Leading and Directing Marketing in a Precast firm

NPCA: The Precast Show 2014

February 14, 2014

-1-

INTRODUCTION

A business must sell its products (or services) to survive and grow. However, simply having efficient
production and extensive promotion of products does not guarantee that customers will buy them.
The precast industry is largely comprised of small to mid-size producers that compete locally with
each other as well as with substitute materials producers. To be successful in this highly competitive
market condition, firms need to have clearly defined marketing strategies and plans. Making decisions
like who the company wants as its customers, which of their needs to satisfy, what products and
services to offer, what prices to set, what communications to send and receive, what channels to sell
through, and what partnerships to develop.
At the conclusion of this course you should be able to return to work knowing what questions you
should be asking yourself and members of your organization to improve your marketing efforts and feel
confident in leading your organization in developing the answers.

Doreen Shanahan
BIO:
An impassioned educator, emphasizing applied and
experiential learning, Doreen Shanahan began teaching
at Pepperdine Universitys Graduate School of Business
and Management in 2002. Recipient of multiple
teaching awards, including Top Ten College Course in
America ranking by U.S. News & World Report. Before
transitioning into academics, she worked for 20 years in
Corporate America in the consumer package goods,
publishing and advertising industriesgaining
expertise in marketing, strategic planning, branding,
promotion, distribution, sales, customer management,
and organizational leadership.
She has developed and led over two hundred MBA
business consulting cases with multi-national, national,
and regional organizations, as well as, small businesses
tackling challenging business issues across a range of
industries; companies such as, Baxter, Warner Bros.,
Sony, Flour, The Coca-Cola Company, Raytheon, Sperry
Van Ness, The Walt Disney Company, Experian, ADP,
Volvo, Cisco, Porter Novelli, MGM and LA Times.
Her research, consulting efforts and board roles is
focused on developing and harnessing an
organizations orientation toward marketing to lead
growth and innovation.

-2-

Table of Contents

1. Understanding the Role of Marketing

2. Analyzing Customer Markets & Identifying the Customers you can Best Serve

3. Identifying your Competitive Advantage & Defining your Value Proposition

17

4. Developing your Product Strategy

24

5. Communicating to your Customers

28

6. Workbook

39

7. References

47

8. Action Plan

48

-3-

Module 1
Understanding the Role of Marketing

What is marketing?
Why is marketing important?
What is the scope of marketing?
What are the tasks necessary for successful marketing
management?
Elements of a marketing plan for a precast firm

Group Discussion

What is marketing?

What is sales?

What is advertising?

-4-

Concept Review
Marketing defined
Marketing is often thought of as selling products or advertising. However selling is only the tip of the
marketing iceberg.
The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the products or services fits
him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should result in a customer who is ready to buy.
--- Peter Drucker1
While marketing personnel in an organization may be assigned responsibility for managing the process and
tasks of marketing, to successfully firms needs to adopt a market-based orientation where all members of the
organization are market oriented.
Marketing isnt somebodys responsibility; marketing is everyones responsibility
--- Jack Welch, CEO 1981-2001
General Electric Co.
Why is marketing important?
The financial success of a firm can be dramatically impacted by its marketing ability. The role of marketing in
an organization is to choose, get, keep, and grow customers through creating, delivering, and communicating
superior customer value.
Marketing Myopia: A nearsighted view of marketing in terms of the goods or services provided
rather than a broader view of the (customer) needs to be served.
--- Theodore Levitt, 1960
In this article Levitt points out that the failure of railroads was their inability to see themselves in the
transportation business rather than the railroad business Railroads didnt decline because the need for
moving people and freight disappeared. Rather the needs are now served in other ways airplanes,
automobiles, trucks, buses.
Had the railroads defined their mission as being in transportation versus railroading they might very well have
a truck, airline and bus division and still be a major economic and social American institution.
Company

Product Definition

Market Definition

Missouri-Pacific Railroad

We run a railroad

We are a people-and-goods mover

Xerox

We make copying equipment

We help improve office productivity

Standard Oil

We sell gasoline

We supply energy

Carrier

We make air conditioners and furnaces

We provide climate control in the home

-5-

The Marketing Process

There are four basic steps to the marketing process.
1. Analyzing Market Opportunities and Threats
There are two broad environments the firms management needs to monitor to identify factors that the
firm might benefit from or might potentially harm the firm the macroenvironment and the
microenvironment.
The microenviroment includes all the players close to the company that affect sales
and profits of the firm.
The macroenvironment consists of the larger societal forces that affect the
microenvironment.

Micro
"Players"

The Company
Suppliers
Marketing Intermediaries
Competitors
Publics
Customers

Macro
"Forces"

Demographic
Economic
Social-Cultural
Natuaral
Technological
Political-Legal

Originated by Albert S. Humphrey in the 1960s, the SWOT is a prevalent tool used in business practice.
SWOT is the acronym for Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. The SWOT is a tool for
summarizing key information from your environmental analysis, defining internal (strengths and
weaknesses) and external issues (opportunities and threats), providing a quick overview of a firms
strategic situation. The SWOT analysis is most typically presented in a table (see example below).
Potential Internal Strengths (competitive assets)

Core competencies in key areas

Adequate financial resources

Well-thought-of by buyers

An acknowledged market leader

Insulated (at least somewhat) from strong competitive

pressures

Proprietary technology

Cost advantages

Better advertising campaigns

Product innovation skills

Proven management

Ahead on experience curve

Better manufacturing capability

Superior technological skills

Potential External Opportunities

Sharp rising buyer demand for the industrys product

Expanding customer needs creating new product line

opportunities

Underserved customer groups or market segments

Complacency among rival firms

Alliances or joint ventures that can expand the firms

market coverage or boost its competitive capabilities

Emerging new technologies

Potential Internal Weaknesses (competitive liabilities)

Obsolete facilities

Subpar profitability because ...

Lack of managerial depth and talent

Missing some key skills or competencies

Weak or unproven product innovation capabilities

Poor track record in implementing strategy

Falling behind in R&D

Too narrow a product line

Weak market image

Below-average marketing skills

Short on financial resources to grow the business and

pursue promising initiatives

Too much underutilized plant capacity

Higher overall unit costs relative to key competitors

Potential External Threats

Entry of lower-cost foreign competitors

Rising sales of substitute products

Slower customer market growth

Costly regulatory requirements

Vulnerability to recession and business cycle

Growing bargaining power of customers or suppliers

Changing buyer needs and tastes

Adverse market changes

The SWOT analysis underscores that basic principle that strategy must produce a good fit between a
companys internal capability and external situation. Properly done, this tool enables the business to
develop specific goals it wants to achieve and the strategies for achieving the goals.
-6-

Assessing Growth Opportunities

If there is a gap between current sales and desired sales, the firm needs to decide how to fill that gap:
growing current businesses or acquiring new businesses. Managements first course of action should be to
look at opportunities for growing existing businesses.

2. Developing Marketing Strategies

The smart competitor must design and deliver offerings for well-defined target markets. The first task is
to segment the market and identify segments the firm feels it can best serve.

