Strategic Marketing Management

 

An Introduction :

which of these marketing concept do you belong to :

• the production concept, 
• the product concept, 
• the selling concept, 
• the marketing concept, and 
• the societal marketing concept.

let discuss :

Marketing is the process of identifying and developing products that suit the needs of the customer even as the organization makes profits. The marketing mix is a unique combination of the four P's of marketing namely product, price, place, and promotion. After taking into consideration the other factors that affect business, another three P's – people, physical evidence, and process management have been added to the four P's.

There are five basic concepts in marketing namely the production concept, product concept, selling concept, marketing concept, and the societal marketing concept. Production-oriented organizations focus on low cost and high availability of products. These organizations feel that high availability creates its own demand. Product-oriented organizations focus on the quality of the product. These organizations believe that buyers prefer quality products to low cost products. Selling-oriented organizations believe that products need to be advertised and aggressively sold. These organizations believe that when left alone, buyers do not purchase enough of an organization's products. They therefore focus on the selling concept.

 The marketing concept focuses on customer satisfaction and customer requirements. The societal marketing concept focuses on the ethical issues of an organization while marketing. For an organization to be successful the marketing plan has to be aligned with corporate strategy. Strategy means to lead. Strategy helps an organization to use the resources optimally. Business strategy helps to plan with the objective of achieving long-term objectives. A good strategy answers the questions of what needs to be achieved, where it needs to be achieved, and how it needs to be achieved. The components of a well-defined strategy are size, goals, resource utilization, sustainable competitive advantage, and synergy. There are three levels of strategy namely corporate level strategy, business level strategy, and functional level strategy. Corporate strategy deals with strategy formulation and planning at the top level. It is about coordinating activities across various businesses. Business level strategy deals with the strategies that allow a company to deal with competition in its industry or business. Functional level strategy deals with the strategy for a particular product or market. The strategic management process involves strategic analysis, strategic choice, and strategic implementation.

Strategic marketing is the process of strategy development by regularly considering the marketing environment and customer satisfaction. It gives an organization the competitive advantage over its rivals. Marketing strategy involves identifying the marketing objectives and developing and implementing marketing programs. The strategic marketing process involves the marketing analysis, analysis of the marketing situation, formulating a marketing strategy, market program development, and implementing and managing marketing strategy.
 

Creating a Great Business Marketing Plan

 

A marketing plan is when a business outlining his marketing strategy and tactics. It's often focused on a specific period of time and covers a variety of marketing-related details, such as costs, goals, and action steps.
Smart small business owners know the importance of a business plan, which outlines their company's course for success. One critical portion of that plan is the marketing strategy.  

Marketing strategy is the section of your business plan that outlines your overall game plan for finding clients and customers for your business. Sometimes marketing strategy is confused with a marketing plan, but they are different.

Because this strategy is buried in the larger business plan, you may not give marketing the attention it deserves. However, an in-depth layout of a marketing strategy can reveal opportunities from a new audience or potential product line, pitfalls in pricing, competition reaction, and potential reach. After all, you don't want to miss out on the profits you could be making with an effective marketing plan.

The goal of marketing is to connect your business’ value to the right customer base. It’s a simple concept but it can take on a million different shades.

• What demographics make up your customer base?
• Where do they live?
• Where do they hang out online?
• How do they look for products in your niche?
• Who do the listen when making decisions relative to your product?

A marketing plan describes who your customers are, where they get information and how you expect to reach them. 
Here are a few important things to keep in mind as you create your plan.

1. Know your niche.

the Wikipedia defines  A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focused. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that it is intended to target. It is also a small market segment.
the business dictionary defines niche marketing: Concentrating all marketing efforts on a small but specific and well defined segment of the population
 
Before you can write a marketing plan, you need to find and understand your niche – the specific demographic you're targeting, said online business and marketing strategist Amber Dee. For example, if your business sells 30-minute meals, then those who work traditional 9-to-5 jobs are likely in your market. Study that group of individuals to understand their struggles and learn how your business can solve the problem, Dee said. Research your target market by asking those within it.

2. Develop clear insight into why a potential customer would use your business.

Figure out the core need that your product or service will meet, said Robert J. Thomas, a marketing professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Is it to help your customers get through the day more easily? Do their job more efficiently? Be respected and admired by friends? Your offering should be designed to solve client problems or meet customer needs better than the competition can.

3. Identify competitors that would also want your target customers.

No matter how original your product or service may be, there is always competition for your target customer's dollar. Small businesses seldom take the time to study their competitors in depth, or determine competition that may be outside their industry but just as capable of luring the customer away, said Thomas. Knowing who they are, what their core competitive advantages are and how they will respond to your offering (price cuts, increased communication, etc.) will help you figure out strategies to combat such losses.

