Developing Marketing Strategy

Yasser El Far

Definitions
1) What is Sales ? 2) It is Art of convincing. 3) What is Marketing? 4) It is Art of creating demand. 5) What is Management? 6) It is Art of doing things through people. 7) It is the Art of Organizing, Leading, Planning & Controlling

Definitions

1) Efficiency:
Do things right.

2) Effectiveness:
Do the right thing.

Why?
1) Because of dog-eat-dog market, contentious innovation is the trend in Organizations. But because of imitation, competitors after a while become equals. 2) So, Organizations (Firms) must achieve Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCAs) to differentiate them selves in the market. 3) If this (SCA) is achieved only through marketing mix (product, price, people and promotion) it is easily to be imitated. 4) But if Organization achieves (SCA) through proper design for relationship with customers , it lasts for long term and it is very hard to be imitated.

Why?
1) 2 Basic sources for SCAs:
1) Superior resources: Better location, prime access to
supplies, ..

2) Superior

More human talent, Know competencies, managerial abilities Or all of t6hem.

skills:

how,

2) The SCAs can be achieved only when 2 conditions are met:

1) This difference must be communicated in the market. 2) This difference must be reflected in our organization. (products, attitude, everything)

Business History

Time Period Business Type Objective Orientation Role Of Sales Person Activities Of Sales

Before 1930 Production Making Sales Short-Term Seller Needs Provider Taking orders,

1930 - 1960 Sales Making Sales Short-Term Seller Needs Persuader Aggressively

1960 - 1990 Marketing Satisfying Customer Needs Short-Term Customer Needs Problem Solver Matching available

After 1990 Partnering Building Relationship Long-Term Seller & Customer Needs Value Creator Creating new alternatives, matching buyer needs with seller capabilities

convincing buyers offerings to buyer Person Delivering goods to buy products needs

The Outline of Marketing

Business Marketing Marketing Philosophy Strategies Marketing Tactics

Marketing Concept STP Marketing Marketing Mix

Customer needs Target market Profitability Segmentation Targeting Product Pricing

Integrated marketing Positioning

Promotion
Place

Value & Satisfaction

Value =

Benefits

Functional benefits + Emotional benefits

=
Costs Monetary + Time + Energy + Psychic

Marketers can increase the value by:

Raise benefits Reduce costs Raise benefits by more than the raise in costs Lower benefits by less than the reduction in costs

Marketing & Customer Value

The Central Role Of Strategic Marketing

Business Unit Strategic Planning:

THE MARKETING PROCESS

1) Analyzing Marketing Opportunities. 2) Choosing Target Markets. 3) Formulating Marketing Strategies. 4) Planning the Marketing Mix. 5) Managing the Marketing Effort.

THE MARKETING PROCESS

1) Analyzing Marketing Opportunities.

1) Marketing opportunity: Is an area of buyer need or potential interest in which a company can perform profitably. 2) Market opportunity analysis:
1) How Benefits (value) can be communicated effectively to the target markets 2) Does The communication, can be done with a cost effective promotional mix and distribution strategy. 3) Does The firm has the necessary resources. 4) The firm can provide the chosen value better than its possible competitors. 5) Is the Profits will at least equal the firm's targeted ROI.

THE MARKETING PROCESS

1) Analyzing Marketing Opportunities. 2) An Opportunity arises when:
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) The buying process can be improved A product or service can be customized Informational needs are unmet More rapid or cheaper delivery is possible. The firm can offer a capability not matched by any competitor.

THE MARKETING PROCESS

d

3) Planning the Marketing Mix.

1) Marketing Mix:
Seven Ps Product Place Price Promotion People Process Physical evidence Positioning Four Cs Customer solution Customer cost Convince Communication Care (with which I am treated) Consumption (of my time and energy required) Confirmation (that your product really exists) Clarity (with respect to what you are offering vs. the
competition)

THE MARKETING PROCESS

4) Planning the Marketing Mix.
1) It is the process of determining how marketing strategies, formulated in accordance with a SWOT analysis may be implemented
1) The firm must decide what resources should be devoted to the marketing effort, for example, budgeting. 2) The next step is to allocate the budgeted resources to the elements of the marketing mix (the 4 Ps or 4 Cs of marketing).

THE MARKETING PROCESS

5) Managing the Marketing Effort:
A. Organization. B. Marketing Implementation. C. Marketing Control.

THE MARKETING PROCESS

5. Managing the Marketing Effort:
A. Organization:
1) Marketing Organization:
a) Sales department only b) Sales department with some marketing functions, such as advertising and research c) Marketing department separate from sales d) Marketing and sales departments reporting to a vice-president of marketing and sales. e) Process and outcome organizations, with teams managed by process leaders

THE MARKETING PROCESS

5. Managing the Marketing Effort:
A. Organization:
1) Marketing Department:
i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. Functional specializations Geographic areas Products Brands Market segments Product and market matrix Corporate-divisional structure.

THE MARKETING PROCESS

5. Managing the Marketing Effort:
B. Marketing Implementation.
1) The skills needed for efficient & effective implementation:
A. Recognition of problems and diagnosis of causes. B. Determining where in the firm the problem exists (marketing policy, program, or function). C. The abilities to assign resources, organize activities, and motivate others. D. The ability to track and assess performance.

THE MARKETING PROCESS

5.
C.

Managing the Marketing Effort:

Marketing Control.
I. II. III. IV. Annual - Plan Control. Profitability Control. Efficiency Control. Strategic Control.

Product Mix 5 Ps
1) Product Policies:
1) It is the collection of intangible and tangible attributes (characteristics) offered as one unit to End Users.

2) Through the products, the exchange of value happen to satisfy both buyer and seller needs. 3) The Total Product Concept is how to transform Core product into Potential product. This is to enhance exchange of value between buyers and sellers.

Product Mix 5 Ps
Product Level Buyer's View Seller's View

Core product

Generic need which must be met. Minimal set of expectations. Seller's offering is over and above what customer expected or accustomed to. Every thing can be done with the product that is of the utility to the customer

Basic benefits, which make product of interest. Product decisions are on Intangible and Tangible components. Product decisions are on Intangible, Tangible price distribution and promotion components. Marketer's action to attract and hold customers regarding changed conditions or new applications

Expected Product

Augmented Product

Potential Product

Product Mix 5 Ps
2) Pricing Policies:
1) Price is the ultimate measure of good's exchange value as agreed upon by the seller and buyer. 2) Any discussion about the methods of pricing must begin with the concept of Valuation (perceived value).

