EDUCATION HOLE PRESENTS

MARKETING MANAGEMENT
UNIT I

2013

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Nature & Scope of Marketing .................................................................................................. 3

Importance of Marketing ................................................................................................................. 4

Philosophies of Marketing Management ................................................................................. 4

Define customer value ..................................................................................................................... 5
Marketing Strategy .............................................................................................................................................. 5
Marketing strategies ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Selling Marketing ............................................................................................................................................ 6

Elements of Marketing Mix ..................................................................................................... 6

Product ............................................................................................................................................................ 6
Price ................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Place ................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Promotion ....................................................................................................................................................... 7
Advertising ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
Word of mouth ................................................................................................................................................ 7

Four Cs of Marketing Mix ................................................................................................................ 7

Consumer ................................................................................................................................ 8
Consumer Interest ............................................................................................................................................... 8

Consumer Markets .......................................................................................................................... 9

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG's) .................................................................................................... 9
Consumer durables ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Services (e.g. hairdressing, dentists, childcare) ............................................................................................ 9

Industrial Markets ................................................................................................................... 9

THE ROLE OF THE MARKETING MANAGER .......................................................................................................... 9
Making customer focused decisions .................................................................................................................. 10

Function of management ...................................................................................................... 10

Planning.............................................................................................................................................................. 10
Organizing .......................................................................................................................................................... 11
Staffing ............................................................................................................................................................... 11

Directing ........................................................................................................................................ 11
Controlling ..................................................................................................................................... 12
Market environment...................................................................................................................... 12
Micro environment of marketing ....................................................................................................................... 13
Macro environment of marketing ...................................................................................................................... 14
Factor affecting marketing environment ........................................................................................................... 14

Marketing information system .............................................................................................. 15

Strategic Marketing Plans ..................................................................................................... 17
Use................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Benefits .............................................................................................................................................................. 17

Time Frame.................................................................................................................................................... 18
Considerations............................................................................................................................................... 18

Nature & Scope of Marketing

Marketing is an ancient art & is everywhere. Formally or informally, people & organizations
engage in a vast numbers of activities that could be called marketing. Good marketing has
become an increasingly vital ingredient for business success. It is embedded in everything we
do- from the clothes we wear, to the web sites we click on, to the ads we see. Marketing deals
with identifying & meeting human & social needs or it can be defined as meeting needs
profitably. The American Marketing Association has defined marketing as an organizational
function & a set of processes for creating, communicating & delivering value to the customers &
for managing customers relations in ways that benefit the organization & the stake holders. Or
Marketing management is the art & science of choosing target markets & getting, keeping &
growing customers through creating, delivering & communicating superior customer value. Or
Delivering a higher standard of living For a managerial definition, marketing has been
defined as the art of selling products but people are surprised when they hear that the most
important part of marketing is not selling. Selling is only the tip of marketing iceberg. Peter
Drucker says it this way that the aim of marketing is to know & understand the customer so well
that the product or service fits him & sells itself. All that should be needed is to make the product
or the service available. Eg. The success of Indica, the first indigenously designed car by Tata
Motors. Backed by strong customers delight, the company designed a vehicle with luggage space
& legroom & offered it a price easily available & affordable to middle class. (2) Gillette
launched its March III razor. Marketing people are involved in marketing 10 types of entities :
goods services, events, experiences, persons, places, properties, organizations, information &
ideas. Therefore ideal marketing should result in a customer who is ready to buy.

Importance of Marketing
Financial success of any organization depends upon marketing ability of that organization.
There should be sufficient demand for products & services so the company can make profit.
Therefore many companies created chief marketing officer (CMO) position to put marketing on
a more equal footing with other e-level executives. Marketing is tricky & large well known
business such as Levis, Kodak, Xerox etc. had to rethink their business models, Even Microsoft,
Wal-Mart, Nike who are market leaders cannot relax. Thus, we can say that making the right
decision is not easy & marketing managers must take major decisions about the features of the
product prices & design of the product, where to sell products & expenditure on sales &
advertising. Good marketing is no accident but a result of careful planning & execution.
Marketing practices are continuously being refined to increase the chances of success. But
marketing excellence is rare & difficult to achieve & is a never ending task. Eg. NIRMA The
brand icon of the young girl has adorned the package of Nirma washing powder. The jingle has
become one of the enduring times in Indian advertising.

