Marketing Management - Essay Example

Marketing management By Marketing ManagementStrategic marketing is the means a firm will differentiate itself from other competing firms in the industry in order to achieve its objectives. Planning for any company can sometimes be complex. Strategic planning today often requires collaboration with other firms while carefully observing other competitors. To achieve competitive advantage in the market share an organization must therefore first build a strong relationship within itself. This means to achieve customer satisfaction the inter-relation between departments such as the human resources, procurement, production and the marketing department must have a mutual coordination. The marketing planning process needs the harmonization of open- based decisions at the peak of the commercial level with more closely distinct actions at the bottom. At the apex are vital corporate decisions dealing with the firms mission, visualization, goals, and the allocation of resources in the midst of business units. Planning at this stage involves decisions concerning the divestment of the business units themselves. These decisions drop down the corporate constitution to the business-unit level, where planning is mainly focused on achieving the objectives inside defined product markets. To achieve this, the marketing department must be able to receive high quality goods from the production department while still the production department needs qualified personnel from the human recourse. Thus crucial planning and decision making usually originates at the bottom of the organizations structure. It is at this stage where a firm puts into operation the planned decisions regarding marketing strategy as well as marketing plans. This report seeks to identify the relationship of marketing in strategic planning to build profitable customer relations. Also, it will highlight on negative impacts of a biased marketing plan. For a long time now, managers and academics have tried to differentiate productive from unproductive companies. The answer lies in the firm’s ability to bring greater customer significance, thus outperforming the competitors in the view of the customer, (Grönroos, 1994). Strategic marketing is the instrument for making choices with regard to the client value for a target audience. By the use of segmentation and positioning, strategic marketing assist in targeting a companys marketing tools to achieve the market and marketing objectives formulated, (Wehrli, 1994). Kotler defines Customer value as customers feelings about the products received from a firm including the risks related to that product (2009). The key point is the identification of opportunities for consumer value. It also involves the process of analyzing the external and internal company atmosphere. The intention is to improve opportunities for value formation and counter threats that may expose the use or authority of the present value generators in the future. The recognition and assessment of means to value creation are also fundamental as it is the capability to devise and realize plans based on the value invention decisions (Kotler, 2009). The Role of Marketing The planning process begins with an examination of the firms internal and external entities creating a situation analysis. Based on a comprehensive review of these applicable issues, the firm establishes its operation, strategy, objectives, and more than a few functional plans. Planning efforts pertaining to each functional area will generate strategic plan for that area. Although it is relevant to note that the processes apprehended with developing a customer-oriented marketing strategy and marketing plan, should pressure that firm to develop effective marketing plans that are conversant with the businesss goals. It is therefore significant for every department to strategically set up its standards that will boost customer relations. Senior management must synchronize these functional plans in a way that will achieve a firm’s mission and business objectives. The Marketing Plan is a written document providing the layout of the firm’s marketing activities that involve execution and control of those proceedings. Promotion plans generates a number of purposes. For one, the marketing plan distinctively depicts how the firm will achieve its goals. This aspect of marketing planning is essential. In this sense, the marketing plan serves as the “roadmap” for executing the marketing strategy. Although the focus is on marketing planning and strategy, we cannot highlight enough that marketing decisions must be executed within the limits of the organization’s overall mission, goals, and objectives. The sequencing of decision levels depicted in the following areas starts with expansive decisions concerning the organizational mission, followed by a discussion of the business-unit strategy. The strategic marketing procedure targets structuring profitable client associations. This relationship cannot be established without an in-depth analysis and understanding of the customer. Marketing planners must be in a position to understand what the customer expects from the product or service being offered by the organization, the customer needs, and what other competing firms are offering in the market. The following has to be taken into consideration: Identifying Marketing Opportunities and Customer Needs This is a starting point for developing marketing strategies. This is where key points are highlighted: Who are the potential competitors and what is their strength? How satisfied are the customers? Are there any unmet consumer wants? How are consumers likely to perceive a firm’s products in relation to the competitors’ products? Market research can assist answer these key issues. On carrying out this fundamental research the organization is an able to know its weak areas and thus able to make improvements in the departments that rag behind. Developing and Implementing Market Strategies In order for a firm to gain entirely from provided opportunities in the marketplace, they should build up an effective marketing strategy with an efficient marketing mix. Good marketing research should assist in recognition of a distinct marketing mix that is most efficient so as to exploit customer relation hence profits Evaluating Effectiveness of the Plan A firm should construct a marketing program, which will seek to deliver quality value. This can be done by getting feedback from customers and taking corrective actions with elements of products or services that need fixing. Controlling is a vital element of planning progression; this is additional vicinity in which marketing research gives solutions to the planners. Feedbacks from recurrent customers reflect on the products consumed by the customers and thus are relevant to implementing change to defective areas. Feedback received should therefore be analyzed to determine potential marketing strategy improvements. Creating Customer Delight This is the concluding section of the marketing plan. It depicts how the recognized results can be controlled to create customer delight. Marketing control involves establishing routine standards and analyzing performance of various departments in the organization by differentiating it with the provided standards while captivating correct procedures to reduce the difference between preferred and actual presentation. Performance standards should be tied back to the objectives affirmed earlier in the plan. These qualities can be observed with the increase in sales volume, and profitability, or even advertising quality such as brand acknowledgment or recall. In spite of the standard preferred, all performance standards must be settled upon before the results of the plan can be assessed. Estimations of expenses and incomes determine financial projections. In reality, budgetary considerations take part in the role of recognition of alternative strategies. The financial realities of the firm must be monitored fully. This is for the purpose of ensuring that the firm is able to achieve these objectives through customer satisfaction through provision of high quality products with minimum costs possible while maximizing its profits. A marketing plan should also contribute to a positive social responsibility. A marketing plan that ignores social responsibility or silent about ethical requirements, risks ethical breakdowns and damage the reputation of the firm. Therefore, it is important for a firm to initiate a sound Marketing plan that will capture customer value. References Churchill, Jar Feb 1979. Journal of Marketing Research, Vol, 16, No 1 pp, 64-73: American Marketing Association. Gummesson, 1994. "Making Relationship Marketing Operational", International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol, 5 Iss: 5, pp.5 – 20 Isabelle Szmigin, Louise Canning, Alexander E Reppel 2005. "Online community: enhancing the relationship marketing concept through customer bonding", International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol 16 Iss: 5, pp 480 – 496. Kaj Storbacka, & Tore Christian Grönroos 1994. "Managing Customer Relationships for Profit: The Dynamics of Relationship Quality", International Journal of Service Industry Management. Kotler P, Harker & Brennan, R 2009. 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