{"id":7321,"date":"2016-09-27T18:52:57","date_gmt":"2016-09-27T18:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/masterybusiness2xngcxmasterspring2016\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=7321"},"modified":"2024-05-07T16:14:57","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T16:14:57","slug":"creating-and-aligning-the-marketing-strategy","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/chapter\/creating-and-aligning-the-marketing-strategy\/","title":{"raw":"Creating and Aligning the Marketing Strategy","rendered":"Creating and Aligning the Marketing Strategy"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Evaluate how marketing strategies align with corporate strategies<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Inputs That Inform Marketing Strategy<\/h2>\r\nTo a great extent, developing the marketing strategy follows the same\u00a0sequence of activities used to\u00a0define a\u00a0corporate strategy. The chief\u00a0difference is that the marketing strategy is directly affected\u00a0by the overall corporate strategy; that is, the marketing strategy needs to work <em>with<\/em>\u2014not apart from\u2014the corporate strategy. As a result, the marketing strategy must always involve monitoring and reacting to changes in the corporate strategy and objectives.\r\n\r\nIn order to be effective, a marketing strategy must\u00a0capitalize on\u00a0the resources at its disposal\u00a0<em>within<\/em> the company, but also take\u00a0advantage\u00a0of\u00a0the market forces that are <em>outside<\/em>\u00a0the company. One way to assess\u00a0these different factors, or inputs, is by conducting a situation analysis (also called a SWOT analysis). As you recall, a\u00a0SWOT analysis\u00a0includes a review of the company\u2019s internal\u00a0strengths and weaknesses and any\u00a0external opportunities and threats that it faces.\r\n<h2>Centering on the Target Customer<\/h2>\r\nThe <strong>marketing strategy<\/strong> defines how the marketing mix can best be used to achieve the corporate strategy and objectives.\u00a0The centerpiece of the marketing strategy is the target customer. While the corporate strategy may have elements that focus on internal operations or seek to influence external forces, each component of the marketing strategy is focused on the target customer.\r\n\r\nRecall the following steps of\u00a0determining\u00a0who\u00a0your target customer is:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Identify the business need you will address, which will be driven by the corporate strategies and objectives;<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Segment your total market, breaking down the market and identifying the subgroup you will target;<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Profile your target customer, so that you understand how to provide unique value;<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Research and validate your market opportunity.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nFocusing the marketing strategy on the target customer seems like a no-brainer, but often organizations get wrapped up in their own strategies, initiatives, and products and forget to focus on the target customer. When this happens the customer loses faith in the product or the company and turns to alternative solutions.\r\n<h2>Aligning Corporate and Marketing Strategies<\/h2>\r\n<span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">\r\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-14023\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3006\/2016\/09\/21180401\/IMG_MarketingPlanning2.png\" alt=\"The Market Planning Process: vertical Flowchart with 7 layers. From top, Layer 1 \u201cCorporate Mission\u201d flows to Layer 2 \u201cSituational Analysis\u201d, flows to Layer 3 \u201cInternal Factors: Strengths &amp; Weaknesses\u201d and \u201cExternal Factors: Opportunities &amp; Threats\u201d, flows to Layer 4 \u201cCorporate Strategy: Objectives &amp; Tactics\u201d. This flows to Layer 5 \u201cMarketing Strategy: Objectives &amp; Tactics\u201d, which flows to Layer 6, a graphic showing \u201cTarget Market\u201d as the central piece of the 4 Ps surrounding it: Product, Price, Promotion, Place. The final layer is \u201cImplementation &amp; Evaluation\u201d. \" width=\"325\" height=\"478\" \/>How would good corporate-level objectives inform the marketing strategy and objectives?\u00a0Consider the following examples:\u00a0<\/span>Objectives can create alignment between corporate and marketing strategies. If the corporate objectives are clearly defined and communicated, they can guide\u00a0and reinforce each step of the marketing planning process.\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Imagine completing a market segmentation process. You find a target market that will find unique value in your offering. The decision to pursue that target market will depend on whether that segment is large enough to support the corporate objectives for market growth.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How many new products should the company launch this year? The answer should be informed by the corporate objectives for growth and profitability.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The marketing function has identified a customer relationship management campaign that would create greater customer loyalty. Does the cost of the campaign and its expected returns align with the company objectives?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nAs you can see, company objectives provide important guidance to the marketing planning process. Likewise, marketing objectives ensure that the goals of the marketing strategy are defined, communicated, and measured.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>PRactice Question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/c56000c2-b95d-48d1-a299-e28b2cb7ce0f\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Evaluate how marketing strategies align with corporate strategies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Inputs That Inform Marketing Strategy<\/h2>\n<p>To a great extent, developing the marketing strategy follows the same\u00a0sequence of activities used to\u00a0define a\u00a0corporate strategy. The chief\u00a0difference is that the marketing strategy is directly affected\u00a0by the overall corporate strategy; that is, the marketing strategy needs to work <em>with<\/em>\u2014not apart from\u2014the corporate strategy. As a result, the marketing strategy must always involve monitoring and reacting to changes in the corporate strategy and objectives.