Learning Guide Unit 1
Overview
Unit 1: Developing a Marketing Strategy
Topics:
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Strategic Formulation
Elements of a complete marketing strategy
The central role of strategic planning
Differentiating your product
Developing a value proposition
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this Unit, you will be able to:
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Create a marketing strategy to expand an existing product into a new market
Develop a value proposition based on a product’s current marketing strategy
Apply the 4Ps of marketing when implementing a marketing strategy
Analyze a company’s mission statement for orientation, strategic planning, and
strategic formulation
Tasks:
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Review the Syllabus and all Unit Learning Guides to get oriented to the course
requirements
Introduce yourself to your classmates and instructor in the Course Forum
Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
Complete and submit the Written Assignment
Complete and submit the Portfolio Assignment
◄ Textbook: eMarketing: The Essential Guide to Marketing in a Digital World
Learning Guide Unit 1
Introduction
Effective marketing starts with a well-informed marketing strategy. Marketing strategy is an
organization's comprehensive arrangement for reaching out to people with a view of turning
them into customers for their products or services. A good marketing strategy helps you
define your vision, mission and business goals and outlines steps to achieve these goals.
Marketing strategy is also a business firm’s value proposition which summarizes competitive
advantage of the organization in its market. The intent of an organization value proposition
is to provide key messages for all marketing strategies, since marketing strategies and plans
tend to feed off one another and are sometimes confused in a single document.
A marketing plan is a document which lays out types and timing of marketing activities.
Marketing plans are operational documents of day-to-day work that a company creates to
sell itself to the world. A marketing strategy is used to set overall direction and goals for a
company’s marketing and is therefore different from a marketing plan, that outlines specific
actions for implementation of an organization’s marketing strategy.
A company’s marketing strategy could be developed for years, while a marketing plan
describes tactics to be achieved usually in the current year. An effective marketing strategy
for an organization should;
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Describe the company's unique selling proposition (USP)
Define target markets
Detail the benefits of the company’s products or services
Describe how to position organization’s products or services
Define the organization’s marketing methods
Upon completion of this unit’s reading assignment, students will also learn more detail about
product/brand positioning, which is also a key part of developing a marketing strategy.
Learning Guide Unit 1
Reading Assignment
All course textbooks are accessible through the course's main page.
Principles of marketing. (2015). University of Minnesota Libraries
Publishing. https://doi.org/10.24926/8668.1901 (Original work published 2010)
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Chapter 1 – What is Marketing? You will learn the core concepts of marketing.
Chapter 2 – Strategic Planning. Explains the development of marketing strategies and
plans. You will learn about the role of strategic planning and how to create
innovative marketing.
Chapter 5.4 - Positioning and Repositioning Offerings. This chapter why explains why
positioning is an important element and what repositioning is designed to do.
Chapter 6.4 – Branding, Labeling, and Packaging. In this chapter, you will learn about
branding decisions when developing new products and the level of packaging for new
products.
Modicum. (2017, July 8). Building brand
equity. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/propointgraphics/2017/07/08/building-brandequity/#83bb8326e8f8.
Young Entrepreneur Council. (2019, September 6). How to increase sales by building brand
equity and shaping brand perception. INC. https://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneurcouncil/how-to-increase-sales-by-building-brand-equity-shaping-brand-perception.html.
Learning Guide Unit 1
Discussion Assignment
In the discussion forum, you are expected to participate often and engage in deep levels of
discourse. Please post your initial response as early as possible and continue to participate
throughout the unit. You are required to post an initial response to the question/issue
presented in the Forum and then respond to at least 3 of your classmates’ initial posts. You
should also respond to anyone who has responded to you.
Imagine you have inherited a company. Choose a product that the company manufactures
and sells. Assume that traditionally, the company has sold to commercial users such as
restaurants, supermarkets, or food distributors. You have decided to expand your customer
base to include non-commercial users (Consumers). For this discussion, you will:
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Identify the product(s) that your company manufactures and sells
Develop a statement of your target market(s)
Develop a statement of your competitor’s target market(s)
Develop a value proposition statement.
In your response to your peers, compare and contrast your strategies with theirs.
Your discussion should be a minimum of 250 words in length and not more than 750 words.
Please include a word count. Cite all sources according to APA 7th edition guidelines when
taking information or ideas from other learning resources such as textbooks, websites, and
peer-reviewed articles.
Learning Guide Unit 1
Written Assignment
Pick a product or brand of your choice that is sold in your geographical location. From an
examination of any marketing medium (such as advertising, packaging, or website) and
reflecting on the 4P’s of marketing, construct a value proposition for the product or brand.
Conduct substantial research on the product or brand in order to get a good understanding
of how the brand has evolved and where it is heading.
Submit a paper that is 2-3 pages in length (excluding the title page and reference page)
double-spaced in Times New Roman font which is no greater than 12 points in size. Be sure
to cite all your sources in APA Format.
Learning Guide Unit 1
Portfolio Activity
According to Kotler and Keller (2012), “Goals indicate what a business unit wants to achieve;
strategy is a game plan for getting there. Every business must design a strategy for
achieving its goals, consisting of a marketing strategy and a compatible technology strategy
and sourcing strategy.”
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An organization’s mission statement should
Clearly outline the main purpose of the organization, and what they do.
Mention plans by organizations on achieving the mission statement
Mention audience of the mission statement.
Clearly outline the value organization provides
For this Portfolio Assignment provide answers to below questions:
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Amazon.com Mission statement is “To be Earth’s most customer-centric company,
where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and
endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.”
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Is this mission statement market-oriented, product-oriented, production-oriented or
futuristic? Why?
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The purpose of strategic planning is to find ways in which an organization can best
use its strengths to take advantage of opportunities within the environment.
In the past, Wal-Mart mission statement was, “We deliver low prices, every day.” Currently,
Wal-Mart’s corporate mission is “to save people money so they can live better.”
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Using the knowledge from strategic formulation and unit’s reading, provide a possible
reason for review of Wal-Mart’s mission statement.
3. Take a moment and reflect on the topics introduced in this Unit.
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Formulate at least one question that arose while you were reading the material and
completing the assignments.
Was there anything in this Unit that surprised you or caught your attention? Explain.
For assistance with reflective writing, read How to Write a Reflective Paper.
The Portfolio Assignment entry should be a minimum of 500 words and not more than 750
words. Use APA citations and references if you use ideas from the readings or other sources.
This activity is assessed by your instructor.
Learning Guide Unit 1
Checklist
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Review the Syllabus and all Unit Learning Guides to get oriented to the course
requirements
Introduce yourself to your classmates and instructor in the Course Forum
Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
Complete and submit the Written Assignment
Complete and submit the Portfolio Assignment