Strategy Marketing by Bikram

7/31/2019 Strategy Marketing by Bikram

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STRATEGIC MARKETING NOTES

BY

BIKRAM KUMARPGDM 6

THTRIMESTER(NIST B SCHOOL)

The Importance of Strategic Marketing Within a

Corporate Organization

As companies strive to ensure future growth and profitability, they are turning to their

marketing organizations to accelerate and guide their paths. Marketing is expected toprovide a competitive advantage in shaping not just brand and corporate positioning butalso in driving corporate strategy and setting the agenda for innovation and growth.

This is as true in organizations for which marketing is a relatively mature discipline as itis for companies that have recently adopted a more strategic approach to marketing. Thisis occurring at a very precarious time for marketers, who are simultaneously witnessingfundamental change to the channels, tools and measures that have defined their craft forgenerations.

Strategic Marketing is becoming a more critical and disciplined function which isreflected by the emerging role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) as one of the mostimportant, dynamic and yet misunderstood positions within the corporation. Manycompanies have appointed top marketers, with nearly 50% of Fortune 1000 firms sayingthat they have a CMO in place (Source: Association of National Advertisers and BoozAllen Hamilton), but while studies indicate that the CMO role is viewed as highlyinfluential, much has been made of the relatively short tenure CMOs are granted and thesignificant costs and disruption this turnover causes.

It is essential to understand the skills, experiences, and professional and personalcompetencies required for marketing leaders to be successful. Companies need to realizethat while the title of Chief Marketing Officer is becoming increasingly common, the roleitself can vary dramatically depending on the company, its management structure, the


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relative importance of marketing to its business model and the marketplace challenges itfaces.

Strategic marketers build business plans from the perspective of core constituents: thecustomer, the channel or the consumer. They are business drivers who critically assessconstituents needs, the competitive environment and the companys own competencies.They are champions of the companys brand value and play a pivotal role in leveragingthis to the highest advantage. They possess both functional expertise as well as a broadand disciplined business perspective. Fundamentally, they help discover new channels,products and services that fuel growth and differentiate their company in the marketplace

Scope of strategic marketing

Marketing is a philosophy that leads to the process by which organizations,groups and individuals obtain what they need and want by identifying value,providing it, communicating it and delivering it to others. The core conceptsof marketing are customers needs, wants and values; products, exchange,communications and relationships. Marketing is strategically concerned withthe direction and scope of the long-term activities performed by theorganizationto obtain a competitive advantage. The organization applies its resourceswithin a changing environment to satisfy customer needs while meetingstakeholder expectations.

Implied in this view of strategic marketing is the requirement to developa strategy to cope with competitors, identify market opportunities, developand commercialize new products and services, allocate resources amongmarketing activities and design an appropriate organizational structure toensure the performance desired is achieved.

There is no unique strategy that succeeds for all organizations in allsituations. In thinking strategically about marketing many factors must beconsidered:-the extent of product diversity and geographic coverage in theorganization;-the number of market segments served,-marketing channelsused,-the role of branding,-the level of marketing effort,-and the role of quality.


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It is also necessary to consider the organizations approach to newproduct development, in particular, its position as a technology leader orfollower, the extent of innovation, the organizations cost position andpricing policy, and its relationship to customers, competitors, suppliersand partners.

The challenge of strategic marketing is, therefore, to manage marketingcomplexity, customer and stakeholder expectations and to reconcile theinfluences of a changing environment in the context of a set of resourcecapabilities.It is also necessary to create strategic opportunities and to managethe concomitant changes required within the organization. In this world ofmarketing, organizations seek to maximize returns to shareholders by

creatinga competitive advantage in identifying, providing, communicating anddelivering value to customers, broadly defined, and in the processdevelopinglong-term mutually satisfying relationships with those customers.

A strategic marketing approach attempts to determine ways of offeringsuperiorvalue to the more profitable segments without damaging individual customerrelationships. A strategic marketing approach reflects an integratedapproach based onresearch and feedback. Customer needs are first evaluated through marketresearch, an integrated marketing effort is developed to satisfy customers sothat the organization achieves its goals, especially those affectingshareholders.This is a customer orientation and contrasts very bluntly with a narrowcompetitor orientation based on sales in which the organization bycapitalizing

on the weaknesses of vulnerable competitors or by removing its owncompetitive weaknesses attempts to obtain high sales and long-run profits

Strategic marketing concept


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Strategic Marketing has been defined as the management functionresponsible foridentifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.

