Strategy

Question 1

What is a planning model?

Answer 1

strategic decisions are reached by use of a sequential, planned search for optimum solutions to defined problems. This process is highly rational and is fuelled by concrete data.

Question 2

What does the McKinsey 7S model demonstrate?

Answer 2

How the defined 7 elements of the company: Structure, Strategy, Skills, Staff, Style, Systems, and Shared values, can be connected together to achieve effectiveness in an organisation.

Question 3

What are the strengths of the McKinsey 7s model?

Answer 3

Establishes a simple and effective framework with which to analyse both the formal and informal operations of an organisation

Question 4

What are the strengths of VRIN?

Answer 4

Provides a simple and easy to use set of criteria to establish which assets are most valuable in developing competitive advantage
• Directs strategic planning to focus on the development of future resources that can
take advantage of the VRIN characteristics

Question 5

What is a push strategy?

Answer 5

A push strategy is when an organisation promotes a service or product to retailers and distributors in order to encourage them to ‘push’ or promote the product to the end-user. The main aim is to get the product into the hands of the consumer with little to no advertising effort

Question 6

Where do push strategy work well?

Answer 6

• There is low brand loyalty
• Many acceptable substitutes are available in the market
• Relatively new products are to be launched
• The product purchase is unplanned or on impulse; and
• The consumer is familiar with and has reasonably adequate knowledge about the product

Question 7

What is a pull strategy?

Answer 7

A pull strategy involves communicating directly with the end customer or consumer to attract them (or ‘pull’ them) to the retailer and distributor in order to purchase the product. Costs tend to be higher for a pull strategy because it usually entails a mix of advertising and sales promotion to
a mass market. This spend is required to raise awareness and stimulate demand for a product or service.

Question 8

Where do pull strategies work well?

Answer 8

• It is possible to differentiate the product on the basis of real or emotional features
• Brand consumers show a high degree of involvement in the product purchase
• There is reasonably high brand loyalty; and
• Consumers make the brand choice decision before they go to the store

Question 9

What is the global adaptation strategy?

Answer 9

When entering a foreign market, one must consider all the environmental factors and constraints (language, climate, race, occupation, education, tastes, laws etc)
Constraints around cultural differences in taste, needs, wants legal systems.
Companies should find out how they need to adjust their whole marketing strategy (make, market and sell approach) to fit the new market demands.
Customisation is the way forward

Question 10

What are some benefits of market segmentation?

Answer 10

Better satisfaction of customer needs
Growth in profits
Revenue growth
Customer retention
Targeted communications
Innovation
Segment share
Competitive advantage

Question 11

What are some examples of customer differences?

Answer 11

Their needs, wants, interests, preferences and expectation.
Benefits they seek from the product
Buying behaviour
Ability or willingness to spend
Media preferences

Question 12

What is a market segment?

Answer 12

A customer group that exhibits a shared set of specific needs, wants, buying behaviour and other characteristics, which distinguish it from other customer groups.
Each segment can be targeted and reached with a distinct marketing mix

Question 13

What are some factors in choosing a strategy?

Answer 13

Budget
What the customers want
History (A previous strategy may not be useful now)
Restrictions
Competition (What do they do?)

Question 14

What did Professor McDonald identify as the 5 steps of segmentation?

Answer 14

1. Understand how your market works. This involves defining the market, sizing it and
   identifying who makes the decisions
2. List what is bought, including where, when, how, and the different applications of the
   product or service
3. List who buys using descriptors such as demographics and psychographics
4. List why they buy, especially the benefits sought
5. Finally, search for groups with similar needs. These will be the final market segments

Question 15

What are factors of market attractiveness?

Answer 15

• Size
• Growth rate
• Profitability
• Pricing trends
• Intensity of competition
• Barriers to entry
• Segments
• Distribution structure
• Volatility

Question 16

What are factors of company strength?

Answer 16

• Strength of competencies
• Market share
• Share growth
• Customer loyalty
• Cost proposition
• Profit margins
• Perceived quality
• Market knowledge

Question 17

What is a media strategy

Answer 17

A media strategy is a type of strategy that implements the use of a particular media to achieve advertising or marketing goals. Media strategies are frequently used in advertising campaigns to increase brand awareness and interest in a company’s products or services

Question 18

What are the 7 P’s of marketing tactics?

