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INSURGENT

COMPANIES

REALIZE NO

POINTS ARE

SCORED IN

THE HUDDLE

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V I N C E L O M B A R D I , N F L C O A C H  

“IF WINNING ISN’T EVERYTHING, WHY DO THEY KEEP SCORE?” 

 Today’s business world effectively consists of two

types of companies: incumbents and

insurgents.

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Incumbents are category

leaders with size, scale, and

ample financial resources 

used to protect their market

leadership positions. 

Insurgents are clever,

innovative, and highly

resourceful upstarts.

They commonly disrupt

established categories

with counter-intuitive

thinking that drives

accelerated growth.  

I n c u m b e n t s i n v e s t s i g n i f i c a n t t i m e + r e s o u r c e s h u d d l i n g i n   m e e t i n g s… i n s u r g e n t s i n v e s t t h e i r

t i m e c h a s i n g r e v e n u e .  

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S m a r t i n s u r g e n t c o m p a n i e s a r e r e v e n u e - c e n t r i c   a n d s m a r t i n t h e i r a p p r o a c h .

T h e y s h a r e F I V E o f t h e s a m e b a s i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .

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I n s u r g e n t s A l w a y s K n o w t h e S c o r e

Most companies analyze performance at the end of a fiscal period.

This is often too late to affect outcomes.

1 

Insurgents Understand Numbers Don’t Lie , But They May Mislead

Numbers often lack context causing executives to lose sight of the bigger picture.

2 

Insurgent companies are contextual + view numbers

from perspectives not often thought of by

competitors.

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Insurgents First Sel l To The Base, Then Market To The Potent ia l  

Insurgent companies understand that those with a strong preference for your brand are the

least likely to defect to competitors and the likely to continue buying your products/services. 

3 

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INSURGENTS UNDERSTAND THAT THOSE WITH A SOFT BRAND PREFERENCE ARE OFTEN VULNERABLE TO COMPETITIVE

OFFERINGS.  

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The "neutrals" are the equivalent of the political

independents. They are the classic comparison shoppers and switch

brands frequently.

I n s u r g e n t s U n d e r s t a n d T h a t P r i c i n g i s a   D y n a m i c D i s c i p l i n e

Pricing today is a dynamic + complex discipline. As a result, many companies and industries have

employed sophisticated pricing strategies to optimize revenue. It’s called yield management.

4 

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INSURGENTS UNDERSTAND THAT PRICING MUST NOT BE BASED ON COMPETITIVE OFFERINGS, BUT

RATHER MORE SOPHISTICATED AND BASED ON DYNAMIC MARKET CONDITIONS.    

I n s u r g e n t s U n d e r s t a n d t h a t P r o m o t i o n s a r e   a T a c t i c , N o t a S t r a t e g y

Promotions are discounted or incentivized offers available for a specific period of time.

Many companies, however, do not use promotions intelligently.

5 

Promotion should be used to generate incremental business only in periods

of soft demand.

Promotions can result in either the dilution or

displacement of revenue. 

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it's the insurgent companies that

grab the headlines with innovative

go-to-market strategies and

impressive financial

performance. 

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helps companies analyze their

competitive market positioning

and adopt insurgent

strategies + programs that drive

measurable revenue and market

share growth.

A S C E N S I O N

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T H A N K Y O U

For more information on how Ascension can help your company contact

Craig Apatov, Managing Partner at capatov@ascensionstrategy.com

or call 404-250-4547.

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A S C E N S I O N G R O W T H &   I N N O V A T I O N S T R A T E G I E S