Strategic Marketing is, therefore, both a philosophy and a set of techniqueswhichaddress such matters as research, product design and development, pricing,packaging, sales and sales promotion, advertising, public relations,distributionand after-sales service. These activities define the broad scope ofmarketing and their balanced integration within a marketing plan is knownas the marketing mix. A modification of a definition of strategic marketingsuggests that marketing is the management process that seeks tomaximize returns to shareholders by creating a competitive advantage in

providing, communicating and delivering value to customers therebydevelopinga long-term relationship with them. This definition clearly defines theobjectives of marketing and how its performance should be evaluated. Thespecific contribution of marketing in the organization lies in the formulationof strategies to choose the right customer, build relationships of trust withthem and create a competitive advantage .

A marketing strategy consists of an internally integrated but externallyfocused set ofchoices about how the organization addresses its customers in the context ofa competitive environment. A strategy has five elements: it deals with wherethe organization plans to be active; how it will get there; how it will succeedin the marketplace; what the speed and sequence of moves will be; and howthe organization


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NATURE, IMPORTANCE AND SCOPE OF STRATEGIC PLANNINGFOR MARKETING

Strategic planning is the management task concerned with the growth andfuture of a business enterprise. Strategic planning can be viewed as a streamof decisions and actions that lead to effective strategies and which, in turn,help the firm achieve its growth objectives. The process involves a thoroughself-appraisal by the corporation, including an appraisal of the businesses itis engaged in and the environment in which it operates.

Rapid changes in Environment necessitate a Strategic Perspective

The Indian marketing environment in the current times, we saw more vividlythe import of environment in marketing management. It is no exaggerationto say that it is the fluctuating environment that renders strategic planning anindispensable task for the business firm. If the environment is by-and-largestable, things will be more predictable and convenient for the firm; it canstay with existing strategies, structures, products and markets. But, it is notso in actual practice. In present times, in particular, the environment and all

its constituents are changing fast. In fact, practically everything outside thefour walls of the firm is changing and changing fast, resulting in adiscontinuity with the past. The things happening are totally disconnectedfrom the past experiences of the firm. Strategic planning navigates thecorporate ship through the uncertain and turbulent environment.


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Strategic Planning provides the direction to the Corporation and indicateshow growth is to be achieved.

A business firm cannot afford to travel in a haphazard manner; it has totravel with the support of a road map. Strategic planning provides the roadmap for the corporation. It ensures that the enterprise keeps moving in theright direction. It serves as the hedge against risk and uncertainty, the hedgeagainst costly mistakes and overnight vulnerability .It lends a framework forthe corporation, which can ensure that decisions concerning the futuredecisions on matters like product-market choices, and investments are takenin a systematic and purposeful way. The focus of the corporation thus getsdecided through this process.

Strategic planning works as the pathfinder to the various business

opportunities; simultaneously, it serves as a corporate defense mechanism,which helps a firm avoid costly mistakes.

Enables Long-term Decisions Concerning the Firm

Starting from the corporations mission and philosophy, down to choiceof businesses and strategies, all vital aspects in the governance of businessare chartered through strategic planning. It is through strategic planning thata corporation takes decisions concerning its mission, the businesses it willpursue and the markets it will serve; it is through strategic planning that itlays down its growth objectives and formulates its strategies. In other words,all decisions of high significance and consequence to a corporation are takenthrough the strategic planning process.

Strategy is not something that can be taken out of ones hat and pushedinto the market. To forge appropriate strategies, a company has to gothrough the strategic planning process. It has to do a good deal of homework.It has to bring to the fore the corporations ambitions, identify its corecompetencies and competitive advantages, decide the businesses in which it

should stay, the business it should quit, and the ones it should enter. It has tothen decide on the actual strategies to employ.

Ensures Optimum Utilization of Resources

Usually, the resources available to any business firm are limited. Naturally,the firm has to utilize its resources creatively and optimally. Strategic


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planning ensures such utilization. It lends a frame of reference forinvestment decisions. It aids the concentrated application of the resources onvital areas i.e. areas of best potential.

Prepares the Firm to Face the Future

Strategic planning is not a matter of merely projecting the future. It alsoprepares a corporation to face the future. It even shapes the future in thecorporation favor. Its ultimate burden is to influence the mega environs inthe corporations favor, working into the environs and shaping them, insteadof merely watching them, or getting carried away by them.

Strategic planning also helps a firm acquire the benefits of a lead time for allits crucial decisions and actions, as it helps the firm anticipate trends.

Helps acquire relevant competitive advantages

Strategic planning has the burden of equipping a corporation with therelevant competitive advantages in its fight for survival and growth. Themore intense the competition, the more critical is the need for competitiveadvantage. And, they emanate through strategic planning.