The company then needs to establish its competitive positioning i.e., Should it be the Cadillac of
brands?, Should it be a low-cost alternative?, Should it be the easiest to use or do business with? The
most accessible? The most innovative?
Strategy is developed with inputs from other aspects of the organization such as purchasing,
manufacturing, sales, finance and human resources to ensure that the company can provide proper
support to execute the strategy.
3. Planning Marketing Programs
To transform marketing strategy into marketing programs, a company must make basic decisions on
marketing mix (e.g., what products to make, what services to offer, pricing, distribution, how to promote
the company and its products) and marketing expenditures ($$$).
4. Managing the Marketing Effort
The final step in the marketing process is organizing the marketing resources, implementing and
controlling the marketing plan. A company needs to build a marketing organization that is capable of
implementing the marketing plan. In a small company, one person might have to carry out all of the tasks.
In a larger organization a company might have several marketing specialists: salespeople, sales managers,
marketing manager, product managers, and customer service personnel.
Elements of a Precast Firm Marketing plan
The marketing plan is the central instrument for directing and controlling your firms marketing effort. The plan
needs to operate on two levels: strategic and tactical. The strategic marketing plan lays out the target markets

-7-

and the value proposition your firm will offer (based on an analysis of the market opportunities). The tactical
plan specifies the marketing tactics, including products, promotional activities, pricing and service.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Market Analysis
Competitive Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Marketing Objectives
Marketing Strategies
5.1. Target Markets
5.2. Positioning (value proposition)
5.3. Products and Services
5.4. Pricing Strategy
5.5. Promotional Strategy
5.6. Distribution Strategy
6. Sales Forecast
7. Marketing Budget
8. Implementation Plan

-8-

Module 2
Analyzing Customer Markets &
Identifying the Customers you
can Best Serve

Market Analysis
Market segmentation
Target marketing

Group Discussion

What is a market?

What do we want to understand about markets and how will that benefit us in planning our marketing effort?

What sources do you use to find out information about your current markets and/or potential new markets?

How do you currently segment your markets?

-9-

Concept Review
Market defined
In marketing, the term market refers to the group of customers or organizations that is interested in the
product and/or services and has the resources to purchase the product and/or services.
The market definition begins with the total population and progressively narrows to the customers that are
buying your companys products and/or services. The size of a market hinges on the number of buyers who
might exist for a particular market offer. The following are useful definitions for market planning.
Potential market: set of consumers who profess a sufficient level of interest in
a market offer
Available market: set of consumers who have interest, income and access to a
particular offer
Target market: is the part of the qualified market the company decides to
pursue
Penetrated market: the set of consumers who are buying the companys
market offer
If a company isnt satisfied with its current sales, it can try and attract a larger percentage of the buyers from
its target market; it can modify its market offer to expand its potential; it can expand its available market by
opening distribution elsewhere; it can lower its price; or it can reposition itself in the minds of its customers.
Market Analysis
The goal of a market analysis is to determine the attractiveness of a market and to try and understand its
evolving opportunities and threats as they relate to the strengths and weaknesses of your firm. Factors that
we would want to analyze include:
Market size
Market growth rate
Market profitability
Market trends
Key success factors
Information Resources
One of the challenges business face is finding reliable, accessible and cost effective sources of information to
learn about potential markets. Typically sources include:
Trade associations and publications
Financial data from major players (in market)
Industry and analyst reports
Market research companies2
Government data sites3
Market Segmentation
Companies cant effectively connect with all customers in a large, broad or diverse market. But they can divide
these markets into segments with distinct needs and wants. Your firm can then identify which market
segments it can best serve.

- 10 -

Below is a listing of the major market segments for the Precast industry in the US.

Electric Power Transmission This industry

demands precast concrete poles and posts for
ongoing upgrade and maintenance activities.
Industrial Building Construction This industry
demands precast concrete floor and wall tiles,
pavers, precast concrete panels, beams and
concrete sheets.
Commercial Building Construction This
industry demands precast concrete floor and
wall tiles, pavers, precast concrete panels,
beams and concrete sheets.
Road & Highway Construction This industry
demands precast concrete pavers, culverts
and precast beams.

Bridge & Tunnel Construction This industry

demands precast concrete pavers, culverts
and precast beams.
Transmission Line Construction This industry
demands precast concrete pavers, culverts
and precast beams.
Heavy Industrial Facilities Construction This
industry demands precast concrete precast
panels and beams.
Home Builders This industry demands precast
concrete floor and wall tiles, pavers, roofing
tiles and concrete sheets.
Rail Transportation This industry demands
precast rail ties for ongoing upgrade and
maintenance activities.

There are many ways you can segment a market.

Industrial Classification
Product Type
Market Size
Customer Needs, Wants and/or Preferences
Buying Channel (who they buy through or
where they buy)
Usage Behaviors
Application
Quality
Time of purchase
Frequency of purchase
Purchase behavior
Confused by value-added solutions
Products that lower overall cost
(customer metric adding up all costs
of project, i.e., $220/square foot)
Products that enhance productivity
Sealed bids
Negotiation process

- 11 -

Buying Status
Potential customer
First time buyer
Regular customer
Loyal customer
Business demographics
Number of employees
Sales volume
Number of locations
Years in business
Financial situation
Location/geography
Business Culture
Business sophistication
Growth orientation
Innovativeness
Technology usage
Decision making

Needs-based Segmentation
A needs-based segmentation approach provides the foundation for a companys positioning strategies and
marketing communication. It allows the company to develop a compelling value proposition that will attract
new customers and retain existing ones.
After segmenting your markets, you will are likely to find that not everyone in your segment wants the same
things. Your company might consider a flexible market offering where you provide options. The first offer
would be the product and the service elements that all segment members value. The second offer would
include discretionary options that are of value to some members of the segment.

For example, Siemens Electrical Apparatus Division sells metal-clad boxes to small manufacturers at
prices that include free delivery and a warranty, but it also offers installation, tests, and
communication peripherals as extra-cost options.

In a market with low levels of differentiation or during difficult economic cycles, a firm might consider the
following three broad segments based on customers needs and behavior as a useful way to segment the
market (Litten).4

Value Buyers need and value your core offering and the service, support and expertise you wrap
around it. They may grumble about price, but eventually understand the value and are willing to pay
for it.
Price Buyers know what they need and how to use your core offering and want it delivered to them
when and where they need it with minimum hassle. They dont want to pay a premium for series you
are throwing in, and can be effectively served at low cost.
Pigs often have many support requests and demands, and are willing to pay no more than the base,
commodity price for your offering. Especially in a down economy; pigs can ruin you if not managed
properly.

