DEVELOPING MARKETING STRATEGIES AND PLANS

MBA 203 Prof. Stella Codas

1ST SLIDE
Good morning everyone! I’m your reporter for today. My task is to discuss about Developing Marketing
strategies and Plans in Chapter 2. In This Chapter, We Will Address the Following Questions such as:
1. How does marketing affect customer value?
2. How is strategic planning carried out at different levels of the organization?
3. What does a marketing plan include?
2ND SLIDE
Key ingredients of the marketing management process are insightful, creative strategies and plans that can
guide marketing activities.

Insightful – showing an accurate and deep understanding.

You make small adjustments to something, in order to achieve the best/desired performance.
*Later I will sight some examples related to this.

3rd SLIDE
Developing the right marketing strategy over time requires a blend of discipline and flexibility. Why?
Because Discipline ensures individuals maintain silence at workplace and work as a single unit with
their team members to achieve organization goals and objectives. Discipline is in fact the lifeline of
an organization. Without discipline, employees would not only misbehave but also do whatever they want
to do. And also, Managers who are flexible provide workers with greater latitude about the way they
accomplish goals. They assess the needs of employees and provide feedback, guidance, and recognition
individually to optimize performance.
Firms must stick to a strategy but also constantly improve it. They must also develop strategies for a
range of products and services within the organization.

4th SLIDE
This chapter begins by examining some of the strategic marketing implications in creating customer
value. We’ll look at several perspectives on planning and describe how to draw up a formal marketing
plan.
The task of any business is to deliver customer value at a profit.

5TH SLIDE
We can divide the value creation and delivery sequence into three phases. First, choosing the value
represents the “homework” marketing must do before any product exists. Marketers must
segment the market, select the appropriate target, and develop the offering’s value positioning. The
formula “segmentation, targeting, positioning (STP)” is the essence of strategic marketing. The second
phase is providing the value. Marketing must determine specific product features, prices, and
distribution. The task in the third phase is communicating the value by utilizing the sales force,
Internet, advertising, and any other communication tools to announce and promote the product.
The value delivery process begins before there is a product and continues through development
and after launch. Each phase has cost implications.

FOR EXAMPLE, basic staple goods in developing markets.

This traditional view will not work, however, in economies with many different types of people,
each with individual wants, perceptions, preferences, and buying criteria. The smart competitor must
design and deliver offerings for well-defined target markets. This realization inspired a new view of
business processes that places marketing at the beginning of planning. Instead of emphasizing making
and selling, companies now see themselves as part of a value delivery process.

6th SLIDE
Harvard’s Michael Porter has proposed the value chain as a tool for identifying ways to create more
customer value. According to this model, every firm is a synthesis of activities performed to design,
produce, market, deliver, and support its product. The value chain identifies nine strategically relevant
activities—five primary and four support activities—that create value and cost in a specific business.
It's important to maximize value at each specific point in a firm's processes.
7th SLIDE
Primary activities consist of five components, and all are essential for adding value and creating
competitive advantage:
1) inbound logistics, or bringing materials into the business; include functions like receiving,
warehousing, and managing inventory.
2) operations, or converting materials into final products; include procedures for converting raw
materials into a finished product.
3) outbound logistics, or shipping out final products; include activities to distribute a final product to a
consumer.
4) marketing, which includes sales; also, strategies to enhance visibility and target appropriate
customers—such as advertising, promotion, and pricing.
5) service. includes programs to maintain products and enhance the consumer experience—like customer
service, maintenance, repair, refund, and exchange.

