Strategic Planning and Marketing: A Comprehensive Approach
Strategic Planning
Strategic planning is creating and keeping a good balance between what the organization wants to achieve, its capabilities, and the opportunities available in the market as they change over time.
Mission Statement
The mission statement describes what an organization does, why it exists, and what it aims to achieve. It guides the organization’s decisions and actions by defining its purpose and goals.
Business Portfolio
The business portfolio is a collection of all the products, services, or businesses that a company owns or manages.
Portfolio analysis evaluates and analyzes the products and businesses that make up the company to see how they are performing.
Strategic business units can be a:
- Company division
- Product line within a division
- Single product or brand
BCG Growth-Share Matrix
The BCG Growth-Share Matrix is a strategic tool that helps companies evaluate their products or businesses based on two factors: market growth and market share.
- Stars: These have a high market share in a fast-growing market. They are successful and need significant investment to maintain growth and dominance. Over time, they can turn into cash cows as market growth slows.
- Cash Cows: These have a high market share but are in a slow-growing or mature market. They don’t need much investment but generate steady profits, which can be used to fund other areas of the business.
- Question Marks: These are in fast-growing markets but have a low market share. They require heavy investment to grow, but it’s uncertain if they will succeed and become stars or fail and turn into dogs.
- Dogs: These have a low market share in a slow-growing market. They don’t contribute much to profits and may even drain resources. Companies often consider phasing them out or selling them.
The matrix helps companies allocate resources wisely by identifying which products or businesses to grow, maintain, or let go of.
Product/Market Expansion Grid
Consider:
- The types of products and markets a company should focus on.
- The ways in which a company can manage its product-market growth strategy over time.
The Product/Market Expansion Grid is a tool used by companies to explore growth strategies. It focuses on how a business can expand by looking at new or existing products and markets.
- Market Penetration: Growing in existing markets with current products by increasing sales or gaining more customers. (e.g., McDonald’s)
- Market Development: Entering new markets with existing products, such as targeting a different demographic or expanding to a new geographic area. (e.g., Starbucks)
- Product Development: Creating and offering new products to existing markets to attract more customers or meet their changing needs. (e.g., Tesla)
- Diversification: Entering new markets with new products, which involves the highest risk but offers the chance for significant growth. (e.g., Amazon)
Developing Strategies for Growth and Downsizing: Downsizing or divesting means cutting back or selling parts of a business that are not profitable or no longer align with the company’s goals.
Managing the Marketing Effort
Marketing Plan Structure
1. Executive Summary: Highlights the key points, strategies, and expected outcomes. It’s designed to give a quick overview to stakeholders.
2. Marketing Situation: Provides a detailed analysis of the current market environment. It includes:
- Internal Analysis: Strengths and weaknesses of the organization (SWOT analysis).
- External Analysis: Opportunities and threats in the market (SWOT analysis).
- Customer Analysis: Understanding target customers, their needs, and preferences.
- Competitor Analysis: Evaluating the competitive landscape, their strengths, weaknesses, and strategies.
3. Threats and Opportunities: Highlights specific challenges and potential benefits the organization may face.
4. Objectives and Issues: Specific goals the marketing plan aims to achieve. These objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). It also identifies any challenges or limitations that might hinder the achievement of these objectives.
5. Marketing Strategy: Details the strategies and tactics to be employed to achieve the set objectives.
6. Action Programs: Translates the marketing strategy into specific action plans. It breaks down the strategies into smaller, actionable tasks with timelines and responsibilities assigned to team members.
7. Budgets: Financial resources allocated to implement the marketing plan.
8. Controls: Mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the marketing plan (KPIs, Reports, Evaluation methods).
Market Segmentation Advantages
Four major types of market segmentation:
- Geographic segmentation: the “WHERE”
- Demographic segmentation: the “WHO”
- Behavioral segmentation: the “HOW”
- Psychographic segmentation: the “WHY”
ADAMS Framework for Marketing
- Accessibility: How easy it is for customers to reach your product or service.
- Differentiation: What makes your product or service unique.
- Affordability: How much your product or service costs compared to competitors.
- Measurability: Tracking the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
- Sustainability: Ensuring your product or service is environmentally friendly and can last over time.
Target Marketing Strategies
Growth Through Innovation and Imitation
Product imitation versus product innovation. Follower strategies:
1. Cloner: This company copies almost everything about the leader, including the product, name, and packaging. It’s like making a near-perfect copy. (Land Rover vs. Land Wind)
2. Imitator: This company takes some ideas from the leader but changes things like the packaging, advertising, price, or where it’s sold. (Generic Brands vs. Brand-Name Products)
3. Adapter: This company takes the leader’s idea and makes it better or modifies it for a different purpose. (Instagram Stories vs. Snapchat Stories)