<\/p>\n<p>In order to be effective, a marketing strategy must\u00a0capitalize on\u00a0the resources at its disposal\u00a0<em>within<\/em> the company, but also take\u00a0advantage\u00a0of\u00a0the market forces that are <em>outside<\/em>\u00a0the company. One way to assess\u00a0these different factors, or inputs, is by conducting a situation analysis (also called a SWOT analysis). As you recall, a\u00a0SWOT analysis\u00a0includes a review of the company\u2019s internal\u00a0strengths and weaknesses and any\u00a0external opportunities and threats that it faces.<\/p>\n<h2>Centering on the Target Customer<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>marketing strategy<\/strong> defines how the marketing mix can best be used to achieve the corporate strategy and objectives.\u00a0The centerpiece of the marketing strategy is the target customer. While the corporate strategy may have elements that focus on internal operations or seek to influence external forces, each component of the marketing strategy is focused on the target customer.<\/p>\n<p>Recall the following steps of\u00a0determining\u00a0who\u00a0your target customer is:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Identify the business need you will address, which will be driven by the corporate strategies and objectives;<\/li>\n<li>Segment your total market, breaking down the market and identifying the subgroup you will target;<\/li>\n<li>Profile your target customer, so that you understand how to provide unique value;<\/li>\n<li>Research and validate your market opportunity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Focusing the marketing strategy on the target customer seems like a no-brainer, but often organizations get wrapped up in their own strategies, initiatives, and products and forget to focus on the target customer. When this happens the customer loses faith in the product or the company and turns to alternative solutions.<\/p>\n<h2>Aligning Corporate and Marketing Strategies<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-14023\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3006\/2016\/09\/21180401\/IMG_MarketingPlanning2.png\" alt=\"The Market Planning Process: vertical Flowchart with 7 layers. From top, Layer 1 \u201cCorporate Mission\u201d flows to Layer 2 \u201cSituational Analysis\u201d, flows to Layer 3 \u201cInternal Factors: Strengths &amp; Weaknesses\u201d and \u201cExternal Factors: Opportunities &amp; Threats\u201d, flows to Layer 4 \u201cCorporate Strategy: Objectives &amp; Tactics\u201d. This flows to Layer 5 \u201cMarketing Strategy: Objectives &amp; Tactics\u201d, which flows to Layer 6, a graphic showing \u201cTarget Market\u201d as the central piece of the 4 Ps surrounding it: Product, Price, Promotion, Place. The final layer is \u201cImplementation &amp; Evaluation\u201d.\" width=\"325\" height=\"478\" \/>How would good corporate-level objectives inform the marketing strategy and objectives?\u00a0Consider the following examples:\u00a0<\/span>Objectives can create alignment between corporate and marketing strategies. If the corporate objectives are clearly defined and communicated, they can guide\u00a0and reinforce each step of the marketing planning process.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Imagine completing a market segmentation process. You find a target market that will find unique value in your offering. The decision to pursue that target market will depend on whether that segment is large enough to support the corporate objectives for market growth.<\/li>\n<li>How many new products should the company launch this year? The answer should be informed by the corporate objectives for growth and profitability.<\/li>\n<li>The marketing function has identified a customer relationship management campaign that would create greater customer loyalty. Does the cost of the campaign and its expected returns align with the company objectives?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>As you can see, company objectives provide important guidance to the marketing planning process. Likewise, marketing objectives ensure that the goals of the marketing strategy are defined, communicated, and measured.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>PRactice Question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_c56000c2-b95d-48d1-a299-e28b2cb7ce0f\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/c56000c2-b95d-48d1-a299-e28b2cb7ce0f?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_c56000c2-b95d-48d1-a299-e28b2cb7ce0f\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-7321\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Revision and adaptation. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Practice Question. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Robert Danielson. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Chapter 1: Introducing Marketing, from Introducing Marketing. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: John Burnett. <strong>Project<\/strong>: The Global Text Project. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":26,"menu_order":17,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Revision and adaptation\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Chapter 1: Introducing Marketing, from Introducing Marketing\",\"author\":\"John Burnett\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"The Global Text Project\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Practice Question\",\"author\":\"Robert Danielson\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"65ee77a7-84df-4a7d-9176-fc5948b6e7a9, 4ee23ea0-87c2-4cf4-a4f4-cefae80719c0","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-7321","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":7046,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15414,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7321\/revisions\/15414"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/7046"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7321\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=7321"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=7321"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=7321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}