Answer 18

Product, price, promotion, place, people, process, physical evidence

Question 19

Success of any project implementation will be dependent on a range of factors which may include…what?

Answer 19

• The quality of the advance planning
• Project team management
• Management of key stakeholders
• Management of change during implementation
• Effective risk management
• Quality of project reporting
• Effective communications within and from the project team
• Creation and maintenance of good records

Question 20

What is a strategic measure?

Answer 20

is a metric that provides a higher-level view of the effect that marketing has in an organisation, often expressed in financial terms such as ROI or EVA (Economic Value Added) and measured relatively infrequently (quarterly, annually)

Question 21

What is an operational measure?

Answer 21

is a metric that provides insight into the performance of marketing mix tactics and approaches and is usually linked to Critical Success Factors. They are measured more frequently often on a weekly or monthly basis

Question 22

What is an activity measure?

Answer 22

the basic measure of marketing activity which records, registers and counts primary activities associated with the response to marketing strategies and as such is measured the most frequently from each day down to each
minute

Question 23

What is earned value management?

Answer 23

a way to measure project performance by monitoring three fundamental values for each task (the budgeted cost, the actual cost and value earned)

Question 24

What is the budgeted cost?

Answer 24

– this is the value assigned at the outset for each of the tasks scheduled (BCWS) in the plan, based on the costs of resources assigned to complete the tasks, plus any additional costs associated with them. As an example we might say that the budgeted cost of work scheduled was £10,000 spread equally over 4 months and if we are measuring at the end of month 2 the BCWS is £5,000.

Question 25

What is the actual cost?

Answer 25

– this is the actual amount of money that was used to complete all the tasks or at least the portion completed up to the time of measurement – the actual cost of work performed (ACWP). E.G. we could say that the ACWP at the end of month 2 is £4,500.

Question 26

What is value earned?

Answer 26

a project management methodology that integrates schedule, costs, and scope to measure project performance.
Its value is calculated by looking at what
percentage of the work has been performed and applying that to the budgeted cost. So in our example we could say that 55% of the work has been completed so the BCWP is £5,500.

Question 27

What is cost variance?

Answer 27

– this measures the difference between the estimated costs and the actual costs (BCWP - ACWP)

Question 28

What is scheduled variance?

Answer 28

this measures the difference between the current progress and the scheduled progress of a task in terms of cost (BCWP - BCWS)

Question 29

What is cost performance index?

Answer 29

this is a ratio that compares the budgeted costs to the actual costs (BCWP/ACWP)

Question 30

What is scheduled performance index?

Answer 30

this is a ratio that compares the work performed to work scheduled (BCWP / BCWS)

Question 31

What is a margin?

Answer 31

– a general measure that calculates the ratio of the profit generated per unit to its selling price showing how well the sale produces profit

Question 32

What are market measures?

Answer 32

this set of measures focuses on the dimensions associated with the market within which the organisation is operating which provide insight and information that can then be used to drive strategic planning. Typical metrics that can be implemented in this area will include Market Share, Relative market share, Market growth and Market demand.

Question 33

What are brand measures?

Answer 33

the process of identifying brand metrics for a company product or service, creating a methodology for taking measurements and then adjusting marketing strategies over time using the insights gathered

Question 34

What is customer profile measures?

Answer 34

this set of measures is used to gain insight into customer behaviour and preferences before, during and after purchase. Typical metrics that can be implemented in this area will include Purchase intentions, Loyalty, Satisfaction and Recommendation levels.

Question 35

What is a KPI?

Answer 35

Key Performance Indicators are agreed, quantifiable measurements that reflect the specific factors that need to be achieved by an organisation to achieve success

Question 36

What is a media strategy?

Answer 36

a type of strategy that implements the use of a particular media to achieve advertising or marketing goals

Question 37

What is a creative proposition?

Answer 37

A specific core benefit that the brand delivers.
Key emotion/reason
Keep it singular (You want the customer to remember and take away your key message)

Question 38

What is the framework used when deciding which communication channel to use for promotion?

Answer 38

CRAFT
Cost
Relevance
Affinity
Frequency
Time