Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito
Graduate School of Management
Claremont Graduate University
Marketing Strategies for Growth
Dr Jenny Darroch
Course Overview:
This course extends the concepts introduced in an introductory marketing
management course. It is designed for MBA and EMBA students, although the course
could also be offered as seminar for research students. Examples of readings and case
studies for both options are provided in this syllabus.
This course is positioned as a marketing strategy course. The main contribution of this
course is to encourage students to take a critical view of the concept of the market so
as to lay the foundation for a broader discussion of how a market could be created
and/or transformed in order to provide a sustainable competitive advantage.
Before addressing market creation and transformation, however, the course begins by
reminding students of the importance of executing the current marketing strategy
well. The book that supports this course, Marketing Through Turbulent Times, is
written for managers operating in the today’s difficult economic environment and so
the course begins by examining what it means to be a marketing manager today. My
objective here is to remind managers that when times are tough and cash is limited,
excellent execution of the current marketing strategy is essential. The message is that
getting overwhelmed by economic circumstances or diverting resources into new
areas can be harmful to the core business. Because the course begins with a discussion
of context, I include a discussion of the role of social media.
The second part of the course, involves and examination of the concept of the market
as it first appeared in neo-classical economics. As challenging as this can be for some
students, by taking such an approach I can encourage students to appreciate how the
neo-classical view of markets has heavily influenced the practice of marketing. This
then allows students to appreciate the limitations of traditional approaches to market
definition before concluding that market boundaries are arbitrary and therefore can be
defined and redefined in order to generate a sustainable competitive advantage.
From here, the course considers the question of where ideas come from, ideas that
will eventually lead to market creation and/or the transformation of existing markets. I
work with a framework I have developed called the Problems-Solutions™ framework
1
and this allows me to blend together demand side sources of ideas with supply side
sources of ideas. I cover four combinations within the Problems-Solutions™
framework beginning with the situation in which consumers can explicitly state a
problem they have with current products and can also offer some suggestions as to
likely solutions. Traditional approaches to marketing research work well here because
we can elicit statements from consumers about problems they have with current
products and we can measure demand for likely solutions because we are working
with an explicit state of consumer demand. The Problems-Solutions™ framework
also covers more complicated situations where organizations are trying to link
solutions to problems and the demand for the solution is either non-existent or latent.
Finally, the course addresses some of the benefits and risks of transforming and
creating markets by examining some of the literature around market entry, first mover
advantage and consumer adoption. The course also addresses some of the challenges
inherent when opening up new spaces, such the problem of analysing and measuring
non-existent markets in order to meet the needs of venture capital firms or the Chief
Financial Officer.
I have now taught this course three times and always for MBA/EMBA audiences. I
prescribed too many readings during the first run through (some of which were a little
challenging) and did not use enough case studies. When I taught the course for the
second and third times, I used one case study per week, mostly Harvard Business
School readings/chapters and material from my book, Marketing Through Turbulent
Times.
I teach in one three hour block and I divide this into two halves. During the first half
of the class, we go over and discuss readings. We then link the readings to the case
study as a way of providing a framework to analyse each case before developing a set
of recommendations based on the earlier analysis.
I use marketing case studies at the start of the course because we are discussing
excellent execution of the current marketing strategy. By the time I get into
transforming and creating markets, I tend to use competitive strategy cases, especially
case studies about disruptive innovations, to which we apply marketing principles.
Required Materials:
Darroch, Jenny (2010). Marketing Through Turbulent Times. Palgrave Macmillan.
ISBN 978-0230237308.
In addition to the book, students are required to purchase a pack of readings (details
are listed below the Course Schedule)
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Assessment Option One
(I use this option for fully
employed students):
Assessment comprises two components:


Written report on markets and market creation
Participation
50%
50%
Written report:
You are asked to prepare a report of a brief investigation covering the
following:
 An introduction to your organization1 – this involves a description of the
organization, its history and products (1 page).
 Based on material (online or printed) produced by the organization, what
industry is your organization in and what markets does it serve? (1 page)
 Talk to a total of six-ten senior managers from different functional areas
and business units within your organization. Ask2: What industry is your
organization in and what markets does it serve? What are some of the most
exciting changes that resulted in growth either in your industry or
organization? Why is that?
 Now, based on the material we have covered in this course, and the results
of your investigation make recommendations to your organization – either
confirm its current approach and/or provide an alternative approach. Be
sure to justify your point of view (What I am looking for here is a
discussion that the industry/organization has emphasized some approaches
more than others when finding ways to generate growth. In your opinion,
what else could be done? How could the process have been improved?) (4
pages).
This assignment will be due at the start of class during Week 7. I expect it to
be well written and free of spelling, typographical and grammatical errors.
Please use 12-point font and 1.5 spacing.
1
As an alternative, you may select a high-profile organization of interest and then interview six-ten
senior managers about the organization of interest.
2
These questions are intended as a guide only. You may develop an expanded list of questions.
3
Assessment Option One
(I use this option for my
full time MBA students):
Assessment comprises two components:


Case study write ups (2 @ 30% each)
Participation
60%
40%
Case Write Ups:
You are asked to prepare two case write ups covering the following:
 An introduction to the organization that the case study is about – this
involves a description of the organization, its history and products (1
page).
 Based on material (online or printed) produced by the organization, what
industry is the organization in and what markets does it serve? (1 page)
 What are some of the most exciting changes that have resulted in growth
either in the industry or organization? Why is that? (1 page)
 Now, based on the material we have covered in this course, and the results
of your investigation make recommendations to the organization – either
confirm its current approach and/or provide an alternative approach. Be
sure to justify your point of view (What I am looking for here is a
discussion that the industry/organization has emphasized some approaches
more than others when finding ways to generate growth. In your opinion,
what else could be done? How could the process have been improved?) (2
pages).
This assignment will be due at the start of class when the case study is
discussed. I expect it to be well written and free of spelling, typographical and
grammatical errors. Please use 12-point font and 1.5 spacing.
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Course Schedule:
WK
1
2
TOPIC
Introduction to the course
MUST READ (for details, see list below)
Marketing Through Turbulent Times, Chs 1-4
Context
HBS 9-585-106
Great marketing
Market segmentation and
perceptual maps
The New Beetle Case Study (HBS 501023)
Marketing Through Turbulent Times, Chs 5-7
HBS 9-506-109
HBS 579083
HBS R0602G
Skim through Snehota (2004)
3
Where do ideas come
from: demand side
Edmunds.com Case Study (HBS 701025)
Marketing Through Turbulent Times, Ch 8 and Ch 9 (pp. 135142)
E-165
Day (1994)
4
Where do ideas come
from: supply side
Juice Guys (A) Case Study (HBS 9-800-122)
OR Intelliseek Case Study (HBS 505061)
OR Sa Sa Cosmetics (HBS 502085)
OR The Coop Market Research (HBS 599113)
Marketing Through Turbulent Times, Chs 11
HBS 1556BC
HBS SMR 078
5
The risks
Lexar Media Case Study (HBS 805062)
Marketing Through Turbulent Times, Ch 9 (pp. 142-147)
HBS 9-504-056
Carpenter & Nakamoto (1989)
6
7
The benefits
What About Transforming
a Market?
Netflix Case Study (HBS 9-607-138)
OR TiVo Case Study (HBS 501038)
Marketing Through Turbulent Times, Ch 10
Lieberman and Montgomery (1988)
Tellis and Golder (1996)
Pepcid AC Case Study (HBS 500073)
Zeneca’s DTCA of Nolvadex Case Study (HBS BME2)
HBS CMR 312
HBS1630BC
Putting it all together
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Week 1: Context. Great marketing, relevant marketing


Marketing planning and organization (HBS 9-585-106)
The New Beetle Case Study (HBS 501023)3
Week 2: Markets and Market Boundaries – A Deeper Look at Market
Segmentation and Perceptual Maps





For a quick review read: Market segmentation, target market selection, and
positioning (HBS 9-506-109)
Note on market definition and segmentation (HBS 579083)
Rediscovering market segmentation (HBS R0602G)
Snehota, I. (2004). Perspectives and theories of the market. Rethinking
Marketing: Developing a New Understanding of Markets. H. Håkansson, D.
Harrison and A. Waluszewski. NJ, John Wiley & Sons: 19-32.
Edmunds.com Case Study (HBS 701025)
Could read:
 Wind, Y. (1978). "Issues and advances in segmentation research." Journal of
Marketing Research 15(August): 317-337.
 Levitt, T. (1960). "Marketing Myopia." Harvard Business Review 38(JulyAugust): 45-56.
 Ansoff, H. I. (1957). “Strategies for diversification." Harvard Business
Review (September-October): 113-124
 Drucker’s (1964) “The Customer is the Business” from Managing for Results.
London: Pan Books (pp. 110-131)
Week 3: Where do ideas come from: demand side?



For a quick review read: Note on market research (Stanford E-165)
Day, G. (1994). "The capabilities of market-driven organizations." Journal of
Marketing 58(October): 37-52.
Juice Guys (A) Case Study (HBS 9-800-122)
Could read:



Berthon, P. R., J. M. Hulbert, et al. (1999). "To serve or create? Strategic
orientations toward customers and innovation." California Management
Review 42(1): 37-58
Dickson, P. R. and J. L. Ginter (1987). "Market segmentation, product
differentiation, and marketing strategy." Journal of Marketing 51(April): 1-10.
Dickson, P. R., P. W. Farris, et al. (2001). "Dynamic strategic thinking."
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 29(3): 216-237.

3
I have listed a number of alternative cases in the course schedule above.
6
Week 4: Where do ideas come from: supply side?



Discovering new and emerging markets (HBS 1556BC)
Foundations for growth: How to identify and build disruptive new businesses
(HBS SMR 078)
Lexar Media Case Study (HBS 805062)
Week 5: The risks



Why consumers don’t buy: the psychology of new product adoption (HBS 9054-056)
Carpenter, G. S. and K. Nakamoto (1989). "Consumer preference formation
and pioneering advantage." Journal of Marketing Research 26(August): 285198.
Netflix Case Study (HBS 9-607-138)
Week 6: The benefits
 Lieberman, M. B. and D. B. Montgomery (1988). "First-mover advantages."
Strategic Management Journal 9: 41-58.
 Tellis, G. J. and P. N. Golder (1996). "First to market, first to fail? Real causes
of enduring market leadership." Sloan Management Review 37(2): 65-75.
 Pepcid AC Case Study (HBS 500073)
Week 7: What About Transforming a Market?

Zeneca’s Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Nolvadex (HBS BME2)
Putting it All Together


Blue Ocean Strategy: Reconstruct Market Boundaries (HBS1630BC)
Blue Ocean Strategy: From Theory to Practice (HBS CMR 312)
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