- 12 -

Case Study
JamesHardie 5
http://www.jameshardie.com/
James Hardie is a leading manufacturer of home siding. The US annual demand
for siding exceeds 12 billion square feet, and James Hardies product, known as Hardiplank, has a 12% share of
the market. Hardiplank is a fiber-cement siding used in new construction and for re-siding existing homes.
In the 1990s, James Hardie used a mass-marketing strategy to cultivate the market for fiber-cement siding.
The company assumed its product would need to be price competitive with wood, vinyl, and aluminum siding.
The combined benefits of fiber-cement siding, however, are greater than those of any other siding product. It
is fireproof, will not rot, is not easily damaged or dented, and is resistant to bug infestation. Because of the
products durability, James Hardie provides a 50-year warranty. Although builders are cost sensitive, they
know that quality-conscious home buyers will pay more for houses built with product that have a higher
customer value. Quality-conscious home owners will also pay more for a superior product when re-siding their
homes.
This knowledge led James Hardie to divide the siding market into two broad
segments. Roughly 30% of the market fell into a quality segment and 70 percent
into a price segment.
In addition to the (normal) product benefits that fiber-cement siding offered, James
Hardie learned that the quality segment also wanted an exceptional appearance.
In response to this need, James Hardie created a pre-painted fiber-cement siding
with a finished appearance and, to provide additional differentiation, branded it Color Plus. The company
also introduced a trim product called HardiTrim, to enhance the appearance of the siding for qualityconscious customers. ColorPlus and HariTrim give architects and home builders the opportunity to enhance
the appearance of a home. James Hardie sold these value-added products at higher prices and higher margins.
The price segment consisted primarily of builders of
tract homes, manufactured homes, and multiunit
housing. For builders, a key need was keeping the cost
of materials low so the purchase price of their houses or
multiunit dwellings could be kept within an acceptable
range for potential buyers. To better, serve the price
segment, James Hardie modified the product to make it
easier and faster to install. This multi-product
segmentation strategy allowed the company to grow its
average price per thousand square feet from $419 in
1999 to $506 in 2005, while increasing sales almost
fourfold and profits almost fivefold.

- 13 -

Price
Custom Homes
Quality Segment
Spec Homes
Remodels
Tract Homes
Manufactured
Homes

Volume

Price Segment

Multi-family
Homes

Designing Flexible Market Offering

The features and performance level that customers want in a product are at the heart of need-based market
segmentation, and so is price. We might want all the benefits of an expensive car or a dream vacation, but
these desires would be unrealistic if we could not afford the cost.
One approach to discovering which benefits customers want and are willing to pay for is to present them the
product at a base price and allow them to select the features and performance levels they prefer in light of the
costs.
Lets look at fiber-cement siding as an Figure 1: James Hardie Fiber-Cement Siding
example. In Figure 1 the base price
Fiber-Cement Siding
of $1 per square foot is the lowest
Product Features
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
price available to customers. At this
Finish Trim
None
Basic
Full Trim
price, the customer would not
Cost per Square Foot
$0.00
$0.35
$1.00
receive the trim product, and the
Paint Finish
Unpainted
Primed
Color
siding would not be primed or
Cost
per
Square
Foot
$0.00
$0.25
$0.75
painted. Many in, the quality
segment, would be willing to pay
extra for the full trim ($1 square foot) Price (square foot)
The lowest price is $1.00 per square
and the color finish ($.75 per square
Base Cost
$1.00
foot - base cost of $1.00 per square
Finish Trim
$0.00
foot with no finish trim and
foot). But because not all quality
$0.00
unpainted. The highest price per
segment customers would buy finish Paint Finish
Total Price
$1.00
square foot would be $2.75.
trim or a paint finish, the average
amount per customer that the
Segment A - QUALITY SEGMENT
Segment B - PRICE SEGMENT
business receives for each of these
Base Cost
$1.00
Base Cost
$1.00
two features is then their purchase
Finish Trim
$0.78
Finish Trim
$0.15
price. In all, the customers in the
Paint Finish
$0.58
Paint Finish
$0.12
quality segment would pay an
Average Price
$2.36
Average Price
$1.27
average of about $2.36 per square
foot to obtain what they want.
In the price segment, most customers would purchase just the unfinished siding at the base price of $1 per
square foot, but some would also buy a basic or full trim finish, or primed or color painted siding, or various
combinations. Price segment customers would spend an average of $1.27 per square foot. Of course, the
customers buying at the base price would have to paint the siding themselves and add their own trim.
- 14 -

Concept Review
Target Market Selection
Target marketing recognizes the diversity of customers and does not try to please everyone with the same
market offering. In evaluating different market segments, your company should consider three factors:
1. Segment overall attractiveness. Consider size, growth potential, profitability, scale economies and
risk.
2. Company objectives and resources. Does investing in the segment make sense given the firms
objective, competencies and resources?
3. Competitive intensity. How effectively, given your companys competencies and resources, can you
compete in this segment? How easy or hard is it to enter this segment?
Segmentation Strategies
There are several segment strategies a business can pursue on the basis of segment attractiveness, profit
potential and available resources.
Segment
Strategy
MassMarketing
Strategy

LargeSegment
Strategy

SubSegment
Strategies

AdjacentSegment
Strategy

MultiSegment
Strategy
NicheSegment
Strategy

Definition

Example

This strategy presents a generic value proposition

built around the core customer need and the
businesss generic positioning strategy.
Wal-Mart, for example, pursues a mass-market
strategy built around a low-cost value proposition.
When the marketing resources of a company are
limited, it can pursue a large-segment strategy
where it divides a market into three core segments
and focuses on the largest of the segments
addressing one customer need. This strategy
engages the benefits of market segmentation while
also providing a relatively large market demand.
Defining sub-segments within a core segment
allows your company to further tailor your
marketing efforts to the individual needs of the
target customers.

For a precast firm, that has a competitive advantage

in production efficiency resulting in the ability to
consistently offer lower prices than its competitors
or has a patent protected unique solution (product
offering), this might be a viable strategy.
As an example, Bridge & Tunnel Construction. This
industry demands precast concrete pavers, culverts
and precast beams.
Or Road & Highway Construction. This industry
demands precast concrete pavers, culverts and
precast beams.

Businesss often find themselves in a situation

where they have pursued a single-segment strategy
but have reached a point of full (or near full)market penetration. A company would begin
pursing a closely related attractive segment. With
profits from this segment, the next most attractive
segment would be pursued, and so on.
Firms pursuing this strategy pursue multiple
segments in a given market with individually
tailored marketing efforts.
A business with limited resources and certain
capabilities may elect to compete in only the
smallest segment of a market. The smallest
segment is often ignored by large competitors, who
often want to use mass-market or large-segment
strategies.

- 15 -

An example of this was provided in the James

Hardie case. James Hardies initial segmentation
strategy expanded the two needs-based core
segments of price and quality to include subsegments within each core segment.
A precast firm that is focused on
Industrial Building Construction segment selling
precast concrete panels and beams might expand to
serve the Heavy Industrial Facilities Construction
segment selling the same type products.

See below.

As example, Sub-Zero has less than 2% share of the

refrigerator market, however it holds 70% of the
super-premium segment. It is hard to outperform
niche competitors because all their marketing
resources are focused on the specific needs of one
customer group.