Product Mix 5 Ps
2) Pricing Policies:
1) In some cases, customers are willing to pay a price premium to organizations, and this is for the following reasons: 1) Building a relationship: It is the willingness to develop a long term relationship with a channel organization. 2) Protecting a relationship. 3) Reducing risk factor: Consumer often pay price premium for an established brand name product in exchange for a reduction in their perceptions of risk. 4) Obtaining perceived quality: Such as on-time delivery. 5) Possessing limited information: Price premium may be paid due customer's insufficient information about market pricing.

Product Mix 5 Ps
3) Promotion Policies:
1) Promotions involve any form of communication done by the channel organizations with the intent of informing, reminding and/or persuading customers regarding their product.

Product Mix 5 Ps
3) Promotional mix can be divided into:
1) Personal Selling: It is the interpersonal communication process by which a seller satisfies a buyer to the mutual long term benefit of both parties. 2) Non personal selling: These promotions includes:
1) Advertising: these are the paid communications targeted particular audience. 2) Public relation / Publicity: These are the non paid communications of information about organization or product in some media form. 3) Sales promotions: These are all communications other than all mentioned above that create and increase customer demand effectiveness. This include display, trade shows, exhibitions, demonstrations,

Product Mix 5 Ps
3) Promotion Policies:
1) Five objectives are generally associated with this strategy:
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Increasing sales. Differentiating products. Sharing information. Demonstrating and communicating the product value Stabilizing seasonal demand. (to make customers consider purchasing products at out-of-season intervals).

Product Mix 5 Ps
4) Place Policies:
1) It is all those distribution, logistics and behavioral functions that control the flow of products among the channel members. 2) The goal of place is to minimize the costs of these functions while maximize customer satisfaction and market coverage. 3) The definition of Place indicates that there is a trade-off between Firms costs and the benefits afforded to all members.

WHAT IS MARKETING?

1) Marketing is defined as a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others.

WHAT IS MARKETING?
1) Needs, Wants, and Demands:
1) Needs - emerge from a state of felt deprivation (lack). 2) Wants - the form taken by human needs as they are shaped by culture and individual experience. 3) Demands - are wants backed by buying power.

2) Products: are anything offered for sale to satisfy a need or want.

WHAT IS MARKETING?
1) Value, Satisfaction, and Quality.
1) Customer Value: This is the difference between what the customer gains from owning and using a product and the costs of obtaining the product. 2) Customer Satisfaction: This is the extent to which a product's perceived performance matches a buyer's expectations. 3) Total Quality Management: TQM consists of programs designed to constantly improve the quality of products, services, and marketing processes.

Possible Demands
1) Negative demand -- Consumers dislike the product and may even pay a
price to avoid it. the product.

2) Nonexistent demand - Consumers may be unaware or uninterested in

3) Latent demand - Consumers may share a strong need that cannot be satisfied by an existing product. 4) Declining demand - Consumers begin to buy the product less frequently
or not at all.

5) Irregular demand - Consumer purchases vary on a seasonal, monthly,

weekly, daily, or even hourly basis. 6) Full demand - Consumers are adequately buying all products put into the marketplace. 7) Overfull demand- More consumers would like to buy the product than can be satisfied. 8) Unwholesome demand - Consumers may be attracted to products that have undesirable social consequences.

Possible Demands
In each case,
marketers must identify the underlying cause(s) of the DEMAND state and then determine a plan for action to shift the demand to a more desired state.

The MARKETS?
KEY CUSTOMER MARKETS Consider the following key customer markets:

1. Consumer Markets Companies selling mass consumer goods and services

such as soft drinks, cosmetics, air travel, and athletic shoes and equipment spend a great deal of time trying to establish a superior brand image. Much of a brand's strength depends on developing a superior product and packaging, ensuring its availability, and backing it with engaging communications and reliable service.

2. Business Markets Companies selling business goods and services often face well-trained and well-informed professional buyers who are skilled in evaluating competitive offerings. Business buyers buy goods in order to make or resell a product to others at a profit. Business marketers must
demonstrate how their products will help these buyers achieve higher revenue or lower costs. Advertising can play a role, but a stronger role may be played by the sales force, price, and the company's reputation for reliability and quality.

The MARKETS?
KEY CUSTOMER MARKETS Consider the following key customer markets:

3. Global Markets Companies selling goods and services in the global marketplace face additional decisions and challenges. They must decide which countries to enter; how to enter each country; how to adapt their product and service features to each country; how to price their products in different countries; and how to adapt their communications to fit
different cultures. 4. Nonprofit and Governmental Markets Companies selling their goods to nonprofit organizations such as churches, universities, charitable organizations, or government agencies need to price carefully because these organizations have limited purchasing power. Lower prices affect the features and quality that the seller can build into the offering. Much government purchasing calls for bids, with the lowest bid being favored, in the absence of extenuating (justifying)factors.

The MARKETS?
MARKETPLACES, MARKETSPACES, AND METAMARKETS Marketplace is physical, as when you shop in a store. Marketspace is digital, as when you shop on the Internet. Metamarket is to describe a cluster of complementary products and services that are closely related in the minds of consumers but are spread across a diverse set of industries. The automobile metamarket consists of automobile manufacturers, new car and used car dealers, financing companies, insurance companies, mechanics, spare parts dealers, service shops, auto magazines, classified auto ads in newspapers, and auto sites on the Internet.

MARKETING Concepts
1) The production concept: Is the philosophy that consumers will favor products that are available and highly affordable and that management should therefore focus on improving production and distribution efficiency.
This concept is useful 1) when demand for a product exceeds the supply. 2) when the product's cost is too high and improve productivity is needed to bring it down.

2) The product concept: is the idea that consumers will favor products that offer the most quality, performance, and features and that the organization should therefore devote its energy to make continuous product improvements.

MARKETING Concepts
3) The selling concept: is the idea that consumers will not buy enough of the organization's products unless the organization undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort.

This concept is typically practiced

With unsought goods, those that buyers do not normally think of buying.

