Ch 2: Developing Marketing Strategies and a Marketing Plan

Question 1

L01 : Define a marketing strategy, and what are the four micro strategies to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

Answer 1

1. a firm’s target market(s)
2. a related marketing mix (four P’s)
3. the bases on which the firm plans to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
4. Customer excellence - focuses on retaining loyal customers and excellent customer service.
5. Operational excellence - achieved through efficient operations and excellent supply chain and HR management.
6. Product excellence - having products with high perceived values and effective branding and positioning.
7. Locational excellence - having a good physical location and Internet presence.

Question 2

L02: Describe the elements of a marketing plan

Answer 2

Composed of an analysis of

• the current marketing situation
• it’s objectives
• the strategy for the four P’s
• appropriate financial statements

Marketing Plan represents the output of a three phase process:

• planning
• implementation
• control

First phase: The planning phase.
Requires that a managers first define the firm’s mission and vision, which helps with: “what business are we in now?” and “What do we intend to be in the future?”.

In planning phase, managers conduct a situation analysis to evaluate how various players, both inside and outside the organization, affect the firm’s potential for success.

Second phase: Implementation
The firm identifies and evaluates different opportunities through a process known as segmentation, targeting, and positioning, and develops the marketing mix, the four P’s.

Specifically, managers focus on implementing the Marketing Mix, allocating resources, designing the marketing organization, and developing schedules and action plans.

Third phase: Control
Firm evaluates its performance to determine what worked, what didn’t and how performance can be improved in the future.