain's cabin, and the crew will have a stiff fortnight's work to
drag, push, and steer this congeries of wood on its way to the Seine.
The labour spent merely in adjusting and securing the parts is
enormous, but labour of that kind costs little here.
Further on there is a large flock of sheep conducted to the river to
drink, in the orthodox pastoral manner of picture-books. But (let us
confess it) they were also driven by the sagacious shepherd's dogs,
who seem to know perfectly that the woolly multitude has come
precisely to drink, and, therefore, the dogs cleverly press forward
each particular sheep, until it has got a place by the cool brink of the
water.
In the next quiet bay a village maid drives her cow to the river, and
chats across the water with another, also leading in a cow to wade
knee deep, and to dip its broad nose, and lift it gently again from
the cool stream. On the road alongside is a funny little waggon, and
a whole family are within. This concern is actually drawn along by a
goat. Its little kid skips about, for the time of toil has not yet come
to the youngling, and it may gambol now.
But here is the bridge of Nogent, so I leave my boat in charge of an
old man, and give positive pleasure to the cook at the auberge by
ordering a breakfast. Saints' portraits adorn the walls, and a
"sampler" worked by some little girl, with only twenty-five letters in
the alphabet, for the "w" is as yet ignored in classic grammars,
though it has now to be constantly used in the common books and
newspapers. Why, they even adopt our sporting terms, and you see
in a paper that such a race was only "un Walkover," and that another
was likely to be "un dead heat."
Suddenly in my quiet paddling here the sky was shaded, and on
looking up amazed I found a cloud; at last, after six weeks of
brilliant blue and scorching glare, one fold of the fleecy curtain has
been drawn over the sun.
The immediate effect of this cooler sky was very invigorating,
though, after weeks of hot glare (reflected upwards again into the
face from the water), it seemed the most natural thing to be always
in a blaze of light, for much of the inconvenience of it was avoided
by a plan which will be found explained in the Appendix, with some
other hints to "Boating Men."
The day went pleasantly now, and with only the events of ordinary
times, which need not be recounted. The stream was steady, the
banks were peopled, and many a blue-bloused countryman stopped
to look at the canoe as she glided past, with the captain's socks and
canvas shoes on the deck behind him, for this was his drying-place
for wet clothes.
Now and then a pleasure-boat was seen, and there were several
canoes at some of the towns, but all of them flat-bottomed and
open, and desperately unsafe—well named "perissoirs." Some of
these were made of metal. The use of this is well-known to be a
great mistake for any boat under ten tons; in all such cases it is
much heavier than wood of the same strength, considering the
strains which a boat must expect to undergo.
"La Ferté sous Jouarre" is the long name of the next stopping-place.
There are several towns called by the name La Ferté (La Fortifié),
which in some measure corresponds with the termination "caster" or
"cester" of English names. Millstones are the great specialty of this
La Ferté. A good millstone costs 50l., and there is a large exportation
of them. The material has the very convenient property of not
requiring to be chipped into holes, as these exist in this stone
naturally.
At La Ferté I put the boat into a hayloft; how often it has occupied
this elevated lodgings amongst its various adventures; and at dinner
with me there is an intelligent and hungry bourgeois from Paris, with
his vulgar and hearty wife, and opposite to them the gossip of the
town, who kept rattling on the stupid, endless fiddle-faddle of
everybody's doings, sayings, failings, and earnings. Some
amusement, however, resulted from the collision of two gossips at
our table of four guests, for while the one always harped upon
family tales of La Ferté, its local statistics, and the minute sayings of
its people, the other kept struggling to turn our thoughts to shoes
and slippers, for he was a commercial traveller with a cartful of
boots to sell. But, after all, how much of our conversation in better
life is only of the same kind, though about larger, or at any rate
different things; what might sound trifles to our British Cabinet
would be the loftiest politics of Honolulu.
When we started at eight o'clock next day I felt an unaccountable
languor; my arms were tired, and my energy seemed, for the first
time, deficient. This was the result of a week's hard exercise, and of
a sudden change of wind to the south. Give me our English climate
for real hard work to prosper in.
