Research in marketing strategy

INTRODUCTION

In today’s changing market, companies are facing immense competition and evolving customer demands, firms need to scrutinize the market for trade opportunities. Finding the right combination of strategies for development extension, and diversification, as well as choosing the exact business environment to compete in, are essential in achieving targets.

Research in marketing strategy

Developing and executing marketing strategy is very important in marketing. Recent reports concerning the challenges facing  marketers  divulge numerous questions inside the field of marketing strategy including how to create organizational structures that better enable the development of marketing strategies that help navigate and adapt to changing customer and firm needs

(2) How to decide marketing strategies to drive outcomes given competing priorities and myriad internal and external stakeholders.

(3) How to lead enterprise-wide executives in developing and implementing strategies that create greater customer centricity and engagement.

As a result of its centrality to practice, marketing strategy is also a key area of business school pedagogy, pivotal in marketing theory explanations of firm performance, and a focus of inquiry among academic researchers. However, while there has been growing research interest in the general field of strategic marketing, it is unclear how much of this research relates to marketing strategy—the central construct within the field of strategic marketing.

Since developing and executing marketing strategy is central to what marketers do in practice, research relevant to understanding these activities is key to establishing the relevance of the academic discipline of marketing. A better understanding of the State of marketing strategy knowledge is also essential for developing theoretical expertise in marketing. Much has happened in the worlds of both practice and research in the past twenty years, making the present study needed and timely.

This study, therefore, undertakes a comprehensive review of the strategic marketing literature since 1999, with three specific objectives:

(1) To develop a framework through which to assess the current State of research conducted within the marketing strategy;

(2) To illuminate and illustrate the State of knowledge in core sub-domains of marketing strategy development and execution; and

(3) To develop a research agenda identifying aspects of marketing strategy that require greater

Conceptualizing marketing strategy

A necessary first step in reviewing research in any domain is to establish its external boundaries and identify important internal barriers among sub-domains. In accomplishing this, we draw initially on Varadarajan’s (2010) exploration of the conceptual domain and definition of marketing strategy: Marketing strategy is an organization’s integrated pattern of decisions that specify its crucial choices concerning products, markets, marketing activities and marketing resources in the creation, communication and delivery of products that offer value to customers in exchanges with the organization and thereby enables the organization to achieve specific objectives. (Varadarajan 2010, p. 119)

In line with this, the marketing literature broadly indicates that a firm’s marketing efforts impact its marketplace and economic performance through the formulation and implementation of specific patterns of resource deployments designed to achieve marketing objectives in a target market

From this perspective, marketing strategy formulation involves managers making explicit What decisions regarding goals and the broad means by which they are to be accomplished in terms of target market selection, required value offerings and desired positioning, timing, etc. A second Bdichotomy^ evidenced widely in the strategic management literature selecting target markets and customers, identifying required value propositions, and designing and enacting integrated marketing programs to develop, deliver, and communicate the value offerings. We use this definition of marketing strategy and the sub-domains it encompasses in the conceptual framework developed as a lens through which to identify and examine recent research in marketing strategy

Our new definition of marketing strategy also allows us to identify and capture studies examining strategic marketing phenomena related to—but not directly encompassing—marketing strategy. The most important categories of these related phenomena deal with: (1) inputs to marketing strategy including resources such as market knowledge, brand portfolios, financial resources, etc. and capabilities such as NPD, CRM, etc.; (2) outputs of marketing strategy including customer mindset^ and behaviour outcomes and marketplace and economic performance; and (3) environmental factors distinct from marketing strategy but that may impact marketing strategy phenomena and their relationships with other phenomena including internal factors such as organizational culture, size, etc. and external factors such as market characteristics, technology turbulence, competitive intensity, etc.

Strategic Planning and Marketing Effectiveness

The central role of marketing stems from identifying processes which create value to customers. Therefore, the marketing strategies and plans should be based on relevant frameworks which create and capture value to customers and to the businesses, themselves. Strategic planning involves a thorough analysis of the businesses’ internal strengths and weaknesses and an evaluation of opportunities and threats in the market place.

The scanning of the marketing environment leads management to choose particular customers and product strategies. Therefore, strategic planners have to assess their resources, competences and capabilities, as they should determine where their company stands relative to other competitors. They are expected to evaluate strategic options and to consider alternative courses of action, including market penetration, market development, product development and diversification. This chapter outlines the different stages of strategic planning.

