Calculating Market Share Market share is an important indicator of the strength of a business in it’s industry, even though there is no standard way to measure it. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Indicate the method, purpose and importance of market share calculation KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points Market share is a key measure of competitiveness. However, firms should be wary of making decisions based on how they will affect their own market share,… Read More »Calculating Market Share

Competition Companies must conduct competitive analysis to identify their competition accurately, and must avoid defining the competition too narrowly. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Classify the use of competitive data from an internal and external viewpoint KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points Defining competitors too narrowly leads to the chance that an unidentified competitor will capture market share without the company’s knowledge. Competition focuses on the wants and needs of individuals’ being satisfied, not the… Read More »Competition

Internal Factors Company Capabilities Capability management uses the organization’s customer value proposition to set goals for capabilities based on value contribution. LEARNING OBJECTIVES KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points An organization capability refers to the way its people and systems work together. A company’s culture is defined by how management fosters talent, mindsets, and collaboration. Social and technical competencies and capabilities intersect in different ways. Organization capabilities such a talent management, collaboration,… Read More »Internal Factors

Responding to the External Environment Understanding the various external factors in a given competitive environment equips an organization with the information necessary to optimize marketing strategies and tactics. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Leverage external environmental knowledge to create informed marketing tactics and strategies KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points Models like Porter’s Five Forces and the PESTEL framework are useful in collecting data on the external environment. Utilizing information about the external environment in… Read More »external environment in marketing strategy

The Marketing Environment Scanning and Analysis Environmental scanning is one technique used by organizations to monitor the environment. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe how environmental scanning helps marketers understand the current state of the marketplace KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points In a sense, such data collection scanning acts as an early warning system for the organization. It allows marketers to understand the current state of the environment, so that the organization can predict… Read More »The Marketing Environment

Managing Strategy To ensure that the marketing programs reach the objectives, marketers must focus on how to best implement the chosen strategy. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Identify the methods used to manage and implement marketing strategies KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points After the firm identifies its strategic objectives, selects its target market, finalizes its desired positioning for the company, and determines its product or brand, marketing managers focus on how to best implement… Read More »Managing Marketing Strategy

Creating a Marketing Mix By profiling customers and determining goals and tactics, you can create a marketing mix that will help you succeed in building a strong customer base. LEARNING OBJECTIVES State the information to consider when deciding on a marketing mix KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points The customer profile you create will help you make product, pricing, promotion, and placement decisions. Some marketing tactics are more expensive than others. Decide… Read More »Creating a Marketing Mix

Defining the Target Market By understanding the behavioral, demographic, geographic, and psychographic details of a population, organizations can craft segmented target markets for products and services. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Outline the various factors that influence how an organization may segment a market into targeted groups KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points When offering a product or service to the market, the standard marketing strategy is identifying key segments within the population of the… Read More »Defining the Target Market

Defining the Marketing Objectives Marketing objectives should capture opportunities in the market while leveraging internal capabilities to achieve profitable outcomes. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Identify the anatomy of a good marketing objective, and recognize the importance of strong market research KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points When defining the marketing objectives, organizations should take into account external marketing research. Models like the PESTEL framework are useful in measuring external forces. The audience and potential… Read More »Defining the Marketing Objectives

Conducting a Situational Analysis Managers can use various methods of analysis to understand the firm’s own capabilities, customers, and business environment. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Outline the process and types of situational analysis methods KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points The 5C analysis is considered to be the most useful and common method in analyzing the market environment due to the extensive information it provides to a business. A SWOT analysis is another method… Read More »Conducting a Situational Analysis