Marketing Strategy
In the competitive market, a successful marketing manager is one who keeps himself in continuous touch with the changes in the market and makes necessary changes in the marketing strategies of his enterprise. The policy of making necessary changes in the elements of marketing according to the needs and circumstances of the market is called marketing strategy. According to Philip Kotler, “A marketing strategy is a set of objectives, policies and rules that guide over time the firms marketing efforts.” It is a strategy to find profitable opportunities, creating competitive advantage, challenging competitive advantage and creating corporate advantage.
Factors to be considered in formulating marketing strategy
An efficient marketing strategy should include adequate advertising, create a marketing need, quality of the product, make the product available at the reach of the customer, cost effectiveness and its’ user friendliness. The following factors must be considered while formulating Marketing Strategy for an enterprise:
Expected countermoves of the competitors
An expert marketing manager must try to forecast the expected sequential and countermoves of the competitors before deciding upon marketing strategy for the business firm. The efforts must be made to forecast the changes in other services being provided by the competitors to the consumers like facility of credit, home delivery, after sale services, etc. Thus, the marketing strategy for the enterprise must be decided only after a thorough study of these changes and moves of the competitors.
Synergistic Potential
The modern marketing manager must make a careful study of marketing inputs before deciding upon the marketing strategy of the business firm (or enterprise). If any change is made in any of these inputs relative changes become immediately necessary in another inputs also. For example, production policy and channels of distribution are the marketing inputs of synergistic nature. If any change is made in the production policy of the firm, relative changes become imperative in the channels of distribution also. Thus, we can say, the marketing inputs are of synergistic nature, which affects marketing strategy of the firm.
Substitutability
The selection of marketing inputs is also effected by their degree of substitutability. For example, from various channels of distribution, the business firm may select best possible distribution channel for user friendliness and profit maximization. Likewise, there are various medium of advertisement and the firm may select anyone or more of these mediums for promotion of its goods and services. Therefore, a successful marketing manager must decide the marketing strategy for his firm after a careful consideration of such variable elements of marketing and chose the best possible element for his firm.
Diversity in productivity levels of marketing inputs
The modern marketing manager must recognize that different marketing inputs have different levels of productivity. This diversity has its own role to play in deciding the marketing strategy for the business firm. For example, there are many different advertising mediums for promotion of goods & services. Every medium has its own merits and demerits. Advertisement through Radio and Television may have effect in the whole country while advertisement through a signboard has its effect at a particular place only. Thus, the factor of such diversity must be thoroughly considered before deciding upon the marketing strategy.
Elasticity of marketing input
The different marketing inputs are elastic and they affect the demand of the goods & services. The marketing manager must recognize that affect on the goods & services. Let’s take practical example, in almost all the markets of India, the prices of vegetables, pulses, clothes, etc, are variable for different types of customers (wholesalers, retailers and consumers) and areas of the country on the basis of varying elasticity. Thus, this factor of elasticity of marketing inputs must be taken into accounts before deciding upon marketing strategy for the firm.
Thus, an expert marketing manager must consider all the above factors while formulating the marketing strategy of the business firm. The strategy must be flexible to integrate all the strategic factors of the competitors as and when required.