Successful organizations rely on strategic planning, organization, leadership, implementation and control to create value. The processes of strategic planning could create value by meeting and exceeding customer needs and by delivering benefits to them. Therefore, the strategic planning process is related to the short-term marketing and operational plans.  For instance, one of the main functions of strategic planning is to identify the organizations’ strengths (including customer service standards, research and development, et cetera) which can be used to take advantage of opportunities (arising from political, economic, social, technological issues) in the marketing environment.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is one of the most important stages in the application of marketing, as it helps them to think ahead in a systematic way. It involves scrutinizing. Strategic planning is one of the most important stages in the application of marketing, as it helps them to think ahead in a systematic way. It involves the scrutinization of internal and external marketing environments. Marketers are expected to have a good understanding of their companies’ strengths and weaknesses.

They will rely on the interactions among company executives and their functional areas, including; finance, human resources management, operations, information technology, et cetera. Their support and coordinated efforts will help the company to achieve the desired performance standards for their organization—the action of the internal and external marketing environments. Marketers are expected to have a good understanding of their companies’ strengths and weaknesses.

The strategic planners support their organizations’ executives, senior managers, and marketers in their decision making by setting priorities. They could focus their energy on improving internal resources, capabilities and competencies (to strengthen operations), whilst ensuring that employees and other stakeholders are working in tandem toward achieving common goals. The strategic plan establishes agreements around intended outcomes. It involves ongoing assessments and adjustments of the organizations’ direction, in response to changing environments. Strategic planning is a disciplined effort that produces fundamental decisions and actions. Therefore, it informs the organization where it stands, in terms of; who it serves, what it does, and why it does it; with a focus on the future.

The marketing managers ought to assess all aspects of the organization’s strategy in the market place (i.e. the company’s products, services and markets). Marketers need to be aware of their marketing environment. Their competitors’ strengths and weaknesses must be identified, as rival firms may seek differentiation possibilities or cost advantages. Therefore, marketers should continuously monitor their competitors’ objectives and strategies to be able to predict their intentions.

The Strategic Plans

A strategic plan is a document which is used to communicate the organization’s long term goals and specific objectives. It coordinates the business in its execution of activities and processes. A well-articulated plan aligns resources, capabilities and actions with the organization’s mission, vision and strategy. Therefore, strategic planning is concerned with the allocation of human and financial resources in the most effective pattern within the organization.

Strategic management activities transform the static plan into a workable system that provides strategic direction to decision making. Very often, the strategic plan may have to be flexible as circumstances change. There are no absolute rules regarding the right methodological frameworks for the preparation of strategic plans.  However, many frameworks may have common elements, including;

1) an analysis of the internal and external environments.

2) strategy formulation at different levels across the organization.

3) strategy execution and implementation, where the high-level plan is translated into operational planning

4) an ongoing evaluation of the plan, which may necessitate refinements and adaptations to changes in the environment.

• Identify objectives: The goals are overarching principles which guide marketers in their decision making. Businesses can plan ahead for their future if they generate goals. Objectives are the specific steps which are required to achieve goals. These businesses’ objectives are typically specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and may have an associated timeline. Objectives can be motivating to both management and employees, as meeting objectives provides a sense of accomplishment.

• Identify potential strategies: Once an organization has decided ‘where it wants to be’, the next step is to identify the possible courses of action or strategies that might enable the organization to get there. The organization must carry out an information-gathering exercise to ensure that it has a full understanding of where it is now. This is also known as the position audit, or strategic analysis; as it involves looking inwards and outwards. A SWOT analysis will help the business to identify internal strengths and weakness within the organization and to consider opportunities and threats in the external marketing environment.

Evaluate strategies: The strategies must then be evaluated in terms of suitability, feasibility and acceptability. Management should select those strategies that have the greatest potential for achieving the organization’s objectives.

• Choose alternative courses of action: The next step in the process is to collect the chosen strategies together and to coordinate them into a long term strategic plan.

• Implementing the long-term plan: The strategic plan should be broken down into smaller parts. It is unlikely that the different parts will fall conveniently into successive time periods. Strategy A may take two and a half years, while strategy B may take five months, but will not start until year three of the plan. It is usual to break down the plan as a whole into equal time periods (usually one year).
• Measure actual results and compare with the plan: Actual results are recorded and analyzed. The information about actual results is fed back to the management concerned and is often in the form of reports. This reported information is important feedback.

