Topic 1: Marketing Strategy Analysis and Perceptions

West, Ford & Ibrahim: Strategic Marketing 2e Chapter 1: Overview and Strategy Blueprint

Structure C. WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE? B. WHERE ARE WE NOW? A. INTRODUCTION 1. Overview and Strategy Blueprint 2. Marketing Strategy: Analysis & perspectives B. WHERE ARE WE NOW? 3. Environmental & Internal Analysis: Market Information & Intelligence C. WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE? 4. Strategic Marketing Decisions, Choices & Mistakes 5. Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning Strategies 6. Branding Strategies 7. Relational & Sustainability Strategies E. DID WE GET THERE? 14. Strategy Implementation, Control & Metrics D. HOW WILL WE GET THERE? 8. Product Innovation & Development Strategies 9. Service Marketing Strategies 10. Pricing & Distribution 11. Marketing Communications 12. E-Marketing Strategies 13. Social and Ethical Strategies

Learning Objectives Be able to define marketing strategy. Understand the essential differences between the main approaches towards marketing strategy. Review the structure of the book. Assess the importance of marketing strategy to a business and identify the kinds of things that can go wrong. 4

Chapter at a Glance Thinking First Seeing First Doing First Postmodern Simple Rules Market-oriented strategy The book’s perspective What to choose How important is marketing strategy?

Introduction: Definition of Competitive Marketing Strategy “A market-oriented strategy that establishes a profitable and sustainable market position for the firm against all forces that determine industry competition by continuously creating and developing a competitive advantage from the potential sources that exist in a firm’s value chain.” 6

Key Elements Market-oriented: Strategy based upon the needs & wants of the marketplace Establishes a profitable market position: End goal of strategy to make a profit in the for-profit sector or to meet alternate metrics (NFP sector) Establishes a sustainable market position: Marketing strategy not about one-off transactions. Aim is to find a place in the market Forces that determine industry competition: Complex mix of ingredients that create the marketing ‘whirlwind’ Continuously creating & developing CA: Find a spot where, if need be, the primary challenges can be tackled Potential sources that exist in a firm’s value chain: What value any organisation wants to create using its available marketing resources How is PR put into practice. Four models. PA&P – (15% of PR activity) – Used by those who have something to promote/ something to sell. Economy with the truth. E.g. Roy Keane book, Max Clifford & the kiss-&-tell stories. PI – (50%) – May research to ensure information is underst&able & check who received information. Used by government, non-commercial orgs & business. Press, print, reports, guides, videos & exhibitions. 2WA – (20%) – Org does not change, but intends that attitudes of receiver will be. Research identifies current attitudes so that campaign is FORMed to be most effective – feedback helps or target messages in an acceptable way. E.g. Cosmetic manufacturers identified increasing concern for animal welfare & focused campaigns on no/less testing. Retailers identified increasing environmental awareness & focused campaigns on re-cyclable packaging. 2WS – (15%) – True 2 way DIALOGUE. Both parties can be persuaded by the other. Most often used by those who must be seen to be socially responsible. E.g. Police using focus groups to discuss care thefts in the area – they better underst& concerns & community better underst&s what police can/can’t do. The last two are MORE PROFESSIONAL. 2WS, particularly, is the model proposed by academics & institutional bodies. Figures from Harrison, 1995. 7

Definition “Marketing strategy is…a market-oriented approach that establishes a profitable market position for an organisation against all forces that determine industry competition by continuously creating and developing a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) from the potential sources that exist in a firm’s value chain.” 8

Dress Down Version! “Marketing strategy is an approach to enable an organisation to best use it resources to meet the needs of its customers.” 9

Strategy...... The word ‘Strategy’ was initially introduced and defined in the ancient military dictionaries It comes from the Greek word ‘strategos’, strictly meaning a general in command of an army; it is formed from ‘stratos’, meaning army and ‘ag’, meaning to lead Used first time in business literature by William Newman (1951) 10

