Name: Hashmi Hareshbhai Sutariya

Subject name: Marketing management

Roll no: 33 MBA – semester (2) Division : A

Institute name: S.K Patel institute of management

Question-1 Marketing strategies and strategic planning

Marketing Strategy: Marketing literature recommends that company objectives can be

accomplished in various ways. It is the job of strategy to select the most effective course of
action to fulfil objectives. In order to attain objectives, marketers must engage in marketing
decision-making which indicates where resources (e.g., marketing funds) will be directed.
However, before spending begins on individual marketing decisions, the marketer needs to
establish a general plan of action that summarizes what will be done to reach the stated
objectives. Generally, marketing strategy involves the accomplishment of marketing objectives
through the determination of target markets, the setting of competitor targets and the creation
of a competitive advantage.

Product/Service Strategy: What mix of products and services will company sell and how does
that best meet customer needs and how does it compare to your competitors. Product
decisions involve choices regarding brand names, features, quality and design, packaging,
warranties, and the services that will accompany the product offering.

Pricing Strategy: How will company set its price for products/services relative to competitors,
and what impacts will that have on volume of sales. Pricing decisions involve choices regarding
list price, discounts, credit terms and payment periods.

Place/Location Strategy: How will the proposed or current location of business best meet the
needs of customers and/or create an advantage over competitors. Place decisions involve
choices regarding the distribution channels to be used and their management, the location of
outlets, methods of transportation and inventory levels to be held.

Promotional Strategy: How will company promote business and how will that make customers
aware of business and motivated to buy products/services. Promotion decisions involve choices
regarding advertising, personal selling, direct and Internet marketing, sales and promotions and
public relations.
Positioning Strategy: What values do company wants potential customers to relate with
business, and how will they set apart from the competition.

Tactics: The strategy must be explained in depth regarding the 4Ps and the actions that will be
taken in schedule time by particular individuals who implement the plan. Marketing strategy
sets the stage for specific actions that will take place. Marketing procedure are the day-to-day
actions that marketers take on and involve the major marketing decision areas. This is the main
area of the Marketing Plan since it explains accurately what will be done to accomplish the
organization’s objectives.

Implementation Activities: In this step, list the tasks is to be prepared to implement each
marketing strategy. For each task should include a detailed description, identify a person
responsible for its completion, and set a target date for completion. Having a plan of action
with specific tasks ensures that the details are clear and that specific persons are responsible.

Marketing Budget: The Company’s designed actions and activities involve costs that add up to
the budget that it needs to accomplish its objectives. Carrying out marketing strategy almost
always means that money must be spent. The marketing budget lays out the spending
requirements needed to perform marketing tactics. While the marketing department may
request a certain level of financial support they feel is required. Finally, senior management
decide on how much funding will be offered.

Controls: The main intent of control systems is to appraise the results of the marketing plan so
that corrective action can be taken if performance does not match objectives. The company
must set review periods and measures that will reveal whether it is making progress toward the
goal. When performance lags, the company must modify its objectives, strategies, or actions to
correct the situation.

Situational analysis: In this step, organization investigates the macro forces such as economic,
political-legal, social-cultural, technological and major players like company, competitors,
distributors, and suppliers in its environment. The company carries out a SWOT analysis
(strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). A SWOT Analysis is a structured approach
to assess the strategic position of a business through distinguishing its strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats. It provides an easy method of synthesizing the results of the
marketing audit by summarizing the company’s strengths and weaknesses as they
communicate to external opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses is derived from
the internal marketing audit analysis. Opportunities and threats is derived from the external
marketing audit analysis.

Strategic Marketing Plan Definition

A strategic marketing plan reviews both long-term and short-term objectives that the company
wants to meet. The strategic marketing plan also takes into consideration the current financial
position of the company as well as trends in the marketplace.

The strategic marketing plan is a living document, which means it is never final. In order to
remain successful, the company must regularly update its strategic marketing plan with new
strategies and ideas. Since the position of the company, industry trends and consumer behavior
and sentiment are always changing, the company must pivot its marketing strategies in order to
achieve its goals.

Conduct a SWOT Analysis

A strategic marketing plan needs to identify the company’s place in the current market. A
SWOT analysis that reviews strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats ensures the
business has a clear vision for where it stands in the present and where it needs to go in the
future in order to remain successful.

 A SWOT analysis of the company should review:

 Internal strengths, such as resources, talent and experience
 Internal weaknesses, such as budget or time constraints
 Competitive organizations
 Changes in business processes and business technology
 Cultural shifts within the industry

Market trends

The importance of strategic marketing planning is that it enables businesses to get a

comprehensive view of the possibilities that lie ahead, taking into account both internal and
external factors. This is a strong foundation upon which to build a strategic marketing plan.

Outline Your Organization’s Goals and Marketing Objectives

Research Market Opportunities

In order to create a useful strategic marketing plan, the organization needs to research
the trends in the current marketplace. This insight informs all four elements of the marketing
mix: product, price, place and promotion.

Marketing opportunities may show that a certain area of the market is heavily saturated with
products. This may tell the company that it is difficult to enter. On the other hand, the company
may then become aware of a different market segment where there is little competition and
room for growth.
Identify Your Target Market

The strategic marketing plan needs to answer the “who” question in detail. Who are you
serving with your products and services? Conduct research to ascertain your target market’s
age, gender, income and occupation. You’ll also need to go beyond the demographic details
into the behavioral details. It’s important to establish:

 What problems are your prospects trying to solve with which you can help?
 What do they fear will happen if they cannot solve that problem?
 What will happen if they are able to solve that problem with your help?

Regardless of what your business sells or does, the key value proposition is that you are helping
your target market solve an issue they are experiencing. It’s vital to extrapolate on that
problem to fully understand how you can help them. For example, if you sell hand-painted
scarves, the problem you solve is that you help your prospects find unique luxury accessories at
an affordable price that they cannot get anywhere else.

Establish Marketing Mix

The marketing mix serves as the basis for any marketing strategy. Outline the following
elements in plan:

Focus on the Brand Messaging

In the strategic marketing plan, outline how you will share the value of your product or service.
It’s vital to develop a unique value proposition that specifies what your company helps your
prospects to do that no one else does. For example, if you run a mobile tire-changing shop, you
ensure your customers can get new tires without having to drive to a mechanic. You save them
time by coming to them.

Outline the Marketing Tactics

Establish the different marketing activities you plan to implement during the next fiscal year,
complete with schedules, budgets and resources. It’s important to ensure your activities align
with the goals you initially set out in the strategic marketing planning process. Everything must
relate to what the company is hoping to achieve, so be sure to establish that connection. This
way, the impact your marketing activities make can be maximized.

Create Benchmarks to Measure Success

In order to ascertain whether our strategic marketing plan was successful, it’s important to
establish some benchmark metrics. Quantify how can we measure our marketing activities.
Remember to relate our metrics back to our company’s initial goals. This will enable we to tell
whether we have achieved our objectives.

Be sure to establish timelines for our metrics. Will we measure monthly or weekly? What
targets do we hope to achieve during each session? Creating benchmarks and then pivoting the
tactics to achieve them will help ensure our organization meets its overarching goals.