Strategic Marketing

Lecture 4
Collecting and Analysing Marketing Information
Situation Analysis
• One of the most widely used approaches to the
collection and analysis of marketing information is the
situation analysis. The purpose of the situation
analysis is to describe current and future issues and
key trends as they affect three key environments:
the internal environment,
the customer environment, and
the external environment.
The Internal Environment (1 of 2)
Review of Current Objectives, Strategy and Performance
• An important input to later stages in the planning process
• Poor or declining performance must be the result of:
(1) Goals or objectives that are inconsistent with
customer or external environments
(2) Flawed marketing strategy
(3) Poor implementation
(4) Changes in the customer or external environment
beyond the control of the firm
The Internal Environment (2 of2)
• Availability of Resources
• Includes review of financial, human and experience resources as
well as resources from key relationships
• Financial resources tend to get most attention
• Labor shortages are expected to be a major problem in the coming
years
• Organizational Culture and Structure
• Problems can arise when marketing does not hold a prominent
position in the political hierarchy
• Culture and structure are relatively stable but can be affected by
mergers (e.g. Daimler and Chrysler; HP and Compaq)
The Customer Environment
The 5 W Model
• Who are our Current and Potential Customers?
• What do our Customers do with our Products?
• Where do Customers Purchase our Products?
• When do Customers Purchase our Products?
• Why (and How) do Customers Select our Products?
• Why do Potential Customers not Purchase our
Products?
The External Environment (1 of 2)
• Competition
(1) Brand competitors
(2) Product competitors
(3) Generic competitors
(4) Total budget competitors
Major Types of Competition
Stages of Competitive Analysis
(1) Identify all current and potential competitors.
(2) Assess each key competitor.
(3) Assess each key competitor’s strengths and weaknesses.
(4) Focus the analysis on each key competitor’s marketing
capabilities.
(5) Estimate each key competitor’s most likely strategies and
responses under different environmental situations.
The External Environment (2 of 2)
• Economic Growth and Stability
• Political Trends
• Legal and Regulatory Issues
• Technological Advancements
• Sociocultural Trends
-Demographic Trends
-Lifestyle Trends
-Trends in Cultural Values
Examples of Trends in the Sociocultural
Environment
• Demographic Trends
• Aging of the American population
• Increasing population diversity
• Population growth in the Sun Belt states
• Lifestyle Trends
• Clothing has become more casual, especially at work
• Growing focus on health and nutrition
• Time spent watching television has declined
• Trends in Cultural Values
• Less focus on “me-oriented” values
• Increasing importance of family and children
• Greater focus on ethics and social responsibility
Collecting Environmental Data and Information (1 of
2)
• Secondary Information Sources
• Internal Data Sources
• Government Sources
• Periodicals/Book Sources
• Commercial (Fee-Based) Sources
Collecting Environmental Data and Information (2 of 2)

• Primary Data Collection

• Direct Observation
• Focus Groups
• Surveys
• Experiments
• Overcoming Problems in Data Collection
Discussion Question
• Do you think the Internet has made it easier or more difficult to
collect data and information? Why? How might the major data
collection issues of today compare to the issues that occurred in the
pre-Internet era?