The Concept of ‘Strategy’ Generic a plan of attack for winning a plan for beating the opposition Organisational a plan for achieving organisational goals a plan for securing a competitive advantage in a given market 11

Purpose of Strategy To set the future direction for the organisation To state how it is to create value to customers To identify what product/s and in which markets the firm will invest its resources To describe how it is to perform better than competition 12

It helps… Define the scope of business Finding ‘Strategic Fit’ between organisation and its environment Identifying a Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA) Guiding the allocation of resources 13

Thinking First It can help to see the big picture occasionally throughout the process. It can involve some inspiration & insight, but largely the process is one of painstakingly doing your homework Cognitively analysing a strategic marketing problem and developing the solution (the strategy) through a carefully thought-out process 14

Market Orientation Sceptical Self-centred Customer Compelled NOTES: September 1997 (Day, 1998) 15

4 Main Ways of Approaching Marketing Strategy THINKING FIRST COMPETITIVE MARKETING STRATEGY SEEING FIRST DOING FIRST SIMPLE RULES 16

Seeing First Importance of seeing the overall decision is sometimes greater than thinking about it Insight often only comes after a period of preparation, incubation, illumination & verification in the cold light of day The 'eureka' moment 17

Doing First do something, (2) make sense of it (3) repeat the successful parts & discard the rest. Instead of marketing strategy – the reality is often that ‘doing’ drives Many companies have successfully diversified their businesses by a process of figuring out what worked & what did not 18

Postmodern view Tricksterism Entertainment Amplification Secrecy Exclusivity Cutlip defines two kinds of PR – CORPORATE (long-term relationship building with a range of publics or short-term h&ling of crises) & MARKETING (strategic-image building in support of & enhancing other marketing activities). However, so many stakeholders with different interests, corporate PR will cover a great many areas. So, extend this further, again to help us underst& what it is PR can do for us… CORPORATE – IDENTITY, IMAGE & REPUTATION IDENTITY – Where do we start from? Defining corporate values & corporate image. FINANCIAL – Gain support of bankers & investors to ensure availability of funds for investment. POLICY – Teaching organisations gain support from authority to improve st&ards of education. INTERNAL – Gain support of employees for change projects effecting structure & size of organisation. SOCIAL – (Corporate Social Responsibility) – gain support of general public for organisation & strategic initiatives – e.g. Terminal 5 at Heathrow So, we’re starting to think about the organisational goals that can be supported by PR. Let’s consider how we might shape our PR goals… (Brown, 2003) 19

Simple Rules How-to rules keeping managers organised to be able to seize opportunities Boundary rules help managers to pick the best opportunities based geography, customers or technology Priority rules are about allocating resources amongst competing opportunities Timing rules relate to the rhythm of key strategic processes Exit rules are about pulling out from past opportunities 20

What to Choose? Thinking First/Market Orienation works best when the issues are clear, the data are reliable, the context is structured, thoughts can be pinned down and discipline can be applied Seeing First works best when many elements have to be creatively applied, commitment to solutions is key and communications across boundaries are needed (e.g. in NPD) Doing First or simple rules work best when the situation is novel and confusing, complicated specifications would get in the way and a few simple relationship rules can help move the process forward The Postmodern orientation needs to be continually borne in mind to provide a check on how, in reality, buyers will interpret the final offering 21

Framework for a Five Year PESTLIED and Scenario Analysis 22

Marketing Strategy Blueprint PHASE 3 How will we get there? PHASE 1 Where are we now? PHASE 2 Where do we want to be? PHASE 4 Did we get there? Objectives & Future Directions Action Plan Market Scan/ Scenarios Monitor A U D I T S T R A E G Y T R A N S L I O E V A L U T I O N Marketing Mix Possible Corrective Action Internal Analysis Segment Target Contingency Strategic Fit Position 23

The easyGroup 24

Conclusion Seeing First or Doing First are approaches to decision-making that normally need a sound understanding of Thinking First to be successful You need to know the rules before you should break them—you can break all the rules once you know what they are! 25