Philosophies of Marketing Management

The five competing concepts by which companies are guided in their marketing efforts are:
1.
Production concept, which is based on the fact that consumers favor products that are
available and affordable. Concentration on production efficiency and effective distribution
networks outweigh the customers actual needs and wants. This is used primarily when demand
exceeds supply and the focus is on finding production methods that can bring the price down to
attract more customers.
2.
Product concept, which is based on ways to improve the quality, performance, and features
to attract buyers. This philosophy tends to spend too much time adding features to their
products, rather than thinking about what people actually need and want.
3.
Selling concept, which places the focus on sales rather than what people actually need or
want. Most of the time the product is misrepresented which results in high customer
dissatisfaction.
4.
Marketing concept, which focuses on what people need and want more than the needs of
the seller. This concept is about the importance of satisfying the customers needs to achieve
company success. Products are developed around those needs and wants.
5.
Societal marketing concept, which not only uses the same philosophy as the marketing
concept, but also focuses around the products benefit to the betterment of society as a

whole. Greater emphasis is put on environmental impacts, population growth, resource

shortages, and social services.

Define customer value

In marketing, a customer value proposition (CVP) consists of the sum total of benefits which a
vendor promises a customer will receive in return for the customer's associated payment (or
other value-transfer). A customer value proposition is a business or marketing statement that
describes why a customer should buy a product or use a service. It is specifically targeted
towards potential customers rather than other constituent groups such as employees, partners or
suppliers. It is a clearly defined statement that is designed to convince customers that one
particular product or service will add more value or better solve a problem than others in its
competitive set. Q.3

Marketing Strategy
Marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited
resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive
advantage.

Marketing strategies
Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental underpinning of marketing plans designed to fill
market needs and reach marketing objectives. Plans and objectives are generally tested for
measurable results. Commonly, marketing strategies are developed as multi-year plans, with a
tactical plan detailing specific actions to be accomplished in the current year. Time horizons
covered by the marketing plan vary by company, by industry, and by nation, however, time
horizons are becoming shorter as the speed of change in the environment increases. Marketing
strategies are dynamic and interactive. They are partially planned and partially unplanned. See
strategy dynamics. Marketing strategy involves careful scanning of the internal and external
environments which are summarized in a SWOT analysis. Internal environmental factors include
the marketing mix, plus performance analysis and strategic constraints. External environmental
factors include customer analysis, competitor analysis, target market analysis, as well as
evaluation of any elements of the technological, economic, cultural or political/legal
environment likely to impact success. A key component of marketing strategy is often to keep
marketing in line with a company's overarching mission statement. Besides SWOT analysis,

portfolio analyses such as the GE/McKinsey matrix can or COPE analysis be performed to
determine the strategic focus. Once a thorough environmental scan is complete, a strategic plan
can be constructed to identify business alternatives, establish challenging goals, determine the
optimal marketing mix to attain these goals, and detail implementation. A final step in
developing a marketing strategy is to create a plan to monitor progress and a set of contingencies
if problems arise in the implementation of the plan.
Selling Marketing

1. Selling starts with the seller & the needs of the seller Marketing starts with the buyer &
needs of buyer
2. Seeks to quickly convert products into cash. Seeks to convert customer needs into
products
3. Seller is the centre of business universe Buyer is the centre of the business universe
4. Views Business as a goods producing process Views businesses as a customer satisfying
process.
5. Seller preference determines the formulation of marketing mix. Buyer determines the shape
marketing mix should take.
6. Selling is product oriented Marketing is customer oriented.
7. Sellers motives dominate marketing communication Marketing communication is looked
upon as a tool for communicating the benefits / satisfactions provided by the product.