One generally associates the north wind with cool and bracing air,
and certainly in the Mediterranean it is the change of wind to the
south, the hated sirocce, that enervates the traveller at once. But
this north wind on the Marne came over a vast plain of arid land
heated by two months of scorching sun, whereas the breezes of last
week, though from the east, had been tempered in passing over the
mountains of the Vosges.
Forty-two miles lay before me to be accomplished before arriving to-
night at my resting-place for Sunday, and it was not a pleasant
prospect to contemplate with stiff muscles in the shoulders.
However, after twelve miles I found that about twenty miles in
turnings of the river could be cut off by putting the boat on a cart,
and thus a league of walking and 3s. 4d. of payment solved the
difficulty. The old man with his cart was interesting to talk to, and
we spoke about those deep subjects which are of common interest
to all.
At a turn in the road we came upon a cart overturned and with a
little crowd round it, while the earth was covered with a great pool
of what seemed to be blood, but was only wine. The cart had struck
a tree, and the wine-cask on it instantly burst, which so frightened
the horse that he overset the cart.
The Rob Roy was soon in the water again, and the scenery had now
become much more enjoyable.
I found an old soldier at a ferry who fetched me a bottle of wine,
and then he and his wife sat in their leaky, flat, green-painted boat,
and became very great friends with the Englishman. He had been at
the taking of Constantine in Algeria, a place which really does look
quite impossible to be taken by storm. But the appearance of a
fortress is deceptive except to the learned in such matters. Who
would think that Comorn, in Hungary, is stronger than Constantine?
When you get near Comorn there is nothing to see, and it is
precisely because of this that it was able to resist so long.
The breeze soon freshened till I hoisted my sails and was fairly
wafted on to Meaux, so that, after all, the day, begun with
forebodings, became as easy and as pleasant as the rest.
 CHAPTER XV.
Meaux on the Marne—Hammering—Popish forms—Wise dogs—Blocked in
a tunnel—A dry voyage—Arbour and garret—Odd fellows—Dream on
the Seine—Almost over—No admittance—Charing-cross.

There are three hemispheres of scenery visible to the traveller who

voyages thus in a boat on the rivers. First, the great arch of sky, and
land, and trees, and flowers down to the water's brink; then the
whole of this reflected beautifully in the surface of the river; and
then the wondrous depths in the water itself, with its animal life, its
rocks and glades below, and its flowers and mosses. Now rises the
moon so clear, and with the sky around it so black that no "man in
the moon" can be seen.
At the hotel we find a whole party of guests for the marriage-dinner
of a newly-wedded pair. The younger portion of the company
adjourn to the garden and let off squibs and crackers, so it seems to
be a good time to exhibit some of my signal lights from my
bedroom-window, and there is much cheering as the Englishman
illumines the whole neighbourhood. Next day the same people all
assembled for the marriage breakfast, and sherry, madeira, and
champagne flowed from the well-squeezed purse of the bride's
happy father.
I have noticed that the last sound to give way to the stillness of the
night in a village is that of the blacksmith's hammer, which is much
more heard abroad than at home. Perhaps this is because much of
their execrable French ironwork is made in each town; whereas in
England it is manufactured by machinery in great quantities and at
special places. At any rate, after travelling on the Continent long
enough to become calm and observant, seeing, hearing, and, we
may add, scenting all around, the picture in the mind is full of blue
dresses, white stones, jingling of bells, and the "cling, cling" of the
never idle blacksmith.
This town of Meaux has a bridge with houses on it, and great mill-
wheels filling up the arches as they used to do in old London-bridge.
Pleasant gardens front the river, and cafés glitter there at night.
These are not luxuries but positive necessaries of life for the
Frenchman, and it is their absence abroad which—we believe—is
one chief cause of his being so bad a colonist, for the Frenchman
has only the expression "with me" for "home," and no word for
"wife" but "woman."
The cathedral of Meaux is grand and old, and see how they
masquerade the service in it! Look at the gaunt "Suisse," with his
cocked-hat kept on in church, with his sword and spear. The twenty
priests and twelve red-surpliced boys intone to about as many
hearers. A monk escorted through the church makes believe to
sprinkle holy water on all sides from that dirty plasterer's brush, and
then two boys carry on their shoulders a huge round loaf, the "pain
benit," which, after fifty bowings, is blessed, and escorted back to be
cut up, and is then given in morsels to the congregation. These
endless ceremonies are the meshes of the net of Popery, and they
are well woven to catch many Frenchmen, who must have action,
show, the visible tangible outside, whatever may be meant by it.