• Respond to divergences from the plan:

By comparing actual and planned results, management can then do one of three things, depending on how they see the situation:

1. They can take a control action. By identifying what has gone wrong and then finding out why corrective action can be taken.
2. They can decide to do nothing. This could be the decision when actual results are going better than planned, or when poor results were caused by something which is unlikely to happen again in the future.
3. Strategies and Tactics within the Marketing Plan

A broad marketing strategy or marketing mix should be given for each target market under the headings of product, price, distribution and promotion.

In other words, a particular marketing strategy for each target market must be specified – for example, a company may target the business travellers, the leisure travellers, and so on. Afterwards, the company’s overall strategic plan will identify those segments which are the most profitable, or which may be relevant to the business, for other reasons. Once it has done this, it must decide what positions it wants to occupy in these segments. This process is known as marketing positioning. It is not enough for the business to have an outstanding or excellent product if it is incorrectly positioned in its target market segments. Market positioning at its most basic level involves having an effective corporate image which appeals to the chosen customers.

Market Share

The market share which a business holds is influenced by its success, or lack of success, in terms of the positioning of its image. A badly positioned product may lead to a reduction in market share. A well-positioned product results in increased market share. The businesses must identify themselves as being one of the following: marketing leader; market holder (or challenger) or market foot holder.

Market Penetration

In a market penetration strategy, the organization tries to grow by using its existing offerings (products and services) in existing markets. In other words, this will usually involve increasing the market share within existing markets. This can be achieved by selling more products or services to established customers or by finding new customers.

Market Development

In a market development strategy, a firm tries to expand into new markets (new cities, new destinations, new countries, et cetera) by using its existing offerings. This can be accomplished by (i) targeting different customer segments (ii) targeting new customers from other areas or regions (iv) targeting foreign markets

Product Development

This strategy suggests that a company could create new products and services for its existing markets. This involves extending the product range for the benefit of the firm’s existing markets. These products may be obtained by:

(i) Investing in research and development of additional products;

(ii) Acquiring the rights to produce and sell someone else’s products or services;

(iii) Buying new products and “branding” them;

(iv)  Working in collaboration with other businesses, for example, through mergers and acquisitions to access new distribution channels or brands

Performance Measurement

Performance measurement aims to establish how well the business is doing in relation to a plan. Performance measures may be financial and non-financial metrics. Factors to considered include the following:

• Measurement needs resources, including people, equipment and time to collect and analyze information. The costs and benefits of providing resources to produce a performance indicator must be carefully weighed up.

The Marketing Effectiveness Audit

It is extremely important for any business to analyze its marketing effectiveness. Without measurement systems, organizations might continue to use strategies which are outdated, which do not help them achieve their corporate or marketing objectives. A marketing audit is a systematic examination of the marketing unit’s objectives, strategies, organization and performance. It has three functions, as follow:

• It identifies what the marketing unit is doing;
• It examines how it is performing these activities, and evaluates the effectiveness of these activities, in terms of the organizations’ objectives and resources;
• It recommends future marketing activities.

It is important for any well-run organization to carry out such periodic reviews of operations. This is particularly true in the field of marketing, where objectives and strategies can become quickly outdated; as a result of changes in the environment and within the marketing organization itself.

Summary

Strategic planning involves an ongoing assessment by top management of all the aspects of an organization’s strategy. Long-range strategic planning includes; a definition of goals and objectives; a determination of where the company stands in the marketing environment; evaluation of competences, resources and capabilities to put the strategic plan into action; an assessment of alternative courses of action and the strategic options available; decisions regarding possible avenues that are likely to be pursued; a preparation of other short-term plans to be conducted; the budgeting for the long term plan; the measurement of actual results and analyses; and taking necessary actions to improve the organizational performance.

The strategic planning of a company is a vital contributing factor to its long term economic performance. It guides the business by illustrating those ways in which it can most effectively employ its marketing resources. It also gives rise to a market plan. The marketing plan is a documented statement of marketing policies and activities.

References

Barone, A.B(2019)Marketing strategy Retrieved from

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketing-strategy.asp

Mccarthy, D.M(2019)7 Elements of a Strategic Plan Retrieved from

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/strategic-plan-elements-2276139

Jackson, T.J(2020) Strategic Planning: Prepare, Create, & Deploy Your Strategy Retrieved from

                            https://www.clearpointstrategy.com/strategic-planning-ultimate-guide/