3. marketing planning

Question 1

Marketing Audit

Answer 1

▪ Systematic examination of business’ marketing environment,
objectives, strategies and activities
▪ Internal audit
▪ Focus on areas under control of (marketing) management
▪ External audit
▪ Focus on areas beyond management’s control

Question 2

Critical Success Factors (CSF) or Key Success Factors (KSF)

Answer 2

Limited number of areas in which results, if they are satisfactory, will ensure successful competitive performance for the organization

Question 3

Marketing Objectives

Answer 3

Strategic thrust objectives: which markets/which products
▪ Strategic objectives: specific objectives for individual
products

Question 4

Ansoff Developing Growth Strategies

Answer 4

Market penetration: Company growth by increasing sales of current products to current market segments without changing the product.
▪ Market development: Company growth by identifying and developing new market segments for current company products.
▪ Product development: Company growth by offering modified or new
products to current market segments.
▪ Diversification: Company growth through starting up or acquiring businesses outside the company’s current products and markets.

Question 5

Strategic objectives
▪ Product-level

Answer 5

▪ Build New products
▪ Hold
▪ Harvest Existing products
▪ Divest

Question 6

Core Marketing Strategy

Answer 6

HOW can objectives be accomplished?
▪ Target markets
▪ Competitor targets
▪ Establishing competitive advantage
➔ Competitive positioning

Question 7

target market

Answer 7

A target market is a market segment
that has been selected as a focus
for a campaign’s marketing mix.

Question 8

competitor targets

Answer 8

The organizations against which a
company chooses to compete directly

Question 9

competitive advantage

Answer 9

The achievement of superior performance
through differentiation to provide superior
customer value, or by managing to achieve
lowest delivered cost.

Question 10

smart goals

Answer 10

Consistent S.M.A.R.T. goals
▪ Specific what, who, when and how
▪ Measurable increase market share to X% in Y years
▪ Attainable dreams are not goals!
▪ Relevant in line with mission and vision
▪ Timely by date

Question 11

implementation plan

Answer 11

It shows how the company will
turn its plan into results.
▪ Charts are often used to set deadlines and assign responsibilities for the many tactical marketing decisions needed to enter a new market.

Question 12

Signs of a good marketing plan

Answer 12

Focused – The objective tells you what to include
▪ Simple – Only what matters
▪ Specific – Quantify your statements
▪ Realistic – Use discover driven planning to check
▪ Complete – Do not skip a part (especially not financials)
▪ Logic – State assumptions/argumentation

Question 13

rewards of marketing plan

Answer 13

Consistency
▪ Encourages the monitoring of change
▪ Encourages organizational adaptation
▪ Stimulates achievement
▪ Resource allocation
▪ Competitive advantage

Question 14

Competitor analysis seeks to answer five
key questions

Answer 14

Who are our competitors?
2. What are their strengths and weaknesses?
3. What are their strategic objectives and thrust?
4. What are their strategies?
5. What are their response patterns?

Question 15

barriers to entry

Answer 15

Economies of scale
Capital requirements
Switching costs
Access to distribution
Expected retaliation

Question 16

The bargaining power of suppliers
will be high when:

Answer 16

There are many buyers and few dominant suppliers
There are differentiated highly valued products
Suppliers threaten to integrate forward into the industry

Question 17

The bargaining power of buyers is
greater when:

Answer 17

There are few dominant buyers and
many sellers
Products are standardized
Buyers threaten to integrate backwards
into the industry

Question 18

threat of substitutes

Answer 18

Buyers’ willingness to substitute
The relative price- and performance of
substitutes
The costs of switching to substitutes.

Question 19

Competitive strategies

Answer 19

Near competition in focus, far ones are more deadly
▪ Most companies will compete with close competitors
▪ Often far competition changes the rules and has more disruptive threat risk
▪ At the same time, the company may want to avoid trying to destroy a competitor

Question 20

Selecting competitors to attack and to avoid

Answer 20

Strong competitors Weak competitors
Sharpen abilities Fewer resources
Always a weakness Less time
More to gain Less to gain

Question 21

Selecting competitors to attack and to avoid

Answer 21

Close Distant
Resemble you most Resemble you least
Direct competition Indirect competition
Be careful in annihilating Can be deadly

Question 22

Selecting competitors to attack and to avoid

Answer 22

Good Bad
Play by the rules Break the rules
Should be supported Should be attacked

Question 23

Strategic benefits of competition

Answer 23

Competitors may help increase total demand
▪ They may share the costs of market and product development
and help to legitimize new technologies
▪ They may serve less-attractive segments or lead to more
product differentiation
▪ Finally, they lower the antitrust risk and improve bargaining
power versus labor or regulators

Question 24

Sources of competitive advantage

Answer 24

Superior skills
Superior resources
Core competences
Value chain

Question 25

value chain

Answer 25

▪ Locating superior skills and resources
▪ Primary activities & support activities
▪ Framework for understanding the nature and location of skills and resources that are
the basis for competitive advantage

Question 26

differential advantage

Answer 26

4p’s

Question 27

Sustaining a differential advantage

Answer 27

Patent-protected products
Strong brand personality
Close relationships with customers
High service levels achieved by well-trained
personnel
Innovative product upgrading
Creating high entry barriers (e.g., R&D or
promotional expenditures)
Strong and distinctive internal processes that
deliver the above and are difficult to copy
Scale (where the scale of operations provides
value to the customer, e.g., eBay)

Question 28

Eroding a differential advantage:

Answer 28

Technological and environment changes that
create opportunities for competitors by eroding
the protective barriers (e.g., long-standing
television companies are being challenged by
satellite television)
Competitors learn how to imitate the sources of
the differential advantage (e.g., competitors
engage in a training programme to improve
service capabilities)
Complacency leads to lack of protection of the
differential advantage