Marketing Strategy

• The contents of a marketing plan include:

  • Purpose and mission statement
  • Situational analysis
  • Marketing objectives
  • Marketing strategy
  • Marketing mix
  • Marketing budget
  • Executive summary
• Benefits of a marketing plan include:

  • It brings all the departments together as it gives each department a clear goal and direction.
  • It is an important part of the overall business plan.
  • Reduces risk of failure
• Limitations of a marketing plan include:

  • It takes up quite a bit of management time to put together.
  • It could cause a problem for the business if the plan is inflexible, in an ever-changing, complex market.
  • For the plan to be successful, there must be an adequate amount of research conducted on consumer preferences.
• A marketing strategy must be CCF. This means that a marketing strategy must be consistent, coordinated, and focused.
• Consistent - A company's marketing activities need to be consistent with its values and brand image.
• Focused - A company needs to focus on one particular target audience rather than trying to appeal to everyone.
• Coordinated - All elements of the marketing mix (product, price, promotion, place) are linked together so that they work effectively together.
• IT can be implemented in marketing in various ways:

  • Internet
  • Mobile
  • Email
  • In store
  • Social media
• Using the internet in marketing involves websites, which is now a must for all businesses. These websites allow companies to reach a global customer base and post various mediums about the goods on these sites. For example, on these websites, customers can post reviews and the business can post pictures and videos of the product.
• Emails allow the businesses to keep a list of customers who were already interested in the product(s) and send them information of sales, promotions, and any other information.
• Using mobile involves texting brand promotions and other sales to customers through SMS lines.
• In-store involves the use of large billboards outside and inside the stores to attract potential customers.
• Social media as a tool in marketing allows for one of the biggest opportunities and risks for a business to market its products. When posting on social media the business has the potential to make its products go viral, however, there is also the risk of staying relevant as it will be competing with companies all over the world. To keep the relevance they will need to hire and train a team of social media employees who will handle the posts, however, this could increase labor costs.
• Free trade agreements are agreements between countries that remove barriers to trade between them.
• economic collaboration involves countries working together to achieve common aims, like free trade.
• AI could be used in marketing to monitor what consumers read, watch, and prefer so they can get a good understanding of the consumer and direct ads they feel the consumer will like.
• AI can also be used to create detailed consumer profiles so the right good can be advertised to the right customer at the right time.
• AI can be used in marketing in the following ways:

  • Gain an understanding of the consumers for ad targeting.
  • Analysing consumer searches and data for effective digital advertising.
  • Create detailed consumer profiles for sending the right message to the right consumer at the right time.
• Limitations to using AI include:

  • Consumers don't like having their privacy invaded and data taken.
  • Supervision will still be needed
  • AI lacks human creativity and imagination
  • The capital that needs to be invested is a substantial amount
• Positive aspects of globalisation:

  • More opportunities to sell goods in other countries.
  • Chances for increased competitiveness because businesses can buy resources and materials for cheap from developing countries with no tariffs or quotas.
  • More opportunities to merge, takeover, and embark on joint ventures with businesses in other countries. This could make marketing in these countries easier.
• Negative aspects of globalisation include:

  • Saturation of the domestic markets.
  • Domestic suppliers may struggle to compete against the bigger multinational companies; may be forced to sell their goods at cheaper rates which reduces their profit.
  • Language and cultural differences could become issues when using the same marketing strategy worldwide.
  • Anti-globalisation pressure groups will cause bad publicity for multinational businesses in particular.
• International marketing is important because:

  • Saturated domestic markets.
  • Spreading risks
  • Legal differences
  • Opportunities for profit
• There are four stages to selecting a market to enter.
• The stages of market identification are:

  • Selecting suitable markets
  • Screening potential markets
  • Select the market to enter
  • Enter the market
• There are two international marketing strategies
• The two international marketing strategies are:

  • Pan global marketing strategy
  • Localised marketing strategy
• A pan-global marketing strategy markets a product the same way to all countries. (the same marketing mix used for all countries).
• A localized marketing strategy involves adjusting the marketing mix to fit the cultures and needs of a specific country.