Marketing and your Community Group:

Developing a Marketing PlanEight Steps to Develop a Marketing Plan foryour Group

The first part of this help sheet, available by Clicking Here looked at theimportance of developing a marketing plan for your group or organisationincluding the advantages it can bring in building your profile, influence, sizeand ability to leverage, as well as the benefits to your bottom line.

It also looked at the groundwork your community group needs to take in


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developing a marketing plan, including doing some research and definingpolicy.

This help sheet outlines how your group can define and develop itsmarketing plan.

Eight steps towards your group's marketing plan

Your group should be able to use these steps as a guide towards puttingtogether a marketing plan of its own. Think carefully before excluding anyof these steps.

1. Executive summary

The executive summary provides a quick run-down, or synopsis, of theoverall marketing plan. This helps your group as well as others quicklyidentify the main points.

A table of contents should follow the summary so readers can easily findmore details about each point.

2. Current situation

This looks at the nature of your group's market, what you are going tomarket and your competition.

It should include data on:

Stakeholders

Details of your group's members, donors, volunteers, supporters and helpers details such as: sex, age, income, occupation, education, ethnicity, location,attitudes, opinions, interests, motives, lifestyles.

Consider the following about your stakeholders:


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What they need? Where they stand? What they think? And, has any previous research been done?

Your competitors/colleagues/partners/stakeholders What are their goals? What do they offer? What don't they offer? How do they operate? And where are they going next?

The Government Where does it fit in? What, if any, effect does it have on your group or

organisation?

Performance

What are your performance indicators? How many members/donors/volunteers/mailing list entries/special

event attendees did you have last year? The year before? What did you receive from donors/members/volunteers/attendees

last year or in previous years? Are you gaining, or slipping back? Where are you gaining? If you're slipping back, is it something you can fix with better

marketing? Where are you weak? Is everybody in your area of interest in the same situation, or just

you?Context

Look at outside influences like the economy, demographics, socialor societal factors and what effects they are having on your group.

What trends or changes are occurring? Could any changes or trends affect your group?

Is there a greater awareness of an issue your group isinvolved in?

If so, can you take advantage of that to gain more membersor attract more donors?

Does the government, local, state or federal, have any effect on yourgroup?


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If so what, and will this change in the near future? Are any new rules/regulations/taxes on the horizon?

If so how are they going to affect your work? Are any new technologies on the horizon in your sector?

If so how are they going to affect your work?

3. SWOT analysis

A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis buildson the information you gathered in step two and identifies the majorstrengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats with which yourorganisation is faced.

For more information on how your group can do a SWOT analysis, refer tothe help sheet A SWOT analysis in preparation for your direct mailcampaign, at the Marketing, Media and Post Centre on the Our Communitywebsite.

4. Marketing objectives and issues

Having done your SWOT analysis you can then work out the issues youneed to focus your plan around.

Your group should list the issues that the marketing plan will address, andform goals and strategies to help you do that.

Next, objectives should be stated as goals. These objectives should bephrased so that you can easily measure your results against them forexample:

"We want to attract 100 new members by." or "We will finish this project and publicise the release of the

accompanying report within six months." or "We will raise $2,000 in donations from new donors within six

months."

5. Marketing strategy


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You can now outline a marketing strategy setting out the logic you'll use toachieve those objectives.

This strategy will outline your target markets and give specifics of the mixof the "6 P's" (Product, Price, People, Promotion, Place and Positioning)your group will work with. Say how each strategy item responds to the itemsidentified in your SWOT analysis.

An example could be that your community group's marketing objective is toseek 100 new members. The strategy it uses to do so could include thefollowing detail:

The strengths you have for example, the size of your group andits networking and referral abilities and how they relate to the type of

marketing you are going to do to achieve your aim. This could mean you use a direct mail-out to existing

members, inviting them to network and refer prospective newmembers back to you through a "member-get-member" exercise.

The weaknesses or elements that are lacking that might hinder thetype of marketing you propose doing. For instance, using the above example of using a direct

mail-out: Maybe your community group have never done adirect mail-out and is not prepared, or may need to update itscurrent member database in order to effectively seek out newmembers.

The opportunities there are that may help you achieve your statedmarketing aim and method. Your group could take a stance or advocate on an issue in

society that has recently received a lot of media coverage meaning more people might want to jump on board and helpyou out.

The threats your group may face that could hinder it reaching itsgoals. This could include another group, similar to yours, staging

a membership drive through a recent direct mail-out, and/or ifyour group is not as well known as the "other group" you mayneed to look at how you can make yours different or alter yourmethods.

6. Action plans


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Each marketing strategy can now be broken down into specific action plans,or the actual things, your group plans to do in order to meet your objectives.