This service sets one a-thinking. Some form there must be in
worship. One may suppose, indeed, that perfect spirit can adore God
without attitude, or even any sequence or change. Yet in the Bible
we hear of Seraphs veiling their bodies with their wings, and of
elders prostrate at certain times, and saints that have a litany even
in heaven. Mortals must have some form of adoration, but there is
the question, How much? and on this great point how many wise
and foolish men have written books without end, or scarcely any
effect!
The riverside was a good place for a quiet Sunday walk. Here a flock
of 300 sheep had come to drink, and nibble at the flowers hanging
over the water, and the simple-hearted shepherd stood looking on
while his dogs rushed backward and forward, yearning for some
sheep to do wrong, that their dog service might be required to
prevent or to punish naughty conduct. This "Berger" inquires
whether England is near Africa, and how large our legs of mutton
are, and if we have sheep-dogs, and are there any rivers in our
island on the sea. Meanwhile at the hotel the marriage party kept on
"breakfasting," even until four o'clock, and non-melodious songs
were sung. The French, as a people, do not excel in vocal music,
either in tone or in harmony, but then they are precise in time.
Afloat again next morning, and quite refreshed, we prepared for a
long day's work. The stream was now clear, and the waving tresses
of dark green weeds gracefully curved under water, while islands
amid deep shady bays varied the landscape above.
I saw a canal lock open, and paddled in merely for variety, passing
soon into a tunnel, in the middle of which there was a huge boat
fixed, and nobody with it. The boat exactly filled the tunnel, and the
men had gone to their dinner, so I had first to drag their huge boat
out, and then the canoe proudly glided into daylight, having a whole
tunnel to itself.
At Lagny, where we were to breakfast, I left my boat with a nice old
gentleman, who was fishing in a nightcap and spectacles, and he
assured me he would stop there two hours. But when I scrambled
back to it through the mill (the miller's men amazed among their
wholesome dusty sacks), the disconsolate Rob Roy was found to be
all alone, the first time she had been left in a town an "unprotected
female."
To escape a long serpent wind of the river, we entered another canal
and found it about a foot deep, with clear water flowing pleasantly.
This seemed to be very fortunate, and it was enjoyed most
thoroughly for a few miles, little knowing what was to come.
Presently weeds began, then clumps of great rushes, then large
bushes and trees, all growing with thick grass in the water, and at
length this got so dense that the prospect before me was precisely
like a very large hayfield, with grass four feet high, all ready to be
mowed, but which had to be mercilessly rowed through.
This on a hot day without wind, and in a long vista, unbroken by a
man or a house, or anything lively, was rather daunting, but we had
gone too far to recede with honour, and so by dint of pushing and
working I actually got the boat through some miles of this novel
obstruction (known only this summer), and brought her safe and
sound again to the river. At one place there was a bridge over this
wet marsh, and two men happened to be going over it as the canoe
came near. They soon called to some neighbours, and the row of
spectators exhibited the faculty so notable in French people and so
rarely found with us, that of being able to keep from laughing right
out at a foreigner in an awkward case. The absurd sight of a man
paddling a boat amid miles of thick rushes was indeed a severe test
of courteous gravity. However, I must say that the labour required to
penetrate this marsh was far less than one would suppose from the
appearance of the place. The sharp point of the boat entered, and
its smooth sides followed through hedges, as it were, of aquatic
plants, and, on the whole (and after all was done!), I preferred the
trouble and muscular effort required then to that of the monotonous
calm of usual canal sailing.
 "Canal Miseries."

Fairly in the broad river again the Rob Roy came to Neuilly, and it
was plain that my Sunday rest had enabled over thirty miles to be
accomplished without any fatigue at the end. With some hesitation
we selected an inn on the water-side. The canoe was taken up to it
and put on a table in a summer-house, while my own bed was in a
garret where one could not stand upright—the only occasion where I
have been badly housed; and pray let no one be misled by the name
of this abode—"The Jolly Rowers."
