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Notes by Chrizel Breytenbach
, MAR303B
Strategic Marketing's Analysis, Study unit 1 - Introduction
activities and competencies to improve performance (West, Ford &
Perspectives and Blueprint Ibrahim, 2015).
& Marketing concept: Is ‘a way of thinking – a management philosophy
guiding an organisation’s overall activities. This philosophy, which holds the
PART 1:
key to achieving organisational goals, consists of the company being more
Glossary effective than competitors in creating, delivering and communicating
& Doing first: Making experimental strategic marketing decisions and customer value to its chosen target’ (Wiid, Cant & Makhita, 2022).
learning from mistakes and successes (West, Ford & Ibrahim, 2015). & Strategic marketing: Is an intelligence focused and led process that
& Postmodern: A reaction to the ‘modern’ marketing practices of the has both an internal and an external dimension, which utilises the skills of
twentieth century favouring a more ironic, cynical and less scientific view competitive intelligence officers who work with marketing managers and
of marketing (West, Ford & Ibrahim, 2015). strategists to establish trust-based relationships throughout the
& Scenarios: Plausible written narratives based upon problems that exist partnership arrangement, which ultimately results in the organisation
in some small form today that may become unexpectedly important fulfilling its mission statement (Wiid, Cant & Makhita, 2020).
marketing problems in the future (West, Ford & Ibrahim, 2015). & Differentiation strategy: Another generic strategy which involves
& Seeing first: Appreciating the wider strategic picture with one glance the creation of a unique product or service for which the company may
based upon insight (West, Ford & Ibrahim, 2015). charge a premium. This specialty can be associated with design, brand
& Simple rules: Identifying market triggers that set-in motion key image, technology feature dealer network, or customer service (West,
changes in strategy (West, Ford & Ibrahim, 2015). Ford, Ibrahim & Montecchi, 2022).
& Thinking first: Realistically addressing marketing strategy problems & Directional strategies: The corporate directional strategies are
with a view to finding a solution. those designed to achieve growth, stability or reduction in the
& Business strategy: Is usually developed at the strategic business unit corporation’s level of activities (West et al., 2022).
(SBU) level and emphasises improvement of the competitive position of a & Focus strategy: A generic strategy which involves concentrating the
corporation’s products or services in the specific industry or market marketing effort on a particular segment and competing in this segment
segment served by that SBU (Wiid, Cant & Makhita, 2020). using cost factor or differentiation approach (West et al., 2022).
& Corporate strategy: Describes a company’s overall direction in & Low-cost strategy: A generic strategic strategy that aims at the
terms of its general attitude toward growth and the management of its broad mass market and requires aggressive construction of efficient-scale
various businesses and product lines to achieve a balanced portfolio of facilities, vigorous pursuit of cost reduction from experience, tight cost
products and services (Wiid, Cant & Makhita, 2020). and overhead control, avoidance of marginal customer accounts, and cost
& Functional strategy: Is concerned with maximising resource minimisation in areas like R&D, service, sales force and advertising Wiid,
productivity. Within the constraints of the corporate and business Cant & Makhita, 2020).
strategies around them, functional departments, such as marketing, & Strategic choice: Involves understanding the underlying bases guiding
finance and production, develop strategies to pull together their various future strategy and generating strategic options for evaluation and
selecting from among them (Wiid, Cant & Makhita, 2020).
Notes by Chrizel Breytenbach
, MAR303B
1. Introduction ® Intellectual property: Patents, trademarks and copyrights can give
companies a sustainable competitive advantage.
The focus of the Marketing 3 module is to develop ‘marketing
strategy acumen’; that is, the keenness and speed in understanding when
& Marketing strategy according to Hooley et al. (2017) is defined as
deciding how to tackle a marketing problem and developing a sense of
follows, “a marketing strategy seeks to develop effective responses to
marketing.
changing market environments by defining market segments, and
developing and positioning product offerings for those target markets”,
The essential elements are to do the following:
& While Kotler and Keller (2012) present the view that marketing
Ø Obtain the key information about a marketing problem.
strategy defines the mission, marketing and financial objectives, and
® Shoprite Checkers conducts an audit of the Southern African retail
needs the market offering is intended to satisfy, as well as its competitive
market
positioning requiring an integrated approach from all of the business’
Ø Concentrate on suitable marketing objectives.
functional areas.