MARKETING Concepts
4) The marketing concept: Holds that achieving organizational goals depends on determining the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors do. Contrasting the selling and marketing concept:
The selling concept takes an inside-out perspective, looking at the company's needs and wants in terms of existing products and ways to find customers for them. The marketing concept takes an outside-in perspective, identifying the needs and wants of a clearly defined market and adjusting company efforts to make products that meet the needs.

MARKETING Concepts
5) The societal marketing concept: Holds that the organization should determine the needs, wants, and interests of target markets. It should then deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that maintains or improves the consumer's and the society's well-being (security, safety, happiness, comfort, health, welfare, ... ) .

MARKETING Concepts

Strategic PLANNING

Setting the right goals, then choosing the right means to attain those goals. Effectiveness
The 2 aspects of Planning

Importance Of Planning
1) It is the initial management function. 2)Planning is the locomotive that drives the train of organizing, leading and controlling.
1) Without planning, managers can not know how to organize people and what to organize. 2)They can not lead with confidence, or expect others to follow.

3)Planning is the only way to achieve GOALS.

Importance Of Goals
1) To make our dreams come true, we need to set Specific, Measurable GOALS with Realistic, Achievable Time frame. (SMART Goal) 2) 3) 4) 5) Goals provide a sense of direction. Goals focus our efforts. Goals guide our plans and decisions. Goals help us evaluate our progress.

Strategy

It is the organizations response to its environment over time. It is the broad program for defining and achieving an Organizations objectives.

It is a Greek word Strategeia, means The Art to be a General

Strategic Marketing
The Central Role Of Strategic Marketing: Successful marketing requires companies to have capabilities such as

Understanding customer value, Creating customer value, Delivering customer value, Capturing customer value, and
Sustaining customer value

The Central Role Of Strategic Marketing

Most large companies consist of four organizational levels:

Corporate level,

enterprise; it makes decisions on the amount of resources to allocate to each

division, as well as on which businesses to start or eliminate

responsible for designing a corporate strategic plan to guide the whole

Division level,
Each division establishes a plan covering the allocation of funds to each business unit within the division Each business unit develops a strategic plan to carry that business unit into a profitable future. Each product level (product line, brand) within a business unit develops a marketing plan for achieving its objectives in its product market.

Business unit level, Product level,

 The MARKETING PLAN operates at two levels:

The STRATEGIC marketing plan lays out the

target markets and the value proposition that will be offered, based on an analysis of the best market opportunities.

The TACTICAL marketing plan specifies the marketing tactics, including product features, promotion, merchandising, pricing, sales channels, and service.

 Corporate and Division Strategic Planning:

Headquarters establishes the framework within which the divisions and business units prepare their plans, by preparing mission statements , policy, strategy, and goals, All corporate headquarters undertake 4 planning activities:
1. 2. 3. 4. Defining the corporate mission Establishing strategic business units Assigning resources to each SBU Assessing growth opportunities

 Corporate and Division Strategic Planning:

1. Defining the corporate mission To define its mission, a company should address the following 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?

Successful companies continuously raise these questions and answer them thoughtfully and thoroughly. A company must redefine its mission if that mission has lost credibility or no longer defines an optimal course for growth

 Corporate and Division Strategic Planning:

1. Defining the corporate mission

Mission statements are at their best when they reflect a vision, an almost "impossible dream" that provides a direction for the company for the next 10 to 20 years. Organizations develop mission statements to share with managers, employees, and (in many cases) customers. A clear, thoughtful mission statement provides employees with a shared sense of purpose, direction, and opportunity. The statement guides geographically dispersed employees to work independently and yet collectively toward realizing the organization's goals.

 Corporate and Division Strategic Planning:

1. Defining the corporate mission

Good mission statements have 3 major

characteristics:
1. First, they focus on a limited number of goals. 2. Second, mission statements stress the company's major policies and values. 3. Third, they define the major competitive spheres within which the company will operate

 Corporate and Division Strategic Planning:

2. Defining the Business: companies should define their businesses in terms of needs, not products.
Company Missouri-Pacific Railroad Xerox Standard Oil Columbia Pictures Encyclopedia Britannica Carrier Product Definition We run a railroad. We make copying equipment We sell gasoline. We make movies. We sell encyclopedias. We make air conditioners and furnaces. Market Definition We are a people-andgoods mover. We help improve office productivity. We supply energy. We market entertainment. We distribute information. We provide climate control in the home.

 Corporate and Division Strategic Planning:

2. Defining the Business: A business can be defined in terms of 3 dimensions:
1. customer groups, 2. customer needs, and 3. technology.

An SBU has 3 characteristics:

1. It is a single business or 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 who is responsible for strategic planning and profit performance and who controls most of the factors affecting profit.

 Corporate and Division Strategic Planning:

3. Assessing Growth Opportunities: Assessing growth opportunities involves planning new businesses, downsizing, or terminating older businesses.

A. (Intensive opportunities) is to identify opportunities to achieve further growth within current businesses. B. (Integrative opportunities) is to identify opportunities to build or acquire businesses that are related to current businesses. C. (Diversification opportunities) is to identify opportunities to add attractive businesses that are unrelated to current businesses.

 Corporate and Division Strategic Planning:

3. Assessing Growth Opportunities: A. (Intensive Growth) is to identify opportunities to achieve further growth within current businesses.
Product Market Expansion Grid

 Corporate and Division Strategic Planning:

3. Assessing Growth Opportunities: B. (Integrative Growth) is to identify opportunities to build or acquire businesses that are related to current businesses.
(Backward integration): The company might acquire one or more of its suppliers. (Forward integration): It is to acquire some wholesalers or retailers, especially if they are highly profitable. (Horizontal integration): It is to acquire one or more competitors, provided that the government does not bar this move.

 Corporate and Division Strategic Planning:

3. Assessing Growth Opportunities:

C. (Diversification Growth) is to identify opportunities

to add attractive businesses that are unrelated to current businesses.

(Concentric strategy): the company could seek new

products that have technological or marketing synergies with existing product lines, even though the new products themselves may appeal to a different group of customers. (Horizontal strategy): the company might search for new products that could appeal to current customers even though the new products are technologically unrelated to its current product line. (Conglomerate strategy): the company might seek new businesses that have no relationship to its current technology, products, or markets.