Elements of Marketing Mix

The elements of marketing mix are often called the four Ps of marketing.
Product
Goods manufactured by organizations for the end-users are called products.
Products can be of two types - Tangible Product and Intangible Product (Services)
An individual can see, touch and feel tangible products as compared to intangible products.
A product in a market place is something which a seller sells to the buyers in exchange of
money.
Price
The money which a buyer pays for a product is called as price of the product. The price of a
product is indirectly proportional to its availability in the market. Lesser its availability, more
would be its price and vice a versa.

Retail stores which stock unique products (not available at any other store) quote a higher price
from the buyers.
Place
Place refers to the location where the products are available and can be sold or purchased.
Buyers can purchase products either from physical markets or from virtual markets. In a physical
market, buyers and sellers can physically meet and interact with each other whereas in a virtual
market buyers and sellers meet through internet.
Promotion
Promotion refers to the various strategies and ideas implemented by the marketers to make the
end - users aware of their brand. Promotion includes various techniques employed to promote
and make a brand popular amongst the masses.
Promotion can be through any of the following ways:
Advertising
Print media, Television, radio are effective ways to entice customers and make them aware of the
brands existence.
Billboards, hoardings, banners installed intelligently at strategic locations like heavy traffic
areas, crossings, railway stations, bus stands attract the passing individuals towards a particular
brand.
Taglines also increase the recall value of the brand amongst the customers.
Word of mouth
One satisfied customer brings ten more customers along with him whereas one dis-satisfied
customer takes away ten more customers. Thats the importance of word of mouth. Positive word
of mouth goes a long way in promoting brands amongst the customers.
Lately three more Ps have been added to the marketing mix. They are as follows:
People - The individuals involved in the sale and purchase of products or services come under
people.
Process - Process includes the various mechanisms and procedures which help the product to
finally reach its target market
Physical Evidence - With the help of physical evidence, a marketer tries to communicate the
USPs and benefits of a product to the end users

Four Cs of Marketing Mix

Now a day, organizations treat their customers like kings. In the current scenario, the four Cs
has thus replaced the four Ps of marketing making it a more customer oriented model. Koichi
Shimizu in the year 1973 proposed a four Cs classification.
Commodity - (Replaces Products)
Cost - (Replaces Price) involves manufacturing cost, buying cost and selling cost
Channel - The various channels which help the product reach the target market.
Communication - (Replaces Promotion)
Robert F. Lauterborn gave a modernized version of the four Cs model in the year 1993.
According to him the four Cs of marketing are:
ConsumerCostConvenienceCommunication\

Consumer
Any individual who purchases goods and services from the market for his/her end-use is called a
consumer.
In simpler words a consumer is one who consumes goods and services available in the market.
Example - Tom might purchase a tricycle for his son or Mike might buy a shirt for himself. In
the above examples, both Tom and Mike are consumers.

Consumer Interest
Every customer shows inclination towards particular products and services. Consumer interest is
nothing but willingness of consumers to purchase products and services as per their taste, need
and of course pocket.
Let us go through the following example:
Both Maria and Sandra went to the nearby shopping mall to buy dresses for themselves. The
store manager showed them the best dresses available with him. Maria immediately purchased
two dresses but Sandra returned home empty handed. The dresses were little too expensive for
Sandra and she preferred simple and subtle designs as compared to designer wears available at
the store.
In the above example Sandra and Maria had similar requirements but there was a huge difference
in their taste, mind set and ability to spend.

