Strategic marketing management model

By on July 9, 2012

Strategic marketing management helps organizations to organize their marketing activities to align with the organizations’ business goals. Proctor (2000) has argued that strategic marketing is a process based approach. It integrates the marketing function with other managerial functions and makes marketing fit into the overall management framework. The following figure explains how strategic marketing management is accomplished in an organization.

Strategic Marketing Management: Global Perspectives, John Wiley and Sons, USA (Source: McLoughlin and Aaker (2010))
Strategic marketing management: Global perspectives, John Wiley and Sons, USA (Source: McLoughlin and Aaker (2010))

According to Wilson and Gilligan (2005), the most important part of the strategic marketing management is strategic analysis. It helps an organization to understand its current position in the market.  Without this it is impossible for organizations to decide where they would like to head to. As shown in the above figure, strategic analysis consists of the analysis of both internal and environments. The external analysis gives an idea of both the macro-environment and micro-environment. On the other hand, internal analysis consists of the analysis of issues within the organizations such as organizations’ performance and strategies. Strategic analysis helps organizations to identify opportunities and threats that might be caused by the changing environment and allows them to enhance their strengths and opportunities in order to reduce the impact of the threats.

External analysis

External analysis consists of four major steps. This analysis helps the organization to understand in detail about its external elements by name customers, competitors, market and environment. Customer analysis is the first step in conducting an external strategic analysis. Customer analysis focuses on the customer segments. In order to identify the unmet needs of customers belonging to each segment. Second step is to analyze the competitors. This step helps organizations in knowing about its competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, performances and strategies (Paley, 2007).  The third step by name market analysis helps organizations to get an idea about the emerging markets and their trends. The final step, environmental analysis helps organizations in understanding in detail about the political, environmental, social and technological environments that would impact its performance.

Internal analysis

Aim of internal analysis to provide a detailed understanding of the organization. Performance analysis is not only based on sales and return on assets but also customer quality, brand image, costs and new product activity. The classification and identification of organizational strengths and weaknesses will guide strategic priorities including both the development of new strategies and the adaption of existing ones.

Strategic analysis outputs

The external and internal analysis in strategic marketing offers the following outputs that organizations can make use of: The external analysis gives an overview of trends, opportunities, and threats and strategic uncertainties pertaining outside the organization, that is, in the external environment. Similarly, internal analysis gives information regarding problems, weaknesses, strengths, constraints, liabilities and uncertainties that are pertaining within the organization, in other words that are internal to an organization.

Creating adapting and implementing strategic marketing  model

An organization on collecting inputs after conducting external and internal strategies must take necessary action regarding the enhancement of an existing strategy or introduction of a new strategy in order to perform better in the market. The implementation of a strategy consists of the following four steps:

  1. Identifying alternatives to business strategy.
  2. Selecting a strategy.
  3. Implementing the strategy.
  4. Review of implemented strategy.

The first step to be taken by an organization is to think of alternate strategies that could be applied in replacement of existing strategy. The alternate business strategy might be related to any area of business such as customer value proposition, investment in product market, functional strategies, assets, core competencies and synergies. The next step is to select the strategy that suits the best. The selection must be followed by implementation. In order to make the implemented strategy yield the best result to an organization, it is not only enough to implement the same but also important to review the implemented strategy periodically for its effectiveness and make alterations then and there.

On adapting the above mentioned steps an organization can successfuly develop its strategic market and stand as a leader in the market.

References

  • McLoughlin D and Aaker D A (2010), Strategic Market Management: Global Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, UK.
  • Wilson, R.M.S. and Gilligan, C., 2002. Strategic marketing management: Planning, implementation and control. 2nd ed. Woburn: British library cataloguing in publication.
  • Proctor T (2000) Strategic Marketing: An Introduction, Routledge, New York.
  • Paley N (2007), The Marketing Strategy Desktop Guide, Thorogood Publishing, London, p 61.

Discuss