For example, some 7,000 entities make up

the electrical power generation and
distribution market in the US. A
segmentation study of this market produced
12 distinct needs-based segments that differ
in customer needs, demographics and usage
behavior.
At one extreme was a segment that included
big, publically owned utilities that had large engineering and maintenance staffs, and at the other
extreme were small co-ops that produced electricity for rural areas.
One segment actually included business that produced electricity for their own consumption and
sold excess power to the local utilities. The Los Angeles Performing Arts Center is a customer in
this segment.
An electrical equipment manufacturer found all these segments attractive and had sales to
customers in each of these segments, pursuing a mass-market strategy. After looking at the
unique needs of each of the segments, the company decided to develop 12 different market
programs one for each of the segments.
The company designed 12 different product-positioning and marketing approaches in order to
build a strong value proposition for each segment.
The year the company implemented the multi-segment strategy, the overall market experienced a
decline of 15% in sales. Despite the markets overall decline, the company as a whole achieved a
sales growth of more than 10%. This increase was achieved with essentially no change in
marketing budget simply a clear market focus and a better allocation of resources.

Workbook Exercise
Applying what we have learned and discussed, go to the MARKET SEGMENT ANALYSIS WORKSHEET in the
workbook section: define and assess the market segments that you are currently serving or are considering
entering.

- 16 -

Module 3
Identifying your
Competitive Advantage
& Defining your Value Positioning

What is competitive advantage?

Identifying your organizations core
competencies
Defining your value proposition

Concept Review
A companys competitive advantage is what makes it distinctive in the
market place. It is a companys ability to perform in one or more ways
that competitors cannot or will not match. To define your competitive
advantage, a company needs to have a deep understanding of its
competitors as well as its current and potential customers.
A companys competitive advantage consists of two parts. The first part is
your customer value proposition (why your customers should buy your
products or services). The second part is the unique activities (core
competencies) that allow your company to deliver the customer value
proposition in a way that your competitors cant or dont.
Your competitive advantage is the core of your businesss strategy: what your business will do differently or
better than others (the means by which you will achieve your objective).
Business Strategy
Defining your businesss strategy requires accepting trade-offs. The trade-offs companies make are what
distinguishes them strategically from other firms. If your company chooses to pursue growth or size, it must
accept that profitability will take a back seat. If it
chooses to serve large clients, it may ignore smaller
customers. If the value proposition is lower prices, the
company will not be able to compete on, for example,
customization/choice.
Sources of Competitive Advantage
There are three primary sources of competitive
advantage.
1. Cost Advantage: A significantly lower cost position
from which to create lower prices still achieving
desirable profits.
- 17 -

a. Example: The cost of cellular phone service decreases at the rate of 20% every time the volume of
customers in a geographic market doubles.
b. Example: Larger purchasing volume, i.e., Wal-Mart, allows companies to negotiate a lower cost of
goods.
c. Example: It takes a certain number of sales people to adequately cover a geographic area; as the
sales force is given more products to sell to the same customers, the marketing (sales) costs are
lower on a per unit basis.
d. Example: Lower operating expense relative to competitors, i.e., McDonalds has been able to cut
construction costs of new restaurants by 50% since 1990 using standardized building designs.
2. Differentiation Advantage: A meaningful differentiation that creates desired customer benefits at a lever
superior to those of competitors.
a. Example: ESCO Corporation is a manufacturer of earthmoving equipment parts used in mining and
construction applications. The company developed a differentiated product advantage in the wear
life of its products due to proprietary steel chemistry and product design.
b. Example: FedEx tracks its performance on 10 service quality indicators (each weighted by the
customer pain a failure creates). This service quality index is carefully monitored each day to help
FedEx maintain a service quality advantage. As FedExs service quality improves, customer
satisfaction improves and the overall cost per package decreases.
c. Example: Businesses with an advantage in brand reputation can both attract customers and obtain
a price premium, i.e., Maytag.
3. Marketing Advantage: A business that dominates markets with a relative advantage in sales coverage,
distribution, or marketing communication can control (and often block) market access.
a. Examples: Intel and Nike.

- 18 -

Group Exercise
An effective way to uncover ways your company can differentiate itself from your competition is to examine
your entire customer experience with your product and/or service. Below are several questions that can be
used to examine your customer experience6.
As a group lets review these questions and discuss the implications. These are questions that you can review
with your staff in more depth when you return to your office.
1. How do people become aware of their
need for your product or service?
2. How do customers find your offering?
3. How do customers make their final
selection?
4. How do customers order and purchase
your product or service?
5. What happens when you product or
services is delivered?
6. How is your product installed?
7. How is your product or service paid for?
8. How is your product stored?
9. How is your product moved around?
10. What is the customer really using your product for?
11. What do customers need help with when they use your product?
12. How is your product replaced or serviced?
13. What happens when your product is disposed of or no longer used?
Notes

Workbook Exercise
Applying what we have discussed, go to the STRENGTHS ANALYSIS WORKSHEET in the workbook section and
identify 3 4 key strengths. You will be referring to this later in the session.

- 19 -

Concept Review
Thermopylae
20,000 Persians versus 2,000 Greeks
When the Persians were invading Greece their army was considered the largest in the world (estimated at
20,000 men). As the country seemed to be falling without much of a fight, the Spartans decided that they
wanted to stop the Persians. The problem Spartans could only field about 2,000 men size of their army
was not a clear strength. But they new Greece better than the Persians and that was an advantage and their
soldiers were superior one-to-one.
So the Spartans staged a battle at a place called Thermopylae, a narrow pass on the east coast of Greece that
was wide enough for maybe a column of 500 men at a time. So the battle was even 500 against 500 at any
one time.
Although it was 20,000 men to 2,000, the Spartans had an advantage because they adapted the battle to their
strengths.
VRIO Framework7
A tool for identifying and assessing a firms competitive advantages is called the VRIO framework. The
acronym, VRIO, stands for four questions one must ask about a resource or capability to determine its
competitive potential.
1. The Question of Value
"Is the firm able to exploit an opportunity or neutralize an external threat with the
resource/capability?"
2. The Question of Rarity
"Is control of the resource/capability in the hands of a relative few?"
3. The Question of Imitability
"Is it difficult to imitate, and will there be significant cost disadvantage to a firm trying to
obtain, develop, or duplicate the resource/capability?"
4. The Question of Organization
"Is the firm organized, ready, and able to exploit the resource/capability?"
Valuable? Rare?
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Costly to imitate?

Exploited by the organization?

No
Yes
Yes

No
Yes

Competitive implication
Competitive disadvantage
Competitive parity
Temporary competitive advantage
Unexploited competitive advantage
Sustained competitive advantage

Workbook Exercise
Applying what we have learned and discussed, go to the COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WORKSHEET in the
workbook section and test the strengths you listed in the STRENGTHS ANALAYIS WORKSHEET to determine
its competitive potential.
- 20 -

Group Discussion
Define your companys current value proposition.

How well understood and perceived is your value proposition? Internally? Externally?

Does it effectively communicate your companys competitive advantage?

How well integrated in your marketing messaging is this value proposition?

- 21 -

Concept Review
The external communication of your competitive advantage is your
value proposition; which explains to your targeted customers why
they should buy your products (and/or services) above all the other
alternatives (competitors and substitute materials).
In the precast industry, the supply chain involves more than one
customer. This is common in many markets. For example, the home
building products market includes the manufacturer, the distributor, a
contractor/builder, an architect and the home owner. Each of these is
a customer with unique needs and unique ways of determining value.

