MM Report (Group 2)

MARKETING STRATEGY

What is strategy?

 The strategy is the method of formulating a plan to achieve something

e.g. How we'll get from here to there
 The resulting plan may also be called "strategy"

What is Marketing Strategy?

 A marketing strategy can serve as the foundation of a marketing plan. A marketing plan contains
a set of specific actions required to successfully implement a marketing strategy.
 A marketing strategy is the process of planning how we'll achieve what we want to achieve by
selling something.
That could be products, services or ideas

The purpose of marketing strategy should be to identify and then communicate the benefits of the
business offering to its target market.

The effectiveness of strategy implementation determines the outcome of marketing planning. The
management of the planning process may enhance implementation effectiveness by building
commitment and ownership of the plan and execution.

Implementation Process:

A good implementation process spell out the

1. Activities to be implemented
2. Who is responsible for implementation
3. The time and location of implementation and
4. How implementation will be achieved

Barriers to Successful Implementation of Marketing Strategy

There are many barriers that stand in the way of successful implementation of marketing strategy, some
evident, some not . The barriers fall broadly into three separate categories:
1. External pressures of the organization

2. Internal pressures on the marketing function

a. Leadership
b. Organization Culture
c. Organizational Processes
d. Functional Policies
e. Resources
f. Evaluation and Control Procedures

3. Pressures within the Marketing Function itself

a. Marketing Interface with Other Functions

b. The Role of Marketers
c. Marketing Feedback

Building Implementation Effectiveness

 The ability to understand how others feel and good bargaining skills
 The strength to be tough and fair in putting people and resources where they will be most
effective.
 Effectiveness in focusing on the critical aspects of performance in managing marketing activities
 The ability to create a necessary informal organization or network to match each problem with
which they are confronted.

In additional to skillful implementers, several factors facilitate the implementation process. These
include:

a. Organizational Structure
b. Incentives
c. Communications

Problems often occur during implementation and may affect how fast and how well plans are put into
action.
Strategy Control

Control means attempting to make certain that behavior and systems match amd support
predetermined corporate objectives and policies. The foundation of control is ability to evaluate.

Strategic control is defined as finding different methods to implement the strategic plan.

Good control systems frequently discover and resolve problems before they become large and
managers ought to keep in mind that prevention is better than cure. Its a significant to be proactive
rather than reactive. The control process entails the ff steps:

 Set Targets
 Predetermining the method of measurement - performance assessment
 Measured results are contrasted with the predetermined targets and corrective action if
necessary is carried out.

Typical inputs include the ff:

1. Finance
2. Operatives
3. People

For the output:

1. Efficiency
2. Effectiveness
a. Involvement - It is attained through promoting participation in the process
b. Target Setting - the target criteria should be objective and quantifiable
c. Focus - disparity between the symptoms and the cause of the problem
d. Effectiveness - the tendency exists to appraise efficiency in contrast to effectiveness
e. Management by exception - Management interest is directed to areas of need.

Problems of Control

Three problems are commonly connected with the control systems. The problems are:

1. The system can be expensive

2. Control systems repress effort and creativity
3. Control promotes an outlook of inspection as opposed to developments