8th SLIDE
The role of support activities is to help make the primary activities more efficient. When you increase the
efficiency of any of the four support activities, it benefits at least one of the five primary activities. These
support activities are generally denoted as overhead costs on a company's income statement:
1. Procurement concerns how a company obtains raw materials.
2. Technological development is used at a firm's research and development (R&D) stage—like
designing and developing manufacturing techniques and automating processes.
3. Human resources (HR) management involves hiring and retaining employees who will fulfill
the firm's business strategy and help design, market, and sell the product.
4. Infrastructure includes company systems and the composition of its management team—such as
planning, accounting, finance, and quality control.
The firm’s task is to examine its costs and performance in each value-creating activity and look
for ways to improve it.
FOR EXAMPLE: STARBUCKS
Starbucks (SBUX) offers one of the most popular examples of a company that understands and
successfully implements the value-chain concept. The Starbucks journey began with a single store in the
year 1971 From there it grew to become one of the most recognized brands in the world. Starbucks’
mission is, per its website, “to inspire and nurture the human spirit-one person, one cup, and one
neighborhood at a time.
Inbound Logistics
The inbound logistics for Starbucks refer to company-appointed coffee buyers selecting the finest quality
coffee beans from producers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In the case of Starbucks, the green or
unroasted beans are procured directly from the farms by the Starbucks buyers.
Operations
Starbucks operates in more than 80 markets, either in the form of direct company-owned stores
or licensed stores. (Starbucks does not follow the traditional franchising terms.) The company has more
than 32,000 stores globally.
Outbound Logistics
The majority of the products are sold in stores. However, storage and distribution to retail locations are
important.
Marketing and Sales
Starbucks invests more in superior quality products and a high level of customer service than in
aggressive marketing.
Service
Starbucks aims at building customer loyalty through its in-store customer service. 

We can identify best-practice companies by consulting customers, suppliers, distributors, financial

analysts, trade associations, and magazines to see whom they rate as doing the best job. Even the best
companies can benchmark, against other industries if necessary, to improve their performance. To support
its corporate goal to be more
Innovative.
Overall, value chain analysis can be used to potentially identify value improvement opportunities
throughout various steps of a business cycle, also adding to improved margin efficiencies.

9TH SLIDE
The firm’s success depends not only on how well each department performs its work, but also
on how well the company coordinates departmental activities to conduct core business processes.
These processes include:
1. The market-sensing process. All the activities in gathering and acting upon information
about the market
2. The new-offering realization process. All the activities in researching, developing, and
launching new high-quality offerings quickly and within budget
3. The customer acquisition process. All the activities in defining target markets and prospecting
for new customers
4. The customer relationship management process. All the activities in building deeper
understanding, relationships, and offerings to individual customers
5. The fulfillment management process. All the activities in receiving and approving orders,
shipping the goods on time, and collecting payment
To be successful, a firm also needs to look for competitive advantages beyond its own operations, into the
value chains of suppliers, distributors, and customers. Many companies today have partnered with
specific suppliers and distributors to create a superior value delivery network, also called a supply
chain.

10th SLIDE
Core competencies are the defining capabilities or advantages that a business may have that
distinguish it from the competition. Core competence is the foundation for sharpening a company's
competitive edge, and it guides brand reputation, business growth, and marketing strategy.
Examples of personal core competencies
 Strategic planning.
 Excellent organization skills.
 Leadership and personnel management.
 Project management.
 Attention to detail.
Typically, a core competency refers to a company's set of skills or experience in some activity, rather
than physical or financial assets.
For instance, the presence of experienced managers and veteran leaders with several years of experience
in the industry. In short, your competency must contribute to vision, goals and philosophies that will
strengthen the foundation of the company. However, to achieve this kind of success, business owners
must first be able to accurately identify core competencies that’ll match the company’s industry. Core
competencies can also be skills and abilities
FOR EXAMPLE: Dunkin' Donuts distinctive competence is making and selling doughnuts, coffee, and
other bakery products. The core competence is the ability to make the doughnuts and sell them on site.

11th SLIDE
To identify the business core competencies, let us look at the customer base and mission statement,
consult with the team and then shift the business strategy to focus on the core competencies.
Competitive advantage ultimately derives from how well the company has fitted its core competencies
and distinctive capabilities into tightly interlocking “activity systems.” Competitors find it hard to imitate
Shoe Mart because they are unable to copy their activity systems. Shoe Mart, or SM for short, is one of
the country’s retail behemoths, and far more than just a mall. It is now a well-loved institution of which
many Filipino families hold fond memories. It provides a wide range of services, including shopping,
theatres, locations for date nights, parties and other special occasions, ice skating, and food courts. SM
started modestly and from humble beginnings, despite its now upmarket reputation.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE:
Netflix. Its core competencies are excellent customer service, keeping up with the times of technology,
providing one-month free access to new customers, and creating Netflix original series that can only be
accessed if you have a monthly subscription. VRIN stands for valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-
substitutable.

