ASSIGNMENT

ON STRATEGIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION:

Marketing takes day to learn .Unfortunately it takes a lifetime to master.

-By Philip Kotler 1931 ,US Marketing Guru You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can not get them across, your ideas will not get you anywhere -By Lee Iacocca WHAT IS MARKETING ? Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social needs.One of the shortest good definitions is Meeting needs profitably.According to the American marketing association marketing is an organisational function and a set of processes for creating,communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organisation and its stake holders .Thus we see marketing management as the art and science of choosing target market and getting,keeping and growing customers through creating,delivering and communicating superior customer value. Kotler,Philip,2009.Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective, 13th ed.,Prentice-Hall. Strategic Marketing Management is an intensive and comprehensive program designed for executives who want to develop a more strategic and disciplined approach to the marketing process. The program drives you through each of the critical steps of a strategic market planning process. Through its integrated curriculum and action-oriented approach, you will learn to master all the aspects of building a strong strategic marketing plan, from generating genuine market insights to strategy development and marketing program design and implementation.
Pham,Michel.,2008.Strategic Marketing Management [online](updated September 2008) Available:http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/execed/programs/detail/101205/Strateg ic+Marketing+Management

Strategic Marketing Management is about understanding and applying marketing from the perspective of your main objective: creating customers. Business is about creating value and the sales and marketing aspect of business is to create customers for this value. Everything in marketing is thus about understanding, reachingand influencing customers.
http://www.sales-and-marketing-for-you.com/strategic-marketingmanagement.html

How to develop and manage a strategic marketing plan? INTRODUCTION

If you think that developing a strategic marketing plan is something only big, fancy corporations need to do, think again. You need one, too! Itll help you better understand your business, your customers and your strategy for success. Most people fall into the trap of thinking that marketing just means advertising, PR or promotion. But marketing and a marketing plan is so much more than that, and includes everything from understanding the market to which youll sell your products and services, to choosing specific tactics youll use to reach that market (which is actually where things like advertising come into play - theyre tactics!). Heres the marketing plan sections youll be writing:

Overview or Summary no longer than one page, the summary should briefly describe your business and the major points of your plan (so write it last) Situation analysis a detailed and brutally honest assessment of your market, your competitors, and the opportunities and challenges for your business Marketing strategy your specific business revenue goals, as well as a strategy for tackling the market opportunities you identified in the situation analysis Marketing tactics your action plan for executing on the strategy you outlined in the previous section

Marketing budget and timeline the projected costs and timeline related to your marketing tactics

Situation analysis Simply put, your situation analysis is the foundation of your marketing plan, and gives a clear lay of the land for your market and business. Remember all of that market research and competitive analysis you did for your business plan? The good news is, you get to use it again! For your situation analysis, clearly define:

Your potential customers, including current market size and projected growth Your competitors, including current and projected market share, and product or market segment focus Your realistic assessment of your own business, including both strengths and weaknesses, with a summary of your plan to overcome the weaknesses

Marketing strategy When you decided to start your business, you undoubtedly found an unmet or underserved need in your target market, and felt that you could address that need. The marketing strategy section is where you actually spell out how your business is going to do just that, by setting goals and high-level strategies. Start by setting the goals for your business, typically for at least one year. Make them realistic, achievable and measurable. No sense in setting yourself up for failure right out of the gate. State them in simple, straightforward terms - for example, ABC Widgets will achieve $100,000 in sales of Widget A by the end of this year. Wrap up the strategy section of your marketing plan by outlining the particulars of your business offering - in marketing parlance, you'll be defining what are known as the "four Ps" for your business:

Product description of your product or service, including features and benefits Price initial pricing strategy Place distribution channel for your product or service, i.e. where youll sell Promotion the methods and channels used to reach customers and let them know about your product or service

Marketing tactics To take your marketing plan to yet another level of detail, youll dream up some tactics to actually meet the goals you set in the previous section. Common marketing tactics include advertising (print, online, radio, etc.), trade show or event attendance/participation, public relations, grassroots and viral marketing campaigns and email marketing.

As you choose your tactics, summarize what it is, why you should use it, what you expect to get out of it, and how much its going to cost. Finally, set a timeline for each tactic and pick a team member to champion getting it done. Marketing budget and timeline Wrap up your entire marketing plan with a bow by summarizing your costs and timelines from the previous section. And then measure, measure, measure. Check your marketing budget at least monthly, and determine whether youre getting the return you expected from each tactic. Its never too late to make some changes to your marketing plan. Your marketing timeline can help you understand if your tactics are driving any sales. Compare sales during timeframes when youve done some marketing activities and check for any growth to see if there was an impact.

Writing a marketing plan should become at least a yearly ritual for your business. Not to mention that its probably a good idea to revamp your marketing plan when you are releasing new or significantly changed products or services. Just remember that writing a marketing plan is time well spent for any sized business, because its the process for thinking honestly and thoroughly through how youre going toconnect with your customers. Start up nation,LLC.,2011.Small business Marketing [online](updated feb 2011) Available at:
http://www.startupnation.com/business-articles/1263/1/strategic-marketingplan.asp

TASK 1
I have been appointed as acting marketing manager for a period of six months .The marketing director has asked to write a report,to be presented to the board of directors,on how a strategic marketing plan should be developed and managed in the organisation .

Role of stratregic marketing in an organisation:

Whether you are running a large or small organization, Mainstream Marketing can help you prosper by applying our experience, skill-sets and creative approaches to everyday marketing by developing a highly effective and results driven marketing plan. When we develop a comprehensive marketing plan, we can objectively assess the current status of your marketing efforts with regard to Product,

Pricing, Distribution, and Promotional strategies; assess their relationship with all external business factors including (but not limited to), your competition and target market; develop measurable sales objectives; and outline product, pricing, distribution, and promotion strategies designed to achieve those objectives.It doesn't matter if you are running an existing business or starting a new business it is critical to the success of any business that the business operator understands the importance of a strategic marketing plan. Ensuring that your business is guided by a strategic plan will determine the difference between successful growth and flat line growth.

Marketing plays an important role in the strategic planning process for many organizations. Although some marketing positions are represented at the corporate level, most are at the functional level within the business units of an organization. As shown in Exhibit 33, however, marketing is involved in strategic planning at all organizational levels. Strategic marketing describes marketing activities that affect corporate, business, and marketing strategic plans. Strategic marketing activities can be classified into three basic functions. First, marketers help orient everyone in the organization toward markets and customers. Thus, they are responsible for helping organizations execute a marketing philosophy throughout the strategic planning process. Second, marketers help gather and analyze information required to examine the current situation, identify trends in the marketing environment, and assess the potential impact of these trends. This information and analysis provides input for corporate, business, and marketing strategic plans. Mcdonald,Malcolm,2008.Strategic Marketing and planning:Theory and Practice, 12th ed.,Prentice-Hall,PP-(105-106)