Each action program should specify:

What will be done (for example, a direct mail-out to attract newmembers to your group)?

When it will be done (started, reviewed and completed)? Who is responsible for doing it? How much it will cost (for example, maybe you will have to buy

access to a new list from a list broker, or factor in postage and printingcosts for a direct mail-out)?

What will the measurable projected outcome be (for example, 50new members from the mail-out)?

When you've finished this you'll have a detailed plan to follow. Be careful toensure that all marketing activities are coordinated with the other areaswithin your organisation.

7. Resources required

Operating an effective marketing plan requires resources in people, money,and technology.

This section of the plan details the resources needed and through that themarketing budget.

Once the required resources have been determined you may need approvalby your group's committee or board to go ahead and draw your marketingbudget.

8. Monitoring

The last section of the plan outlines controls that will be used to monitorprogress.

Review the results for each period, maybe each month or quarter, anddetermine if the plan is meeting goals. Modify where necessary.


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Outcomes of a successful marketing plan

A successful marketing plan:

Makes sure you possess the right services to meet the needs of your'audience', be they donors, volunteers, members, helpers, fundraisersor special event attendees.

Defines your niche in the marketplace and what your group can doto make the most of it.

Introduces your organisation to new people and engages them asfriends.

Builds on existing relationships to convert 'friends' into supporters,donors, volunteers, members, fundraisers, etc.

Builds sustainability, reduces risk and increases accountability.

CORPORATE AND DIVISION STRATEGIC PLANNING

Corporate or Company headquarters establish the framework by preparingstatements of mission, policy, strategy, and goals, within which the divisionsand business units prepare their plans. Some corporations give their businessunits a lot of freedom to set their own sales and profit goals and strategies.Others set goals for their business units but let them develop their ownstrategies. Still others set the goals and participate in developing individualbusiness unit strategies.

All corporate headquarters undertake four planning activities:

1. Defining the corporate mission.2. Establishing strategic business units.3. Assigning resources to each SBU.4. Assessing growth opportunities.

Defining the Corporate Mission:


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An organization exists to accomplish something to make cars, lend money,and provide a nights lodging, and so on. Its specific mission or purposeis usually clear when the business starts. Over time the mission may change,to take advantage of new opportunities or respond to new market conditions.Amazon.com changed its mission from being the worlds largest onlinebookstore to aspiring to become the worlds largest online store. eBaychanged its mission from running online auctions for collectors to runningonline auctions covering all kinds of goods.

To define its mission, a company should address Peter Druckers classicquestions. What is our business? Who is the customer? What is of value tothe customer? What will our business be? These simple-sounding questionsare among the most difficult a company will ever have to answer. Successfulcompanies continuously raise these questions and answer them thoughtfully

and thoroughly. A company must redefine its mission if that mission has lostcredibility or no dlonger defines as optimal course for growth.

Organizations develop mission statements to share with managers,employees, and (in many cases) customers. A clear, thoughtful missionstatement provides employees with a shared sense of purpose, direction, andopportunity. The statement guides geographically dispersed employees towork independently and yet collectively toward realizing theorganizations goals.

Mission statements are at their best when they reflect a vision, an almostimpossible dream? that provides a direction a direction for thecompany for the next 10 to 20 years. Sonys former president, AkioMorita, wanted everyone to have access to personal portable sound?so his company created the Walkman and Portable CD player. Fred Smithwanted to deliver mail anywhere in the United States before 10:30 A.M thenext day, so he created FedEx.

Good mission statements have three major characteristics. First, they focuson a limited number of goals. The statements, We want to produce thehighest-quality products, offer the most service, achieve the widestdistribution, and sell at the lowest price? claims too much. Second, missionstatements stress the companys major policies and values. They narrow therange of individual discretion so that employees act consistently on


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important issues. Third, they, define the major competitive spheres withinwhich the company will operate.

Industry

Some companies will operate in only one industry; some only in a set ofrelated industries; some only in Industrial goods; consumer goods, orservices; and some in any industry. For example, DuPont prefers to operatein the industrial market, whereas Dow is willing to operate in the Industrialand consumer markets. 3M will get into almost any industry where it canmake money.

Products and Applications:

The range of products and applications a company will supply. St. JudeMedical aims to serve physicians worldwide with high-quality productsfor cardiovascular care?

Competence

Competence is the range of technological and other core competencies that acompany will master. Japans NEC has built its core competencies incomputing, communications, and components to support production oflaptop computers, television receivers, and handheld telephones.

Market segment

The type of market or customers a company will serve. For example,Porsche makes only expensive cars. Gerber serves primarily the baby market.