12TH SLIDE
Holistic marketers thus succeed by managing a superior value chain that delivers a high level of product
quality, service, and speed. They achieve profitable growth by expanding customer share, building
customer loyalty, and capturing customer lifetime value.
Holistic marketers address three key management questions:
1. Value exploration—How a company identifies new value opportunities
2. Value creation—How a company efficiently creates more promising new value offerings
3. Value delivery—How a company uses its capabilities and infrastructure to deliver the new
value offerings more efficiently.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Samsung is an example of Holistic marketing where the products are developed keeping the customer in
mind, the showrooms are branded in the proper manner, the customer service is polite and the service is
fast. Thus, Samsung is an excellent example of Holistic marketing.

A holistic marketing approach looks at a business with all its connected components as a whole.
Customers, employees, suppliers and the community at large are carefully considered. The strategy
comprises of integrated activities with a focus on one common goal.

DIAGRAM
Relationship Marketing
It’s all about building and maintaining long-lasting relationships with customers, which leads them to
trust your brand.
Internal Marketing
Your employees are the soul of the business.  If they do not buy into your brand, there is no authenticity
in what the consumer sees.  Your employee is a direct representation of what your business is about.
Social Marketing
Part of a holistic approach involves considering the society in which you operate.  You can create an
authentic relationship with the client and the community at large by contributing positively to it. 
Integrated marketing is putting forward a unified brand to your customers.  All forms of communication
must be aligned.  This includes:
 Advertising
 Public Relations
 Direct marketing
 Promotions and activations
 Social Media
By providing the same message across all platforms, the consumer is clear on what your brand is. It
reiterates the theme of what is being communicated and creates a uniform image. With this in place,
there is a better chance that a consumer will react.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE:
Coca-Cola is the best example of Holistic Marketing. They drafted their entire plan of marketing on
one goal – Happiness. They did not just market their product, but they marketed Happiness. Based on
that one goal, Coca-Cola wanted to promote Happiness.

Holistic approach can increase communication efficiency between different parts of a business.

Furthermore, it can ensure that the business processes run in harmony with one another while the
marketing process boosts brand awareness. This also helps identify brand values with ease.

13TH SLIDE
The main concept of Strategic planning is a process in which organizational leaders determine their
vision for the future as well as identify their goals and objectives for the organization. The process
also includes establishing the sequence in which those goals should fall so that the organization is enabled
to reach its stated vision.

We, the HR team which is the company that I am currently employed, we do conduct meeting every 1 st
Monday of the month. We address the concerns, changes, the input and outputs. And every quarterly we
do strategic planning. We need to Understand the need for a strategic plan.
 Setting goals.
 Developing assumptions or premises.
 Researching different ways to achieve objectives.
 Choosing our plan of action.
 Developing a supporting plan.
 Implementing the strategic plan.

14th SLIDE
Only a select group of companies have historically stood out as master marketers. These companies focus
on the customer and are organized to respond effectively to changing customer needs. They all have well-
staffed marketing departments,
and their other departments accept that the customer is king.

15th SLIDE
To ensure they select and execute the right activities, marketers must give priority to strategic planning in
three key areas:
1) managing a company’s businesses as an investment portfolio,
2) assessing each business’s strength by considering the market’s growth rate and the company’s
position and fit in that market, and
3) establishing a strategy.
As what I’ve experienced
 There are other companies who is the same with our product. As a manufacturer we do strategies,
like we do discounts lalo na kapag 2-3 years na bumibili saamin, Direct Selling, flyers and give
aways.

The company must develop a game plan for achieving each business’s long-run objectives.

In general, it is only the top management that makes a final decision regarding the implementation of a
particular marketing strategy. However, in doing so, it might seek the opinion of the various departments
in the organization. Now, whether or not to take this feedback into consideration is again entirely up to
the top management.
Once the organization has decided on the marketing plan to be followed, it is now duty of the four
organizational units involved in the marketing strategy to act on it in a timely manner. Let us now have a
close look at these four organizational units that play an important role in implementing an organization’s
marketing strategies.
1. Corporate - this is the topmost entity (marketing) that makes the final call. It is the head of
strategic planning department and acts as the path finder. All its decisions are final and binding

2. Division - This entity takes the responsibility of implementing the strategic plan as well as
achieving the organizational goals as discussed in the earlier phases. It is also responsible to divide
and allocate the funds it has received from the corporate to the individual Strategic Business Units
depending on their role in implementing the strategic plan.