Are you telling the same story as

your competitors?
Given the prevalence of similar
messages, this is an important
checkpoint for many companies. For
example, if both you and your rivals
claim that your (and their) products
derive from renewable sources, this
probably wont move the needle when
customers consider your brand.
McKinsey Quarterly, Oct. 2013

Your value proposition needs to be relevant to each of these customers.

Example
Silent Floor is a building product that creates different types of customer value across the supply chain. The
product is partially assembled flooring that does not squeak or bounce when walked on. In focus group
interviews, homeowners indicated that they would pay more for a floor that didnt squeak or bounce. Below is
a chart that defines the value drivers across the supply chain for this product.
Building Products
Retailer

Contractor Home
Builder

Transaction value ... created

with a value added product
with higher margings and
higher inventory turnover
due to strong demand

Economic Value ... comes

from superior labor
saviings, fewer call backs,
product warranty and code
approval

Home Owner
Perceived Value ... is
derived functionally and
emotionally from a floor
that does not squeak or
rattle the glasses when
crossing the room

Example
ESCO Corporation is a manufacturer of earthmoving equipment parts used in mining and construction
applications. The company developed a differentiated product advantage in the wear life of its products due
to proprietary steel chemistry and product design. How does ESCO communicate their value proposition to
their customers?

ESCO designs better products, eliminates waste, drives down costs and empowers employees to pursue
continuous improvements. The result: ESCO customers spend less and produce more.
Example
Schneider National is the worlds largest long-haul truckload freight carrier, with $3 billion in revenues and
more than 40,000 bright orange tractors and trailers on the road. Although the core benefit is to move freight
from one location to another, Don Schneider is in the customer solutions business. His company is expert at
providing a cost-minimizing trailer for each load. Schneider offers service guarantees backed by monetary
incentives for meeting tight schedules and runs driver-training programs to improve driver performance.
- 22 -

Dispatchers are assigned to large customers. Schneider was the first to introduce a computerized tracking
system in each truck and the firm received the single top national prize in 2006 from The Institute of
Operations Research and the Management Sciences for their use of modeling techniques. How does Schneider
communicate their value proposition to their customers?
The global leader in logistics and transportation services.
When you need to make sure that every shipment gets there on time and on
budget -- be it by truck, ship, train or air-there's really just one name you need
to know.
With unmatched shipping capacity, along with the industry's best people,
communications and technology, Schneider exists for one reason and one
reason only: to help you get the job done.
Example

The early Intel brand evolved from the Intel 286, 386 and 486 into the Intel Pentium
processor by the early 1990s. By the mid 1990s, new opportunities emerged for more powerful processors at
higher prices, which led Intel to design and introduce the Xeon processor. The Xeon was positioned at a higher
price-performance point than the Pentium, offering more customer value at a higher price.
In the late 1990s, the lower-priced PC market emerged with the aid of Intels competitor, Advanced Micro
Devices. Intel could have responded by lowering the price on Pentium processors. Instead, to compete with
Advanced Micro Devices in the lower price segment of the PC market, Intel held the Pentiums price and
launched the Celeron processor at a lower price-performance point. In the early 2000s, Intel also introduced
the more powerful Itanium processor at a price point higher than Xeons. This product line strategy has
enabled Intel to remain competitive and to grow with market demand, maintaining a market share of over 80
percent.
Given the companys competency in technology advances, the company has both a differentiation as well as a
marketing advantage. Their value proposition? Innovations that move the world forward.
Internal Communication
At an Intel conference, the companys COO began with a story about Wayne Gretzky and cited his famous
quote: I skate to where the puck is going, not where it is. Building on this theme, the COO handed out a
hockey puck to each Intel manager. On one side of the puck was written Follow Me, on the other side was
the Intel logo and trademark.
A companys value proposition needs to be understood internally as well as externally.

Workbook Exercise
Applying what we have learned and discussed, go to the COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WORKSHEET in the
workbook and complete the Value Proposition section.
- 23 -

Module 4
Developing your Product Strategy

Defining your product attributes and benefits

How can companies differentiate products?
Managing and building your product mix and product line

Caterpillar has become a leading firm by maximizing total customer value

in the construction-equipment industry, despite challenges from a number
of able competitors, such as John Deere, J.I. Case, Komatsu, Volvo, and
Hitachi.
First, Caterpillar produces high-performance equipment known
for its reliability and durability key purchase considerations in
the choice set of heavy industrial equipment.
The firm also makes it easy for customer to find the right product
by providing a full line of construction equipment and offering a
wide range of financial terms.
Caterpillar maintains the largest number of independent
construction-equipment dealers in the industry. These dealers all
carry a complete line of Caterpillar products and are typically
better trained and perform more reliably than competitors
dealers.
Caterpillar has also built a worldwide parts and service system second to none in the industry.
Customers recognize all the value that Caterpillar creates in its offering, allowing the firm to command
a premium price in the marketplace. 8

Concept Review
There are five levels to a product, as we move up each level we add value for our customers. Differentiation
occurs at the augmented product level.
Core benefit
Basic product
Expected product

what the customer is

really buying
what the product is
Attributes a buyer expects

Augmented product

Attributes that exceed a

buyers expectation

Potential product

New ways to satisfy

customer in future

containment for sewage

septic tank
Zero defects
No leaking
30 year warranty
Lower cost of life-time
ownership
??

- 24 -

Differentiation
There are numerous ways we can look to differentiate our product and/or service versus competition.
Consider the following areas:
Product
Features
Customization
Performance quality
Conformance quality
Durability
Reliability
Reparability
Style
Design

Service

Ordering Ease
Delivery
Installation
Customer Training
Customer Consulting
Maintenance and Repair
Returns

PRECAST Message Matrix (NPCA, 2014)

The NPCA has developed a marketing campaign entitled Take A New Look At Precast to more effectively
position the industries products (versus substitutes).

The campaign highlights 4 key areas of differentiation1:

Brains.
Precast makes smart use of your budget in all phases of your project. It saves you money before the
build, because its preconstructed product, during the build, because it requires less labor and after
the build, because it costs less to maintain.
Brawn.
Precast is a proven, durable material that leaves a lasting impression.
Looks.
Precast is a versatile building material with unlimited design possibilities.
Class.
Precast is a quality product manufactured to meet the highest standards.
The campaign seeks to reposition the industry as cutting edge and versatile for a wide range of applications.

NPCA Marketing Kit. Additional materials and tools available.

- 25 -

In the past, precast concrete was primarily considered a basic, utilitarian material. It wasn't considered
cutting edge or versatile for a wide range of applications. Since then, we have redefined our product,
and turned it into the total package, with attributes you might not expect.
The campaign defines both an overall messaging strategy as well as defines specific message points for
individual product attributes e.g., durability, versatility, quality control, efficiency.
DURABILITY/STRENGTH
OVERALL MESSAGING

Design Life
Precast products are designed to
outlast competitive materials, and
are a sensible choice for
sustainable development. Precast
is inherently strong and durable, will
not rust, rot or burn, and has a long
service life with minimal
maintenance.
Context for Strength
Precast achieves "stripping
strength" quickly, and the final
design strength often exceeds the
specifications. Provide context and
examples to specifiers that highlight
how much of a strength
advantage precast has over the
competition.