Vertical

The number of channel levels from raw material to final product and

distribution in which a company will participate. At one extreme arecompanies with a large vertical scope; at one time Ford owned its ownrubber plantations, sheep farms, glass manufacturing plants, and steelfoundries. At the other extreme are hollow corporations? or puremarketing companies? consisting of a person with a phone, fax, computer,and desk who contracts out for every service, including design, manufacture,marketing and physical distribution.


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Geographical

The range of regions or countries in which a company will operate is itsgeographical range.. At one extreme are companies that operate in a specificcity or state. At the other are multinationals such as Unilever and Caterpillar,which operate in almost every country in the world.

Defining the Business

Companies often define their businesses in terms of products. They are inthe auto business? or the clothing business.? Market definitionsof a business are superior to product definitions. A business must be viewedas a customer-satisfying process, not a goods-producing process. Products

are transient; basic needs and customer groups endure forever.Transportation is a need: the horse and carriage, the automobile, the railroad,the airline, and the truck are products that meet the need.

Companies must redefine their business in terms of needs, not products.Pitney-Bowes Inc., an old-line manufacturer of postage meters, is in theprocess of doing just that. With old-fashioned paper mail under siege,PitneyBowes, a U.S. company, can no longer afford to be defined by itsmain product,, even though it currently holds 80% of the domestic marketand 62% of the global market. The company is redefining itself as a leadingservice provider in the much larger mail and document management industry.With its wealth of engineers, cryptographers, and even workplaceanthropologists, as well as 2,300 patents and several labs, Pitney-Bowes iswell positioned to help companies organize their communications. In a newseries of ads in business publications such as Fortune, PitneyBowes isspreading the word about its new mission. For instance, one ad boasts thatwe can generate remarkable changes across your entire business,including a sizeable increase in profits.?

A business can be defined in terms of three dimensions: customer groups,customer needs, and technology. Consider a small company that defines itsbusiness as designing incandescent lighting systems for television studios.Its customers group is television studios; the customer need is lighting; andthe technology is incandescent lighting. The company might want to expand.It could make lighting for other customer groups, such as homes, factories,and offices; or it could supply other services needed by television studios,


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such as heating, ventilation, or air conditioning. It could design otherlighting technologies for television studios, such as infrared or ultravioletlighting.

Large companies normally manage quite different businesses, each requiringits own strategy. General Electric classified its businesses into 49 strategicbusiness units (SBU). An SBU has three characteristics:

1. It is a single business or collection of related businesses that can beplanned separately from the rest of the company.2. It has its own set of competitors.3. It has a manager who is responsible for strategic planning and profitperformance and who controls most of the factors affecting profit.

The purpose of identifying the company strategic business units is todevelop separate strategies and assign appropriate funding. Seniormanagement knows that its portfolio of businesses usually includes anumber of yesterday has-been? as well as tomorrowsbreadwinners.? Yet it cannot rely on impressions; it needs analytical toolsto classify its businesses by profit potential.

Business vision and company statement


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Strategic Business Planning - Toolkit

Strategic Business Planning is a disciplined and pragmatic approach thatorganizations can use to make decisions now about the future. It enablesthem to make more informed choices and decisions, set future directions,establish priorities, allocate limited resources, improve operations andmonitor results. A well-executed planning exercise promotes a commonunderstanding about the financial institutions overall direction and


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purpose. Individuals see how their actions support the institutionsmission. Clarity of purpose enhances the organisations ability to[precognise and concentrate on those activities that are fundamentallyimportant. Second, the strategic business planning process trains staff tothink and act strategically. These skills permit the organisation tocreatively handle changing circumstances.

This toolkit assists financial organisations to review/develop theirMission, Values and Vision statements; and then develop a strategy onthe basis of market, competition, institution and macro-environmentanalyses. This strategy outlines the financial institutions market andscope, its strategy towards the competition, and how it will develop andmaintain a competitive advantage in the market place.

Having a strategy is one thing implementing it another. The toolkitassists participants develop a business planning framework that clearlylays out the:

Key Objectives (the issues that are critical to the successfulimplementation of the strategy)Goals (that must be meet to realise the key objectives)Measures/Targets (the financial and non-financial indicators that will betracked to assess progress towards achieving the goals) andActivities (or projects that will be implemented to achieve the goals)This analysis then allows the institution to develop its strategic businessplan in a participatory manner thus getting inputs/insights from all levels,building buy-in/understanding at all levels and optimisingimplementation.


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Business Mission and Business Vision

At its most fundamental level, a Business Plan is all about PERSONAL

CONTROL. Its a tool to put YOU in control of your enterprise. Withoutit, chances are that your business will control you.