Next day the river flowed fast again, and numerous islands made the
channels difficult to find. The worst of these difficulties is that you
cannot prepare for them. No map gives any just idea of your route—
the people on the river itself are profoundly ignorant of its
navigation. For instance, in starting, my landlord told me that in two
hours we should reach Paris. After ten miles an intelligent man said,
"Distance from Paris? it is six hours from here;" while a third
informed me a little further on, "It is just three leagues and a half
from this spot."
The banks were now dotted with villas, and numerous pleasure-
boats were moored at neat little stairs. The vast number of these
boats quite astonished me, and the more so as very few of them
were ever to be seen in actual use.
The French are certainly ingenious in their boat-making, but more of
ingenuity than of practical exercise is seen on the water. On several
rivers we remarked the "walking machine," in which a man can walk
on the water by fixing two small boats on his feet. A curious mode of
rowing with your face to the bows has lately been invented by a
Frenchman, and it is described in the Appendix.
We stopped to breakfast at a new canal cutting, and as there were
many gamins about, I fastened a stone to my painter and took the
boat out into the middle of the river, and so left her moored within
sight of the arbour, where I sat, and also within sight of the ardent-
eyed boys who gazed for hours with wistful looks on the tiny craft
and its fluttering flag. Their desire to handle as well as to see is only
natural for these little fellows, and, therefore, if the lads behave well,
I always make a point of showing them the whole affair quite near,
after they have had to abstain from it so long as a forbidden
pleasure.
Strange that this quick curiosity of French boys does not ripen more
of them into travellers, but it soon gets expended in trifling details of
a narrow circle, while the sober, sedate, nay, the triste, Anglian is
found scurrying over the world with a carpet-bag, and pushing his
way in foreign crowds without one word of their language, and all
the while as merry as a lark. Among the odd modes of locomotion
adopted by Englishmen, we have already mentioned that of the
gentleman travelling in Germany with a four-in-hand and two spare
horses. We met another Briton who had made a tour in a road
locomotive which he bought for 700l., and sold again at the same
price. One more John Bull, who regarded the canoe as a "queer
conveyance," went himself abroad on a velocipede. None of these,
however, could cross seas, lakes, and rivers like the canoe, which
might be taken wherever a man could walk or a plank could swim.
It seemed contrary to nature that, after thus nearing pretty Paris,
one's back was now to be turned upon it for hours in order to have a
wide, vague, purposeless voyage into country parts. But the river
willed it so; for here a great curve began and led off to the left,
while the traffic of the Marne went straight through a canal to the
right,—through a canal, and therefore I would not follow it there.
The river got less and less in volume; its water was used for the
canal, and it could scarcely trickle, with its maimed strength, through
a spacious sweep of real country life. Here we often got grounded,
got entangled in long mossy weeds, got fastened in overhanging
trees, and, in fact, suffered all the evils which the smallest brook had
ever entailed, though this was a mighty river.
The bend was more and more inexplicable, as it turned more round
and round, till my face was full in the sunlight at noon, and I saw
that the course was now due south.
Rustics were there to look at me, and wondering herdsmen too, as if
the boat was in mid Germany, instead of being close to Paris.
Evidently boating men in that quarter never came here by the river,
and the Rob Roy was a rara avis floating on a stream unused.
But the circle was rounded at last, as all circles are, however large
they be; and we got back to the common route, to civilization,
fishing men and fishing women, and on the broad Marne once more.
So here I stopped a bit for a ponder.
And now we unmoor for the last time, and enter the Rob Roy for its
final trip—the last few miles of the Marne, and of more than a
thousand miles rowed and sailed since we started from England. I
will not disguise my feeling of sadness then, and I wished that Paris
was still another day distant.
For this journey in a canoe has been interesting, agreeable, and
useful, though its incidents may not be realized by reading what has
now been described. The sensation of novelty, freedom, health, and
variety all day and every day was what cannot be recited. The close
acquaintance with the people of strange lands, and the constant
observation of nature around, and the unremitting attention
necessary for progress, all combine to make a voyage of this sort
improving to the mind thus kept alert, while the body thoroughly
enjoys life when regular hard exercise in the open air dissipates the
lethargy of these warmer climes.
