Absolute Essentials of Strategic Marketing - Absolute Essentials of Strategic Marketing -

The essence of strategy The marketing strategy in relationship to overall corporate strategy Marketing strategy’ considerations Stakeholder interests and values Strategic windows Opportunities and threats presented by the opening and closing of strategic windows Competitive strategy The strategic process Process for formulating a competitive strategy Strategy identification Implementation of strategies Exploring strategy’Questions References Further reading Product portfolio and marketing capabilities The product life cycle The length of the product life cycle Features of the product life cycle stages The product/service portfolio Portfolio models Comments on portfolio model usage Marketing capability analysis Marketing competencies Assessing competitive advantage Questions References Further reading Industry and competition Industry Industry life cycle Fragmented industries The need to identify strategic groups within industries Competition Factors influencing competition Competitive strategy and profitability Strategy typologies Understanding competitors ’ strategies Questions References Further reading The marketing environment The changing nature of social and cultural aspects of consumers Demography The nature of cultural values Changes in values and attitudes The influence of political, fiscal and economic policies Political and fiscal policies The economic cycle Inflation The influence of technology Changes in distribution patterns How firms respond to environmental change Green marketing Legal environment and its influence on marketing activities Ethics and code of practice Pressure groups, watchdogs and consumerism Questions References Further reading Customer and market analysis Customer analysis Habitual purchases Impulse buying Limited decision making Complex buying decisions Level of involvement Postmodernism in consumer behaviour Organizational buying decisions Primary concerns of organizational buyers Buying roles Market analysis Defining market demand Predicting future demand Asking people questions SURVEYS OF BUYERS’ INTENTIONS COMPOSITE OF SALES FORCE OPINION EXPERT OPINION Analyzing past data Statistical demand analysis Forecasting sales of new products Long-term forecasting Questions References Further reading Sustainable competitive advantage Core competencies Core competencies and competitive advantage Generic strategies Low-cost strategies Differentiation Building strong brands Brands and strategy Brand trends at the retail level Counter strategies available to producers Producer retailer partnerships Ethical branding Focus strategies Focusing the product line Targeting a segment Low-share competitors The pre-emptive move Questions References Further reading Growth strategies Growth strategies Market penetration strategy of existing markets Product development strategy New product failures A methodical approach to screening new and developing new products Screening Business analysis Test marketing Market development strategy Diversification Vertical integration Evaluating growth strategies Questions References Further reading Segmentation, targeting and positioning Segmentation Market segmentation research Segmentation strategy Segment synergies Market targeting and positioning Factors influencing choice of targeting strategy Choice of segment(s)Positioning Positioning concepts Corporate positioning Questions References Further reading Marketing mix strategy Marketing mix The product as a complex entity Product mix Product-line decisions Distribution strategy Pricing decisions Increasing prices without increasing prices Price leadership strategy Marketing communications Marketing communication objectives Designing the message Media decisions Selling Sales promotion Marketing mix and the use of the Internet Total integration of the marketing mix Questions References Further reading International marketing Reasons for firms engaging in international marketing International market entry methods Marketing mix strategy for international markets Developing an internationalization strategy Using a global positioning strategy and marketing mix Conditions where a global marketing approach may be most useful Disadvantages of adopting a global strategy Analysing international marketing opportunities Using the World Wide Web Questions References Further reading Marketing planning and implementing marketing strategy Introduction Gap analysis Assessing company strengths/weaknesses and threats and opportunities in the environment - SWOT analysis and the TOWS matrix The marketing plan Formulating the plans Strategic collaboration Alliances and partnerships Strategic alliances: management issues Relationship marketing Questions References Further reading