Optimizing the Marketing Mix LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe how a marketing strategy optimizes the marketing mix With a clear understanding of the corporate objectives, marketers must decide which strategies and tactics will best align with and support them. This is rarely a simple decision. Markets are constantly changing, and buyer behavior is very complex. The marketer must evaluate all aspects of the marketing mix and determine which combination of product, price, promotion, and… Read More »Optimizing the Marketing Mix

Creating the Marketing Strategy LEARNING OBJECTIVES Identify the inputs to the marketing strategy Inputs That Inform Marketing Strategy To a great extent, developing the marketing strategy follows the same sequence of activities used to define the corporate strategy. The chief difference is that the marketing strategy is directly affected by the corporate strategy, as well as by the other functions within the organization. As a result, the marketing strategy must always involve monitoring and… Read More »Creating the Marketing Strategy

Introduction to Marketing Strategy Mechanics What you’ll learn to do: explain the inputs and components of a marketing strategy The company strategy and objectives provide direction for the whole company, but they don’t specify how the company will get the most benefit from marketing resources and capabilities. That is the role of the marketing strategy. The marketing strategy defines how the company shapes its product, promotion, pricing, and distribution to… Read More »Introduction to Marketing Strategy Mechanics

Strategy and Objectives LEARNING OBJECTIVES Define strategy, tactics, and objectives Describe how to align mission, strategy, and objectives Explain the role of marketing strategy in corporate strategy The Need for Objectives As we discussed before, a business strategy must take into account the changing environment and identify a plan that will use the company’s resources most effectively to achieve its mission and goals. Businesses define and and communicate their goals using… Read More »Strategy and Objectives: role of marketing strategy in corporate strategy

The Mission Statement LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe how to align mission, strategy, and objectives Explain the role of marketing strategy in corporate strategy A Mission Statement Explains Why an Organization Exists The mission statement guides the corporate strategy, which, in turn, guides the marketing strategy and planning. All marketing activities should relate to and support the company’s mission. In the marketing planning process diagram at the right, the planning begins with the mission… Read More »The Mission Statement

Strategy and Tactics LEARNING OBJECTIVES Define strategy, tactics, and objectives A strategy is a directed course of action to achieve an intended set of goals.[1]  A tactic is the means by which a strategy is carried out. [2] Strategy answers the following four questions: Where do we compete? What unique value do we bring to customers? How will we use our capabilities to provide unique value? How will we sustain our unique… Read More »Strategy and Tactics

Introduction to Marketing Strategy Alignment What you’ll learn to do: evaluate how marketing strategies align with corporate strategies Most of this course will focus on elements of the marketing strategy and the different tactics organizations use to execute the strategy. How do you know if you have the right marketing strategy? Every organization has a mission. The mission describes the company’s reason for existing. In order to achieve the mission,… Read More »how marketing strategies align with corporate strategies

Why It Matters: Marketing Strategy Why learn about marketing strategy? In this module you’ll learn about the important role that marketing strategy plays in supporting corporate strategy. When a company has a mission and a set of corporate-level objectives, the marketing strategy must support those goals, which is perhaps the most important lesson that the following companies—and many others like them—failed to learn: 10 Lessons I Learned From Burning Through $50,000 on… Read More »Why It Matters: Marketing Strategy

Putting It Together: Segmentation and Targeting Remember Chumber, your new employer from the beginning of this module? Now that you’ve learned something about segmentation and targeting strategy, let’s return to the request your boss made for recommendations about whom Chumber ought to target and why. Remember that Chumber’s product is an automated, fully online system for checking the references of job candidates. Chumber’s customers are other companies. After learning about market… Read More »Putting It Together: Segmentation and Targeting

Case Study: Red Bull Wins the “Extreme” Niche LEARNING OBJECTIVES Explain how targeting influences each element of the marketing mix Background Red Bull is an Austria-based company started in 1987 by Dietrich Mateschitz that sells one product: an energy drink containing taurine (an amino acid) that’s sold in a slim, silver-colored 8.3-ounce can (shown at the right). The drink has been an enormous hit with the company’s target youth segment around the… Read More »Case Study: Red Bull Wins the “Extreme” Niche