All Matches

Solution Library

Expert Answer

Textbooks

Search Textbook questions, tutors and Books

Oops, something went wrong!

Change your search query and then try again

Result Not Found

Books FREE
Tutors
Study Help
Hire a Tutor
AI Study Help New

Search
Sign In
Register

study help
business
marketing strategy planning

Questions and Answers of Marketing Strategy Planning

2 A core competency provides potential access to a wide variety of markets. A core competency in, say, fibre-optic cable would enable a company to access telecommunications markets, aerospace
1 A core competency should be difficult for competitors to copy. If competitors can easily copy it, it isn’t core to the organisation – it is common to all organisations.
3 Corporate-level competencies arise from the corporate culture. They relate to the ability of the organisation as a whole to carry out the necessary tasks, and may relate to the degree to which the
2 Group competencies can arise either from formal teams within the organisation or from informal groups. A formal team might be, for example, the research and development team which has
1 Individual competencies reside within the individuals who work for the organisation. This might include such necessary skills as those of a doctor, specialist learning derived from a research
5 Information systems. Having accurate, up-to-date information to hand can create a strong competitive advantage in itself. For example, the barcode readers in supermarkets provide instant
4 Organisation. Organisational structure makes a significant difference to the effectiveness of the organisation. The traditional pyramid or hierarchical structure of organisations is extremely
3 Managerial skills. Top-flight, experienced managers can direct and motivate staff to create the maximum efficiency in operations. They can also be creative in getting the maximum use from physical
2 Financial standing. The degree to which the company has access to working capital will determine its ability to respond to opportunities. Equally, the credit standing of the organisation will be a
1 Technical resources. Technical skill is a key resource for many organisations in both manufacturing and service industries, because it enables the company to develop new products and processes as
3 Everyone must be committed to continuous adaptation. This assumes that there will be flexibility in the firm’s structures and systems, and there will be a tolerant working culture.
2 Everyone must be committed to continuing professional development, in other words lifelong learning (Argyris 1990).
1 Employees should be committed to continuous improvement. Everyone should be committed to constructive dissatisfaction with the status quo (Stacey 1993).
3 Few, if any, problems can be isolated effectively for separate treatment.
2 These problems and issues are usually highly interrelated: solving one problem usually creates another problem elsewhere, and there is rarely a global solution.
1 Any policy-making situation comprises many problems and issues.
l Environment. Objectives for dealing with the firm’s external environment might be set at any level, but they are likely to be difficult to quantify.
l Finance. Since financial objectives are easy to quantify, they are often set by companies. In almost all cases they are marketing-led.
l Production capability. Setting targets for output of particular items is always a marketing decision, because it is actually a function of deciding what the demand is going to be for specific
l Technology and products. Using new technology in the business is almost always a functional decision.
l Markets and distribution. Approaching specific markets and obtaining distribution for products are key objectives. Aiming to get the product into two major supermarket groups this year would be a
l Competitors. These objectives might be set at a strategic or at a functional level. They are concerned with the company’s performance within the market relative to its competitors. For example,
l Customers. These are objectives concerned with segmentation and targeting, and might be assessed by such measures as market-penetration statistics.
l Marketing programmes providing a detailed specification of the extended marketing mix l Implementation, monitoring and control.
l Gap analysis and identification of marketing opportunities l Setting of marketing objectives l Strategy formulation, including segmentation, targeting and positioning
l External environmental analysis, including market and industry analysis l Internal environmental analysis
l Overview of current position and organisational context l Organisation mission and objectives
4 Control. Having suitable feedback systems in place enables the planners to adjust activities to bring the firm back on course. Inevitably things will change – no plan survives first
3 Implementation. Putting the plan into action means ensuring that everyone is clear about what they should be doing: each member of the organisation needs to know exactly how they are expected to