VERSATILITY

QUALITY CONTROL

EFFICIENCY

Adaptability
This variant of the versatility idea
has great value. Adaptability
implies partnership and design
expertise, and the ability for some
customization within production. It
addresses the stigma that we are
limited in what we can make, and
instead shows off the consultative
nature of precast businesses today.

An engineered product, created in

a quality-controlled manufacturing
environment, to ensure product
quality and timeline by eliminating
the impact of variables, like
weather and site conditions.

Precast is an efficient solution:

Less site disruption
Faster installs
Enables shorter project
timelines

Less manpower needed on

jobsites

Less wasted material

Reduced energy usage

Less site noise and

emissions

Versatility
Highlight the array of precast
products available, and the
number of different projects that
precast can be used for.

The product arrives at the jobsite

ready to use, and already tested
and quality controlled (reducing
the chances of costly
replacement).
Precast shifts the responsibility for
the quality of the product from the
general contractor to you.

Resiliency
Precast structures can withstand
high temperatures, wind and water
from fire, hurricanes, tornadoes,
floods and other natural and manmade disasters.

Improved Building/Site
Performance
Precast concrete inherently
possesses increased thermal mass
to minimize interior temperature
peaks, which reduces the workload
of HVAC equipment and overall
energy consumption. (NOTE: This
applies to above ground precast
products.)

OTHER

CHALLENGES

Locally sourced or created

material, with local support.
Most precast concrete plants are
within a short distance of building
sites, enabling local support
throughout the project.

Weight
The large size of a precast product
is offset by durability and being an
engineered product. Additionally,
freight cost is offset by less onsite
time and install cost.

Sustainable Raw Materials

The production of precast
concrete is sustainable and
responsible to the environment:

Cement used in concrete

is made of natural
materials, like limestone
and clay, sourced by
nearby quarries

The cementitious material

often contains
manufacturing byproducts, like fly ash and
blast furnace slag, that
would otherwise end up in
a landfill

The manufacturing process

can utilize recycled
wastewater

Steel used for concrete

reinforcement is typically
composed of around 95
percent post-consumer
recycled content

Aggregates used are

generally extracted and
manufactured regionally

Installation
Point out that competitive products
would also need equipment to be
installed; precast producer may be
able to bring installation equipment
to site.
Cost
In many cases, the cost concern
can be addressed by:
1) Talking about the "total cost at
time of purchase" and showing
how precast is more efficient due
to less onsite labor requirements
2) Taking a life cycle cost
approach and showing that the
longer design life of the product
makes it a more economical
choice when maintenance and
repairs are factored in over time
In addition, precast has a fixed upfront firm cost that will help the
project avoid budget overruns.

Supports the Local Economy

Precast products support local
economies while alternative
materials are often shipped in from
a production facility across the
country.

MANHOLES

Long service life

Precast has a longer design life
than other materials, and is a longterm value as opposed to a shortterm product.
Traffic Worthy
Precast can be used with
confidence in all site applications,
including traffic/load-bearing sites.

Adaptable Solutions
As precasters, we can make
modifications to their product forms
to adapt to local challenges or sitespecific requirements (e.g.,
unknown elevations or
configurations of utilities). This ability
to adapt and customize design
differs from the centralized
production of plastic or fiberglass
products.

Quality-Control Process
A precast product produced in a
manufacturing environment
ensures the integrity of the product.
Precast products meet and
exceed ASTM specifications and
local standards. Production in the
controlled environment adheres to
quality control guidelines and
assures a uniform product in fit,
strength, durability and function.

Watertightness
Competitive materials tout their
watertightness, but precast has a
compelling story. Precast manholes
maintain watertightness throughout
its service life and longer than
competitive materials.

Precast is easier to install than

competitive products (particularly
plastic and fiberglass). The precast
product is self-supporting and less
reliant on the backfill (e.g., precast
is an engineered product versus
competitors needing an
engineered installation).

Locally Made
Products made for your community
by your community.

Cost
Competitive materials claim to be
less expensive. Challenge is to get
a general contractor to take a
holistic view of materials, plus labor
when considering cost. The time
and expertise required to properly
install competitive materials
equates to more costly installation.
Corrosion
This topic is currently being studied;
updates to come once NPCA
research determines solution and
best items for educating specifiers.

Strength Upon Arrival

Precast products have strength
from the time it arrives on site, and
can stand up to not only the rigors
of the job, but also the abuse of
the jobsite prior to and during
install.

Product Mix and Product Line Analysis

Your companys product mix is the set of all products (and/or services) your company sells. A product line is
the group of closely related products with similar functions sold to the same customer groups. An example of
a precast product line for the utilities market might include equipment pads, electric vaults, lamp pole bases,
meter boxes, etc.
Depending on the market opportunity and company resources, you can expand its product mix in three ways.
1. Add new product lines
2. Add additional products to existing lines
3. Add variants of existing products to existing lines
Every companys product portfolio contains products with different margins. To effectively manage your
companys products, you should monitor the sales and profits of each, allowing you to determine which
products to build (sales), which to maintain (sales), and which to perhaps eliminate.
- 26 -

Workbook Exercise
There are two worksheets for this section. The first, product analysis, we will complete during the
workshop. The second, product profitability analysis, can be completed when you return to your office as
additional information is needed.
Applying what we have learned and discussed, go to the PRODUCT ANALYSIS WORKSHEETS in the workbook
section and complete the first worksheet.

- 27 -

Module 5
Communicating to your Customers

Elements of a marketing communications mix

Developing effective marketing communications
Developing your message strategy (What to say the 3 things
you want customers to say about you)
Defining your creative strategy (How to say it)
Determining the message source (Who should say it .. i.e.,
customer testimonials)
Planning the marketing communication (Where to say it i.e.,
website, sales, sales brochures, sales presentations, trade
events, broadcast media, prints media, etc.)
Measuring the Effectiveness of your marketing activity
Understanding Web analytics

Concept Review
To be effective and cost efficient, a businesss marketing communications must reach target customers
and have an adequate level of message frequency to maintain desired levels of awareness,
comprehension and interest.
Identifying and Profiling your Target Market
As the composition and needs of different markets (target customers) can be very different. A company
should look to develop a communication plan tailored to each of their target markets.
After identifing the market (target customers) that you want to reach with your marketing
communication, the marketers job is to identify the people involved in the buying process, their role
(initiators, influencers, deciders, buyers, approvers, gatekeeper and users) and the behavior (i.e.,
motivation, perception, learning, and memory) at each stage in the buying process.
The typical buying process consists of the following sequence of events:
problem recognition

general need
description

product
specification

supplier
search

proposal
solicitation

supplier
selection

order

problem recognition
general need description
product specification
supplier search
proposal solicitation
supplier selection
order
performance review & relationship building (customer relationship management)

