Juanita Álvarez Jaramillo, 2020

D E F I N IN G
Part One
M A R K E T IN G A N D T H E MARKETING

P R O C E SS

C HA P TE R T WO : C O M P A N Y A N D MA R K E TIN G S T R A T E G Y
- PARTNERING TO BUILD CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT,
VALUE, AND RELATIONSHIPS

Planning Marketing: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships

Partnering with Other Company Departments (Kotler, Armstrong, & Opresnik, 2018, p. 72-
73)
Each company department can be thought of as a link in the company’s internal value chain (…). The firm’s success depends not
only on how well each department performs its work but also on how well the various departments coordinate their activities.
(…) Marketing provides a guiding philosophy—the marketing concept—that suggests the company strategy should revolve around
creating customer value and building profitable relationships with important consumer groups. Second, marketing provides inputs to
strategic planners by helping to identify attractive market opportunities and assessing the firm’s potential to take advantage of them.
Finally, within individual business units, marketing designs strategies for reaching the unit’s objectives. Once the unit’s objectives are
set, marketing’s task is to help carry them out profitably.
Customer engagement and value are the key ingredients in the marketer’s formula for success. However, as noted in Chapter 1,
although marketing plays a leading role, it alone cannot produce engagement and superior value for customers. It can be only a
partner in attracting, engaging, and growing customers. In addition to customer relationship management, marketers must also
practice partner relationship management. They must work closely with partners in other company departments to form an effective
internal value chain that serves customers.

Partnering with Others in the Marketing System

More companies today are partnering with other members of the supply chain— suppliers, distributors, and, ultimately, customers—
to improve the performance of the customer value delivery network. Competition no longer takes place only between individual
competitors. Rather, it takes place between the entire value delivery network created by these competitors. Thus, Ford’s performance
against Toyota depends on the quality of Ford’s overall value delivery network versus Toyota’s. Even if Ford makes the best cars, it
might lose in the marketplace if Toyota’s dealer network provides a more customer- satisfying sales and service experience”.
Juanita Álvarez Jaramillo, 2020

Marketing Strategy and the Marketing Mix

Customer Value–Driven Marketing Strategy

This process involves market segmentation, market targeting, differentiation, and positioning.

Segmentation
“Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market of potential customers into groups, or segments, based on different
characteristics. The segments created are composed of consumers who will respond similarly to marketing strategies and who share
traits such as similar interests, needs, or locations.
Why is market segmentation important for marketers? Market segmentation makes it easier for marketers to personalize their
marketing campaigns. By arranging their company’s target market into segmented groups, rather than targeting each potential
customer individually, marketers can be more efficient with their time, money, and other resources than if they were targeting
consumers on an individual level. Grouping similar consumers together allows marketers to target specific audiences in a cost effective
manner.
Market segmentation also reduces the risk of an unsuccessful or ineffective marketing campaign. When marketers divide a market
based on key characteristics and personalize their strategies based on that information, there is a much higher chance of success
than if they were to create a generic campaign and try to implement it across all segments.
Marketers can also us segmentation to prioritize their target audiences. If segmentation shows that some consumers would be more
likely to buy a product than others, marketers can better allocate their attention and resources” (TrackMaven, Inc, 2016, p.1-4)

Market Targeting
Please read the following blog post: https://blog.hootsuite.com/target-market/ by Newberry, 2018. Of course, they’re trying to sell their
specific service, but it’s still a useful article, just know that it’s also a promotion tool.

Positioning & Differentiation

Please read the following article by Nielsen (n.d.): https://smallbusiness.chron.com/product-positioning-differentiation-strategy-
5078.html

Marketing Mix (by the Mind Tools Content Team, 2019)

“The marketing mix and the 4Ps of marketing are often used as synonyms for one another. In fact, they are not necessarily the same
thing.
"Marketing mix" is a general phrase used to describe the different kinds of choices organizations have to make in the whole process
of bringing a product or service to market. The 4Ps is one way – probably the best-known way – of defining the marketing mix and
was first expressed in 1960 by E. J. McCarthy in his book, "Basic Marketing - A Managerial Approach."
The 4Ps are:

 Product (or Service).

 Place.
 Price.

 Promotion.
A good way to understand the 4Ps is by the questions that you need to ask to define your marketing mix. Here are some questions
that will help you understand and define each of the four elements:

Product/Service
 What does the customer want from the product /service? What needs does it satisfy?
Juanita Álvarez Jaramillo, 2020

 What features does it have to meet these needs?

 Are there any features you've missed out?

 Are you including costly features that the customer won't actually use?

 How and where will the customer use it?

 What does it look like? How will customers experience it?

 What size(s), color(s), and so on, should it be?

 What is it to be called?

 How is it branded?
 How is it differentiated versus your competitors?

 What is the most it can cost to provide and still be sold sufficiently profitably? (See also Price, below.)

Place
 Where do buyers look for your product or service?

 If they look in a store, what kind? A specialist boutique or in a supermarket, or both? Or online? Or direct, via a catalog?

