Marketing Planning
Strategic Marketing
Marketing Planning
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Good marketing requires good
planning
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To plan accordingly a company must
examine itself & its business environment
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Companies conduct a SWOT Analysis to
accomplish this
Marketing Planning

What is a SWOT Analysis?
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A SWOT Analysis occurs when a
company looks at their strengths and
weaknesses and analyzes the
opportunities and threats that surround
them.
Helps handle weaknesses
Prepares for threats
Strengths & Weaknesses
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Strengths & weaknesses are internal factors that affect a
business
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Internal Analysis centers on the 3 C’s
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Company
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Customers
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Customer feedback/surveys
Competition
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What a company does well & what don’t they do well
What is your company market share vs. your competitors?
What products, promotions, etc.. do they offer that are successful?
Must evaluate these components fairly
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Sometimes done by outside strategists
Strengths & Weaknesses
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Organizational Resources help identify
internal factors
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Production costs
Marketing skills
Financial Resources
Employee Capabilities
Available Technology
External Opportunities & Threats
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Opportunities and Threats are external
factors that affect a company
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Examine what your competition is
doing
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Conduct Environmental Scans
External Opportunities & Threats
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Environmental Scan: Examine outside
influences that impact your company
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Political/Legal: Laws, Regulations, Foreign Policy, etc..
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Economic: Robust Economy v. Recession
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Socio-Cultural: Lifestyle, Attitudes, Opinions, & Demographics of
customers
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Technological: Taking advantage of the latest & greatest
McDonald’s SWOT Example
List at least two examples
from the information given
Competitive Advantage
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Competitive Advantage is a set of
unique features of a company and its
products
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Target Market views them as significant
or superior to the competition
There are 3 types of competitive
advantages
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Cost
Product/Service Differentiation
Niche Strategies
Cost Competitive Advantage
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Having a cost competitive advantage means
being the low-cost competitor in an industry
while maintaining satisfactory profit margins.
 Obtain inexpensive raw materials
 Efficient manufacturing facilities
 Avoid marginal customers
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Wal-mart is a company with a cost-competitive
advantage
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Strong Buying Power Relationships
Cost Competitive Advantage
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Costs can be reduced for a company through….
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Experience Curves: Costs will decline as experience with
a product increases.
Prices are set based on anticipated costs versus current
costs
Efficient Labor: Labor costs are typically higher in lowskill, labor-intensive industries such as product assembly &
apparel merchandise
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Nike, Levi’s, & Liz Clairborne all produce overseas
Cost Competitive Advantage
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No frills goods & services
 Eliminate extras to reduce costs
 Example Southwest & Allegiant Airlines
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Government Subsidies
 Government provides grants & interest free
loans to target industries
 Example agriculture industry $10 - $30
billion a year
Cost Competitive Advantage
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Product Design
 Cutting-edge design technology offsets labor
costs
 Examples are BMW & Companies using
Reverse Engineering
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Reengineering
 Rethinking & redesigning a process to increase
profits
 Often done by reorganizing specific departments
Cost Competitive Advantage
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Product Innovations
 Done to lower production costs (new technology)
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New Methods of Service Delivery
 Medical expenses have been lowered due to
outpatient surgery & walk-in clinics
 Airlines promote online purchasing & kiosks
 Banks charge for using a teller
Product/Service Differentiation
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Product/Service Differentiation exists when a firm
provides something unique that is valuable to buyers
beyond simply offering a low price
 More sustainable than Cost Competitive
 Examples of how it occurs
 Brand Name (Lexus)
 Strong Dealer Network (Caterpillar Tractor)
 Product Reliability (Maytag)
 Image (Neiman Marcus)
 Service (Fedex)
Niche Differentiation
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Niche Differentiation seeks to target
& effectively serve a single segment of
the market
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Allows smaller companies to compete
Take the “leftovers” of a giant corporation
Usually occurs by targeting a specific
geographic area
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Jack in the Box only on West Coast
Competitive Advantage
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A sustainable competitive advantage
exists when it cannot be copied by the
competition
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Nike, Rolex, Nordstrom, Southwest Air,
etc…
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Building your competitive advantage
versus copying it allows for more growth
Strategic Decisions
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The end result of a SWOT Analysis &
identification of a competitive
advantage is to evaluate the strategic
direction of the firm
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There are three strategic decisions to
choose from
Strategic Decision
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Market Penetration is based off of trying to
increase market share among existing
customers.
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Example
 Maxwell house creates an aggressive coffee
campaign with advertisements & price
promotions such as coupons to existing
customers.
 The goal is to increase sales by adding more
customers
Strategic Decision
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Market Development means
attracting new customers to existing
products.
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New uses for old products
McDonalds opening new restaurants in
Russia, China, & Italy
Coke & Pepsi growing faster overseas
Strategic Decisions
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Product Development strategies
involve the creation of new products
for present markets.
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Clothing manufacturers are typically
product developers
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Designing a suit that is better in hot
weather
Strategic Decisions
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Diversification is a strategy of
increasing sales by introducing new
products into new markets
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Example
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Sony buys Columbia Pictures
Coca-Cola manufacturers water
treatment & water conditioning equipment
Assignment
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Create a SWOT analysis for a competitor of your research
company
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Identify the target market of your competition
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Each aspect of the SWOT needs to have at least two
identifiers
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Explain to me how your company has created a competitive
advantage & what they could do to create a competitive
advantage using a different approach
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Cost
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Product/Service Differentiation
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Niche
Assignment
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Of the 3 Strategic Directions a
company can take, which approach
does your company currently use.
Explain answer.
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Of the 3 Strategic Directions a
company can take, what could your
company do to fulfill those
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Market Penetration, Market Development, Product
Development
Marketing Planning