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It was developed in the sass’s and rests on four pillars: target market, customer needs, integrated marketing and profitability (Kettle, Philip. 2000). The marketing concept relies upon marketing research to define market segments, their size, and needs. To satisfy those needs, the marketing team makes decisions about the are: What do customers want? Can we develop it while they still want it? How can we keep our customers satisfied? Also part of the marketing concept are more changes with customer service which were developed more recently to supplement the above questions asked by impasses.
These include: Focusing on customer needs before developing the product. Aligning all functions of the company to focus on those needs. Realizing a profit by fulfilling and satisfying those customer needs over the long term. 2. How is the concept of strategic planning related to marketing? Provide a practical example to depict this relationship. First we need to define what is being asked. Strategy is “The pattern of major objectives, goals, purposes, and essential policies and plans for achieving those goals.
They are stated in such a way as to define what cuisines the company is in or is to be in and the kind of company it is or is to be” Cain, S. 2000). A business strategy is more focused on one product, a group of products, or a business unit. A corporate strategy unifies all the business lines of a company and points them toward the goal. Strategic planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy.
Usually strategic planning begins with he desired-end and works backward to the current status (Business Dictionary). Marketing is the management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer (Business Dictionary). Now that we are familiar with what the terms of the question are we can look at how they are related. Marketing is related to strategic planning because it is part of the process. Strategic marketing is one of the steps needed to be created, acted upon, and executed by the company as part of their strategic plan.
The components of a strategic marketing plan include goals, objectives, strategies and tactics. Goals are the anchor and provide a broad based direction in terms of what the marketing organization would like to achieve. An example of this is to gain market share or increase your competitive edge over the competition. The second element of the plan is objectives. These are more specific and are tied to the goals. They provide more information such as measurable outcomes. An example of this is increasing market share of one product in particular or gaining market share in one geographical area or with a certain population.
Lastly are strategies and tactics. Strategies are again broad but define a specific task. One example may be use paper advertising methods. The tactic is specific. To further define the strategy “advertise in the yellow pages in Philadelphia or Vale-Pace in these 3 zip codes” (Chronic. Com). Another aspect of a winning marketing strategy which is part of the strategic planning process is the use of the 4 As or the marketing mix. 1. Product. To properly understand this you should ask some questions. What does the customer want from the product/service? What needs does it satisfy? How and where will the customer use it?
How is it differentiated versus your competitors? What does it look like? 2. Place. Where will the customer find my product? What kind of store will distribution channels? How are we different from our competition? 3. Price. What is the retail price? How will customers view the price? Are we providing value for the company and customer? How do we stack up against competing like products? 4. Promotion. What advertising methods will we use? Online? TV? Print? Social Media? Direct mail? A combination of all? When is the best time to promote? What is are target market (Mind tools). 3. What is a mission statement?
Provide a practical example. What are the basic questions that must be answered in a mission tenement? Can you think of any others that should be addressed? A mission statement defined is “A sentence describing a company’s function, markets and competitive advantages; a short written statement of your business goals and philosophies” (Entrepreneur. Com). Mission statements usually don’t change, but can be amended if necessary. They provide direction, filter what is important against what is not important, and should state what markets are to be served. In a good mission statement there are questions which are answered.
These include: What are the opportunities or needs that the company addresses? What is the business of the company? How are these needs being addressed? What level of service is provided? What principles or beliefs guide the organization? Who and what market are we serving? Advanced Auto Parts, Inc. Mission Statement It is the Mission of Advance Auto Parts to provide personal vehicle owners and enthusiasts with the vehicle related products and knowledge that fulfill their wants and needs at the right price. Our friendly, knowledgeable and professional staff will help inspire, educate and problem-solve for our customers (misstatement’s. Mom). Bristol-Myers Squibb Company To discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases (misstatement’s. Com). C.V. Corporation We will be the easiest pharmacy retailer for customers to use (misstatement’s. Com). From the above examples you can see that not all mission statements answer all the questions that a good mission statement should answer. However the success of the three companies listed indicates to me that having a good mission statement is not indicative of running a successful business. 4. Describe several strategies that firms can choose among.
What do you think the strategy should be for McDonald’s if it wants to grow in the U. S.? There are a few different strategies firms can choose from. These include Growth, Product differentiation, Price skimming, and Acquisition strategies. Growth strategy- A growth strategy entails introducing new products or adding new features to existing products could mean a wholly new product or an improvement on a product. Cell phones are good examples. They are what they are but companies are adding new features to them at a breakneck pace to lure new customers to their brand.
To move onto a new market may mean to start selling online for a brick and mortar store. Product differentiation strategy- Product differentiation is a marketing process that showcases the differences between products. Differentiation looks to make a product more attractive by contrasting its unique qualities with other competing products. It can be as simple as flashy packaging or making the product look or feel different among a sea of like products or giving the product new functions which competitors’ products don’t have (Investigated. Com).
Customers view these products as unique or period which gives a competitive advantage to the firm. Price-skimming Strategy- Price-skimming Strategy involves charging high prices for a product, particularly during the introductory phase. This often allows them to recoup the costs of R&D. Drug companies often use this strategy when introducing a new pharmaceutical to the market (Chronic. Com). It can also be used by a firm which is the first one to introduce a new product to the market which no other firm has. This strategy can only be used for a short time as it attracts copycats which often charge a lower price.
Firms often use this strategy then change over to another strategy as the market saturates. Acquisition Strategy- If your firm has extra money and wants to gain a competitive advantage, why not purchase another company, or one or more product lines of that company? Many companies use this to expand, compete in new areas, and gain a competitive edge over competition in the market (Chronic. Com). Recently McDonald’s stores in the U. S. Have been losing money. McDonald’s sales have dropped 4. 6% this year (2014) against sales this time last year (Business Insider).
Without any further research I would say McDonald’s needs to get back to its roots. They are a fast food company which people go to, to eat fast food, not healthy food. Their menu is too expansive and confusing now. Service takes way longer in both the inside lines and drive thru. This is from my own personal experience. I think their MacAfee products are terrible and frankly I don’t go to McDonald’s for coffee. I would rather to WAY or Cataracts. It seems to me their Growth strategy is actually holding them back. They are trying to woo in a different clientele who wants to eat healthier r the coffee crowd from Cataracts.
If I were the CEO I would refocus my efforts into winning back the people who made McDonald’s the biggest restaurant franchise ever. I would simplify the menu. Do away with trendy products. I would focus on making the best burgers that can be produced. I would speed up service and better train employees to be more courteous to patrons, be more efficient, and produce a consistent product. Instead of new products I would improve products currently offered. Maybe I would offer custom burgers with side toppings which customers could order.
We all know the food offered is unhealthy but McDonald’s can tout the freshness of the food. While still unhealthy it is something. 5. What are the basic elements off situation analysis? How can this approach to strategy lead to increased competitiveness? Provide a practical example. Situation analysis definition- A systematic collection and evaluation of past and of internal and external forces that may influence the organization’s performance and choice of strategies, and (2) assessment of the organization’s current and future strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and strengths (Business Dictionary).