- 28 -

performance
review &
CRM

The 5 Ms
There are five major decisions a marketer needs to make in developing an effective marketing
communications plan. These decisions are commonly known as the 5Ms:
Mission: What are your advertising objectives?
Inform - aims to create awareness and knowledge of new products or new features of existing
products.
Persuade - aims to create liking, preference, conviction, and purchase of a product or service.
Remind - aims to stimulate repeat purchase of products and services.
Reinforce - aims to convince purchasers that they made the right choice.
Money: How much to spend?
The objective-and-task method of setting the budget is most desirable. It requires the marketer
to develop the budget by defining specific objectives and costing out the tasks (marketing
communication elements).
Message: What message should be sent?
Formulating the communication requires solving three problems:
1. what to say (message strategy),
2. how to say it (creative strategy),
3. and who should say it (message source).
Media: What media should be used?
The marketing communications mix consists of several
major types of communications which can be broken
into two primary modes personal and non-personal.
Personal communication might include: direct
marketing, selling, word-of-mouth, experiences,
mobile and interactive (i.e., well-designed websites
that engage the customer).
Non-personal (mass) communication might include: advertising (i.e. TV, radio, billboards,
brochures, etc.), sales promotion, public relations and publicity, events and websites.
Measurement: How should the results be evaluated?
Measuring the marketing communications mixs effectiveness involves asking members of the
target audience whether they recognize or recall the communication, how many times they saw
it, what points they recall, how they felt
about the communication, and their previous
and current attitudes toward the product and
the company.
Integrated Marketing Communication
Managing and coordinating the entire
communications process calls for integrated
marketing communications (IMC): marketing
communications planning which recognizes the added
value of a comprehensive plan that provides clarity,
consistency, and maximum impact through the
seamless integration of discrete messages.
- 29 -

Understanding web analytics

Three ways to get customers to your website
1. You direct them (provide URL link)
2. Paid search
3. Organic search
Theory of relevance
The most cost effective way to improve site visits is by maximizing your sites organic search getting your site
higher up on non-paid search ranking.

Ways to maximize your sites position without a paid search

- Increase traffic
- Increase average stay time
- Increase clicks on multiple pages within website
- Increase industry relevant links to your website
- Increase industry relevant links from your website
- Decrease bounce rate (the number of visitors that come to your site and dont stay) if you set your web
homepage up as your internet explorer launch page you are having a negative effect on your bounce rate
because you are not engaging with the site so if you are doing this STOP.
Key Metrics for Measuring Website Effectiveness
Traffic & Rank
Measures how many people are coming to your site.
To improve:
- put a lead generation tactic on home page (i.e., box where visitor can put their email and get
information) ... also decreases your bounce rate
- look for patterns days of week visitors are coming, hours of the day (you can choose to
advertise on certain days and time to improve relevance and maximizing ad dollars)
- 30 -

Note: In Google analytics map overlay allows you to see where geographically traffic is coming from
drilling down to a local map to get to city detail and see which key words the visitor is connecting
from the search page to your site on (which can help you to make decisions for ad campaign and
page content edits).
Reach
Measures the absolute unique visitors coming site (brand new, never been to your site). Note:
Metrics are based on global viewers.
Pageviews
Measures how deep (number of pages) are people looking into your website.
In Google analytics, the content tab will tell you where on your site they are going specifically. This
helps you understand if visitors are spending time in the areas that you want them to so you can see if
the navigational path you designed is moving visitors toward a purchase decision. While content can
get someone to your site, your site needs to direct the visitor toward a transaction (commerce) hint:
titling each page increases the likelihood of that page coming up in an organic search.
Bounce %
Measures percentage of visitors that only visit a single page and dont engage (click into) the site.
Time on Site
Measures the number of minutes, on average, each visitor spends on your site.
Search %
Measures the percentage of visits that are directed from a search engine (organic or paid) to your site.
What does it cost to create a highly customized website? About $25K, will get you:
- Content development
- Graphic design
- Search engine optimization
- Enabling affiliate database design

- 31 -

Group Exercise
Lets look at the following marketing activities and try to define what the marketer is trying to achieve.
Key questions to be answered are:
Who is the target market?
What stage of the buying process is the customer in?
Who within the customer organization is this communication being directed to?
What role(s) in the decision process are being addresses?
What is the behavior of the audience for this communication?
What is the objective of the marketer?
Marketing Activity: ADS (corrugated plastic pipe)

Stage in
Decision
Making Process
Problem
Recognition
General Needs
Description
Product
Specification
Supplier Search
Proposal
Solicitation
Supplier
Selection
Order
Performance
Review & CRM

People Involved

Role in Buying
Decision

- 32 -

Behavior

Objective

Marketing Activity: High Precast

Stage in
Decision
Making Process
Problem
Recognition
General Needs
Description
Product
Specification
Supplier Search
Proposal
Solicitation
Supplier
Selection
Order
Performance
Review & CRM

People Involved

Role in Buying
Decision

- 33 -

Behavior

Objective

Marketing Activity: Barger and Sons

Email communication

Stage in
Decision
Making Process
Problem
Recognition
General Needs
Description
Product
Specification
Supplier Search
Proposal
Solicitation
Supplier
Selection
Order
Performance
Review &CRM

People Involved

Role in Buying
Decision

- 34 -

Behavior

Objective

Marketing Activity: Precast Services, Inc.

Stage in Decision
Making Process
Problem
Recognition
General Needs
Description
Product
Specification
Supplier Search
Proposal
Solicitation
Supplier
Selection
Order
Performance
Review & CRM

People Involved

Role in Buying
Decision

- 35 -

Behavior

Objective

Marketing Activity: Tulsa Dynaspan, Inc

Visual asset used on website, in brochures and presentations.

Stage in
Decision
Making Process
Problem
Recognition
General Needs
Description
Product
Specification
Supplier Search
Proposal
Solicitation
Supplier
Selection
Order
Performance
Review & CRM

People Involved

Role in Buying
Decision

- 36 -

Behavior

Objective

Marketing Activity: Sun Precast

-

YouTube video asset/Precast Concrete Custom Architectural and Restoration Cast Stone Company Profile
Sun Precast creates and manufactures custom architectural cast and precast stone products for
buildings and residential homes. They also restore historical aged stone structures or recreate
them to look like new or to match existing stone work. Some of Sun Precast's well known clients
include Notre Dame, Yale and Princeton Universities, the U.S. Naval Academy, Federal Reserve
Bank, and Mohegan Sun Casinos.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s9Y58WcFQ4
Stage in
Decision
Making Process
Problem
Recognition
General Needs
Description
Product
Specification
Supplier Search
Proposal
Solicitation
Supplier
Selection
Order
Performance
Review & CRM

People Involved

Role in Buying
Decision

Behavior

Objective

Workbook Exercise
When you return to your office go to the MARKETING PROGRAMS WORKSHEET in the workbook section and
follow the steps to developing targeted marketing programs.

- 37 -

Marketing Workbook

- 38 -

MARKET SEGMENTATION WORKSHEET

What market segments do your currently serve? What market segments do you feel you might want to enter?

