Marketing Strategy: Key Concepts 2

Section 1, 2

Strategic Planning Process

  1. Corporate Level
  2. Business Level
  3. Product Level
Higher levels (corporate) govern lower level planning processes. Strategic planning requires:
  1. Planning
  2. Implementation
  3. Control

Corporate Strategic Planning

  1. Identify the company's Mission
  2. Identify SBUs (customer focused)
  3. Allocate Resources across SBUs (BCG Model; GE Model; Product Life Cycle; systems)
  4. Growth Strategies for SBUs (intensive; integrative; diversification)
Mission Statement: Purpose; Business; Values Reason to be? Invisible hand etc.
Product Terms...outdated
Technology Terms...outdated
Market Terms...keep in touch with consumer's needs
From five years ago, and still relevant:

Example Mission Statements:

Discussion Topic: Find your company's mission statement. How well is this statement understood among employees and customers? Evaluate the missions statements above with respect to purpose, business and values.

Indentify the limiting factors with the BCG and GE models.

Insead Wharton Alliance.
Discussion Topic: Cite examples of strategic alliances. Identify alliances your company participates and why.

SBU Strategic Planning

Provides the context for the preparation of the marketing plans for the units products and services.
  1. Defining Business Mission
  2. Analyzing External Environment (OT) (economic, demographic, technology, political, legal, socio and cultural, markets, competitors, collaborators etc.)
  3. Analyzing Internal Environment (SW) (competitive advantages, vulnerabilities, positioning)
  4. Choosing Objectives and Goals (specific, measurable, achievable and consistent)
  5. Developing Business Strategies (cost leadership; differentiation; focus)
  6. Preparing Programs
  7. Implementing Programs (McKinsey 7-S Framework)
  8. Gathering Feedback and Exercising Control
If goal is to grow a business by 15%, what other data are relevant to judge the merits of the goal?

Discussion Topic: Create a SWOT analysis of your own business (business unit).

Marketing Plans

Focus on product and market, focus on detailed marketing strategies for achieving the product's objectives in a target market.

Consider the difference between strategic marketing and tactical marketing.

Marketing Planning Process includes:

  1. Analyzing marketing opportunities
  2. Researching and selecting target markets
  3. Designing marketing strategies
  4. planning marketing programs (marketing mix)
  5. implementation and control
Put another way:
  1. Situation Analysis
  2. Action Plans
  3. Implementation and Evaluation Discuss Can Priceline Remain Profitable wrt strategic planning issues.
    Identify the four Cs: Customer, collaborator, competition and company
    Consider past and future growth strategies
    Consider the four Ps: Price, Product, Promotion and Place.

    Business Markets

    More sales by value in B2B than B2C.

    Purchase for:

    In order to:

    Customers are:

    Characteristics of Business Customers:

    Buying Process consists of:

    Modified depending on whether: Straight rebuy, Modified rebuy or New task.

    Contrast this with the Consumer buying process?

    Who makes the purchasing decision?
    What are the contextual elements that impact the decision?
    What is included in purchase: re: customer service levels etc.

    Evolution of Business Buying

    The Evolution of B2B: Lessons From the Auto Industry
    GE Global eXchange Services
    Dell Medium and Large Business Home Page

    Dealing with Competition

    Porter's five basic forces of competition:
    1. Threat of new entrants
    2. Rivalry among existing competitors
    3. Bargaining power of suppliers
    4. Bargaining power of buyer
    5. Threat of substitutes

    Whenever you make choices with respect to your customers (business or final consumers) you need to be aware how your competition changes as a function of your decisions. Understanding the prisoners dilemma model is useful. Clearly your relation compared to other competitors is important (market leader versus follower for instance) and the nature of the marketplace (monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic competition).

    Consequences of zero percent financing for autos?

    Need to consider competitors AND customers for decisions.

    Importance of competitive intelligence.

    Classification of competitors (brand, industry, form, generic)

    Keep competitors?

    Industry Concept of Competition:

    New Entrants:
    Innovators Dilemma
    Disruptive Technology
    Priceline, Expedia and American Airlines versus Travel Agent market place.

    Discussion Topic: Identify and discuss other industries prone to disruptive technologies.

    SBA: The Marketing Plan
    The Marketing Audit Comes of Age
    How to Write a Mission Statement
    Link to discussion board
    Return to Syllabus