Consumer Markets
Consumer markets are the markets for products and services bought by individuals for their own
or family use. Goods bought in consumer markets can be categorised in several ways:
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG's)
These are high volume, low unit value, fast repurchase Examples include: Ready meals;
Baked Beans; Newspapers
Consumer durables
These have low volume but high unit value. Consumer durables are often further divided into:
White goods (e.g. fridge-freezers; cookers; dishwashers; microwaves) Brown goods (e.g. DVD
players; games consoles; personal computers)
Soft goods Soft goods are similar to consumer durables, except that they wear out more
quickly and therefore have a shorter replacement cycle Examples include clothes, shoes
Services (e.g. hairdressing, dentists, childcare)

Industrial Markets
Industrial markets involve the sale of goods between businesses. These are goods that are not
aimed directly at consumers. Industrial markets include

Selling finished goods Examples include office furniture, computer systems

Selling raw materials or components Examples include steel, coal, gas, timber
Selling services to businesses Examples include waste disposal, security, accounting &
legal services

Industrial markets often require a slightly different marketing strategy and mix. In particular, a
business may have to focus on a relatively small number of potential buyers (e.g. the IT Director
responsible for ordering computer equipment in a multinational group). Whereas consumer
marketing tends to be aimed at the mass market (in some cases, many millions of potential
customers), industrial marketing tends to be focused.

THE ROLE OF THE MARKETING MANAGER

For the small business, there are several different organisational approaches to marketing. The
duty may lie with a single member of the team, or it could be a group responsibility. The great
thing about a small team is the ability to quickly instil a marketing led ethos which can become
the operational soul of your business.

Depending on budget availability and the skills of the team, you may choose to outsource certain
elements of the marketing process (such as market research) or decide to do these jobs in-house.
Key responsibilities of the marketing manager / director vary according to the business but can
include:

Instilling a marketing led ethos throughout the business

Researching and reporting on external opportunities
Understanding current and potential customers
Managing the customer journey (customer relationship management)
Developing the marketing strategy and plan
Management of the marketing mix
Managing agencies
Measuring success
Managing budgets
Ensuring timely delivery
Writing copy
Approving images
Developing guidelines

Making customer focused decisions

The marketing role can be diverse or focused but now we'll elaborate further on some key
aspects which should be at the heart of the job.

Function of management
Planning
It is the basic function of management. It deals with chalking out a future course of action &
deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined
goals. According to KOONTZ, Planning is deciding in advance - what to do, when to do & how
to do. It bridges the gap from where we are & where we want to be. A plan is a future course of
actions. It is an exercise in problem solving & decision making. Planning is determination of
courses of action to achieve desired goals. Thus, planning is a systematic thinking about ways &
means for accomplishment of pre-determined goals. Planning is necessary to ensure proper
utilization of human & non-human resources. It is all pervasive, it is an intellectual activity and it
also helps in avoiding confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages etc.

Organizing
It is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human resources and developing
productive relationship amongst them for achievement of organizational goals. According to
Henry Fayol, To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful or its functioning
i.e. raw material, tools, capital and personnels. To organize a business involves determining &
providing human and non-human resources to the organizational structure. Organizing as a
process involves:
Identification of activities.

Classification of grouping of activities.

Assignment of duties.
Delegation of authority and creation of responsibility.
Coordinating authority and responsibility relationships.

Staffing
It is the function of manning the organization structure and keeping it manned. Staffing has
assumed greater importance in the recent years due to advancement of technology, increase in
size of business, complexity of human behavior etc. The main purpose o staffing is to put right
man on right job i.e. square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes. According to
Kootz & ODonell, Managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure
through proper and effective selection, appraisal & development of personnel to fill the roles
designed un the structure. Staffing involves:
Manpower Planning (estimating man power in terms of searching, choose the person and giving
the right place).

Recruitment, Selection & Placement.

Training & Development.
Remuneration.
Performance Appraisal.
Promotions & Transfer.