Levels of Strategy
1) Corporate level Strategy: 2 major approaches:
1. The Value-Based Approach:
1) The beliefs and the values of managers and workers about how the firm should conduct its business are the key for setting the foundation long term direction. 2) Often, There is a company way of doing things that shapes strategies. 3) This approach tends to provide general guidance rather than narrow focused plans.

Levels of Strategy
1) Corporate level Strategy:
2. The Corporate Portfolio Approach:
1) Top Management evaluates each of business units with respect to the marketplace. 2) When all business units have been evaluated, an appropriate strategic role is developed for each unit with the goal of improving the overall performance of the organization. 3) This approach is analytical, and guided by market opportunities.

Levels of Strategy
1) Corporate level Strategy:
2. The Corporate Portfolio Approach:
The BCG Matrix - Portfolio Framework Star Question M ark

High

Market Growth Rate

Modest +ev Or -ve Cash Flow

Large -ve Cash Flow

Large +ev Cash Flow

Modest +ev Or -ve Cash Flow

Low

Cash Cow High Relative Market Share

Dog Low

Levels of Strategy
1) Corporate level Strategy:
2. The Corporate Portfolio Approach: 1) The BCG Matrix:
1) Business units can be plotted according to the rate of growth of their market segment and their relative market share.
2) The success sequence is investing cash from cash cows & successful dogs, in selected question marks, to enable them to be stars. 3) When the rate of market growth slows, the stars become cash cows, generating excess cash to invest in the next potential question mark.

Levels of Strategy
1) Business-Unit Strategy:
1) The organizations ability to compete in a given market determined by the technical and economic resources, and by the environmental forces. The 5 Forces:
Threat of entrants

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

THE INDUSTRY Jockeying for position among current competitors

Bargaining Power of Customers

Threat of substitute Products or Services

Levels of Strategy
1) Business-Unit Strategy:
1) The organizations ability to compete in a given market determined by the technical and economic resources, and by the environmental forces.

The 5 Forces:

1)

The Barrier to Entry:

2) Economies of Scale: Scale economics in production, research, marketing and service are barriers affecting entering the market with which scale. 3) Product differentiation: Brand identification creates a barrier by forcing entrants to spend heavily to overcome customer loyalty. 4) Capital Requirements: The need for initial investment, R&D, Advertising, inventories and absorbing start-up losses. 5) Cost disadvantage independent of Size: Companies may have cost advantages not available to competitors, came from the learning curve, superior skills or resources, technology, volume, 6) Access to distribution channels. To displace others from shelves. 7) Government Policy.

Levels of Strategy
1) Functional-Level Strategy: 1) Separate business function must develop a strategy that will help carry out higher-level strategies. 2) The purpose is to:
1) Communicate short-term objectives. 2) Describe the action needed to achieve short-term objectives. 3) Create an environment to encourage the achievements.

Levels of Strategy
1) Functional-Level Strategy:
Marketing: Marketing strategies is to match products & services with customer needs, decide where & when to sell and promote and set prices.
PRODUCTS EXISTING DISTRIBUTION EXPANSION NEW DIVERSIFICATION

CUSTOMERS

NEW
PENETRATION

PRODUCT EXPANSION

EXISTING

Levels of Strategy
1) Functional-Level Strategy:
Finance: Finance strategies are concerned with the acquisition & allocation of capital and the management of working capital & the dividends (extra payment or share). Production / Operation: This area is concerned with the transformation of materials, labor and capital inputs into products or service. Strategic decisions include plant size, location, selection of equipments, inventory, product design & engineering. Research & Development: R&D enables firms to be sure that their products/services are not become obsolete. (It may be long or short-term strategies). Human Resources/Personnel: This area is concerned with training, recruiting, compensation. The objective is to attract, motivate and retain employees. The strategy is matching firms strategy if it needs grow or down-size, so their strategies geared to increase or to reduce employee numbers.

Strategic PLANNING

The process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organization's goals / capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities.

Strategic PLANNING
1) Defining the Company Mission statements describe what the company wants to accomplish in the larger environment. 2) Setting Company Objectives and Goals What must each manager do to fulfill the mission? Discuss the need for objective, measurable goals within a specified timetable. 3) Designing the Business Portfolio The business portfolio is the collection of businesses and products that make up the company.
1) Analyzing Current Business: STARS, CASH COWS, DOGS. 2) Develop Growth Strategies: The NEW - OLD MATRIX

Strategic PLANNING
1) 2) 3) 1 2 3

4) Planning Functional Strategies:

1) Marketing Role in Strategic Planning:
1) Marketing provides a guiding philosophy centered on serving the needs of important consumer groups. 2) Marketing identify attractive market opportunities and assessing their potential. 3) Marketing designs strategies for reaching objectives within individual business units.

2) Marketing and the Other Business Functions: Ideally, marketing helps integrate specialized business functions toward meeting consumer needs. 3) Conflict between Departments: Marketing must work to help other departments recognize the advantages to the company of achieving customer satisfaction over separate functional efficiencies.

Strategic PLANNING
1) 2) 3) 4) 1 2 3 4

5) THE MARKETING PROCESS: It is an extended discussion of planning, organization, and specificactions that includes the 4 Ps, factors affecting marketing strategy decisions.
1) Target Consumers: Targeting consumers involves demand measurement and forecasting, market segmentation, market targeting, and market positioning. 2) Competitive Marketing Strategies: Competitive strategies are categorized for market leaders, challengers, followers, and niches. 3) Developing the Marketing Mix: People, Product, Promotion, Place.

Strategic PLANNING
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 1 2 5 3 4

6)
1)

Managing the Marketing Effort: This topic overviews planning, implementation, analysis, and control issues.
2)
3) 4) 5) 6) Marketing Analysis: Tools of analysis include marketing research, marketing information systems, demand forecast models. Marketing Planning: is where the company decides what it wants to do with each business unit. A plan should contain a detailed written set of ideas and actions. Marketing Implementation: is the process that turns marketing strategies and plans into actions in order to accomplish strategic marketing objectives. Marketing Department Organization: includes functional, geographic, product, and marketing management structures. Marketing Control: is the process of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing strategies and plans and taking corrective action to ensure that marketing objectives are attained. Marketing Environment: includes all the external and uncontrollable forces to which the company must adapt.

Marketing Strategies
Contents of a Marketing Action Plan

1)

Executive summary: Presents a short overview of the of the issues,

objectives, strategy, and actions incorporated in the plan and their expected outcomes for quick management review.