3. Strategic Business Unit (SBU) - As understood from the above, SBU falls under the control of
Division, and is responsible for managing various activities it has been handed over to take care of,
such as accounting, sales, finances and marketing. It should be noted that multiple products may
come under a single business unit and hence SBU’s responsibilities may vary from organization to
organization. In small companies, persons holding important designations such as the regional sales
manager or area sales manager may take the final decisions on behalf of the company as far as
marketing a particular product is considered. Thus in small organizations, formulation and
implementation of marketing strategy may involve less complexity.

4. Product - At the product level management, apart from accounting and finance sections, sales as
well as distribution sections are also taken care of. Other important decisions such as the
product pricing, marketing and launching costs, etc. can be either decided by the individual strategic
business units or at the Division level, as instructed by the Corporate. However, as mentioned
earlier, the primary task of product level is to take care of sales and account related issues.

Thus, mentioned four organizational units join hands together in implementing the strategic marketing
plan finalized by the top level management. All these units, by working in tandem and by complimenting
each other at every stage of the implementation process, bring uniformity to the organizational goals and
objectives. A point worth noting here is, though depending on the size of the organization, the number of
levels involved in the implementation procedure may differ, the basic principles on which a strategic plan
is formulated and then acted upon remains the same irrespective of the size of the organization.
16th SLIDE
Finally, each product level (product line, brand) develops a marketing plan for achieving its objectives.
The complete planning, implementation, and control cycle of strategic planning is shown here. Next, we
consider

planning at each of these four levels of the organization. Strategic marketing planning involves setting
goals and objectives, analyzing internal and external business factors, product planning, implementation,
and tracking your progress. Consider the example of Apple, winner of the CMO Survey Award for
Marketing Excellence for the past seven years.
A tactical marketing plan breaks down those business goals into marketing objectives, then details the
strategic marketing tactics used to achieve those objectives

There are various elements involved in tactical planning. For example: further breaking down organization
goals which are more than two or three years long, having a goal-oriented timeline with short term targets, like,
target for next three months or six months.

17th SLIDE

THAT WOULD BE THE END OF MARRKETING AND CUSTOMER VALUE.

18TH SLIDE WITHOUT FURTHER UDO, LET US GO ON TO THE CORPORATE AND DIVISION
STRATEGIC PLANNING.

19TH SIDE
Some corporations give their business units freedom to set their own sales and profit goals and strategies.
Others set goals for their business units but let them develop their own strategies. Still others set the goals
and participate in developing individual business unit strategies.
All corporate headquarters undertake four planning activities:
1. Defining the corporate mission
2. Establishing strategic business units
3. Assigning resources to each strategic business unit
4. Assessing growth opportunities

We’ll briefly look at each process.

2Oth SLIDE and 21st SLIDE

Defining the corporate mission, An organization exists to accomplish something: to make cars, lend
money, provide a night’s lodging. Over time, the mission may change, to take advantage of new
opportunities or respond to new market conditions. Amazon.com changed its mission from being the
world’s largest online book store to aspiring to become the world’s largest online store; eBay changed
from running online auctions for collectors to running online auctions of all kinds of goods; and Dunkin’
Donuts switched its emphasis from doughnuts to coffee.
To define its mission, a company should address Peter Drucker’s classic questions What is our business?
Who is the customer? What is of value to the customer? What will our business
be? What should our business be?
According to Drucker, this “self-assessment process is a method for assessing what you are
doing, why you are doing it, and what you must do to improve an organization's performance.”
The five questions are the following: What is our mission? Who is our customer? What does
the customer value? What are our results?
Organizations develop mission statements to share with managers, employees, and (in many cases)
customers. A clear, thoughtful mission statement provides a shared sense of purpose, direction, and
opportunity.
Mission statements are at their best when they reflect a vision, an almost “impossible dream”
that provides direction for the next 10 to 20 years.

22ND SLIDE
Nike stands out among the best mission statements for a lot of reasons, but our favorite is the style and
tone of this mission statement. The use of the asterisk is unique and gives the audience something to think
about. Furthermore, their message is inclusive, which follows notable trends in marketing when
reaching millennial and Gen Z audiences.
Nike’s emphasis on equity and body positivity helps angle their mission statement toward millennials and
Gen Z employees.

23RD SLIDE
Good mission statements have five major characteristics.