2 Planning. This is the crucial stage. Working out what to do in order to achieve the corporate objectives means setting marketing objectives and planning how to achieve them through the most
1 Analysis. The planners need to assess the current situation in which the organisation finds itself. If we don’t know where we are, we cannot find a route to get to where we’re going. Often
7 A budget of proposed revenues and expenditures associated with marketing.
6 Systems for revising the plan as necessary in the light of new information provided through the monitoring process.
implemented to ensure that the best use is made of the resources committed.
5 A system for monitoring the plan in practice, with suitable feedback systems to report back to organisation members. This would include a way of assessing the success (or otherwise) of the plan,
4 A clear indication of individual responsibilities, i.e. a clear statement as to who is responsible for each part of the plan.
3 A set of timescales for the achievement of the objectives. This is likely to vary according to the organisation and the markets that it operates in.
2 A set of marketing objectives. These may be taken directly from corporate objectives, or they may be specific sub-objectives relating to marketing outcomes which provide a basis for achieving
1 An assessment of both the internal and the external environment in which the organisation operates. This is the marketing audit, and it takes account of all aspects of the company’s resources
3 Apart from knowing what to do, the plan enables people to understand why they are doing things. In other words, people should understand how their role fits into the larger picture, and should
2 The plan should indicate to people exactly what their responsibilities are for carrying out the plan. Ideally, they should be able to monitor their performance against the plan so that they are
1 It should provide a consistent set of instructions which fits with the overall corporate plan as well as with the aims of all the departments involved. This will minimise the risk of having to deal
l Rapid technological innovation, creating new competitive drivers.
l A free-market, entrepreneurial political environment in many economies.
l Globalisation. As barriers to trade have reduced worldwide, companies face competition from foreign firms, many of which have cost advantages due to lower labour costs, easier access to raw
4 Businesses (apart from retailers) usually have relatively few customers and fewer suppliers overall than is the case for the average consumer. This means that forming relationships is both easier
3 B2B markets are characterised by personal contacts between buyers and salespeople, whereas many consumer transactions are impersonal, conducted either in self-service retail outlets or online.
2 Business-to-business marketing is more likely to provide opportunities to create a relationship of equals. Two firms of about the same general size might form a very effective relationship, whereas
1 Business needs change much more slowly than consumer needs. Someone who currently buys baby products will have no need for them as the baby grows up, so will be a customer for only a year or two; a
l Most, if not all, companies have to juggle relationships with a great many other ‘partners’. This is certainly inadvisable in a marriage.
l Customers, and especially consumers, have little interest in establishing long-term relationships with firms.
l Often the power relationships between the partners are far from equal – in fact, some transactions appear to be more like seduction than like a courtship.
8 Selectivity. People are selective in the information they take in and consequently may not position a product in the place the company would like them to. Positioning is largely about perception,
7 Brand name. Having a good brand name helps ‘pigeonhole’ the product in people’s minds. For example, Cif cleaning products convey virtually nothing as a brand name, whereas Mr Muscle carries
6 Country of origin. The country where a product is made will affect its brand values. Germany has a reputation for good engineering, Italy has a reputation for stylish design, and China has a
5 Attractiveness. The attractiveness of a brand may be a factor in some markets more than in others, but in any market where appearance counts, attractiveness will be a factor in positioning.
4 Reliability. Some brands have a reputation for reliability which makes them stand out from all others. Volkswagen is one example: the cars are regarded as extremely reliable, to the extent that a
3 Value for money. This does not necessarily mean being the cheapest. Value for money is the relationship between quality and price, so a cheap but poorly performing brand is not going to represent
2 Service. The service element of any brand is often a key differentiator. Offering a top-class service will certainly be a factor in positioning the brand.
whether it is a consumer buying a prestige gift for a friend, or a business buyer choosing a new computer system. ‘Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM’ is a well-known adage in