These were my thoughts as I came to the Seine and found a cool
bank to lie upon under the trees, with my boat gently rocking in the
ripples of the stream below, and the nearer sound of a great city
telling that Paris was at hand. "Here," said I, "and now is my last
hour of life savage and free. Sunny days; alone, but not solitary;
worked, but not weary"—as in a dream the things, places, and men
I had seen floated before my eyes half closed. The panorama was
wide, and fair to the mind's eye; but it had a tale always the same
as it went quickly past—that vacation was over, and work must
begin.
Up, then, for this is not a life of mere enjoyment. Again into the
harness of "polite society," the hat, the collar, the braces, the gloves,
the waistcoat, the latch-key—perhaps, the razor—certainly the
umbrella. How every joint and limb will rebel against these
manacles, but they must be endured!
The gradual approach to Paris by gliding down the Seine was
altogether a new sensation. By diligence, railway, or steamer, you
have nothing like it—not certainly by walking into Paris along a dusty
road.
For now we are smoothly carried on a wide and winding river, with
nothing to do but to look and to listen while the splendid panorama
majestically unfolds. Villas thicken, gardens get smaller as houses
are closer, trees get fewer as walls increase. Barges line the banks,
commerce and its movement, luxury and its adornments, spires and
cupolas grow out of the dim horizon, and then bridges seem to float
towards me, and the hum of life gets deeper and busier, while the
pretty little prattling of the river stream yields to the roar of traffic,
and to that indescribable thrill which throbs in the air around this the
capital of the Continent, the centre of the politics, the focus of the
pleasure and the splendour of the world.
In passing the island at Notre Dame I fortunately took the proper
side, but even then we found a very awkward rush of water under
the bridges. This was caused by the extreme lowness of the river,
which on this very day was three feet lower than in the memory of
man. The fall over each barrier, though wide enough, was so shallow
that I saw at the last bridge the crowd above me evidently
calculated upon my being upset; and they were nearly right too. The
absence of other boats showed me (now experienced in such
omens) that some great difficulty was at hand, but I also remarked
that by far the greater number of observers had collected over one
particular arch, where at first there seemed to be the very worst
chance for getting through. By logical deduction I argued, "that must
be the best arch, after all, for they evidently expect I will try it," and,
with a horrid presentiment that my first upset was to be at my last
bridge, I boldly dashed forward—whirl, whirl the waves, and grate—
grate—my iron keel; but the Rob Roy rises to the occasion, and a
rewarding Bravo! from the Frenchmen above is answered by a
British "All right" from the boat below.
No town was so hard to find a place for the canoe in as the bright,
gay Paris. I went to the floating baths; they would not have me. We
paddled to the funny old ship; they shook their heads. We tried a
coal wharf; but they were only civil there. Even the worthy
washerwomen, my quondam friends, were altogether callous now
about a harbour for the canoe.
In desperation we paddled to a bath that was being repaired, but
when my boat rounded the corner it was met by a volley of abuse
from the proprietor for disturbing his fishing; he was just in the act
of expecting the final bite of a goujon.
Relenting as we apologized and told the Rob Roy's tale, he housed
her there for the night; and I shouldered my luggage and wended
my way to an hotel.
Here is Meurice's, with the homeward tide of Britons from every Alp
and cave of Europe flowing through its salons. Here are the gay
streets, too white to be looked at in the sun, and the poupeé
theatres under the trees, and the dandies driving so stiff in hired
carriages, and the dapper, little soldiers, and the gilded cafés.
Yes, it is Paris—and more brilliant than ever!
I faintly tried to hope, but—pray pardon me—I utterly failed to
believe that any person there had enjoyed his summer months with
such excessive delight as the captain, the purser, the ship's cook,
and cabin boy of the Rob Roy canoe.
Eight francs take the boat by rail to Calais. Two shillings take her
thence to Dover. The railway takes her free to Charing Cross, and
there two porters put her in the Thames again.
A flowing tide, on a sunny evening, bears her fast and cheerily
straight to Searle's, there to debark the Rob Roy's cargo safe and
sound and thankful, and to plant once more upon the shore of old
England
The flag that braved a thousand miles,
The rapid and the snag.
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