2)

Current situation: Summarizes relevant background information on

the market, competition, past performance of the product and the various elements of its marketing program (e.g., distribution, promotion,).

3)

Key issues: Identifies the main SWOT to the product that the plan
must deal with.

Marketing Strategies
Contents of a Marketing Action Plan
4) 5) Objectives: Specifies the goals to be accomplished in terms of of sales
volume, market share, and profit.

Marketing Strategy: Summarize the overall strategic approach that

will be used to meet the plans objectives.

6)

Action Plans: This is the most critical section. It specifies:

1) 2) 3) 4) What specific actions to be taken. Who is responsible for each action. When the action will be engaged. How much will be budgeted for each action.

Marketing Strategies
Contents of a Marketing Action Plan

7) Projected P & L Statement: Presents the expected

financial payoff from the plan.

8) Controls: Discuss how the plans progress will be

monitored; may present contingency plan to be used if performance falls below expectations or the situation changes.

People
Consumer Behavior 1) Markets have to be understood before marketing strategies can be developed. The consumer market buys goods and services for personal consumption. 2) CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
1) It refers to the buying behavior of final consumers individuals and households who buy goods and services for personal consumption.

People
Consumer Behavior
1) CHARACTERISTICS AFFECTING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
1) Cultural Factors:
1) 2) 3) Culture: Culture is the most basic influence on a person's values, priorities, and beliefs. Subculture: Subcultures are distinct groups within the larger culture that have identifiable patterns of behavior. Social Class: It is the combination of income, occupation, education, wealth and other variables.

2)

Social Factors:
1) 2) 3) Groups: Membership groups serve as standards for comparison as individuals learn behaviors. Family: are the most basic group of reference for the individual. Roles and Status: Each relationship a person has with his or her group carries with it certain roles and status that may carry consumptive responsibilities.
Age and Life-Cycle Stage: Buyers' choices are affected by changes in their age and family structure over time. Occupation: A person's occupation carries with it distinct consumptive needs. White-collar workers need different clothes than blue-collar workers. Also, occupations usually, carry their own subcultural norms and values that influence buyer behavior. Economic Situation: Means constrain buyer behavior for almost everyone except for the most wealthy. Lifestyle: is a person's pattern of living expressed in her or his activities, interests, and opinions. Personality and Self-Concept: Personality refers to the unique psychological characteristics that lead to relatively consistent and lasting response to one's own environment. Self-concept is the basic perception that people have about who they are.

3)

Personal Factors:
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

People
Consumer Behavior

4) Psychological Factors:
Motivation: need states vary in their intensity or motivation. Perception: is the process of organizing stimuli and is influenced by selective exposure, distortion, & retention. Learning: occurs in response to the presentation of information linked to relevant drives, cues, responses, and reinforcement only some of which is under the control of the marketer. Beliefs and Attitudes: though shaped by cultural and social forces, may vary considerably on the individual level. A belief is a descriptive thought a person has about something. An attitude is a relatively consistent set of evaluations, feelings, and tendencies toward an object or an idea.

People
Consumer Behavior 1) CONSUMER BUYING ROLES:
1) Initiator: The person who first suggests or thinks of the idea of buying a particular product or service. 2) Influencer: The person whose views or advice carries some weight in the final decision. 3) Decider: The person who authorizes the purchase. 4) Buyer: The person who actual makes the purchase. 5) User: The person who consumes the product.

People
Consumer Behavior 1) THE BUYER DECISION PROCESS:
1) Need Recognition: Problems are recognized when people sense a difference between an actual state and some desired state. 2) Information Search. 3) Evaluation of Alternatives: Compares product attributes of the alternatives against degrees of importance each attribute has in meeting needs, beliefs about the product. 4) Purchase Decision: The individual buys a product. 5) Post-purchase Behavior: Involves comparing the expected performance of the product against the perceived performance received.

People
Consumer Behavior

1) THE BUYER DECISION PROCESS FOR NEW PRODUCTS

1) Awareness: In this stage the consumer is aware of the new product but lacks further information about it. 2) Interest: The consumer is motivated to seek information about the new product. 3) Evaluation: The consumer determines whether or not to try the new product. 4) Trial: The consumer tries the new product on a small scale to test its efficacy in meeting needs. (Trial can be imagined use of the product in some cases). 5) Adoption: The consumer decides to make use of the product on a regular basis.

People
Business Behavior 1) Major Types:
1) Straight Re-buy: Here the buyer reorders something without any modifications. 2) Modified Re-buy: In this situation, the buyer seeks a change in specifications, prices, terms, or suppliers. 3) New Task: Here the company is buying the product for the first time and faces the greater costs and risks.

People
Business Behavior 1) Participants in the Business Buying Process
1) Users: are members of the organization who will use the product. 2) Influencers: are people who affect the buying decision. 3) Buyers: are those with the formal authority to select suppliers and to arrange terms of purchase. 4) Deciders: have the formal or informal power to select or approve the final suppliers. 5) Gatekeepers: are those who control the flow of information to others.

People
Business Behavior

1) Major Influences on Business Buyers

1) Environmental Factors: The economic environment especially the level of primary demand, economic outlook, and the cost of money. 2) Organizational Factors: Came from each organization's objectives, policies, procedures, and ways of doing business. 3) Interpersonal Factors: The group dynamics and the interplay of personalities and organizational roles. 4) Individual Factors: Such as a person's age, status, education, professional specialty, and overall personality and attitudes affect how they participate in organizational buying decisions.

People
Business Behavior
1) Business Buying Decision Process
1) Problem Recognition. 2) General Need Description: Describes the overall characteristics and quantities of the needed item. 3) Product Specification: Translate general needs into product specifications. 4) Supplier Search. 5) Proposal Solicitation: Invites qualified suppliers to submit proposals covering the terms of supply and support. 6) Supplier Selection. 7) Order-Routine Specification. 8) Performance Review: Will review how the supplier contract is working for the company and may continue, amend, or drop the seller.

People
Market Segmentation
1) Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who might require separate products or marketing mixes. 2) Bases for Segmenting Consumer Markets:
1) Geographic Segmentation: Divides the market into different geographic units based upon physical proximity. 2) Demographic Segmentation: Consists of dividing the market into groups based upon variables such as sex, age, family size, family life cycle, income, education, occupation, religious affiliation, or nationality. 3) Behavior Segmentation divides markets into groups based on their knowledge, attitudes, uses, or responses to a product.

