Strategic marketing

Unit 5
Corporate strategy
• Corporate strategy is the highest strategic plan of the organization,
which defines the company goals and defines ways of the
achievement within strategic management.
• It is a long-term, clearly defined vision of the direction of a company
or organization. It helps determine the overall value of the
organization, sets strategic goals and motivates workers to achieve
them. It sets out a basic plan for what is to be achieved and when.
• However, corporate strategy is also a continuous process that must
be able to respond appropriately to changing conditions
and surroundings - the market situation.
• Corporate strategy influences how a company creates value. This means that it
must cover both the product portfolio and the assumptions - resources and
organizational aspects.
• The product portfolio is the basis for the whole company and therefore the
strategy. The company needs to be clear about what it wants to deliver, who it
wants to deliver, what are the key competitive advantages, pricing strategies and
other things. 
• Corporate strategy must not only define the product and business direction
(business, market and financial goals) but also what a firm has to do to achieve
these goals. What resources must invest to and how to organize them. What
people’s skill profiles need, which competencies must be developed and how
they must be used to develop the business
Distinction between strategy and strategic
plan
• A plan is usually a list of steps taken to accomplish a goal. A plan
tackles questions like how, when, where, who, and what? A plan is a
good thing to have. In fact, it is vital to the success of almost any
effort. However developing a plan should not be the first step in
addressing a task
• A strategy is bigger than a plan. Strategy tackles the question of why?
It has a large scope and looks at the end result as well as the many
paths to the desired outcome. A strategy looks at every possible
influencing factor, both seen and unforeseen and comes to terms with
the whole situation, not just one end result.
Defensive strategy
• Defensive strategy is defined as a marketing tool that helps
companies to retain valuable customers that can be taken away by
competitors. Competitors can be defined as other firms that are
located in the same market category or sell similar products to the
same segment of people.
• Position defense
• Mobile defense
• Flanking defense
• Counter offensive defense
• Contraction defense
Some examples of defensive strategies include:
• A pricing war, in which a company commits to matching or beating a competitor on
price.
• Adding more features to keep ahead of a competitor.
• Offering better service or warranties that speak to having better products.
• Advertising and marketing more to raise awareness of improved products or service.
• Partnering with suppliers or retailers to exclude or limit access to competitors.
• Countering a move by a competitor, such as when one moves into a company's home
market by entering their own home market.
• Defensive strategies against a hostile takeover, of which there are several.
Why Defensive strategies ?
• Retention of market share
• Raising the barriers of entry
• Long term contracts
• Intact reputation
• Market leadership
Offensive strategy
• An offensive competitive strategy is a type of corporate strategy that
consists of actively trying to pursue changes within the industry.
• Companies that go on the offensive generally make acquisitions and
invest heavily in research and development (R&D) and technology in
an effort to stay ahead of the competition.
• They will also challenge competitors by cutting off new or under-
served markets, or by going head-to-head with them.
• Various techniques and strategies may be employed either alone or as
part of a concerted effort to create an offensive competitive strategy.
Companies may even employ entirely different strategies in different
locales or marketplaces.
• The most extreme offensive competitive strategy is when companies
actively look to acquire other firms to fuel growth or limit competition.
These firms are often regarded as higher risk than those that are
defensive because they are more likely to be fully invested or
leveraged, which could prove problematic in the event of a market
slowdown or dislocation. A characteristic of all offensive strategies is
that they tend to be expensive.
Offensive strategies - types
• An "end run strategy" eschews direct competition and instead seeks
to exploit untouched markets or neglected segments, demographic
groups or areas.
• A "pre-emptive strategy" is simply the natural advantage a company
has when it is the first to serve a particular marketplace or
demographic. It can be exceptionally hard to unseat. Also known as
"first-mover" advantage.
• A "direct attack strategy" is more aggressive than the end run or
preemptive offensive competitive strategies. Such a strategy may
entail comparisons to competing products or companies that are
unflattering, a price war, or even a competition as to who can
introduce new product features at a faster pace. The direct attack
may also borrow tactics of the previously listed strategies, all with the
goal of taking charge of the public conversation through marketing
campaigns.
• An "acquisition strategy" seeks to remove a competitor by buying it.
As such, it is a strategy employed by the wealthiest or best-capitalized
competitor. Such a strategy offers the advantage of instantly
incorporating new markets, customer bases, or corporate intelligence.
Since it is such an expensive strategy, it must be used judiciously, and
with the possibility of corporate antitrust rules or local competition
laws in mind.
Competitive Analysis
• Competitor analysis in marketing and strategic management is an
assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential
competitors. This analysis provides both an offensive and defensive
strategic context to identify opportunities and threats.
• A competitive analysis is a strategy where you identify major
competitors and research their products, sales, and marketing
strategies. By doing this, you can create solid business strategies that
improve upon your competitor's.
Advantages
• Identify gaps in the market
• Develop new products and services
• Uncover market trends
• Market and sell more effectively
How to perform competitive analysis
• Determine who your competitors are.
• Determine what products your competitors offer.
• Research your competitors sales tactics and results.
• Analyze how your competitors market their products.
• Take note of your competition's content strategy.
• Analyze the level of engagement on your competitor's content.
• Observe how they promote marketing content.
• Look at their social media presence, strategies, and go-to platforms
• Perform a SWOT Analysis to learn their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats.
Industry analysis
• Industry analysis is a tool that facilitates a company's understanding
of its position relative to other companies that produce similar
products or services.
• Understanding the forces at work in the overall industry is an
important component of effective strategic planning.
• Industry analysis enables small business owners to identify the
threats and opportunities facing their businesses, and to focus their
resources on developing unique capabilities that could lead to a
competitive advantage.
• An industry analysis consists of three major elements: the underlying
forces at work in the industry; the overall attractiveness of the
industry; and the critical factors that determine a company's success
within the industry.
Self analysis of organisations
• The self-assessment model is the evaluation of the current situation in
order to introduce improvement changes in the organization .
• Self-assessment means a systematic, multilateral and comprehensive
review of the organization’s performance.
• It allows the identification of strengths and weaknesses. Verification
of the latter should lead to actions aimed at improving the entity’s
functioning, process improvement and the broad use of innovations.
The development of self-evaluation in the practical activity of the organization brings a number of
tangible benefits which can include:
• a disciplined and systematized approach to the problems of improvement activities;
• an assessment based on facts not on individual perception;
• coherence of the directions of activities (proceedings) in determining what should be implemented;
• ways and directions of team training in quality and management issues;
• integrating various pro-quality initiatives into normal operations and processes;
• a very effective diagnosis;
• an objective assessment in relation to a set of criteria widely recognized across Europe;
• measures to evaluate progress over time through periodic self-assessments;
• stimulating action to improve management, focusing on areas where these improvements are most
needed, prioritizing;
• rewarding outstanding achievements
Marketing Organization and Control: Evolution of
Marketing Department, Organizing the Marketing
Department, Marketing Implementation, Control of
Marketing Performance, Annual Plan Control
Profitabilit Control, Efficiency Control, ,
y Control Strategi
c
 Set of practices and procedures employed by firms to
monitor and regulate their marketing activities in
achieving their marketing objectives are called
marketing control.
Marketing control is the process of monitoring the
proposed plans as they proceed and adjusting where
necessary.
Definitions:
“Marketing control is theprocess
of
bring actualtaking steps
results to results
desired
and together”. closer
----Phillip Kotler
 Definitions:
“It is concerned with analysing the performance of
marketing decisions, uncovering the performance
problems of opportunities and taking corrective
actions to resolve the problems or to take advantages
of the opportunities”. ----Cravens
 Place the organisation in the right direction(it helps
the manager in tracing the deviation from the expected
course)
Identifies the responsibilities (helps to identify
responsibilities of executives. Strengths, Weaknesses )
Respond to the changes in environment (adjust with
the environment forces like PEST)
Absorb organisational complexity (expanding in size
and more complex in nature. Growth size created
problems of coordination and control)
Changes in formulation of plans (a well developed
and effectively operated marketing system is capable of
introducing new changes)
 1.Annual Plan Control (Annual sales and the
profit goals are achieved.)
2. Profitability Control
3.Efficiency Control
4.Strategic Control