SEGMENT ATTRACTIVENESS
Determine the overall attractiveness of each segment taking into account market growth, competitive intensity
and your companys objectives and resources. For purpose of this exercise list your top three segments and use
the key blow to make a subjective assessment.

highly attractive
attractive
moderately attractive
not attractive

You will want to revisit this assessment when you have access to more information to make a more objective
assessment.
Segment A
Segment B
Segment C
Segment Name
Segment Growth2
Current Share 3
Competitive Intensity4
Company Objectives5
Segment Access6
Segment Profitability7
Segment Trends8
Key Success Factors9

Market segment size, annual growth rate, market potential

Percentage of total available sales your firm captures annually
4
Number of competitors, ease of market entry to new competitors, substitutes
5
Is the market segment aligned with companys objectives (e.g., growth, innovativeness, etc.) and competencies? Does
the company have adequate resources to serve the market?
6
Does the company serve this market segment? Or have sales capacity and/or relationships it can leverage to enter the
segment?
7
Does this segment deliver your desired level of profit potential? Consider all your costs engineering support, sales
support, product costs, technical service, etc.
8
Changes in the market that create new sources of opportunity or threats
9
Those elements that are necessary in order for you to achieve your marketing objectives (i.e., technological process,
economies of scale, unique resources, IP, access to distribution channels)
3

- 39 -

STRENGTHS ANALYSIS WORKSHEET

Check List for Performing Strengths/Weakness Analysis. Add additional items not listed.
PERFORMANCE
Major
Strength

Minor
Strength

Neutral

CUSTOMER IMPORTANCE
Weakness

Major
Weakness

High

Medium

Low

Marketing
Company Reputation
Brand Strength
Market Share
Customer Satisfaction
Customer retention
Product quality
Service quality
Product Differentiation
Pricing effectiveness
Distribution effectiveness
Promotion effectiveness
Sales force effectiveness
Innovation effectiveness
Geographic coverage
Superior intellectual capital

Finance
Cost or availability of capital
Cash Flow
Financial Stability

Manufacturing
Facilities
Economies of Scale
Capacity
Able, dedicated workforce
Ability to produce on time
Technical manufacturing skill

Organization
Visionary, capable leadership
Dedicated employees
Entrepreneurial orientation
Flexible or responsive

List the 3 -4 strengths (resources or capabilities) that you feel are your sources of competitive advantage.
Strengths
1.
2.
3.
4.

TA
- 40 -

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WORKSHEET

KSHEET
COMPETITORS
List your direct and indirect competitors.
Competitors

SOURCES OF COMEPTITVE ADVANTAGE

List what you feel are your companys strengths (resources and/or capabilities) and test the potential for
competitive advantage using the VRIO model.
Strength

Valuable?

Rare?

Costly to
imitate?

Exploited by
the
organization?

Competitive
implication

VALUE PROPOSITION
The external communication of your competitive advantage is your value proposition; which explains to your
targeted customers why they should buy your products (and/or services) above all the other alternatives
(competitors and substitute materials).
Current Value Proposition:

Competitors Value Proposition:

Competitor
Value Proposition

Are you positioning your company differently and/or more effectively than your completion? Is your value
proposition well understood internally and externally? If not, how might you improve it?

- 41 -

PRODUCT ANALYSIS WORKSHEETS

Part One

Product Analysis

Select three of your best selling products and three of your weaker selling products and complete the
following table.
Core Benefit
Basic Product
Expected Product
Augmented Product
Potential
Product?

Is there an opportunity for you to add new products or product lines (to serve existing customers)? Or add
variants of existing products to existing lines?

How effectively are you positioning your products currently? What areas can you improve?

- 42 -

Part Two

Product Profitability Analysis

Note: Depending on your organizations information systems, information for some of the columns may not be
available or easily compiled (i.e., sections highlighted in blue). You should modify the profitability analysis as
needed .

PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS BY PRODUCT

Products

Totals

# of Units

% of Units

Net Sales ($)

% of
Sales

Gross % of Total
Margin %
Gross
Operating
Gross Margin ($) of Sales
Margin
Profit ($)

100%

100%

- 43 -

Profit %
Total
Profits

% of
Total
Profits

% of
capacity
Utilization

MARKETING PROGRAMS WORKSHEET

VE AD
Target Market

IDENTIFY AND PROFILE THE TARGET AUDIENCE

Define the target audience (customers) within a given market segment that you are trying to reach with your
marketing communication.

Define the decision making process for this target customer and identify all the people that have influence in
the buying decision (initiators, influencers, deciders, buyers, approvers, gatekeeper and users) and their
behavior (i.e., motivation, perception, learning, and memory) at each stage in the buying process. You will
return to this worksheet to complete the Objective and Media sections.
Stage in
Decision
Making Process
Problem
Recognition

People Involved

Role in Buying
Decision

General Needs
Description

Product
Specification

Supplier Search
Proposal
Solicitation
Supplier
Selection

Order
Performance
Review & CRM

- 44 -

Behavior

Objective

Media

Mission

What are your advertising objectives?

Inform - aims to create awareness and knowledge of new products or new features of existing
products.
Persuade - aims to create liking, preference, conviction, and purchase of a product or service.
Remind - aims to stimulate repeat purchase of products and services.
Reinforce - aims to convince purchasers that they made the right choice.

Go back to the prior page complete the objective section. Identifying the objective that is most relevant for
the target market, the stage in the buyer decision process,
Money

How much to spend?

Communication Element

Message

Creative Development Cost

Production Cost

Media Cost

What message should be sent?

What to say (message strategy)

How to say it (creative strategy)

Who should say it (message source)

Media

What media should be used?

Go back to the target market section and complete the media section. Identifying the media type that is most
relevant for the target market, the stage in the buyer decision process.
Measurement How should the results be evaluated?
What to measure (i.e., recall, points of recall, frequency, perception, attitudes, etc.). How it will be measured
(i.e., survey, phone interviews, sales interviews, etc.)

- 45 -

REFERENCES
1

Peter Drucker, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (New York: Harper and Row, 1973, pp. 64-65)
Onvia (http://www.onvia.com) is a market research firm that tracks all spending at every level of government. Onvia
offers coverage of government purchasing activity in addition to commercial and residential projects in development for
markets such as architecture and engineering, construction, IT/telecom, business consulting services, operations and
maintenance, and transportation.
3
An underused resource for identifying potential markets is the US Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/index.html).
The Business and Industry Classification System and Industry Statistics databases can be quite helpful in identifying and
sizing market opportunities in your geographic area. Go to Industry Statistics Portal, County Business Patterns
http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/index.html. The site allows you to filter the data by state and metro area.
2

Winning Strategies For B2B Marketers Facing Tough (or Even Easy) Times, Gary Lillien, Institute For The Study of
Business Markets At Penn State
5
th
Market-Based Management, 5 edition, Roger J. Best; Needs Based Market Segmentation, pgs 140 - 162
6
Discovering New Points of Differentiation, by Ian C. MacMillian and Rita Gunter McGrath.
7
Barney & Hesterly, 2011
8
Bruce Upbin, Sharpening the Claws, Forbes, July 26, 1999, pp.102-5
Marketing Management 14e, Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller, Prentice Hall

- 46 -

Action Plan
Before leaving the workshop, take a moment to reflect on the days learnings and develop an action plan
defining the specific elements of the workshop you would like your organization to work on.
Workshop
Element/Concept

Action

Who needs to be
involved?

NOTES

- 47 -

When should this

get done?