People
Market Segmentation
1) Segmenting Business Markets:
1) Demographics: Business markets can be segmented by industry segmentation focuses on which industries buy the product. Company size can be used. Geographic location may be used to group businesses by proximity. 2) Operating Variables: Business markets can be segmented by technology (what customer technologies should we focus on?), user/nonuser status (heavy, medium, light), or customer capabilities (those needing many or few services). 3) Purchasing Approaches: Five approaches are possible.
1) Purchasing function organization (centralized or decentralized). 2) Power structure (selecting companies controlled by a functional specialty). 3) The nature of Existing Relationships (current desirable customers or new desirable customers). 4) General purchase policies (focus on companies that prefer some arrangements over others such as leasing, related support service contracts, sealed bids). 5) Purchasing criteria (focus on criteria such as price, service, or quality).

4) Situational Factors: Urgency (such as quick delivery needs), specific application (specific uses for the product), or size of order (few large or many small accounts). 5) Personal Characteristics: Segmentation by buyer-seller similarity (companies with similar personnel and values), attitudes toward risk (focus on risk-taking or riskavoiding companies), or loyalty (focus on companies that show high loyalty to their suppliers).

People
Market Segmentation 1) Requirements for Effective Segmentation:
1) Measurability refers to the degree to which the size and purchasing power of the segments can be measured. 2) Accessibility refers to the degree to which a market segment can be reached and served. 3) Substantiality refers to the degree to which the segments are large or profitable enough to service. 4) Actionability is the degree to which an effective marketing program can be designed for attracting and serving segments.

People
Market Targeting
1) 2)
1) 2) 3)

MARKET TARGETING: Market targeting is the process of evaluating each market segments attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter. Evaluating Market Segments:
Segment Size and Growth: The company must collect and analyze data on current dollar sales, projected sales-growth, and expected profit margins for each market segment. Segment Structural Attractiveness: Long-run attractiveness includes an assessment of current and potential competitors, the threats of substitutes, the power of buyers and suppliers. Company Objectives and Resources: The company's resources and core business strengths should also fit well with the market segment opportunities.

People
Market Segmentation
1) Selecting Market Segments:
1) Undifferentiated Marketing: This strategy uses the same marketing mix for the entire market. 2) Differentiated Marketing: This strategy targets several market segments and designs separate marketing mixes for each of them. 3) Concentrated Marketing: This strategy commits a company to pursue (follow) a large share of one or more submarkets.

2) Choosing a Market-Coverage Strategy: Which strategy works best depends upon the company's resources, the degree of product variability, stage in the product life cycle, market variability, and the competitors' marketing strategies.

Product
Market Positioning
1) MARKET POSITIONING: It is the process of formulating competitive positioning for a product and a detailed marketing mix. 2) Positioning Strategies: 1) Product Attributes: This positions the product on unique or distinguishing features it has, such as a low price, unique technology, flexibility or other features. 2) Benefits Offered: Positioning can be based upon the specific value provided. 3) Usage Occasions: The product usage associated can with special occasions or values. 4) Users: A product can be positioned to its most important users. 5) Against a Competitor: This strategy is appropriate for substitutes that cost less. 6) Away from Competitors: This positions the product as unique in some respect and/or worth it. 7) Product Class: The company may vary positioning as needed in relation to one or more competitors.

Product
Market Positioning 1) CHOOSING AND IMPLEMENTING A POSITIONING STRATEGY :
1) Identifying Possible Competitive Advantages:
1) Product Differentiation can be based upon features or performance. 2) Services Differentiation may come from delivery, installation, repair, or training advantages. 3) Personnel Differentiation is derived from a superior workforce. 4) Image Differentiation can be generated from effective use of symbols in association with product consumption.

Product
Market Positioning 1) CHOOSING AND IMPLEMENTING A POSITIONING STRATEGY :
1) Select The Right Competitive Advantages:
1) Unique Selling Proposition: This concept suggests that the company pick a single benefit to promote to the target market by becoming "number one" on that attribute. 2) Under-positioning: This involves failing to ever really position the company typically. 3) Over-positioning: This occurs when the company is giving the buyers too narrow a picture of the company. 4) Confused Positioning: This occurs when the promotions messages fail to provide a clear image of the company.

Product
Market Positioning
1) CHOOSING AND IMPLEMENTING A POSITIONING STRATEGY :
1) Differences to Promote
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Important: The difference must deliver a highly valued benefit to target buyers. Distinctive: Competitors do not offer the difference, or the company offers the difference in a more unique way. Superior: The difference should be superior to other ways that customers might obtain the same benefit. Communicable: The difference is communicable and visible to buyers. Preemptive: Competitors cannot easily copy the difference. This may be a result of innovative technology, production economies, distribution economies, and/or proprietary rights. Affordable: Buyers in the target market must be able to pay for the difference. Profitable: The difference must be profitable for the company to offer.

6)
7)

Product
Designing Products

1) WHAT IS A PRODUCT?
2) A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption and that might satisfy a want or need. 3) It includes physical objects, services, persons, places, organizations, and ideas. 4) It might be Core, Expected, Augmented or Potential Products

Product
Designing Products
1) PRODUCT CLASSIFICATIONS:
1) Consumer Products:
1) 2) 3) 4) Convenience Goods: Are purchased frequently with a minimum of comparison and buying effort. Shopping Goods: Are compared on such bases as suitability, quality, price, and style. Specialty Goods: Have unique characteristics or identification with buyers and are Generally specifically required by the consumer. Unsought (Unwanted) Goods: May be unknown to the buyer or not normally considered for purchase. Materials & Parts (raw materials & manufactured parts) enter the manufacturer's product in production. Capital Items (installations and accessories) indirectly contribute to production. Supplies & Services do not enter into production at all.