There are two critical factors that need to be understood before you canever be truly in control correct perspective and correct definition.

1. Correct Perspective

This entails getting the big picture that reveals the cause-and-effect

relationships at work in your business. You can't get that kind of higherview when youre stuck on the ground amidst the hurly-burly of dailyoperation. From that viewpoint, you wont be able to see the forestbecause of all the trees!

You need to take time out to think and plan. To pull back from the day-to-day frenzy and look at the overall picture. To identify trends,weaknesses, strengths, opportunities and threats.

This entire website is designed to give you correct perspectives on small

business. Sections Six and Seven of the book Dont Go Into SmallBusiness Until You Read This Book! are all about correct perspectives.

2. Correct Definition

You can never control what you cant define, for the simple reason thatyou dont know what youre talking about or dealing with! The realdilemma, for most small business people (in fact, for most people,period!) is that they cant define much at all. Instead, when asked to

define why something works, theyll describe how it works inexcruciating detail.

Theyre quite different things.

Knowing how something works doesnt put you in control. If the processdoesnt work, you have no idea why.


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Because correct perspective reveals the cause-and-effect relationship, itenables you to both define why and describe how.

But what does this have to do with our Business Mission and BusinessVision?

Everything!

Your Business Mission Statement is a succinct definition of WHYyoure making the journey.

Your Business Vision Statement is a detailed description of HOW thingswill be when you eventually reach your destination. It details WHEN it

will be, WHERE you'll be, WHO you'll be with, WHAT you'll be doingand HOW you'll feel about it.

A Business Plan is essentially a set of precise definitions for yourenterprise, and detailed descriptions of how youll implement yourdefinitions.

If this suggests to you that most Business Mission Statements dontreally define why the enterprise exists, youre right. The majority ofMission Statements we see are a meaningless mish-mash of noblesentiment, puffery, braggadoccio and gooey, warm fuzziness.

A true Mission Statement should be a succinct statement expressed,preferably, in a single sentence.

Why?

Because EVERY decision made in the operation and direction of thebusiness must be in harmony with that Mission Statement. Frankly,

things would grind to a halt in most businesses with a so-called MissionStatement if that were to be strictly applied, because it would take solong to wade through the mumbo jumbo that nothing would ever getdone.So the inevitable outcome is that, like the Business Plan itself, theMission Statement is set aside as a well-meaning, worthy expression ofgood intentions that simply cannot be put into practice in real life.


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The wrong thing, done for the wrong reasons. Again.

And because the definitions are either misleading or missing, theperspectives are inaccurate and misleading so wrong decisionscontinue to be made for the wrong reasons.

Your Business Vision Statement can be as detailed as you like. In fact,the more detailed, the better and more real it will be to you, and the morelikely it will to be finally realised. (It's the old story -- "if you aim atnothing in particular, that's what you'll hit!")

The Importance Of Market AnalysisExplained

Author: advertisingb2b.comContrary to what you might believe, it is tough to define market analysis.The basic motive of running a business is to earn profits. But how willyou reap the benefits without having any idea about your targetaudience? In such scenarios, one must employ the analytical dataobtained from market analysis. The primary object of this data is to

harness the potentials lying deep within the market. Business is all abouthard work, sincerity and sometimes even a bit of prediction. Predictingthe growth of the market will aid you in camouflaging your business tomeet the demands of the market in future.

How does one conduct analysis of the market? If you are trying to dothe homework on your own, then it is going to cost you a lot. Instead,you should rely on the existing analytical data; many web-basedcompanies bring out this data periodically. Regardless of the role andnature of your business, you will be able to come across ample statisticaldata reflecting the previous market trends. Know the target audience,meet their requirements, and then you will realize that doing business ismore fun than you had initially visualized.

Market analysis will also help you in collecting data about yourcompetitors. Be afraid; be very afraid of the competition. And


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sometimes you really need to think out of the box; trust me, this wouldnever fail you! Innovative ideas keeping in tune with the requirementsof the customers will always bring in more customers and also help youin retaining the present ones. Learn from your experiences (mistakesincluded) and proceed optimistically.

Market analysis will aid you in assimilating data from various sources.In fact, with the proliferation of data exchange systems primarily throughthe internet, these business owners are enjoying a highly advantageousposition. They can now feel the pulse of the market with the help ofunlimited electronic data collected and processed via online platformsand professional market analysis websites.Running a business for profits is good. However, charging thecustomers exorbitantly (just because you can do so), is foolishness.

People are smart. They know where to invest their hard earned money.The trend will continue to materialize like this in the following years.Proceed cautiously and accordingly!

