Corporate Strategic
Planning
Asia-Pacific Marketing Federation
Certified Professional Marketer
Copyright
Marketing Institute of Singapore
Outline
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Introduction
Meaning & Role of Strategic
Planning
Corporate Mission
Strategic Business Units (SBU)
Marketing Audit
Strategic Planning
…is the managerial process of developing
and maintaining a strategic fit between
the organization's objectives and
resources and its changing market
opportunities.
Org Objectives
Strategic Fit
Resources
Changing Environment
The Role of Strategy
Corporate
Mission &
Objectives
Strategy:
•Corporate
•Business
•Functional
Operating
Plans
Sun Tze on Strategy
 “Know your enemy, know yourself, and your
victory will not be threatened. Know the
terrain, know the weather, and your victory
will be complete.”
Strategic Marketing
“Marketing Strategy is a series of
integrated actions leading to a
sustainable competitive advantage.”
John Scully
Corporate Mission
 Broad purposes of the organization
 General criteria for assessing the long-
term organizational effectiveness
 Driven by heritage & environment
 Mission statements are increasingly
being developed at the SBU level as well
Examples of Corporate Mission
SINGAPORE AIRLINES is engaged in air
transportation and related businesses. It
operates world-wide as the flag carrier of the
Republic of Singapore, aiming to provide
services of the highest quality at reasonable
prices for customers and a profit for the
company
Examples of Corporate Mission
(cont’d)
MARRIOTT’S Mission Statement:
We are committed to being the best
lodging and food service company in the
world, by treating employees in ways that
create extraordinary customer service and
shareholder value
Corporate Culture
 The most abstract level of managerial
thinking
 How do you define culture?
 What is the significance of culture to
an organization?
 How does marketing affect culture in
the organization?
Corporate Objectives & Goals
 An objective is a long-range purpose
 Not quantified and not limited to a time period
 E.g. increasing the return on shareholders’ equity
 A goal is a measurable objective of the
business
 Attainable at some specific future date through planned
actions
 E.g. 10% growth in the next two years
What is a Strategic
Business Unit? (SBU)
 A set of products or product lines
 With clear independence from other
products or product lines
 for which a business or marketing strategy
should be designed
Characteristics of a viable SBU
 Unique business mission
 Definable set of competitors
 Integrative planning done independently
 Responsible for resource management in all
areas
 Large enough but not so large as to
become bureaucratic
(Source: Subhash Jain, Marketing Planning & Strategy, 6th Ed.)
Organizational Marketing Levels
Hofer and Schendel suggested that
organizations develop strategies at three
structural levels:
 Corporate level—(corporate marketing)
 SBU level—(Strategic Marketing)
 Product/Market level—(Functional
Marketing)
Marketing at the SBU Level—
Strategic Marketing
 Strategic Marketing requires
Detailed understanding of market needs,
and
Proactive use of competitive intelligence at
the corporate as well as SBU’s levels
 Strategic Marketing
Focuses on what the firm do best at the
SBU level
To secure and maintain a sustainable
competitive advantage
What is Competitive Advantage?
 “Competitive advantage is a company’s
ability to perform in one or more ways
that competitors cannot or will not
match.”
Philip Kotler
 “If you don’t have a competitive
advantage, don’t compete.”
Jack Welch, GE
Other Characteristics of Competitive
Advantage
 Substantiality
 Is it substantial enough to make a difference?
 Sustainability
 Can it be neutralized by competitors quickly?
 Ability to be leveraged into visible business
attributes that will influence customers
(Source: Strategic Marketing Management, Aakers)
Seeking Competitive Advantages
 Positions of advantage
 Superior customer value
 Lower relative total cost
 Performance advantages
 Customer satisfaction, Loyalty, Market Share,
Profit
 Sources of advantages
 Superior skills & knowledge, Superior
resources, Superior business process
Key Elements of Marketing Strategy
Formulation
 The strategic 3 Cs
 Customers, Competitors & the Corporation
 Environment analysis -- PEST
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Strategic Marketing Decisions
 Where to compete
 How to compete
 When to compete
A Viable Marketing Strategy
 Must have a clearly defined market
 Must have a good match between
corporate strengths and market needs
 Must have significant positive
differentiation in the key success
factors of the business
Situation Analysis
 Internal Analysis—company; capability etc.
 External Analysis—customers, market definition,
industry structure
 SWOT Analysis
 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
& Threats
 Identify & prioritize major problems and
opportunities: selection of key issues
 Based on the firm’s core competencies,
decide on future options
Marketing Audit
“Marketing audit is a comprehensive,
systematic, independent, and periodic
examination of a company’s—or business
unit’s—marketing environment, objectives,
strategies, and activities with a view to
determining problem areas and
opportunities and recommending a plan of
action to improve the company’s marketing
performance”
Philip Kotler
Characteristics of Marketing Audit
 Comprehensive
 Must cover all marketing areas
 Systematic
 Sequential diagnostic steps
 Independent
 Internal & external auditors
 Periodic
 Performed at regular intervals
Marketing Audit Procedure
 Marketing environment audit
 Marketing strategy audit
 Marketing organization audit
 Marketing system audit
 Marketing productivity audit
 Marketing function audit
 Marketing excellence review
 Ethical and social responsibility review