Sales Analysis
Market Share Analysis
Marketing Expense Analysis
Financial Analysis
Customer Attitude tracking
 Sales Analysis: (Trace and understand sales pattern
over a period of time and compare with target pattern.
Sales, total sales, sales by areas, customers, products)

Market Share Analysis: (Competitors evaluation)

Marketing Expense Analysis: (Sales for

expenses,
sales promotion expenses, market research expenses,
sales administration expenses.)here we can use control
charts
 Financial Analysis: (Ratio analysis is very useful here.
Profitability and turnover ratios are very famous)

Customer Attitude tracking: (It is a qualitative

Identification
term. of customers, dealers and
employees. 1. Complaint suggestion system other
2.Customer panel
3. Customer surveys
 Profitability control and efficiency control allow a
company to closely monitor its sales, profits, and
expenditures.
Profitability control demonstrates the relative profit-
earning capacity of a company’s different products and
consumer groups.
This control is to determine the actual profitability of
the firms products, territories, market segments and
intermediaries.
 Efficiency control involves micro-level analysis of the
various elements of the marketing mix, including sales
force, advertising, sales promotion, and distribution.
For example, to understand its sales-force efficiency, a
company may keep track of how many sales calls a
representative makes each day, how long each call losts,
and how much each call costs and generates in revenue.
This type of analysis highlights areas in which
companies can manage their marketing efforts in a
more productive and cost-effective manner.
 It is a in-depth study undertaken to examine whether
the company is pursuing its best opportunities with
respect to markets and products. Marketing department
having policies, objectives, strategies and programs are
to be reviewed and changed periodically.
1.Marketing effectiveness rating review:
(Marketing Orientation, Customer philosophy,
integrating marketing organisation, adequate marketing
information and strategic orientation)
 2. Marketing audit:
Market audit is a in-depth analysis the
of functions. Marketing audit is a marketing
comprehensive
systematic, independent and periodic examination of
company’s marketing environment, objectives,
, strategies
and activities with a view to determining problem areas
and opportunities and recommendations.
Components of Marketing
Audit: Marketing environment
audit Marketing strategy audit
Marketing organisation audit
Marketing systemaudit, productivity
audit, functional audit