Good Strategic planning Essay Example

Strategic planning is a process within a company that leads to the development of the overall organizational goals. This process also helps to define the steps that will be taken by the company in the next 3-5 years. This process is partly related to the marketing management process, because it depends on the situation analysis of the external environment in which the company operates. Based on the data about the competitors, the consumers and the current situation in the market, the organizational objectives may be formulated better. Strategic planning may become more dynamic and flexible if the company works in the highly competitive environment. Usually strategic planning consists of the context setting, analysis and development of the implementation plan that will be used in order to achieve the desired future state.
In order to maximize the revenue and understand the environment in which the products are sold, the companies need to segment the markets. There are several key methods of market segmentation, in particular geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral segmentation. Market research helps to assess the customers and identify the current market trends that will help to achieve better market segmentation in the short term. Therefore, effective marketing management will be usually based on the extensive knowledge of the customers and the markets in which the products are sold. Nevertheless, the market segments should be regularly reviewed due to the changing buying habits and preferences of the customers.
There are several stages of the product planning process. In the beginning, the ideas of a new product are generated based on the information about the consumer needs and the competitors’ products. Then the ideas are assessed for their feasibility. Next, the best ideas are analyzed in terms of their economic feasibility. After that, a prototype is created and tested in order to get the first feedback from the consumers. Finally, the new product is created and launched in the market. Product planning also requires selecting the proper marketing and distribution strategies that will help to raise awareness about the new product and generate the first sales.
Relationship marketing is strategically vital for the companies, because it helps to build up a base of the loyal customers, reduce the cost of acquiring the new customers and improve the overall image of the company. Relationship marketing may lead to the successful implementation of the company’s marketing program if the different marketing approaches are aimed at the attraction of the new customers and retention of the loyal customers. As the result, the company will be able to maintain or improve its market position. Successful relationship marketing depends on responsible customer service, effective use of technology and branding. Therefore a comprehensive marketing program needs to be developed in order to apply the relationship marketing successfully.
There are several pricing methods: cost-based pricing, demand-based pricing, competition-based pricing, etc. Cost-based pricing refers to the method when the profit margin is added to the product cost. The higher the fixed and other costs are the higher the selling prices the company will have to set up. Demand-based pricing helps to maximize the profits, because the price increase or decrease in relation to the demand level leads to the larger number of sold products. In turn, competition-based pricing depends on supply of similar products by the competitors. When applying competition-based pricing, companies usually analyze the prices in the market at first and after that they are able to set up the best prices that will help to sell more products. Some other pricing methods include value pricing, target return pricing, etc. The main elements that influence the pricing are the competition, the customers and their willingness to pay, the fixed and other costs, the current state of economy and the business objectives that the company would like to achieve.