 How can you access the right distribution channels?

 Do you need to use a sales force? Or attend trade fairs? Or make online submissions? Or send samples to catalog
companies?

 What do your competitors do, and how can you learn from that and/or differentiate?

Price
 What is the value of the product or service to the buyer?
 Are there established price points for products or services in this area?

 Is the customer price sensitive? Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market share? Or will a small increase be
indiscernible, and so gain you extra profit margin?

 What discounts should be offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments of your market?

 How will your price compare with your competitors?

Promotion
 Where and when can you get your marketing messages across to your target market?
 Will you reach your audience by advertising online, in the press, on TV, on radio, or on billboards? By using direct marketing
mailshots? Through PR? On the internet?

 When is the best time to promote? Is there seasonality in the market? Are there any wider environmental issues that suggest
or dictate the timing of your market launch or subsequent promotions?

 How do your competitors do their promotions? And how does that influence your choice of promotional activity?”

Managing the Marketing Effort and Marketing Return on Investment

Managing the Marketing Effort

“Managing the marketing process requires the five marketing management functions shown in Figure 1—analysis, planning,
implementation, organization, and control. The company first develops company-wide strategic plans and then translates them into
marketing and other plans for each division, product, and brand. Through implementation and organization, the company turns the
plans into actions. Control consists of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing activities and taking corrective action where
Juanita Álvarez Jaramillo, 2020

needed. Finally, marketing analysis provides the information and evaluations needed for all the other marketing activities” (Kotler,
Armstrong, & Opresnik, 2018, p. 79)

Figure 1. Marketing Management Process. Source: Kotler, Armstrong, & Opresnik, 2018 Copyright Pearson Education, Inc.

Marketing Analysis
Please read the following article by Mind Tools (2019): https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm

Marketing Planning
Please read the following article by Dave Lavinsky (2013): https://www.forbes.com/sites/davelavinsky/2013/09/30/marketing-plan-
template-exactly-what-to-include/#1b36c09e3503

Action Programs
“Spells out how marketing strategies will be turned into specific action programs that answer the following questions: What will be
done? When will it be done? Who will do it? How much will it cost?” (Kotler, Armstrong, & Opresnik, 2018, p. 81)

Marketing Department Organization

Please read the following article by Modern Marketing Partners (2014): https://www.modernmarketingpartners.com/7-types-of-
marketing-organization-structures/
Other Useful Links.
https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/53/file-2131160376-pdf/illustrated-guide-to-org-structures.pdf?t=1486764493083 (Hubspot, n.d.)

Control
Please read the following article by George N. Root III; Reviewed by Michelle Seidel, B.Sc., LL.B., MBA (2019):
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-controls-marketing-plan-11575.html

Measuring and Managing Marketing Return on Investment

Please read the following article by Amy Gallo (2017): https://hbr.org/2017/07/a-refresher-on-marketing-roi

Bibliography
Newberry, C. (2018, October 31). How to Define Your Target Market: A Guide to Audience Research - Hootsuite Social Media
Management. Retrieved from Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard - Hootsuite:
https://blog.hootsuite.com/target-market/
Juanita Álvarez Jaramillo, 2020

Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., & Opresnik, M. O. (2018). Principles of Marketing. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
TrackMaven, Inc. (2016). Market Segmentation — Definition — TrackMaven. Retrieved from TrackMaven | Marketing Analytics
Software: https://trackmaven.com/marketing-dictionary/market-segmentation/
Nielsen, L. (n.d.). Product Positioning and Differentiation Strategy | Chron.com. Retrieved from Houston Local News, Weather,
Headlines, Sports, Business, and Entertainment - The Houston Chronicle at Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/product-positioning-differentiation-strategy-5078.html
The Mind Tools Content Team. (2019). The Marketing Mix and the 4Ps of Marketing - from MindTools.com. Retrieved from
Management Training and Leadership Training - Online: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_94.htm
Mind Tools Content Team. (2019). SWOT Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Retrieved from Management
Training and Leadership Training - Online: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm
Lavinsky, D. (2013, September 30). Marketing Plan Template: Exactly What To Include. Retrieved from Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davelavinsky/2013/09/30/marketing-plan-template-exactly-what-to-include/#733364df3503
Modern Marketing Partners. (2014, April 16). 7 Types of Marketing Organization Structures - Modern Marketing Blog. Retrieved from
Marketing Agency | Digital Marketing | Modern Marketing Partners: https://www.modernmarketingpartners.com/7-types-of-
marketing-organization-structures/
Hubspot. (n.d.). The Illustrated Guide to Organizational Structures.
Root III, G. N. (2019, February 5). Examples of Controls in a Marketing Plan | Chron.com. Retrieved from Houston Local News,
Weather, Headlines, Sports, Business, and Entertainment - The Houston Chronicle at Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-controls-marketing-plan-11575.html
Gallo, A. (2017, July 25). A Refresher on Marketing ROI. Retrieved from Harvard Business Review - Ideas and Advice for Leaders:
https://hbr.org/2017/07/a-refresher-on-marketing-roi