1. They focus on a limited number of goals. The statement “We want to produce the highest quality
products, offer the most service, achieve the widest distribution, and sell at the lowest prices” claims too
much.
2. They stress the company’s major policies and values. They narrow the range of individual discretion
so employees act consistently on important issues.
3. They define the major competitive spheres within which the company will operate. Table 2.3
summarizes some key competitive dimensions for mission statements.
4. They take a long-term view. Management should change the mission only when it ceases
to be relevant.
5. They are as short, memorable, and meaningful as possible. Marketing consultant Guy
Kawasaki advocates developing three- to four-word corporate mantras rather than mission
statements, like “Enriching Women’s Lives” for Mary Kay.

24TH SLIDE
Establishing Strategic Business Units
Companies often define themselves in terms of products: They are in the “auto business” or the “clothing
business.” Market definitions of a business, however, describe the business as a customer satisfying
process. Products are transient; basic needs and customer groups endure forever. Transportation is a need:
the horse and carriage, automobile, railroad, airline, ship, and truck are products that meet that need.

What is the purpose of an SBU in strategic planning?

Definition: Strategic Business Unit (SBU) implies an independently managed division of a large
company, having its own vision, mission and objectives, whose planning is done separately from other
businesses of the company.

The best example of SBU are companies like Proctor and Gamble, LG etc. These companies have
different product categories under one roof. For example, LG as a company makes consumer durable. It
makes refrigerators, washing machines, air-conditioners as well as televisions.

A target market definition tends to focus on selling a product or service to a current market. Pepsi could
define its target market as everyone who drinks carbonated soft drinks, and competitors would therefore
be other carbonated soft drink companies.
A strategic market definition, however, also focuses on the potential market. If Pepsi considered
everyone who might drink something to quench their thirst, its competition would include non carbonated
soft drinks, bottled water, fruit juices, tea, and coffee. To better compete, Pepsi might decide to sell
additional beverages with promising growth rates.

A business can define itself in terms of three dimensions: customer groups, customer needs, and
technology. Consider a small company that defines its business as designing incandescent lighting
systems for television studios. Its customer group is television studios; the customer need is lighting; the
technology is incandescent lighting. The company might want to expand to make lighting for homes,
factories, and offices, or it could supply other services television studios need, such as heating,
ventilation, or air conditioning. It could design other lighting technologies for television studios, such as
infrared or ultraviolet lighting or perhaps environmentally friendly “green”
fluorescent bulbs.

SO, TAKE A LOOK AT HERE HOW PRODUCT ORIENTED AND MARKET ORIENTED DIFFER.
25TH SLIDE
READ THE SLIDE!
IT is much clearer right? if we look at the market-oriented definition.

26th SLIDE
An SBU has three characteristics:
1. It is a single business, or a collection of related businesses, that can be planned separately from
the rest of the company.
2. It has its own set of competitors.
3. It has a manager responsible for strategic planning and profit performance, who controls most
of the factors affecting profit.
The purpose of identifying the company’s strategic business units is to develop separate strategies and
assign appropriate funding.
EXAMPLE: The Food cart business - A booth can sell dumplings, burgers, fries, coffee, snacks, and
even full meals and other food on sticks. It is a good strategy since they are more affordable compared to
visiting fast food chains or ordering from a casual dining restaurant.

27th SLIDE
Each SBU has its own market and competitors. A company can establish SBUs to focus on targeted
markets and judiciously assigns resources to each SBU as per its requirements. Assigning resources to
each SBU is an important task to identify the marketing opportunities to beat the competitions.
What is the purpose of assigning strategic business unit in the business?
Each strategic business unit has to not only manufacture and deliver products but also make critical
decisions and manage investments. This way the parent organization can focus on tracking income, costs
and profits.

Now that we know what a strategic business unit is, let’s find out about the TYPES OF SBU

TYPES OF STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNITS

The portfolio model developed by Boston Consulting Group offers a useful approach to measure SBU
performance based on the rate of market growth and market share. This divides strategic business units
into categories that can help a manager better allocate resources going forward. Here we have the
different types of strategic business units:

1. STARS
Stars are SBUs with high growth and market share and represent a profitable business. In a fast-growing
market, such businesses are dominant players. They require significant monetary investment to sustain
their rapid growth.

2. CASH COWS
A cash cow is a strategic business unit that dominates in markets with slow growth. They help in
allocating resources to other SBUs by generating more cash than they require. A star generally becomes a
cash cow when a high-growth market slows down.
3. QUESTION MARKS
Organizations face investment dilemmas with SBUs that function in high-growth markets with low
shares. It requires significant investment, usually from cash cows, to develop such SBUs. Organizations
find it difficult to decide whether to invest in these businesses or eliminate them.