Directing
It is that part of managerial function which actuates the organizational methods to work
efficiently for achievement of organizational purposes. It is considered life-spark of the
enterprise which sets it in motion the action of people because planning, organizing and staffing
are the mere preparations for doing the work. Direction is that inert-personnel aspect of

management which deals directly with influencing, guiding, supervising, motivating sub-ordinate
for the achievement of organizational goals. Direction has following elements:

Supervision
Motivation
Leadership
Communication

Supervision- implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. It is the act of
watching & directing work & workers.
Motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the sub-ordinates with zeal to work.
Positive, negative, monetary, non-monetary incentives may be used for this purpose.
Leadership- may be defined as a process by which manager guides and influences the work of
subordinates in desired direction.
Communications- is the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc from one person
to another. It is a bridge of understanding.

Controlling
It implies measurement of accomplishment against the standards and correction of deviation if
any to ensure achievement of organizational goals. The purpose of controlling is to ensure that
everything occurs in conformities with the standards. An efficient system of control helps to
predict deviations before they actually occur. According to Theo Haimann , Controlling is the
process of checking whether or not proper progress is being made towards the objectives and
goals and acting if necessary, to correct any deviation. According to Koontz & ODonell
Controlling is the measurement & correction of performance activities of subordinates in order
to make sure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to obtain them as being
accomplished. Therefore controlling has following steps:

Establishment of standard performance.

Measurement of actual performance.
Comparison of actual performance with the standards and finding out deviation if any.
Corrective action.

Market environment
The market environment is a marketing term and refers to factors and forces that affect a firms
ability to build and maintain successful relationships with customers. Three levels of the
environment are: Micro (internal) environment - small forces within the company that affect its

ability to serve its customers. Meso environment the industry in which a company operates and
the industrys market(s) Macro (national) environment - larger societal forces that affect the
microenvironment
Marketing environment is one of the important terms of marketing management. It is external to
marketing management and is uncontrollable and ever changing. It consists of

Intra-organizational environment
Micro environment
Macro environment
Global environment (see figure 1):-

Successful companies know the importance of constantly scanning and adopting the changing
environment. Marketing environment mainly consists of
micro and macro environment(see figure 2):-

Micro environment of marketing

It is the job of the marketer to establish good relationship with their micro environment as the
success of the company depends upon the micro environment.
Company:- in company marketer must discuss all the plans and policies with the top
management, r&d, purchasing, manufacturing, selling and other departments to give satisfaction
to the consumer.
Suppliers:- Suppliers are the persons who provide the company necessary raw material. If the
company is not having cordial relations with the supplier then it may result into short run loss in
sale and damage the customer relations
Marketing intermediaries:- they help in promoting, selling and distributing the goods to the
ultimate consumer. They include middleman like agents, dealers, whole-sellers, retailers,
brokers; physical distribution firms which help the manufacturer in moving the goods from the
factory to their destination; warehousing firms which help in storing and protecting the goods;
transportation firms which help in moving the goods; market service agencies which help in
consultancy, research, advertising etc; financing firms provide help in insuring the risk
associated with the buyer.
Customers:- as likes of customer changes very fast so for the growth of the company the
marketer must keep studying the customer related factors and their demand regular basis.
Competitors:- it is necessary for the marketing manager to have the knowledge about the
competitors status, strength, weakness to take the competitive advantage.

Public:-the company must have good public relation department to maintain good relations with
the public.

Macro environment of marketing

the Micro environment discussed above are controllable but the Macro environment are
uncontrollable.
Demographic environment:- it includes the life style, income, qualification, age, marital status,
sex, family structure etc. so the marketer must have the knowledge about it. Like teenage market,
kids market.
Economic environment:- it means the purchasing power of the consumer the marketer must have
the knowledge about the inflation, changing consumer pattern, real income, low saving etc.
Natural environment:- the marketer must have the knowledge about natural resources, their
shortage if any, government policies etc.
Technological environment:-it is the technology which is changing the life of the people. So the
marketer must keep an eye on the changing technology.
Political environment:- political stability is very important for the growth of any economy it
include the law, government agencies etc. marketing decisions are affected by the political
environment.
Legal environment:- the marketer must function as per the legal formalities and should not work
against them.
Cultural environment:- it include the values, beliefs, perceptions of the consumer which also
affect the marketing environment. So the marketer must have the knowledge about it.

