It is the “homework” marketers must do before any product exists. They must segment the market, select the appropriate target, and develop the offering’s value positioning.

The formula “segmentation, targeting, positioning (STP)” is the essence of strategic marketing.

Marketing must identify specific

product features, prices, and distribution.

by utilizing the Internet, advertising, sales force, and any other communication tools to announce and promote the product.

The traditional—but dated—view of marketing is that the firm makes something and then sells it, with marketing taking place during the selling process. Companies that take this view succeed only in economies marked by goods shortages where consumers are not fussy about quality, features, or style—for example, basic staple goods in developing markets.

gathering and acting upon information about the market

researching, developing, and launching new high-quality offerings quickly

and within budget

defining target markets and prospecting for new customers

building deeper understanding, relationships, and offerings to

individual customers

receiving and approving orders, shipping goods on time, and collecting payment

as a tool for identifying ways to create more customer value.

Companies today outsource less-critical resources if they can obtain better quality or lower cost. The key is to own and nurture the resources and competencies that make up the essence of the business.

is the central instrument for directing and coordinating the marketing effort that operates at two levels: strategic and tactical.

lays out the target markets and the firm’s value proposition, based on an analysis of the best market opportunities.

specifies the marketing tactics, including product features, promotion, merchandising, pricing, sales channels, and service.

____ headquarters is responsible for designing a

corporate strategic plan to guide the whole

enterprise; it makes decisions on the amount

of resources to allocate to each division as well as on which businesses to start or eliminate.

_____establishes a plan covering the

allocation of funds to each business unit within the division.

_____develops a strategic plan to carry that business unit into a profitable future.

____level (product line, brand) develops a marketing plan for achieving its objectives.

tends to focus on selling a product or service to a current market. Pepsi could define its target market as everyone who drinks carbonated soft drinks, and competitors would therefore be other carbonated soft drink companies.

however, also focuses on the potential market. If Pepsi considered everyone who might drink something to quench his or her thirst, its competition would include noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, fruit juices, tea, and coffee.

developed collaboratively with and shared with managers, employees, and often customers, provides a shared sense of purpose, direction, and opportunity

Compare a vague mission statement such as “To build total brand value by innovating to deliver customer value and customer leadership faster, better, and more completely than our competition” to Google’s ambitious but more focused mission statement, “To organize the world’s

information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

Narrowing the range of individual discretion lets employees act consistently on important issues.

some key competitive dimensions for mission statements.

Management should change the mission only when it ceases to be relevant.

Marketing consultant Guy Kawasaki advocates developing three- to four-word corporate mantras—like “Enriching Women’s Lives” for Mary Kay—rather

than mission statements

Some companies operate in only one industry; some only in a set of related industries; some only in industrial

goods, consumer goods, or services; and some in any industry.

The vertical sphere is the number of channel levels, from raw material to final product and distribution, in which a company will participate. At one extreme are companies with a large vertical scope.

The vertical sphere is the number of channel levels, from raw material to final product and distribution, in which a company will participate. At one extreme are companies with a large vertical scope.

Firms define the range of products and applications they will supply.

The firm identifies the range of technological and other core competencies it will master and leverage.

The type of market or customers a company will serve is the market segment.

The range of regions, countries, or country groups in which a company will operate defines its geographical sphere.

The management must decide how to allocate corporate resources to each strategic business unit.

Includes planning new businesses, downsizing, and terminating older businesses. If there is a gap between future desired sales and projected sales, corporate management will need to develop or acquire new businesses to fill it.

When a firm grows by expanding its product line or its market reach. Thus, if a firm introduces a new product, enters a new market, or further develops its own competency, then the firm is undergoing _____

It js a growth strategy that emphasizes blending businesses together through acquisitions and mergers Integrative growth strategies are typically more expensive than intensive growth strategies and are usually practiced by mature businesses with large cash flows.

A growth strategy that involves entering into a new market or industry – one that

your business doesn’t currently operate in – while also creating a new product for that new market.

This often means getting rid of high cost and low-value elements that are not performing as projected or which you expect to take a downturn in the next period.

Some define it as “the shared experiences, stories, beliefs, and norms that characterize an organization.”

It is the implementation of a new marketing method (marketing idea or strategy) that differs significantly from the previous marketing method used by the enterprise and that has not been previously used by the enterprise.

Defines a company’s line of business and why it exists or what purpose it fulfills. Every company should have a clear statement of purpose that excites people about what they do and motivates them to join the organization.

The overall evaluation of a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and

threats is called SWOT analysis. It’s a way of monitoring the external and internal

marketing environment.

is an area of buyer need and interest that a company has a high probability of profitably satisfying.

is a challenge posed by an unfavorable trend or development that, in the absence of defensive marketing action, would lead to lower sales or profit.

Once the company has performed a SWOT analysis, it can proceed to goal formulation, developing specific goals for the planning period. Goals are objectives that are specific with respect to magnitude and time

Goals indicate what a business unit wants to achieve; strategy is a game plan for getting there. Every business must design a strategy for achieving its goals, consisting of a marketing strategy and a compatible technology strategy and sourcing strategy.

These are cooperative agreements between two or more companies to work together and share resources to achieve a common business objective, Each company maintains its autonomy while gaining a new opportunity.

One company license another to produce its product, or two companies jointly market their complementary products or new product.

One Company agrees to carry a promotion for another company’s product or service.

One Company offers logistical services for another company’s product.

One or more companies join in a special pricing collaboration. Hotel and rental car companies often offer mutual price discounts.

This section presents relevant background data on sales, costs, the market, competitors, and the microenvironment. How do we define the market, how big is it, and how fast is it growing? What are the relevant trends and critical issues? Firms will use all this information to carry out a SWOT analysis.

Here the marketing manager defines the mission, marketing and financial objectives, and needs the market offering is intended to satisfy as well as its competitive positioning. All this requires inputs from other areas, such as purchasing, manufacturing, sales, finance, and human resources

Here the marketing manager outlines the marketing activities that will be undertaken to execute the marketing

strategy.

Financial projections include a sales forecast, an expense forecast, and a break-even analysis. On the revenue side is forecasted sales volume by month and product category, and on the expense side the expected costs of marketing, broken down into finer categories. The break-even analysis estimates how many units the firm must sell monthly (or how many years it will take) to offset its monthly fixed costs and average per-unit variable costs.

The last section outlines the controls for monitoring and adjusting implementation of the plan. Typically, it spells out the goals and budget for each month or quarter so management can review each period’s results and take corrective action as needed.