4. DOGS
Dogs are underachievers with little hope of becoming cash cows, let alone a star. They operate in slow-
growth markets with low market shares. Their performances may generate enough cash to sustain
themselves but organizations usually choose to invest resources in SBUs that show more promise.

Once an organization has decided which businesses to add to the portfolio, it can appoint a manager who
knows what an SBU is to focus on performance, competition and resource allocation in a particular
business category.

28th SLIDE
Assessing Growth Opportunities
If there is a gap between future desired sales and projected sales, corporate
management will need to develop or acquire new businesses to fill it.

This picture illustrates the strategic-planning gap for a major manufacturer of blank compact
disks called Musicale. The lowest curve projects the expected sales over the next
five years from the current business portfolio. The highest describes desired sales over the same
period. Evidently, the company wants to grow much faster than its current businesses will permit.

29th SLIDE
How can it fill the strategic-planning gap?

The first option is to identify opportunities for growth within current businesses (intensive
opportunities). The second is to identify opportunities to build or acquire businesses related to current
businesses (integrative opportunities). The third is to identify opportunities to add attractive unrelated
businesses (diversification opportunities).

Intensive Growth - One useful framework for detecting new intensive growth opportunities is a
“product-market expansion grid.” It considers the strategic growth opportunities for a firm in terms of
current and new products and markets. The company first considers whether it could gain more market
share with its current products in their current markets, using a market-penetration strategy. Next it
considers whether it can find or develop new markets for its current products, in a market-development
strategy. Then
it considers whether it can develop new products of potential interest to its current markets with
a product-development strategy. Later the firm will also review opportunities to develop new
products for new markets in a diversification strategy. Consider how ESPN has employed
growth opportunities.

So how might Musicale use these three major intensive growth strategies to increase its sales? It
could try to encourage its current customers to buy more by demonstrating the benefits of using compact
disks for data storage in addition to music storage. It could try to attract competitors’ customers if it
noticed major weaknesses in their products or marketing programs. Finally, Musicale could try to
convince nonusers of compact disks to start using them.
How can Musicale use a market-development strategy? First, it might try to identify potential user groups
in the current sales areas. If it has been selling compact disks only to consumer markets, it might go after
office and factory markets. Second, it might seek additional distribution channels by adding mass
merchandising or online channels. Third, the company might sell in new locations in its home country or
abroad.
Management should also consider new-product possibilities. Musicale could develop new features, such
as additional data storage capabilities or greater durability. It could offer the CD at two or more quality
levels, or it could research an alternative technology such as flash drives.
These intensive growth strategies offer several ways to grow. Still, that growth may not be
enough, and management must also look for integrative growth opportunities.

INTEGRATIVE GROWTH A business can increase sales and profits through backward, forward, or
horizontal integration within its industry. Merck has gone beyond developing and selling prescription
pharmaceuticals.
How might Musicale achieve integrative growth? The company might acquire one or more of its
suppliers, such as plastic material producers, to gain more control or generate more profit through
backward integration. It might acquire some wholesalers or retailers, especially if they are highly
profitable, in forward integration.
Finally, Musicale might acquire one or more competitors, provided the government does not bar this
horizontal integration. However, these new sources may still not deliver the desired sales volume. In that
case, the company must consider diversification.

Another example of this type of growth strategy is when a retail store buys a wholesaler. Another
example is when a manufacturing business buys a retail store in which its products are sold

DIVERSIFICATION GROWTH Diversification growth makes sense when good opportunities exist
outside the present businesses—the industry is highly attractive and the company has the right mix of
business strengths to succeed.
Several types of diversification are possible for Musicale. First, the company could choose a concentric
strategy and seek new products that have technological or marketing synergies with existing product
lines, though appealing to a different group of customers. It might start a laser disk manufacturing
operation, because it knows how to manufacture compact discs. Second, it might use horizontal strategy
to search for unrelated new products that appeal to current customers. Musicale might produce compact
disc cases, for example, though they require a different manufacturing process.
Finally, the company might seek new businesses that have no relationship to its current technology,
products, or markets, adopting a conglomerate strategy to consider making application software or
personal organizers.
30TH SLIDE
DOWNSIZING AND DIVESTING OLDER BUSINESSES
Companies must carefully prune, harvest, or divest tired old businesses to release needed resources for
other uses and reduce costs.
The greatest benefit to downsizing is the financial benefit. Money is saved when there are less people to
pay, less resources costing the company money and just less of everything overall. The more you can
reduce costs, the more you can steer them into areas of the company that need the cash infusion to
stabilize.