® Shoprite Checkers wants to increase its market share of the Southern
African retail market by 5% over the next 2 years through market For a company to achieve its goals it has to develop a strategy as a long-
development term plan. To achieve this the company has to understand its
Ø Identify the relevant options available. customers’ requirements and be able to develop a unique,
® Shoprite Checkers may follow a market penetration strategy in South sustainable advantage.
Africa, or it may expand into other Southern African countries.
Ø Select the appropriate course of action.
® Shoprite Checkers has set the objective to follow a market 1.1 5 P's of strategy
development strategy, so expansion into Africa is the most Five concepts of strategy, also referred to as the ‘5Ps of strategy’.
appropriate. o Strategy plan
Ø Establish a marketing plan to get the job done. o Strategy ploy
® Shoprite Checkers can now begin targeting, positioning, and o Strategy pattern
developing the 7Ps. o Strategy position
o Strategy perspective.
To be viable (survive in the longer term) organisations need a
sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). Ø Strategy plan:
A SCA is something that attracts customers to their offerings. - A plan means that a set of actions for achieving something has
been put in place, and the progress of these actions is monitored
& A sustainable competitive advantage is an advantage that can be from the start to the expected finish.
sustained into the foreseeable future. This is made possible by distinct - The strategy plan starts when the company’s leaders define
resources which are resistant to competitor imitation or duplication). their vision for the future, as well as the company’s goals and
® A strong brand reputation for example - customers are more objectives.
likely to choose companies like Coca-Cola, Nike and Apple because of - Planning is an essential part of the strategy formulation process,
their positive associations and perceptions. so take time to brainstorm new opportunities. The problem with
Notes by Chrizel Breytenbach
, MAR303B
planning, however, is that it is not enough on its own. This is where the strategy. Furthermore, take note of the impact these patterns
the other 4Ps come into play. should have on how strategic planning is approached.
Ø Strategy ploy: Ø Strategy as a position:
- Refers to a short-term strategy which tends to have limited - Strategy, as a position, looks downwards towards meeting customer
objectives. needs, and outwards towards the external competitive market.
- It may also be subjected to change at very short notice. - It is another way to define strategy, in other words, how an
- Mintzberg (1987), said that getting the better of competitors, by organisation decides to position itself in the marketplace.
plotting to disrupt, dissuade, discourage or otherwise influence - In this way, strategy helps to explore the fit between the
them, can be part of a strategy. This is where strategy can be a ploy, organisation and its environment.
as well as a plan. - It also assists in developing a sustainable competitive advantage.
- For example, Clicks might threaten to expand one of its stores so that - For example, an organisation’s strategy might include developing a niche
Dis-Chem does not move into the same area; or a telecommunications product to avoid competition or choosing to position itself amongst a
company might buy up patents that a competitor could potentially use to variety of competitors, while looking for ways to differentiate its services.
launch a rival product.
Ø Strategy as a perspective:
Ø Strategy pattern: - Refers to the organisation’s way of doing things.
- This relates to consistent behaviour taking place. It means progress - It is also called the interviewer view or experience.
is made due to a consistent form of behaviour that has been - As explained by Mintzberg (1987), the choices an organisation
adopted. makes about its strategy rely heavily on its culture.
- Strategic plans and ploys are both deliberate exercises. Sometimes, - While patterns of behaviour can emerge as strategy, patterns of
however, strategy emerges from past organisational behaviour. thinking will shape an organisation's perspective, and the things that
Rather than being an intentional choice, a consistent and successful it is able to do well.
way of doing business can develop into a strategy. - For example, an organisation that encourages risk-taking and innovation
- For example, Dischem continued with its strategy to sell more electronic from employees might focus on producing innovative products as the
equipment to stay abreast of Clicks. main driver behind its strategy. However, an organisation that
emphasises the reliable processing of data may offer these services to
- For instance, think of a manager who makes decisions by which an other organisations through outsourcing arrangements as its strategy.
already highly responsive customer support process is further enhanced.
Although not deliberately choosing to build a strategic advantage, the In summary, the marketing strategy concept is the thinking that
pattern of actions nevertheless creates one. underpins the viability of any market position, and marketing strategy involves
analysing a gap.
- To use this element of the 5Ps, marketers have to take note of the
patterns in their team and organisation. It is important to
determine whether these patterns have become an implicit part of
Notes by Chrizel Breytenbach
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