Factor affecting marketing environment

Factors influencing the market can be categorized under 6 different titles, demographic,
economic, ecology, technology, regulatory-political and society-culture.
Demographic factors: are associated with changing nature and volume of population. It follows
how people are conducting themselves in the new world, increasing per capita income, urban
migration, ethnically diverse cities and mega cities. These are some demographic factors
companies are monitoring. For example, a country like India and China are showing highest
concentration of youth population where as Japan is showing high number of retired workers.
Therefore, demand and consumption of product will also be different.

Economic factors: deals with function like purchasing power parity, income level, savings level
and interest rates among many other. For example, countries with a high income level are more
likely to afford luxury items compare to a low income level country. Savings level and interest
rate determine the borrowing power as well as spending power of consumer.
Ecological factors: consist of natural resource composition in a given county. For example,
demand for fossil fuel has sky rocketed in recent years there by increasing general price level in
the market. Companies, therefore, are looking forward to designing products which eco-friendly
design that is they are less fuel dependent and give out less pollution.
Technology factors: like internet and connectivity are changing the face of business. More and
more people are doing business online. Science and medicine are also part of technology factors.
Challenge for the company is to keep up with innovation and offer products, which are not
obsolete.
Political environment: is also changing with more and more market based system rather than the
socialist system. Furthermore, regulatory requirements like competition policy, investment
policy, tax policy, etc. companies should investigate before taking their business to a particular
country.
Culture environment: deals with factors like opinion people have towards themselves, others,
organization and society in general. People have become more eco conscious, contributing one
or many causes they can relate to, want organization to be responsible for their action and are
looking to open society with meaningful co-existence.

Marketing information system

A marketing information system (MIS) is a set of procedures and methods designed to generate,
analyze, disseminate, and store anticipated marketing decision information on a regular,
continuous basis. An information system can be used operationally, managerially, and
strategically for several aspects of marketing.
A marketing information system can be used operationally, managerially, and strategically for
several aspects of marketing.
We all know that no marketing activity can be carried out in isolation, know when we say it
doesnt work in isolation that means there are various forces could be external or internal,
controllable or uncontrollable which are working on it. Thus to know which forces are acting on
it and its impact the marketer needs to gathering the data through its own resources which in
terms of marketing we can say he is trying to gather the market information or form a marketing
information system . This collection of information is a continuous process that gathers data
from a variety of sources synthesizes it and sends it to those responsible for meeting the market
places needs. The effectiveness of marketing decision is proved if it has a strong information

system offering the firm a Competitive advantage. Marketing Information should not be
approached in an infrequent manner. If research is done this way, a firm could face these risks:

Opportunities may be missed.

There may be a lack of awareness of environmental changes and competitors actions.
Data collection may be difficult to analyze over several time periods.
Marketing plans and decisions may not be properly reviewed.
Data collection may be disjointed.
Previous studies may not be stored in an easy to use format.
Time lags may result if a new study is required.
Actions may be reactionary rather than anticipatory.

The total information needs of the marketing department can be specified and satisfied via a
marketing intelligence network, which contains three components.
1. Continuous monitoring is the procedure by which the changing environment is regularly
viewed.2. Marketing research is used to obtain information on particular marketing issues.3.
Data warehousing involves the retention of all types of relevant company records, as well as the
information collected through continuous monitoring and marketing research that is kept by the
organization.
Depending on a firms resources and the complexity of its needs, a marketing intelligence
network may or may not be fully computerized. The ingredients for a good MIS are consistency,
completeness, and orderliness. Marketing plans should be implemented on the basis of
information obtained from the intelligence network.
An Marketing Information System offers many advantages:
1. Organized data collection.2. A broad perspective.3. The storage of important data.4. An
avoidance of crises.5. Coordinated marketing plans.6. Speed in obtaining sufficient information
to make decisions.7. Data amassed and kept over several time periods.8. The ability to do a costbenefit analysis.
The disadvantages of a Marketing information system are high initial time and labor costs and
the complexity of setting up an information system. Marketers often complain that they lack
enough marketing information or the right kind, or have too much of the wrong kind. The
solution is an effective marketing information system.
The information needed by marketing managers comes from three main sources:
1) Internal company information E.g. sales, orders, customer profiles, stocks, customer service
reports etc