EXAMPLE: To focus on its travel and credit card operations, American Express
in 2005 spun off American Express Financial Advisors, which provided insurance, mutual
funds, investment advice, and brokerage and asset management services (it was renamed
Ameriprise Financial).

31ST SLIDE
Organization and Organizational Culture
Strategic planning happens within the context of the organization. A company’s organization consists of
its structures, policies, and corporate culture, all of which can become dysfunctional in a rapidly changing
business environment. Whereas managers can change structures and policies (though with difficulty), the
company’s culture is very hard to change. Yet adapting the culture is often the key to successfully
implementing a new strategy.

What exactly is a corporate culture? Some define it as “the shared experiences, stories, beliefs,
and norms that characterize an organization.” Walk into any company and the first thing that
strikes you is the corporate culture—the way people dress, talk to one another, and greet customers.

When Mark Hurd became CEO of HP, one of his goals was to reinvigorate the famous “HP Way,” a
benevolent but hard-nosed corporate culture that rewarded employees amply but expected teamwork,
growth, and profits in return.
A customer-centric culture can affect all aspects of an organization. Sometimes corporate
culture develops organically and is transmitted directly from the CEO’s personality and habits
to the company employees.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE: Employees are friends with people in other departments. Your team
regularly socializes outside of work. You receive thoughtful feedback from employees in surveys. People
take pride in their workstations

32ND SLIDE
MARKETING INNOVATION
Innovation in marketing is critical. Imaginative ideas on strategy exist in many places within a company.
Senior management should identify and encourage fresh ideas from three underrepresented groups:
employees with youthful or diverse perspectives, employees far removed from company headquarters,
and employees new to the industry. Each group can challenge company orthodoxy and stimulate new
ideas.

Netflix
Netflix has become a household name – no easy feat and one achieved largely because of the incredible
quality of content produced by the brand. After all, Netflix isn’t just a streaming service and distribution
delivery platform. Netflix has also produced some of the most popular television series of recent years.
Among the keys to Netflix’s success has been the implementation of data and analytics of consumer
viewing behavior and demand.
L’Oréal
L’Oréal understands that providing for digital-era consumers pre-purchase, is just as important as
allowing them to sample products at makeup stands and counters. For this reason, they designed an app.
L’Oréal’s Makeup Genius app allowed users to use their phones to do a digital makeover.
it’s clear that innovation is an incredibly valuable commodity for digital-era brands. Netflix and Loreal a
clear focus on customer-centric experiences, and innovative marketing practices enables them to design
and provide for consumers in ways that enhance those experiences, in ways consumers may not yet even
expect.

Marketing Debate
What Good Is a Mission Statement?

Mission statements are often the product of much deliberation and discussion. At the same time, critics
claim they sometimes lack “teeth” and specificity, or do not vary much from firm to firm and make the
same empty promises.
Take a position: Mission statements are critical to a successful marketing organization versus Mission
statements rarely provide useful marketing value.

Marketing Planning
Consider Porter’s value chain and the holistic marketing orientation model. What implications do they
have for marketing planning? How would you structure a marketing plan to incorporate some of their
concepts?

 Porter’s model focuses on achieving the competitive advantage over its competitors by the
amount of value it creates relative to its competitors. Considering Porter’s vale chain and holistic
marketing orientation model, these models have great implications for marketing planning.
Implications of Porter‘s value chain model and structuring a marketing plan: While going for the
marketing plan, I will strive for providing better services in comparison to my competitors,
which will help in gaining competitive edge over competitors. I will be looking on the consumer
service-oriented activities like: 1) Outbound logistics: It refers to the stage where the finished
products are developed. So, from here the necessary activities are required to make the product
available to the consumer and it is done by warehousing, order fulfillment, activities involving
transportation, and distribution management. 2) Marketing and sales: This stage has its own
significance, it includes activities like advertising, channel selection, promotion of the product,
product pricing etc. All these activities will be performed in order to make product available to
the target customer groups. Implications of Holistic marketing orientation model on structuring a
marketing plan: Holistic marketing also plays an important role and has useful implications for
marketing planning. Basically in…

2.