Market analysis is an effective tool and its potential depends on howskillfully you handle it. If used skillfully up-to-date market analysis canhelp you shape your marketing, sales and even production policies in amore effective and futuristic manner.

However, you should realize that a market is composed of severalelements and the part on which your business should concentrate entirelydepends on what you are trading in. Sometimes, you may need toconcentrate more on changing customer demands and expectations. Thiswould require you to overhaul your production and processing policies.But, if you are experiencing an untimely downtrend in your sales whichcannot be related to changing market trends, then it is an indication thatyou need to research on market quality pertaining to the product orservice under consideration.


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Market researchFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Market research is any organized effort to gather informationabout markets or customers. It is a very important component ofbusiness

strategy.[1] The term is commonly interchanged with marketing research;

however, expert practitioners may wish to draw a distinction, in

that marketing research is concerned specifically about marketing processes,

while marketresearch is concerned specifically with markets.[2]

Market research is a key factor to get advantage over competitors. Market

research provides important information to identify and analyze the market

need, market size and competition.

Market research, includes social and opinion research, [and] is the

systematic gathering and interpretation of information about individuals or

organizations using statistical and analytical methods and techniques of the

applied social sciences to gain insight or support decision making.[

Stages of marketing research process

Step 1: Problem DefinitionThe first step in any marketing research project is to define the problem. Indefining the problem, the researcher should take into account the purpose ofthe study, the relevant background information, what information is needed,and how it will be used in decision making. Problem definition involvesdiscussion with the decision makers, interviews with industry experts,analysis of secondary data, and, perhaps, some qualitative research, such asfocus groups. Once the problem has been precisely defined, the research canbe designed and conducted properly.[2]

Step 2: Development of an Approach to the Problem

Development of an approach to the problem includes formulating anobjective or theoretical framework, analytical models, research questions,hypotheses, and identifying characteristics or factors that can influence theresearch design. This process is guided by discussions with management and


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industry experts, case studies and simulations, analysis of secondary data,qualitative research and pragmatic considerations. [2]

Step 3: Research Design Formulation

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing

research project. It details the procedures necessary for obtaining therequired information, and its purpose is to design a study that will test thehypotheses of interest, determine possible answers to the research questions,and provide the information needed for decision making. Conductingexploratory research, precisely defining the variables, and designingappropriate scales to measure them are also a part of the research design.The issue of how the data should be obtained from the respondents (forexample, by conducting a survey or an experiment) must be addressed. It isalso necessary to design a questionnaire and a sampling plan to select

respondents for the study.More formally, formulating the research design involves the followingsteps [1]:

1. Secondary data analysis

2. Qualitative research

3. Methods of collecting quantitative data (survey, observation, andexperimentation)

4. Definition of the information needed

5. Measurement and scaling procedures6. Questionnaire design

7. Sampling process and sample size

8. Plan of data analysis

Step 4: Field Work or Data Collection

Data collection involves a field force or staff that operates either in the field,as in the case of personal interviewing (in-home, mall intercept, orcomputer-assisted personal interviewing), from an office by telephone(telephone or computer-assisted telephone interviewing), or through mail

(traditional mail and mail panel surveys with prerecruited households).Proper selection, training, supervision, and evaluation of the field force helpsminimize data-collection errors.

Step 5: Data Preparation and Analysis

Data preparation includes the editing, coding, transcription, and verificationof data. Each questionnaire or observation form is inspected, or edited, and,


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if necessary, corrected. Number or letter codes are assigned to represent eachresponse to each question in the questionnaire. The data from thequestionnaires are transcribed or key-punched on to magnetic tape, or disksor input directly into the computer. Verification ensures that the data fromthe original questionnaires have been accurately transcribed, while dataanalysis, guided by the plan of data analysis, gives meaning to the data thathave been collected. Univariate techniques are used for analyzing data whenthere is a single measurement of each element or unit in the sample, or, ifthere are several measurements of each element, each RCH variable isanalyzed in isolation. On the other hand, multivariate techniques are used foranalyzing data when there are two or more measurements on each elementand the variables are analyzed simultaneously. [2]

Step 6: Report Preparation and Presentation

The entire project should be documented in a written report which addressesthe specific research questions identified, describes the approach, theresearch design, data collection, and data analysis procedures adopted, andpresents the results and the major findings. The findings should be presentedin a comprehensible format so that they can be readily used in the decisionmaking process. In addition, an oral presentation should be made tomanagement using tables, figures, and graphs to enhance clarity andimpact. [2]

For these reasons, interviews with experts are more useful in conducting

marketing research for industrial firms and for products of a technical nature,where it is relatively easy to identify and approach the experts. This methodis also helpful in situations where little information is available from othersources, as in the case of radically new products.

