Strategic marketing
DESCRIPTION
Marketing with an emphasis on achieving important long-term marketing aims and objectives that further provide a basis for competitive advantage.
Marketing with an emphasis on achieving important long-term marketing aims and objectives that further provide a basis for competitive advantage.
KEY INSIGHTS
Strategic marketing emphasizes decisions and actions that have a major impact on an organization over a long-term time horizon. More specifically, it is a marketing approach that involves setting the strategic direction for the firm with a long-term vision to guide investments in marketing assets and competencies, which can be leveraged within business processes towards providing sustainable competitive advantages. Actual time horizons associated with strategic marketing initiatives are broad, however, and might range anywhere from six months to one year in the future, to three to five years or beyond. Firms engaged in strategic marketing are concerned with the development and implementation of marketing strategies (see marketing strategy) that are focused on particular future timeframes having important competitive advantage implications. Models, frameworks, concepts, and analytical tools used in strategic marketing help the analysis of marketing decisions from an organizational perspective. Along with competencies of the firm, strategic marketing deals with long-term assets such as brand equity and customer equity (Rust et al. 2004), out of which marketing actions are derived. Firms can make decisions about which strategic marketing orientations to take based on developing competitive benchmarking and investigating the business environment. An integrative strategic marketing-planning framework enables the company to formulate effective marketing policies. For example, such a framework enables the firm to take into account total quality management issues using feedback from the major forces that impact the company such as customers, employees, and competitors (Lu et al. 1994).
Strategic marketing emphasizes decisions and actions that have a major impact on an organization over a long-term time horizon. More specifically, it is a marketing approach that involves setting the strategic direction for the firm with a long-term vision to guide investments in marketing assets and competencies, which can be leveraged within business processes towards providing sustainable competitive advantages. Actual time horizons associated with strategic marketing initiatives are broad, however, and might range anywhere from six months to one year in the future, to three to five years or beyond. Firms engaged in strategic marketing are concerned with the development and implementation of marketing strategies (see marketing strategy) that are focused on particular future timeframes having important competitive advantage implications. Models, frameworks, concepts, and analytical tools used in strategic marketing help the analysis of marketing decisions from an organizational perspective. Along with competencies of the firm, strategic marketing deals with long-term assets such as brand equity and customer equity (Rust et al. 2004), out of which marketing actions are derived. Firms can make decisions about which strategic marketing orientations to take based on developing competitive benchmarking and investigating the business environment. An integrative strategic marketing-planning framework enables the company to formulate effective marketing policies. For example, such a framework enables the firm to take into account total quality management issues using feedback from the major forces that impact the company such as customers, employees, and competitors (Lu et al. 1994).
KEYWORDS Competitive advantage, long-term horizon, planning
IMPLICATIONS
While the scope of marketing is sufficiently broad as to encompass day-today marketing initiatives as well as the very long term, marketers should recognize the importance of planning and implementing marketing initiatives concerning any timeframe in such a way that they provide the marketer’s organization with a possible source of competitive advantage. Such a focus can assist the marketer with efforts aimed at not only achieving appropriate short-term objectives (e.g. reducing inventory) but also ensuring such efforts give sufficient consideration to the evolutionary dynamics of competition and customer wants and needs.
While the scope of marketing is sufficiently broad as to encompass day-today marketing initiatives as well as the very long term, marketers should recognize the importance of planning and implementing marketing initiatives concerning any timeframe in such a way that they provide the marketer’s organization with a possible source of competitive advantage. Such a focus can assist the marketer with efforts aimed at not only achieving appropriate short-term objectives (e.g. reducing inventory) but also ensuring such efforts give sufficient consideration to the evolutionary dynamics of competition and customer wants and needs.
APPLICATION AREAS AND FURTHER READINGS
Marketing Strategy
Cravens, David W. (1982). Strategic Marketing. Homewood, Ill.: R. D. Irwin.
Marketing Strategy
Cravens, David W. (1982). Strategic Marketing. Homewood, Ill.: R. D. Irwin.
Marketing Management
Wilson, R. M. S., Gilligan, Colin, and Pearson, David J. (1992). Strategic Marketing Management: Planning, Implementation, and Control. Boston: Butterworth- Heinemann.
Wilson, R. M. S., Gilligan, Colin, and Pearson, David J. (1992). Strategic Marketing Management: Planning, Implementation, and Control. Boston: Butterworth- Heinemann.
Business-to-Business Marketing
Bowersox, Donald J., and Cooper, M. Bixby (1992). Strategic Marketing Channel Management. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Bowersox, Donald J., and Cooper, M. Bixby (1992). Strategic Marketing Channel Management. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Services Marketing
Lovelock, C. H. (1983). ‘Classifying Services to Gain Strategic Marketing Insights,’ Journal of Marketing, 47, Summer, 9–20.
Lovelock, C. H. (1983). ‘Classifying Services to Gain Strategic Marketing Insights,’ Journal of Marketing, 47, Summer, 9–20.
Non-profit Marketing
Kotler, Philip, and Andreasen, Alan R. (1987). Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Kotler, Philip, and Andreasen, Alan R. (1987). Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Online Marketing
Bishop, Bill (1997). Strategic Marketing for the Digital Age. New York: HarperBusiness.
Bishop, Bill (1997). Strategic Marketing for the Digital Age. New York: HarperBusiness.
International Marketing
Naumann, Earl, and Lincoln, Douglas J. (1991). ‘Non-Tariff Barriers and Entry Strategy Alternatives: Strategic Marketing Implications,’ Journal of Small Business Management, 29(2), 60–70.
Naumann, Earl, and Lincoln, Douglas J. (1991). ‘Non-Tariff Barriers and Entry Strategy Alternatives: Strategic Marketing Implications,’ Journal of Small Business Management, 29(2), 60–70.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aaker, David A. (2004). Strategic Market Management, 7th edn. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Aaker, David A. (2004). Strategic Market Management, 7th edn. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Rust, R. T., Ambler, T., Carpenter, G. S., Kumar, V., and Srivastava, R. K. (2004). ‘Measuring Marketing Productivity: Current Knowledge and Future Directions,’ Journal of Marketing, 68(4), 76–89.
Lu, Min Hua, Madu, Christian N., Kuei, Chu-hua, and Winokur, Dena (1994). ‘Integrating QFD, AHP and Benchmarking in Strategic Marketing,’ Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 9(1), 41–50.