Cisco’s revenues increased 41 percent from 2006 to 2008, led by sales increase in both home and
business use, its revenues topped $39.5 billion and the Business Week ranked it the 18th biggest
global brand (Kotler & Keller, 2012). This shows a positive outcome in Cisco’s plan reaching
out to consumers, making the plan to reach consumers a viable one. Cisco created a brand
name/product, a symbol of reputation and quality and was able to sell to its targeted audience
such as home users, small business and corporate market. This didn’t just happen as Cisco had
promote, educate, create awareness and stand by the quality of its brand and its capabilities to the
end-users from corporate executives to individual home users. From the text, it’s evidenced that
cisco’s focus was to increase sales and productivity and in other to achieve such plan, the only
choose is to reach out to the public hence the corporate world (business-to-business) and the
consumer market. No business in today’s world will survive without the consumer market.
Without a consumer market, a business will lack a backbone and might easily fail.

SOLUTION:
Building a strong brand that is able to set a company apart from other business is always
an important job. However, depending on who the intended client is determines how the
company will build their brand. A brand is defined as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or
any combination to identify goods and services of a seller or group of sellers. (2007) According
to Walter Landor, founder of the Landor Associates, the world’s leading brand consulting firm; a
brand is a promise that the company will provide satisfaction and quality. (Burgess, C) While
many things in branding are the same, building a brand that supports brand to brand, B2B, or
brand to customer, B2C, sales has slight differences. In B2B branding, a focus will be made on
making a strong connection with the client business in order to make their brand seen as the top
choice and safe to do business with. In order to do this, the brand will be built around making
strong and personal relationships with the customer to become the go-to source. Instead of mass
marketing and small ads, B2B branding requires that the business be willing to accept the time to
completely educate the professional buyers about the brand. These professional buyers are used
because they are well informed about the needs and goals of the purchase, and focus on
purchasing a product that allows them to achieve higher revenues at a lower total cost then other
competitive business. (Kotler)These buyers will be less influenced about the price and demand
that the brand will be available when needed. For this, the brand will need to have a simplified
supply chain and logistics to meet these demands. In B2C branding, the consumer market looks
at a vast majority of people. While customers can develop a strong connection to a brand, little is
spent for personnel information; relying instead on mass communications such as TV, radio, and
magazine ads that are distributed. In making a brand become a top choice for consumers, things
such as price, packaging, color, characteristics, name and logo are all designed to attract the
average individual.

In using the Cisco Company as an example, there B2B and B2C branding has been different. In
the being Cisco would have spent their time and energy branding the company in a way to show
their electronic hardware as the best choice for specific client company. Now as they expand to
the average consumer, they focus on making themselves known on a mass market; making things
such as the Links ys routers a house hold name.

SOLUTION:
According to the case study, Cisco achieved a global ranking of 18 in2008 with revenues of
$39.5 billion dollars thus making its consumer-based plan a seemingly viable one (Cisco). In
reviewing the market conditions of the 90's which were wide open for internet technology and
comparing that to the 21st century which has now been saturated with internet technology,Cisco
is making a wise strategic move.By transitioning to a consumer based marketing company, Cisco
is placing itself up against some very tough competition against Microsoft, Apple,and Dell,
however, their continued growth seems to demonstrate they are holding their own with
consumers (Cisco). Some of the key transitional actions from business-to-business into consumer
based marketing that Cisco has made was to develop a message. In 2003 the company began
pushing the message of "This is the power of the Network", a catchy phrase consumers could
relate with. Also, Cisco has consistently used television ads and other media outlets to help push
its brand name to consumers and help the company gain market space successfully (Cisco).

CONCLUSIONS
Most failed business have a common trait which is, not meeting consumers demand or consider
its consumers opinion when making their product. Cisco knows what its consumers want, it
makes technology available and much more reachable to the public. It also ensures, its products
better one’s life and make things less complicated. Individuals who might not own any cisco
product, gets the opportunity to enjoy cisco projects in stadiums and other place, creating the
awareness and the need and flexibility to own a product or trust and appreciate cisco’s brand of
products and companies integrity. Cisco continues expanding and successful in its plan of
covering all aspect of the consumer market and corporations.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
So, for Cisco, changing to consumer based and making smart marketing decisions is helping the
company refocus its efforts on the future.