2) Industrial Products:
1) 2) 3)

Product
Designing Products
1) INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT DECISIONS 2) Product Attribute Decisions: 1) Product Quality stands for the ability of a product to perform its functions. 2) Product Features refers to the number and combination of product features offered consumers are assessed in terms of customer value versus company cost. 3) Product Design combines attention to style (appearance) with enhanced performance. 3) Brand Meaning: 1) Attributes (characteristic): A brand elicits certain product attributes in the minds of consumers. 2) Benefits: The benefits may produce objective need-satisfiers, such as increased safety, or psychological benefits, such as enhanced self-esteem. 3) Values: The benefits of the brand indicate that these things are important to the consumer who chooses them. 4) Personality: People personify brands and products. 5) Brand Equity: Brands are used to create awareness, build preference, and ultimately, to command loyalty among consumers. Companies with strong brands often attempt to build brand portfolios by acquiring brands with strong brand equity (Fair play) from other companies.

Product
Designing Products
1) MAJOR BRAND DECISIONS: 2) Branding Decision: At this stage, the company must decide whether or not to place a brand name on its product. Brands usually command higher profit margins than nonbrands. 3) Brand Name Selection: requires careful attention to the needs of the product for success in the competitive marketplace. 4) Brand Sponsor decision: determine who sponsors the brand must also be decided.
1) 2) 3) 4) 1) Manufacturer's Brands are created under the name of the producer. Private Brands are named by the reseller. Licensing is the selling of rights to an established brand to others. Co-branding is the practice of using established brand names of two different companies on the same product.

5) Brand Strategy :
Line Extensions occur when a company introduces additional items in a given product category. 2) Brand Extensions are any effort to use a successful brand name to launch new or modified products. 3) Multi-brands involve a seller developing two or more brands in the same product category. 4) New Brands are created with a new brand name enters a new product category.

6) Brand Repositioning: occurs when existing products are evaluated and modified in relation to competitive and market changes.

Product
Designing Products

1) PACKAGING DECISIONS:
2) Packaging includes the activities of designing and producing the container or wrapper for a product. 3) The packaging concept states what the package should be or do for the product in support of marketing objectives

Product
Designing Products
1) LABELING DECISIONS: 2) Functions:
1) Identifies: Labels distinguish the product from others. 2) Describes: Labels can provide information about contents, production, freshness, and instructions on safe and effective use. 3) Promotes: Use of color and graphics can stimulate and arouse consumer attention for the product.

3) Legal Regulations:
1) Unit Pricing states the price per unit of standard measure. 2) Open Dating states the expected shelf life of the product. 3) Nutritional Labeling states the nutritional (dietary, food, ...) values in the product.

Product
Designing Products
1) PRODUCT-SUPPORT SERVICES: These consist of services that augment (Add to) the actual product.
1) Deciding on the Service Mix: Here the company decides on which support services are needed to meet the needs of the customer. 2) Delivering Product-Support Services: Here the company decides how to delivery necessary support. Over time many producers shift maintenance support to authorized dealers and distributors. 3) Setting Up Customer-Service Operations: Customer feedback and satisfaction provide an excellent source of market research and an integrated, active customer service department can help build customer loyalty.

Product
Designing Products
1) PRODUCT LINE DECISIONS: A product line is a group of products that are closely related because the function in a similar manner. 2) Product Line-Length Decisions: Refer to the number of products in the line. 1) The line is too short if adding items increases profits. 2) Too long if dropping items increases profits. 3) Product Line-Stretching Decisions: Occurs when a company lengths is product line beyond its current range. 1) Downward Stretch offers items to lower end of the market. 2) Upward Stretch introduces items to high end of market. 3) Two-Way Stretch extends the line both upward and downward. 4) Product Line-Filling Decisions: Add items within the existing product range of the line. 5) Product Line-Modernization Decisions: Are required as technology advances and customer style preferences change. 6) Product Line-Featuring Decisions: Occurs when the line manager selects on or a few items to receive special marketing attention to either increase volume of the featured items or draw customers closer to other products in the line.

Product
Designing Products 1) PRODUCT MIX DECISIONS:
1) Mix Width: refers to how many product lines the company carries. 2) Mix Length: refers to the total number of products the company carries. 3) Mix Depth: refers to how many versions are offered of each product in the line. 4) Mix Consistency: Refers to how closely related the various product lines are in end use, production requirements, distribution channels, or other ways.

Product
Designing Products
1) 2) NEW-PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY: This is the development of original products, product improvements, product modifications, and new brands through the firm's own R & D efforts. New Product Success and Failure:
1) 2) About 80% of new consumer package goods products and 33% of industrial products fail. Factors contributing to success include a unique superior product - with higher quality, new features, and higher value in use - and a well-defined product concept - carefully crafted to address target market needs.

3)

4)

5)

New Product Dilemma: With high failure rates, many companies "play it safe" and minimize their investment in new products. This then contributes to higher failure rates. More successful companies define the strategic role new products are to play in the company's overall competitive philosophy.

Product
Designing Products
1) 2) 3) NEW-PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: Idea Generation: Is the systematic search for new product ideas. Sources for new product ideas include internal sources, customers, competitor's products, distributors & suppliers, . Idea Screening focuses on reducing the number of ideas by dropping poor ideas as soon as possible. Concept Development and Testing involves translating ideas into product concepts or detailed versions of the ideas. Concepts are then tested on target consumers. Marketing Strategy Development stage
1) 2) 3) Describe the target market. Outline the product's projected price, distribution, and budget for the first year. Describe long-run sales, profit goals, and marketing mix strategy.

4)
5)

6) 7) 8) 9)

Business Analysis reviews the sales, costs, and profit projections for the product to find out if they satisfy overall company objectives. Product Development involves bringing the product concept into existence as a physical product to ensure that the idea is a workable product. Test Marketing is the stage at which the product and marketing program are implemented in one or more realistic market settings Commercialization involves actually introducing the new product into the competitive marketplace, In this stage, the company must make decisions involving when to introduce, where, to whom, and how. ( Launching).

Product
Designing Products 1) SPEEDING UP NEW-PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: 2) Sequential Product Development. Isolated groups in each stage work on the new product until the stage is completed. 3) Parallel Product Development. Parallel organization features close communication and coordination of departments and groups working on different stages, more overlap of work on steps to save time and increase effectiveness.