4. State your brand position for your target customers.

Ultimately, your brand and what it symbolizes for customers will be your strongest competitive advantage, Thomas said. You should be able to write down a simple declarative sentence of how you will meet customer needs and beat the competition. The best positioning statements are those that are single-minded and focus on solving a problem for the customer in a way that promotes the best value, he added.

5. Audit if all else fails.

Don't panic if your initial marketing strategy doesn't give you the results you wanted, said Dee. Auditing your business, which you can do with the help of a third-party contractor, can help you recover.
Dee advised understanding what products or services you are offering, then identifying who you help and how you help them. Next, check all your marketing platforms to ensure they reflect that message. If your perception of your brand's message is one thing, Dee said, but your audience interprets that message as something entirely different, that is a disconnect to be fixed.

 

6.Marketing approaches

Now that you know the elements of the plan, you need to figure out how you are going to reach that target customer. Aside from traditional print and broadcast media, here are three tech-driven marketing channels that many of today's business owners utilize.

Social media

Social media has become an essential part of businesses' marketing plans because every type of customer is on some type of platform, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or LinkedIn. Small business owners may feel overwhelmed at the possibilities but should focus on the ones that can benefit them the most.
Brett Farmiloe, founder of internet marketing company Markitors, advised companies starting out in social media to get to know their customers and what platforms they use.
"Figure out where your customers are spending their time, and set up shop on those platforms," Farmiloe told Business News Daily. "Develop a content strategy that can be executed internally, [and then] execute your strategy by posting branded content on your selected platforms."

Email

Though email marketing may not be as new a concept as social media marketing, it is an effective and popular choice for small business owners. Companies can implement email marketing techniques in a number of ways, including newsletters, promotional campaigns and transactional emails. For instance, MailChimp and Constant Contact help companies to manage their email campaigns.
Farmiloe noted that companies can set their email marketing efforts apart by segmenting their markets.
"Not all subscribers want to receive the same blast," he said. "Smart email marketers take the time to segment subscribers at the outset, and then continue to segment based on subscriber activity. Through segmentation, companies reduce the amount of unsubscribes, increase open rates and, most importantly, increase the amount of actions taken from an email send."

Mobile

The popularity of smartphones and tablets has changed the way companies target their customers. Since people have the devices with them nearly all the time, companies are looking to implement strategies that reach customers on their gadgets.  
"Mobile marketing is interruptive," Farmiloe said. "It's because of this power that a marketer has to let the consumer determine how and when to receive marketing material. That's why almost every app comes with the option to turn notifications on or off. The consumer has to hold the power with mobile marketing."

7.Monitoring results

Creating a well-defined list of budgets, goals and action items, with appropriate personnel assigned to each, can help make your marketing plan a reality. Think about how much you're willing to spend, the kind of outcomes you expect and the necessary tasks to achieve those outcomes.
“If you're working towards getting 300 followers in 14 days, you should track the strategies that you're using to ensure it is working," said Dee. "Are you paying for a certain plan that's costing you $1,000 but only yielding a $50 return? Something needs to change. Your [return on investment] is important, and understanding what return you're wanting is important. ROI doesn't necessarily have to have a monetary value, but knowing the value you'll receive from implementing a certain strategy is important."

















 credit to businessnewsdaily

WHO IS A MANAGER

 

This was a topic at a seminar that I recently attended on management and management functions.  The question seem simple but a deep reflection quickly shows that being a manager is more than just a title given to certain class of people in corporate ladder. This article critically discusses who a manager is by delving into the qualities, experience, characteristics, and qualification of a manager. A good place to start from is to provide a reasonable discussion of who a manager is and then go further to look at what qualities one must possess to be called a manager in this volatile competitive business world.

DEFINITION AND MEANING OF A MANAGER
A manager is a person saddled with the responsibility of other people’s burden. This definition might be weird and criticised by many but, how else can you explain who a manager is other than a person that is blamed or praised for other people’s failures or successes respectively. Have you ever tuned your radio or television and hear financial analysts or investment accountants criticise or praise workers for the failure or success of a business entity?

The view of these professionals about manager’s responsibility to accept both praise and blame is the right thing to do as managers in their various positions are better positioned to:

(a)   Motivate people and bring out the best in them which in most cases are wonderful innovative business ideas.

(b)   Supervise the activities of others as part of the directing function of management

(c)    Co-ordinate the activities of other resources to ensure that sub-optimal decisions are avoided while working towards a common objective of the company

(d)  Providing feedback to both the owners of the business and workers in the business.

A manager like many think is not a lazy boss that seats in the office all day doing nothing other than bullying subordinates and co-members of management team.

CHARACTERISTICS | QUALITIES OF A MANAGER
Being called a manger in the office is not all that it takes to become a real manager of resources (people, machines, finance, etc). There are qualities that distinguish successful managers and those that have failed in managerial position. Below are some of those features that you must have if you really want to be a true manager.