Market share analysisFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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Market share analysis is a part ofmarket analysis and indicates how well a

firm is doing in the marketplace compared to its competitors.

Givon, Mahajan, and Muller have researched spreadsheet and word

processing software firms to give a clearer image of how to determine

market share in the software industry. They propose six factors to help

estimate the value of market share (1997):

unit or dollar sales,

user base (since piracy and brand switching effect),

market definition (scope of definitions),

scope of denominator (which other brands included),

time frame length,

product definition (brand, product line, or strategic business unit).[edit]Detail

A market share analysis needs to take into account the following:

Total Market Size refers to the annual business volume in currency or in

number of transactions;

Market Growth Rate refers to the Compounded Annualized Growth Rate

( CAGR ) taken over a period of 3 to 5 years;

Market Share is the breakup of market size in percentage terms, to helpidentify the top players, the middle and the "minnows" of the marketplace,

based on the volume of business conducted;

Market Segmentation Some of the factors that determine the market are

price, quality, speed of service, ease of maintenance, and points of

distribution. By mapping on quality and price parameters, it is possible to

identify graphically the spaces which are crowded by service providers and

which are the relatively empty spots;

Key Players i.e.the top players in each segment of the market. The extent to

which they provide premium quality, or premium service or price advantage,

can help identify future target segments;

Swot Analysis. The strengths of players as well as weaknesses/areas of

improvement are needed to combat the onslaught in a marketing warfare.


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Strength and weakness include brand equity, geographic presence, strong

management/leadership, technological edge, and patent/copyrights.

Emerging Opportunities should be identified which could make the market

grow faster/larger or acquire business more easily. Similarly, are there threat

factors that could reduce the total market size. These could be due to

regulatory guidelines, changes in fashion trends, consumer preference,

macro economic events like currency crisis, import/export, war, natural

calamity, or demographic shift;

Business Continuity Plan: While planning for market share analysis, the

worse must be planned for to ensure continuity of the concern in the event of

a calamity. Companies which have a continuity plan usually sustain shocks

better and ensure achievement of targeted market share.

Target Market Share: Based on the above analysis, it is possible to arrive

at the overall market size for the assessment period, and thereby decide on

the volume of business the firm targets to achieve during the period. This

helps determine the firm's targeted market share. This also helps budget for

activities like budgeting for R&D, sales promotion, marketing, and training.

Market opportunity analysis to determine attractiveness and probability of

success

It is important for companies to evaluate opportunities so as to grow theirbusiness and to sustain in a competitive world where competitors dont


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forget to trap opportunities available in market (termed as : Marketopportunity Analysis MOA ).

Companies need to do a Opportunity Analysis in order to arrive ineffectiveness and success probability. Following is the Opportunity Matrix

that can be used to analyze opportunity.

Attractiveness

Success Probability

High

Low

High Low

1 2

3 4

Market Opportunity Analysis is a prime tool to determine attractivenessand probability of success in the growing market. It helps in understanding:

If the opportunity can be articulated in order tobenefit companies target market(s)

Can cost-effective channels to reach the target market be figured out

(cost effective media and various channels) Is the company internally capable of delivering whats expected by

customers What will the effect be on companies financial Return On

Investment (ROI)


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Here 1 determines opportunity that is High on Attractiveness as wellas high on Success Probability.

2 on the other hand is opportunity that is High on Attractiveness andLow on Success Probability.

3 determines opportunity that is Low on Attractiveness and High onSuccess Probability.

4 on the other hand is case where Attractiveness is Low and evenprobability is very Low.

Case 4 should not be termed as opportunity as it has low attractivenessand even low success probability.

We need to understand that different companies at different point intime may opt different opportunities and marketing strategies. Itsimportant to understand that marketing opportunity collectivelyinvolves a thorough business and business environmentanalysis (Internal Analysis and External Analysis)

SWOT Analysis is a tool used to analyze both internal and externalenvironment.(External is the threat from competitionand external are opportunities)

Internal environment analysis may involve analysis of a company interms of Marketing, Finance, Manufacture, HR and other discipline.There are chances of better outputs if the analysis is detailed. Say,analyzing marketing capabilities involve understanding majorstrengths in performance and there importance to the business. Thiswill give company a details internal analysis. Marketingcapabilities of company can be analyzed in terms of:

Company reputation Market share

Customer satisfaction Product quality Service quality Pricing efficiency Promotional efficiency etc.


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Strategy Marketing by Bikram

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