Product
Designing Products
1) 2) PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE STRATEGIES: Product Life Cycle Stages:
1) Product Development: Development begins when the company finds and develops a new product idea. During development the product has costs but no sales. Development costs must be strategically weighed against the projected length of the product's P&L. Introduction: During the introduction of new products initial sales growth is slow as the market is just becoming aware of the product. Profits are usually nonexistent at this stage due to heavy promotion spending. Growth: This stage is characterized by rapid market acceptance of the product and increasing profits. Maturity: In maturity there is a slowdown in sales growth as the product has achieved acceptance by most potential customers. Profits may level off or decline as marketing costs increase to defend existing market share. Decline: In this period sales begin to fall off and profits decline dramatically.

2) 3) 4) 5)

Product
Designing Products
1) PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE STRATEGIES: 2) Introduction Stage Strategies: In this stage marketers spend heavily on promotions to inform the target market about the new product's benefits. 3) Growth Stage Strategies : In this stage the company experiences both increasing sales and competition. Promotion costs are spread over larger volume and strategic decisions focus on growth strategies. Strategies include adding new features, improving quality, increasing distribution, and entering new market segments. 4) Maturity Stage Strategies: In this stage the company must manage slower growth over a longer period of time. 5) Market Modification: Tries to increase consumption of the current product with new users and new segments. 6) Product Modification: Tries to enhance the product with improvements in quality, features, and/or style. 7) Marketing Mix Modification: Alters some aspect of the mix combination, such as lowering the price, increasing advertising, or launching new sales promotions. 8) Decline Stage Strategies: In this stage the costs of managing the product may eventually exceed profits. Rate of decline is a major factor in setting strategy. Management may maintain the brand as competitors drop out, harvest the brand by reducing costs of support for short term profit increases, or drop the product (divest) altogether.

Price
1) Price is the ultimate measure of good's exchange value as agreed upon by the seller and buyer. 2) Any discussion about the methods of pricing must begin with the concept of Valuation (perceived value). 3) Intermediaries' (wholesalers, retailers...) willingness to carry a product is based on the margins available to them.

Price
1) Methods of Pricing:
1) Algorithmic pricing methods. 2) Market-Oriented pricing methods.

3) Relationship-Oriented pricing methods.

Price
1) 2)
3)

Algorithmic pricing methods: These methods are based on the relations among profits, revenues and expenses. The most often used techniques are:
1) Cost-plus pricing: A percentage or fixed markup is added to the cost to establish a price. This technique ignores the effects of the market factors such as consumer favorites, brand loyalty, competition. Break-even analysis: It is based on meeting between the costs of the product and the revenues realized from selling it. But revenues depend on demand, which has proven difficult to estimate. Modified break-even pricing: it is based on extending the break-even analysis across several estimations of quantity and price.

2)

3)

4)

Note: Each technique described above is limited in some ways. Each approach largely ignores the effects of legal or regulatory market conditions as well as the influences of competition and changing market needs.

Price
1) 2) Market-Oriented pricing methods: Prices are established by considering market forces. These methods allow prices to be sensitive to customer needs. 1) Competitive pricing: It is to match competitors' pricing. The use of this strategy often provides a means of market entry for new channel organizations. But this strategy is naturally reactive rather than proactive, it provides no assurance that prices will increase market share or sustain profit objectives. The more likely outcome is price wars, which hurt the entire channel. 1) Market-entry pricing: it offers prices for products that are new to the market. 1) Penetration Pricing: It features a low entry price to capture market share. It is effective as an entry strategy to highly elastic demand markets. It is used also as a preventive strike against potential market entrants.

1)

Skimming-the-cream Pricing: High initial prices are established to attract

buyers who are willing to pay. It often employed to quickly generate cash flows to recoup research and development. It is effective as a strategy to highly inelastic demand markets (such as drug market).

Price
1) Relationship-Oriented pricing methods: Prices are established by cooperative and collaborative orientation of inside and outside elements.
1) Volume pricing: Provides quantity discounts to channel members based on purchasing economies. It is commonly used in industries with little product customization, it rewards buyers for lot size purchases. It helps several exchange partners: Producers gain the opportunity to more fully utilize their production capacity. Resellers gain better cash flow. And Buyers gain the opportunity to establish consistent and routine procurement procedures. But volume pricing can damage buyer and seller relationship when the smaller volumes demanded by smaller customers. And to overcome this problem:
1) 2) Cumulative volume discounts are maid available to those customers for ongoing consistence orders. Volume pricing levels through Negative Option Contracts (agreements in which buyers accept an ongoing flow of goods until they till there vendor to halt supply)

Price
1) Relationship-Oriented pricing methods:
1) Functional allowance: It is reduction in the list price in exchange for the buyer's agreement to perform specific function. Such as logistics functions, customer service functions and personal selling function. 2) Promotional allowances: They are considerations given to channel member in exchange for their agreement to provide promotions to customers. Such as free goods, cash payments, support services or trade-in allowances.

Promotion
1) Pull Strategies: 2) Are the persuasive communications aimed directly to the end user. The goal is to create and increase the desire for the product. 3) This desire will pull the market offering through the channel. 4) Pull strategies are often used in:
1) New product introduction to make customers create early demand. 2) Create loyalty in the face of price competition. 3) Bringing to live the old products that customers lost interest long time ago.

Promotion
1) Push Strategies: Are the persuasive communications targeting intermediaries. The goal is to push against the next link in the distribution chain. 2) The success of the push strategy depends upon the intermediaries' receptiveness to the promotion. 3) The following factors are leading to acceptability and success of the push strategy:
1) Allowances: Price discounts and promotional allowances are considered the most important factors for intermediaries to respond to push strategy promotions. 2) Advance notice: The long lead time for distribution should increase the interest in push strategy. 3) Training and support: When organizations provide training and support materials, retailers and wholesalers are attracted to push strategy.

Promotion
1) Several issues should be considered when making whether the push or the pull promotional strategy:
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Budgetary constrains: it is particularly important to determine the amount of promotion expenditures expected at each channel level. Ideally this amount should be jointly determined and agreed upon in advance. Nature of the product: To consider which promotional strategy is most suitable for the tangible and intangible characteristics of the product. Product life cycle: Whether the product is in introductory, growth, maturity or decline stage should impact the promotional strategy. Because objectives are differs as a product passes from one life cycle to another. Product valuation: The promotional efforts are constrained by the ceiling of the list price of the product. Market conditions: Any organization to choose which promotional strategy to use must consider the characteristics, needs, attitudes, preferences, likes and dislikes, and strengths and weaknesses of its customer and competition.