The Marketing strategy is An organization's strategy that combines all
of its marketing goals into one comprehensive plan. A good marketing
strategy should be drawn from market research and focus on the right
product mix in order to achieve the maximum profit potential and sustain
the business. The marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing
plan.
How to Make a Marketing Strategy?
The process generally begins with a scan of the business environment,
both internal and external, which includes understanding strategic
constraints.It is generally necessary to try to grasp many aspects of the external
environment, including technological, economic, cultural, political and
legal aspects. Goals are chosen. Then, a marketing strategy or marketing plan
is an explanation of what specific actions will be taken over time to
achieve the objectives. Plans can be extended to cover many years, with
sub-plans for each year, although as the speed of change in the
merchandising environment quickens, time horizons are becoming shorter.Ideally,
strategies are both dynamic and interactive, partially planned
and partially unplanned, to enable a firm to react to unforeseen
developments while trying to keep focused on a specific pathway;
generally, a longer time frame is preferred. There are simulations such
as customer lifetime value
models which can help marketers conduct "what-if" analyses to forecast
what might happen based on possible actions, and gauge how specific
actions might affect such variables as the revenue-per-customer and the
churn rate. Strategies often specify how to adjust the marketing mix;
firms can use tools such as Marketing Mix Modeling
to help them decide how to allocate scarce resources for different
media, as well as how to allocate funds across a portfolio of brands. In
addition, firms can conduct analyses of performance, customer analysis,
competitor analysis, and target market analysis. A key aspect of
marketing strategy is often to keep marketing consistent with a
company's overarching mission statement.
Marketing strategy should not be confused with a marketing objective
or mission. For example, a goal may be to become the market leader,
perhaps in a specific niche; a mission may be something along the lines
of "to serve customers with honor and dignity"; in contrast, a marketing
strategy describes how a firm will achieve the stated goal in a way
which is consistent with the mission, perhaps by detailed plans for how
it might build a referral network, for example. Strategy varies by type
of market. A well-established firm in a mature market will likely have a
different strategy than a start-up. Plans usually involve monitoring,
to assess progress, and prepare for contingencies if problems arise.