2) Marketing intelligence This can be information gathered from many sources, including
suppliers, customers, and distributors. Marketing intelligence is a catchall term to include all the
everyday information about developments in the market that helps a business prepare and adjust
its marketing plans. It is possible to buy intelligence information from outside suppliers (e.g.
IDC, ORG, MARG) who set up data gathering systems to support commercial intelligence
products that can be profitably sold to all players in a market.
(3) Market research Management cannot always wait for information to arrive in bits and
pieces from internal sources. Also, sources of market intelligence cannot always be relied upon
to provide relevant or up-to-date information (particularly for smaller or niche market segments).
In such circumstances, businesses often need to undertake specific studies to support their
marketing strategy this is market research.

Strategic Marketing Plans

Strategic marketing planning involves combining customer experiences with the overall direction
the company wants and needs to take in order to succeed. For example, market segmentation
plays a vital role in strategic marketing. Geographic and demographic differences in a companys
target markets can affect the purchasing habits of consumers. Strategic marketing planning
allows companies to go through the process of identifying what these differences are, and then
adjusting marketing messages and presentation of the company and the products and services of
the business to meet the individual needs of the different segments of the market. For example,
the Baby Boomers generation has created a surge in need for products and services that range
drastically. Some companies have adjusted existing products and services to meet the increase in
demand, while other companies with the foresight to strategically plan for the increase,
developed new products and services to meet the demand.
Use
Once a strategic marketing plan is in place, the company can use the plan as a guide in
conducting its daily business as well as making short-term and long-term decisions.
Implementation of the strategic marketing plan typically leads companies to the tactical
marketing portion of conducting business. The strategic marketing plan transitions into the
companys plan for product and service development; the communication plan on how the
company intends on promoting the business offerings; developing the sales plan; and finally
putting together the customer service plan on how the company intends on interacting with
current and potential customers.

Benefits
The primary benefit of a strategic marketing plan is that it puts a written guide in place for a
business to follow to reach its goals and objectives. The second major advantage of strategic

marketing planning is that is allows the business to create and utilize consistent messaging
internally and externally. Consistent messaging in marketing creates efficient companies because
employees and customers understand what the company offers and how the company offers it.
They work toward a common goal. Efficient companies typically see an increase in revenues and
market share, while it sees a decrease in expenses. Ultimately, it all leads to an increase in
company profitability.
Time Frame
Strategic marketing planning is not a one-time action, but rather an ongoing process. Typically, a
company creates a strategic marketing plan that covers short-term (one year) and long-term (two
year, three year and five year plans) periods. When a strategic marketing plan is put in place, the
company uses it as a guide for six months to one year at a time. The company then evaluates the
strategic plan by measuring the results of the marketing programs the plan put in place. After
evaluating the strategic marketing plan on a six-month or one-year basis, the company may
tweak the plan to improve efforts that didnt go as planned or to mimic the results of plans that
achieved success.
Considerations
Effective strategic marketing planning requires companies to conduct a great deal of research
and to really get to know its target market. Companies need to fully get to know who the target
market is, how they think and feel, what they do, how old they are, where they live, what their
hobbies are and more. Companies need to be able to live, think, breathe and feel like their target
market to develop products and services that fit the needs of the target market. Companies need
to remember that product and service development needs to have an existing marketing to sell,
rather than developing products and services, and then seeking out a target market in which to
sell it.