Planning & Marketing Analysis
Jan 02, 2016
Strategic Planning & Marketing Strategic planning done at the top
management level Ideally, marketing manager should be
involved in the process, starting with the corporate objectives
So that he sets his own dept’s objectives in line with the corporate
This being so as marketing is an important function (remember: need for company to be marketing/customer oriented)
Marketing Objectives These need to be tailored to marketing
strengths, such as: A familiar brand name A strong patent Positive relationship with intermediaries Well-developed promotion/pricing resources A thorough knowledge of the target market
Basic Types of Competitive Situations Pure competition - ideal Oligopoly – a few big players, e.g., oil
companies Monopolistic competition – where several
companies offer marketing mixes perceived as different by customers
Monopoly
Competitor Analysis Evaluation of current/potential customers Competitive rivals (closest competitors) – firms
offering similar products/serving the same needs with a different product
Roles of competitor analysis: Help management understand our competitive
advantages/disadvantages Generate understanding of competitors’ strategies Provide basis for developing our strategies Help forecast returns from future investments
Questions to ask (p 590)
Sources of Competitor Information Recorded Data – easily available in
published form, e.g., Annual reports, Brochures
Observable Data – actively sought and assembled from several sources (i.e., competitive pricing)
Opportunistic data: Much of this is anecdotal: from suppliers, customers, past management
(see p 595)
Competitive Barriers/Competitive Advantage Refer to Porter’s 5 Force Model Barriers to Entry Competitive advantage: being able to
serve customer needs better than competition
Evaluating Business Opportunities Marketing managers need to screen opportunities
using set of product/market criteria These criteria based on company resources and
objectives, as well as market trends Criteria should have quantitative and qualitative
components Quantitative? Qualitative – types of business the firm wants to be in,
its own strengths, etc Portfolio Analysis – BCG Matrix, McKinsey/GE
Matrix
Benchmarking*Identifying Best Practice
*The Benchmarking Process*Planning a Benchmarking Project
*Conducting a Benchmarking Project
Identifying Best Practice Continual improvement is core pursuit of quality Business cannot be complacent; competing
organizations will always find new & better ways of providing service; so business must continually improve
One way: organizational improvement based on comparative measurement - benchmarking
Identifying Best Practice Xerox adopted & documented this
approach in 1979 Xerox’s definition of competitive
benchmarking:
“the continuous process of measuring products, services and practices against the toughest competitors, or those companies recognized as industry leaders”
Identifying Best Practice Benchmarking: a structured self-discovery tool
that acts as a catalyst and enabler of change and allows organizations to learn from experience
Benchmarking now widely recognized as critical to organizational improvement
Identifying Best Practice Key benchmarking steps: - understand your own processes & practices - identify performance drivers for your business - identify industry leaders, competitors or ‘best-in-class’
practices - learn from the best - adapt and adopt their best practices - gain competitive parity - seek competitive advantage
Identifying Best Practice Benchmarking aims to understand ‘metrics’ &
‘the practice’ Metrics – measure of extent/degree or ‘gap’ The Practice – how performance difference is
achieved Both are crucial
Identifying Best Practice - Benchmarking requires Management
commitment to take action if necessary - Also, requires carefully designed
communications throughout the organization
- Employee involvement at every step Benchmarking widely practiced now, but
poorly implemented
The Benchmarking Process – Xerox Benchmarking Process Steps
1. Identify benchmarking subject2. Identify comparative companies3. Determine data collection methods &
collect data
Planning
4. Determine current competitive gap5. Project future performance Analysis
6. Communicate findings and gain acceptance7. Establish functional goals
Integration
8. Develop action plans9. Implement plans & monitor progress10. Recalibrate benchmark
Action
•Leadership position attained•Practices fully integrated Maturity
The Benchmarking Process Benchmarking activity falls into one of the
following categories: - internal: comparing with other internal depts of same
company (e.g., complaints handling). Usually easiest to handle; info available. But unlikely to lead to world class
- competitor based: comparison with competitor. Difficult to obtain info because of confidentiality, though some metrics in public domain
- functional: comparison with non-competitive organizations with same functional ability (e.g., call handling, warehousing). Easy, as functional leaders easy to identify
- generic: comparison of business processes that cut across functions & industries (e.g., invoicing). Most innovative benchmarking breakthroughs in this type
The Benchmarking Process Freely available data can be used, but may not
give best benchmarking results The most useful data is usually jealously guarded Because of this, formal benchmarking
agreements are used – however, this may go against the benchmarking spirit of cooperation; could use confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements instead
Planning a Benchmarking Project Benchmarking almost always a team activity Typically, a steering committee formed with
specialists form areas of most concern Members must be motivated to improve & are in
a position to implement changes; they must be trained in the benchmarking methodology and other quality improvement tools (i.e., business process analysis & flowcharting)
Conducting a Benchmarking Project Benchmarking info can be obtained thru’
telephone, personal interviews, questionaires or personal visits
Any contact needs to be planned in advance – purpose of contact clear and questions well-prepared
Contact should be structured & carried out in a professional manner (i.e., timing, conduct, etc)
Results from benchmarking should address both metrics and practices
Conducting a Benchmarking Project Analysis of benchmarking info frequently
addresses quantitative data, but qualitative data (i.e., interview comments) generally provides greater opportunity for determining innovative approaches/ concepts
Organizations can also learn from partner’s problems – leading to unforeseen benefits – benefits for the organization with best practice in the partnership
Open and honest exchange of info can lead to a win-win situation