COMPANY-WIDE STRATEGIC PLANNING: DEFINING MARKETING’S ROLE

I. Strategic Planning
- Strategic plan is the process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the
organization’s goals and capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities
- Strategic arranging sets the phase for the rest of the planning and arranging in the
firm. Organization's typically get ready:
+ Annual Plan
+ Long range plan &- deals with corporate’s current businesses and how to keep them
going.
+ Strategic plan – adapting the firm to take advantage of opportunities in its constantly
changing environment
- At the corporate level, and like the marketing strategy, broad company strategy must
be customer focused to track progress and achieve the final objectives, which is
expressly showed in Figure 2.1.

Step to build Strategic Planning

1. Designing the company mission: the company starts the strategic planning process
by defining its overall purpose and mission. The mission is then transformed into
definite supporting goals that control the whole organization.
2. Setting company objectives and goals: Each business and product develops detailed
marketing and other departmental plans that support the company-wide plan.
3. Designing the business portfolio: Headquarters decides what portfolio of
businesses and products is best for the company and how much support to give
each one.
4. Planning marketing and other functional strategies: marketing planning occurs at
the business-unit, product, and market levels. It supports company strategic
planning with 38 more detailed plans for specific marketing opportunities.
II. Market-Oriented Mission
- Mission statement: is the organization’s purpose, they need to achieve and what wants
to accomplish in the larger environment
- Market-oriented mission statement: defines a purpose that focuses on satisfying a
customer's needs. The purpose of a market-oriented mission should match current market
data and environments.
In fact, some company, organizations characterize their missions in their product or
innovation terms like “We make and sell furniture" or "We are a substance handling
firm". However, mission statements must be market oriented and defined in terms of
satisfying basic customer needs, only when products and technologies eventually become
outdated, but fundamental market needs may keep lasting forever.
Likewise, in fact, under sport manufacturer’s mission isn’t just to make performance
sports apparel; it’s to make all athletes better through passion, science, and the relentless
pursuit of innovation. Similarity, restaurant’s mission isn’t to sell food, highlighting its
commitment to the immediate and long-term welfare of customers and the environment
and serve the best natural, sustainable, local ingredients. Table 2.1 provides the difference
between product-oriented and market-oriented business definitions:

Case study: Cold Stone Creamery’s mission isn’t simply to sell ice cream. Its mission is
to “make people happy around the world by selling the highest quality, most creative ice
cream experience with passion, excellence, and innovation.”
“ Mission statements should be meaningful and specific yet motivating. They should
emphasize the company’s strengths in the marketplace. Too often, mission statements are
written for public relations purposes and lack specific, workable guidelines”. Says
marketing consultant Jack Welch.
III. Setting company objectives and goals
- Business objective: is the more precise, measurable path a business needs to take to
achieve its goals. They are made clearer, more believable, and more achievable and have
to answer these question:
+ When they reference what specifically needs to be achieved
+ Who is primarily accountable and responsible
+ When it should be done
+ How it should be done at a high level
+ Why it needs to be done in the first place.
- Marketing objective: is typically subordinate to a business objective. Similar to a
business objective, a marketing objective is also a more precise and measureable
marketing path a business needs to take to meet its business objectives.
- Advertising objective: is typically subordinate to a marketing objective. It lays out how
marketing will be used to enter a market, introduce a new offering, raise awareness, create
specific or general demand, acquire or retain customers, and/or increase loyalty/advocacy.
The company needs to turn its mission into detailed supporting objectives for each level of
management. Each manager should have objectives and be responsible for reaching them.

For example, Kohler makes and markets familiar kitchen and bathroom fixtures—
everything from bathtubs and toilets to kitchen sinks. But Kohler also offers a breadth of
other products and services, including furniture, tile and stone, and even small engines and
backup power systems. It also owns resorts and spas in the United States and Scotland.
Kohler ties this diverse product portfolio together under the mission of “contributing to a
higher level of gracious living for those who are touched by our products and services.”