1 Top of the range. Products in this position are regarded as being of the highest quality and probably also as the most expensive. Being the most expensive is not necessarily a drawback – plenty
4 A mistake is made in the original positioning. The breakfast cereal Ready Brek was originally launched in the UK as an instant porridge, aimed at people who liked porridge but did not like the
3 New customer preferences are identified, such that they might be met with the existing product. For example, Lucozade was originally marketed as a drink for invalids, helping people to recover
2 Consumer preferences change. This happened to Heinz Salad Cream in the UK. Consumers moved towards mayonnaise over a period of years, until eventually salad cream was repositioned as an ingredient
1 A competitor produces something which is positioned head-on against the company’s brand and appears to be taking substantial market share.
l Global change offers unprecedented opportunities to capture markets.
l To succeed globally, firms need to create a culture which allows for extensive internal and external collaboration.
l Companies that succeed globally are constantly innovating.
l The best strategies are developed by organisations which can gather and process massive amounts of information.
l Rethink everything about the strategy – even what the strategy means in a fast and brutally competitive environment.
l A few volunteers reported that volunteering was consistent with their Christian or other religious beliefs.
l Social benefits from interacting with the students and with each other.
l Older retired people, especially teachers and librarians, derived a sense of feeling useful and needed.
l Personal satisfaction from making a difference to someone’s life.
l Stress the importance of horticulture and agriculture industries to the economy and promote Eden Garden Tools as a supporter of their success through its innovative business solutions.
l Actively promote through its brand position the sustainability and health advantages of gardening to the wider community and emphasise the inclusive nature of gardening as a pastime for anyone.
l Over five years achieve 90 per cent brand awareness of Eden Garden Tools in its consumer household segments in the UK and Europe, and 60 per cent in its business-to-business and professional
l Generate 10 per cent of sales from non-UK and European markets by end 2012 and increase this to 20 per cent in five years.
l Increase total sales turnover by 40 per cent in two years. l Achieve a break-even position on UK and European business by mid-2011 and a 20 per cent profit margin on sales in these markets by end
l Reduce its debt/equity ratio by 5 per cent per annum over the next five years.
4 Critically evaluate the outline plan in terms of its core strategy and tactics. 5 What changes would you make to this if you were responsible for setting out the future direction of the business?
3 What additional sources of information would you need to acquire to develop the plan?
2 How would you go about revising the plan to ensure that these limitations are overcome?
1 What limitations do you think the plan has?
5 How does Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs relate to the Real Seed Catalogue?
4 Who are the main stakeholders for the firm?
3 To what extent would you expect the Real Seed Catalogue to engage in formal planning?
2 Which of the four generic strategic approaches does the Real Seed Catalogue most closely resemble?
1 To what extent do Kate and Ben fit the model of the opportunistic entrepreneur?
5 What problems might affect a small service business such as a hairdressing business?
4 Why is it difficult for small businesses to plan effectively?
3 How might a charity balance the needs of its stakeholders?
2 What specific issues arise when planning for global markets?
1 What are the differences in planning for business-to-business markets as opposed to consumer markets?
‘ Small businesses usually operate in an evolutionary environment and therefore strategy emerges from circumstances rather than from formal planning.
‘ The perishability of services means that loading is a key factor in planning.
‘ Charities have a large number of stakeholders, most of which are not under the control of the organisation.
‘ Global firms can aim for niche markets or for mass markets, but the customer needs must be universal if the market is to cross borders.
‘ Business-to-business markets have fewer customers, bigger order values, professional buyers, and are not end users for most of what they buy. This has profound effects on planning.
4 Perishability. Services cannot be stockpiled for later use. An airline seat is available only for a specific flight on a specific day – once the aircraft takes off, the seat cannot be sold.

Showing 1 - 100 of 2589

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Last

Services

Sitemap
Fun
Definitions
Become Tutor
Study Help Categories
Recent Questions
Expert Questions

Company Info

Security
Copyrights
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
SolutionInn Fee
Scholarship

Get In Touch

About Us
Contact Us
Career
Jobs
FAQ
Campus Ambassador

Secure Payment

Download Our App

© 2024 SolutionInn. All Rights Reserved