PROACTIVE AND GOAL ORIENTED
Managers are people who don’t
react to situations but respond to situations. It is a business and management
taboo to be an activity oriented manager. An activity oriented manager is someone who is busy doing nothing. You will always see them making fuse out of nothing. They are the loudest in the office and never allow their subordinates to be organised. As a manager, your first and surest bet to achieving your dream success is to become a ‘proactive and goal oriented manager’. Goal oriented managers are people that sees opportunities where others are seeing threat and danger.

VAST IN RELEVANT OPERATIONAL KNOWLEDGE
Being a manager entails so many things which include constant hunger for knowledge. You dare not allow your knowledge to rust as a manager. In today’s risky business world that is characterised by incessant financial crisis and corporate failures, the areas that managers must pay close attention are:

1. Internal control and fraud prevention techniques
2. Human resource management and staff motivation
3. Management accounting and decision making skills
4. Proper deployment and use of information technology
5. Human Resource Management
6. How to benefit from outsourcing certain business functions
7. Marketing
8. Financial SWOT analysis
   

LIVE BY EXAMPLE
My father always says that children do what they see you doing and not what they hear you say. As a managers, you need to lead an exemplary life that is worthy of emulation so that your followers can do same. You don’t for example come late to work on a daily basis and expect that people working under you will do the opposite. Not living by example is an ugly and unacceptable business ethics that managers should try as much as possible not to overtake them.

SHOULDER RESPONSIBILITY
I have never seen any successful person that avoids facing responsibilities squarely. As a manager, one of the things that will make or mare you is your ability to stand up tall when the tides are high. You will never regret that you do.

HONEST
There is cliché that puts me off whenever people say is to my hearing. People say that ‘honest guys don’t last in businesses’. Who told you that honest people do not go far in business? In case you do not know, this is a trick that is used by dream killers to lure you into doing unethical and unprofessional things that will in no distant time pull the business that you represent down the drain. Make honesty, accountability and transparency your motto if you really want to make it to the top as a manager.

ORGANISED
Being confused and in disarray is not what managers are known for. As a person that is made the custodian of other assets, you need to plan ahead in all that you do. What others will want to do tomorrow, set yours in motion yesterday.




Credit: accountantnextdoor.com

A Positive Attitude at Work

 

Maintaining a positive attitude at work will benefit your career and steer you towards a promotion. Our behavior at work often depends on how we feel about being there. Therefore, making sense of how people behave depends on understanding their work attitudes.
An attitude refers to my opinions, beliefs, and feelings about aspects of our environment. We have attitudes toward the food we eat, people we interact with, courses we take, and various other things.

However, maintaining a positive attitude on a daily basis in the workplace is harder than you may think. Work is stressful and challenging, and most professionals face deadlines and obstacles on a weekly (if not daily) basis. This is not an environment that fosters a positive attitude – you really have to work at it.
We’ve decided to not only tell you how you can convey your positive attitude at work to your colleagues and superiors, but also why it is important and how you will benefit from this attitude shift.

1.       Use Positive Language
No matter how long you’ve been with a company and how comfortable you may be around your colleagues, you should never use profanity. If it slips out in a high-stress situation we can let it slide, but you cannot swear on a regular basis. This is a professional environment, and the use of profanity immediately ignites a negative aura into its surroundings.

2.       Never Criticize Anyone
There is a difference between criticism and constructive feedback. Always use the method where you begin by complimenting the individual on something they’ve done well, and follow it up with a suggestion on how to improve their performance. Also, ensure to have this conversation in private. The individual will respect your feedback, and also respect the fact that you brought awareness to the situation in a professional manner.

3.       Stay Away From Gossip
Nothing eats away at a teamwork environment worse than gossip does. Whether team members are gossiping about colleagues or their personal problems, avoid the situation altogether. If you are caught in the conversation, act as a listener who does not provide any input. Maintaining a positive attitude at work means that you are a team player who provides all team members with respect. By refraining from joining a gossip circle, you can ensure that you maintain that level of respect.

4.       Put Teamwork First
When a team member has performed well, let them know. Offering pats on the back and compliments on a job well done are two simple and easy ways to foster a positive teamwork environment. In the same regard, when the team is faced with an obstacle, be sure to offer solutions and next steps rather than focusing on the negatives. Approach each obstacle with a “glass half full” mentality and you will create a positive outlook that will catch on to the rest of the team.

