Chapter 2 Marketing Strategy Planning
Marketing strategic planning is an administrative process of creating and maintaining a strategic fit between the efforts of the company, its potential and chances in the field of marketing. Strategic planning provides the basis for all management decisions, functions of the organization, motivation and control focused on the development of strategic plans. Strategic planning has three distinctive features:
• External orientation. Strategic planning examines trends in the broader external environment, while seeking new opportunities and potential risks.
• Internal orientation. Marketing strategic planning is based on the resources available to the company (finance, raw materials, human resources), finding in them the strong and weak sides.
• Strategic planning is reflected in the formulation of long-term goals and strategies for the long term.
Understand target marketing and the 4Ps in a marketing mix.
Target marketing is a form of marketing activities, during which the seller differentiates market segments, selects one or more target segments and develops marketing techniques for each of them separately, specifically taking into account the selection of headings, the most effective for each market segment.
Marketing mix is a marketing theory, based on the four main "coordinates" of marketing planning (McCarthy 38):
product – a product or service, product range, quality, product features, design and ergonomics;
price – the price mark-ups, discounts;
promotion – promoting measures which include: promotion, advertising, public relations, sales promotion;
place – location of sale, distribution channels, seller`s personnel.
The model of marketing mix is simple and versatile to use, and is a kind of checklist for effective development of the company's product in the market (McCarthy 38).
Know the difference between a marketing strategy, a marketing plan, and a marketing program.
The marketing program is a system document which includes sections aimed at winning the targeted market share, creation of an attractive range of products, effective marketing, communications and system of product promotion. The implementation of the marketing program is carried out in an organic relationship with a developed marketing strategy.
Marketing strategy is an integrated set of basic principles, methods of solving the key challenges for achieving the general objectives of the company. As a general marketing strategy of the company, the following are put forward: the development of new markets; increase of market share; increase in revenues; the formation of a decent image.
Marketing Plan is a system document that includes a marketing strategy for a specific term, measures for its implementation in the framework of the marketing program and specific organizational and economic activities with the final deadlines, responsible persons, financial sources to cover the needs for the organization of production, marketing, and promotion.
Why it involves a process of narrowing down from broad opportunities to the most attractive marketing strategy.
Any company begins by entering the market – this is a common sense. Any company evaluates customer needs, its resources and resources of its competitors. By entering a market, a company has broad opportunities available for it. By analyzing these three things mentioned above, the company finds out which opportunities are the best of its specialization and on which it shall concentrate to achieve largest success. In other words, the company decides for itself those directions in which it shall move that will allow it to be attractive for customers (McCarthy 49).
Know four broad types of marketing opportunities that help in identifying new strategies.
There are four broad types of marketing opportunities helping to identify new strategies. The first of them is a market penetration. A company chooses more aggressive behavior on the market by choosing more aggressive marketing mix strategy. A company, for example, may easily penetrate a market by attracting customers of other companies which compete with it. Market development is the second type of marketing opportunity which means that existing products shall be sold in new markets which often are quite different from those markets in which the company specializes. The third type is product development which means when a company starts offering newly developed or improved products in the markets where it already has strong positions. And the last type is diversification when a company moves into absolutely different spheres of business – either by starting producing entirely new products or entering completely new markets (McCarthy 53).
Works Cited
McCarthy, E. Basic Marketing: a managerial approach. (18th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2010. Print.
