5/27/2018 Chap-3 Marketing Strategy

1/3

The New Generation Marketing Text!MARKETING

Paul Baines Chris Fill Kelly Page |Adapted byPiyush K. SinhaASIAN EDITION

Essay Questions with Answer Guidance

5/27/2018 Chap-3 Marketing Strategy

2/3

MarketingAsian EditionChapter 5

OXFORDH i g h e r E d u c a t i o n Oxford University Press, 2013. All rights reserved.

Essay questions with answer guidance

Chapter 5 - Marketing Strategy

Question 1Describe the strategic planning process.

Answer guidanceThe strategic planning process commences at corporate level. Here the organization setsout its overall mission, purpose and values. These are then converted into measurablegoals that apply to the whole organization. Then, depending upon the size of theorganization, the range of businesses (SBUs) and/or products is determined andresources allocated to help and support each one. Each business and/or product developsdetailed functional and competitive strategies and plans, such as a marketing strategy andplan.

Question 2Explain the key strategic influences that impact on marketing strategy.

Answer guidanceThe development of a strategic marketing plan is a complex and involved process. It doesnot occur in a linear, sequential manner but certain key aspects can be identified. Theseconcern three broad activities that are necessary when considering the development ofmarketing strategy and will form the framework through which we examine this topic.

These three elements are shown in Figure 5.3 in Chapter 5. Here it can be seen that it is

necessary to first develop knowledge and understanding of the marketplace, referred tohere as strategic market analysis. The second is to determine what the marketing strategyshould achieve, in other words what are the strategic marketing goals that need to beaccomplished. The third and final decision area concerns how the goals are to beachieved. This relates directly to strategic marketing action, that is how the strategies areto be implemented, including the development of marketing plans.

In summary, there are three key influences on marketing strategy. These are: strategicmarket analysis, which is concerned with developing knowledge and understanding aboutthe marketplace, strategic marketing goals, which are about what the strategy is intendedto achieve, and strategic marketing action, which is about how the strategies are to beimplemented.

Question 3Explain how SWOT analysis can help strategic marketing decision making.

Answer guidanceSWOT analysis is a tool used to determine an overall view of the strategic position, andhighlights the need for a strategy to produce a strong fit between the internal capability(strengths and weaknesses) and the external situation (opportunities and threats). SWOT

5/27/2018 Chap-3 Marketing Strategy

3/3

MarketingAsian EditionChapter 5

OXFORDH i g h e r E d u c a t i o n Oxford University Press, 2013. All rights reserved.

analysis serves to identify the key issues and then prompts thought about convertingweaknesses into strengths and threats into opportunities.

Students could a) expand on scenario planning or b) further apply the SWOT analysisframework to a case study.

Question 4Explain the principles of Porters generic s trategies for competitive advantage.

Answer guidanceIn order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage Porter claims there are two mainroutes. One is to become the lowest-cost producer in a market and the second is todifferentiate the product/service to a degree that is of superior value to the customer.These strategies can be implemented in either broad (mass) or narrow (focused) markets.Porter suggested that these give rise to three generic strategies:

Overall cost leadership Differentiation

Focus strategies.

Students should expand on each of these generic strategies and provide examples.

Question 5Describe the role of market planning and out line the key elements within amarketing plan.

Answer guidanceIn order for organizations to develop, implement and control marketing activities at productand brand level, a marketing planning process is required, out of which marketing plansare derived. This final section of the chapter considers the marketing planning process,identifies its key characteristics, and considers some of the issues associated with theprocess.

Marketing planning is a sequential process involving a series of activities leading to thesetting of marketing objectives and the formulation of plans for achieving them (McDonald,2002: 27). A marketing plan is the key output from the overall strategic marketing planningprocess. It details a companys or brands intended marketing activity. Marketing planscan be developed for periods of one, two to five years, and anything up to twenty-five

years.

The following represent the key elements associated with the structure of a marketingplan: overall objectives; product/market background; market analysis; marketing strategyand goals; marketing programmes; implementation, evaluation, and control. Althoughdepicted as a linear process, many organizations either do not follow this process, do notinclude all these elements, or undertake many of these elements simultaneously.