5.       Don’t Complain
Every day is not a good day – but don’t let everyone on the team know that. You may have been stuck in standstill traffic that morning, or experienced a 45-minute delay on your train ride, but you can’t let those variables affect your work. If you are in a foul mood, ensure you walk it off before you get to the office. That way, instead of ranting to your colleagues about how terrible your morning was, you can poke fun at your bad luck and give everyone a chuckle. Laughing at your unfortunate circumstances will keep the work environment positive, where ranting will add negativity and diminish the upbeat working tone of the office.
 

SETTING A REALISTIC GOALS & OBJECTIVES FOR A BUSINESS

 

As business owner, it’s important that you take the time to set goals and review your business as a whole.

Having clear, well-defined goals can:

• help your business grow
• achieve your objectives
• improve teamwork and collaboration
• help everyone understand the direction your business is heading in.

 Nothing happens until we plan and a good plans have goals and objectives. Setting goals and objectives correctly goes a long way in helping in the achieving them. Before I dive into how we go about setting SMART objectives we need to be aware of the difference between goals and objectives. 

A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envisions, plans and commits to achieve. It relate to our aspirations, purpose and vision. For example, I have a goal of becoming financially independent, this is a goal. 

Objectives are the battle plan, the stepping stones on the path towards the achievement of my goal. Its a basic tool that underlie all planning and strategic activities. They serve as the basis for creating policy and evaluating performance. Some examples of business objectives include minimizing expenses, expanding internationally, or making a profit. 

Therefore, a goal may have one or many objective that I would need to fulfill to achieve a goal. 

For example, to become financially independent I would need to 

1) get out of debt,

2) improve my saving and 

3) start a business.

 

The most well known method for setting objectives is the S.M.A.R.T. way, the SMART approach is well understood among managers, but I’ve found poorly practiced. S.M.A.R.T refers to the acronym that describes the key characteristics of meaningful objectives, which are

Specific (concrete, detailed, well defined), 

Measureable (numbers, quantity, comparison), 

Achievable (feasible, actionable),  

Realistic (considering resources) and 

Time-Bound (a defined time line). Lets look at these characteristics in more detail.

 

SMART objective then are the stepping stones to the achievement of our goals……

Specific

Specific means that the objective is concrete, detailed, focused and well defined. Specific means that it’s results and action-orientated. 

Objective must be straightforwards and emphasize action and the required outcome. it need to be straightforward and to communicate what you would like to see happen. 

To help set specific objectives it helps to ask:

• WHAT am I going to do? This are best written using strong, action verbs such as conduct, develop, build, plan, execute, etc. This helps your objective to be action-orientated and focuses on what’s most important.

• WHY is this important for me to do?

• WHO is going to do what? Who else need to be involved?

• WHEN do I want this to be completed?

• HOW am I going to do this?  

“The successful man is the average man, focused.” - Unknown

Diagnostic Questions

• What exactly are we going to do, with or for whom?   

• What strategies will be used?

• Is the objective well understood?

• Is the objective described with action verbs?

• Is it clear who is involved?

• Is it clear where this will happen?

• Is it clear what needs to happen?

• Is the outcome clear?

• Will this objective lead to the desired results?

Achievable

Objectives need to be achievable, if the objective is too far in the future, you’ll find it difficult to keep motivated and to strive to attain it. Objectives, unlike your aspirations and visions, need to be achievable to keep you motivated. I do feel that objectives need to stretch you, but not so far that you become frustrated and lose motivation.

Diagnostic Questions

•  Can we get it done in the proposed time-frame?

• Do I understand the limitations and constraints?

• Can we do this with the resources we have?

• Has anyone else done this successfully?

• Is this possible?

Realistic

Objectives that are achievable, may not be realistic….. however, realistic does not mean easy. Realistic means that you have the resources to get it done. The achievement of an objective requires resources, such as, skills, money, equipment, etc. to the task required to achieve the objective. Whilst keeping objectives realistic, ensure that they stretch you. Most objectives are achievable but, may require a change in your priorities to make them happen.

Diagnostic Questions

• Do you have the resources available to achieve this objective?
• Do I need to revisit priorities in my life to make this happen?
• Is it possible to achieve this objective?  

Measurable

If the objective is measurable, it means that the measurement source is identified and we are able to track the actions as we progress towards the objective. Measurement is the standard used for comparison. For example, what financially independence means to me, may be totally different compared to what is means for you. As it’s so often said if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it! It’s important to have measures that will encourage and motivate you on the way as you see the change occurring, this may require interim measures. Measurements go along way to help us to know when we have achieved our objective.

Diagnostic Questions

• How will I know that the change has occurred? 
•   Can these measurements be obtained?

Time-Bound

Time-bound means setting a deadlines for the achievement of the objective. Deadlines need to be both achievable and realistic. If you don’t set a time you will reduce the motivation and urgency required to execute the tasks. Timeframes create the necessary urgency and prompts action.

Diagnostic Questions

• When will this objective be accomplished?
• Is there a stated deadline?

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” – Unknown