Strategic marketing

Strategic marketing concept: systematic and long-term perspective

The strategy defines the framework for action, how the set goal is to be achieved with given means. A strategy should be adaptable, but always has a rather longer-term orientation. This also makes sense because measures derived from the strategy must first be implemented and have an effect. And not every single operational measure develops its full effect immediately, but only in combination with others or after its repetition.

In order to lead a strategy to sustainable success, it is therefore necessary to have stamina and patience. This also means remaining attentive in the dynamic business environment and checking at least once a year whether the internal and external conditions still support the goal and the strategy adopted. It is not uncommon for changes to occur – possibly also on the side of the market competitors – to require corrections to goals and strategies.

The essential steps of the strategic management cycle:

• Situation analysis (internal & external view)
• Strategic goal setting
• Strategy development or revision
• Performance review

Strategic marketing objectives

Strategic marketing should be the core and starting point of a company’s market-oriented trade. It forms the entrepreneurial head of the overall management for a future-oriented company:

• Which business areas do we want
• in which markets
• with which range of services (products / services)
• for which customer groups
• at what price level
• through which marketing channels
• and with what goal?

The further sub- and sub-strategies of innovation, product development, offer design and sales are then derived from the marketing strategy (see also sales strategy).

What is important in a good strategy? A strategic plan means an orderly approach, thus avoiding shortcuts and lack of criticality in assessing the market environment and one’s own performance. The following points are therefore particularly crucial:

• Mission and vision
• Systematics and long-term perspective
• Customer value as a measure of action
• Correctly grasping the market situation nationally/internationally
• Positioning the range of services
• Formulate marketing strategy and implement it consistently

The experienced partners at F&P Executive Solutions will be happy to advise you and, on request, also take on project and management responsibility in all facets of strategic marketing and its sub-strategies

Important aspects to consider in strategic marketing

CUSTOMER VALUE AS THE MEASURE OF ACTION

What creates value for the customer is ultimately the result of entrepreneurial performance against the background of market understanding with the wishes and needs of its customers. The only difference is that it is not the company that determines the value, but the customer. As entrepreneurs and employees, we may not like this very much, but it is the reality we have to face every day. In many companies, even those that are technology-oriented and innovation-driven, this is not yet universally understood and lived. This is illustrated by the persistently high failure rates of new offers on the market of more than 60%, which turn out to be a flop.

If you want to penetrate potential customers with the value of your service, it is indispensable to profile your own company’s service or added value very clearly from the customer’s point of view and to position yourself in relation to comparable offers on the market. Finally, all sales-relevant processes in the company must be aligned with the needs of the customers in the best possible way. This applies to product development and portfolio design, customer communication, purchase initiation and realisation as well as service provision.

Defining performance from the customer’s point of view and measuring its value from the customer’s point of view is a basic prerequisite for determining the position of one’s own company. Putting the customer at the centre of attention in the long term also means accompanying the customer, whether private or commercial, and coordinating all points of contact between the customer and the company’s services – the customer journey.

CORRECTLY GRASPING THE SITUATION – SITUATION ANALYSIS

“How can one who does not recognise where he is and understand how he got there successfully find his goal?”

To successfully align a business with customer needs requires switching from the internal view of the company to an external view of the perspective of the market from competitors and customers, i.e. to think about one’s own business and its development from the market. This perspective, combined with realistic self-awareness of one’s own capabilities and their limits, is an essential basis for the development of successful marketing strategies.

Market knowledge means:

• Customer knowledge
• Knowledge of the competition
• Structural market knowledge (culture, regulations, infrastructure)

Use of tools A well-known tool to systematically work out the levels of observation and to derive options for action for the marketing strategy is the SWOT analysis. You may think it’s “old hat”, but it is an effective tool that can be used universally in any size of company and management constellation. However, whether the result of the SWOT analysis is target-oriented depends on the quality of the underlying information, the precision of the implementation and the actual derivation of concrete, realistic options for action.

IMPLEMENTING MARKETING STRATEGY CONSISTENTLY – CUSTOMER JOURNEY

Marketing in the sense of the entirety of market cultivation was previously represented by the marketing mix. With the customer journey, a differentiated approach has been established, which strongly orients the mix of measures to the customer’s experience. The customer and the targeted management of the customer’s view of the company or brand are at the centre of entrepreneurial action.

F&P Executive Solutions supports you in this context with

• Strategic marketing
• Vision and mission
• Positioning
• Brand building and management
• Customer Journey

THE CONSCIOUS PLACE IN THE MARKET – POSITIONING

Based on the knowledge of the market, it is necessary to define the place of the company’s service offerings in the market and to set the basic thrust for the measures to be implemented to increase market share, turnover and margins. Furthermore, it is a “must” to clearly formulate how the benefits of the products and services offered to target customers positively differ from those of other competitors. Only in this way is the management team in a position to select the right sales steps and marketing measures and to deliver convincing sales arguments both in the advertising and in the binding final approach.

Strategic marketing with F&P

With our many years of expertise in the consumer and capital goods industry, we at F&P Executive Solutions successfully advise our clients on the ways and measures you can use to obtain qualified feedback from your clientele on their wishes, needs and values and how you can use this for your strategic marketing. If required, we can also help you with the implementation of our concepts on an interim basis.

In our case studies, we have been able to prove that our systematic approach and cross-divisional effectiveness put companies on the road to sustainable success. Please feel free to contact us for a non-binding initial consultation. We will be happy to give you initial feedback with recommended next steps. We look forward to hearing from you.