Week #3, Blog Entry #3:         Marketing Strategy: Analysis, Design, and Implementation

 

 

This week’s lessons focused on how businesses design marketing strategies, analyze their intended market segments and implement action plans to promote their products and services.

 

Market analytics will guide firm decisions regarding customer targeting, advertising, selling strategies and their locations, product promotions and value, branding, positioning, and packaging (Villegas, 2021). The analysis will direct a firm’s investments when entering a market and influence its behavior to develop a customer base, foster customer loyalty, and create brand development and customer retention strategies to maximize profits.

 

5 C’s of Marketing Analysis

 

Management must analyze the 5 C's—company, consumers, competitors, collaborators, and climate—to develop an effective marketing strategy (Bhasin, 2024). Understanding the company’s strengths and weaknesses is crucial for facing upcoming challenges. This includes analyzing the company’s goals, culture, technology, experience, and market image. The company analysis helps decide whether it is in a strong position to launch a new product or enter a new market. A thorough understanding of the customer base and a receptiveness to their needs are essential for developing a marketing strategy. Knowledge of potential competitors is also vital for market development and anticipating entry barriers. Identifying collaborators can help companies navigate future challenges. Finally, considering external factors such as regulatory issues, new social trends, and emerging technologies will provide insights into how receptive the market may be to their product.

 

Market Segmentation and Targeting

 

Once market analysis has been completed, company management will assess the product value in the market entertained and refine their customer base. To guide the effectiveness of their marketing efforts, companies engage in a customer segmentation process, defining customers who are more likely to be interested in their new product. Customer segmentation can be conducted by analyzing various factors, including geographic, demographic, firmographic, psychographic, and behavioral characteristics, as well as income (Tarver, 2024). The customer segmentation analysis involves a rigorous process to gather data that is accessible, measurable, substantial, differentiable, and actionable. Conducting a risk/benefit analysis of the customer segment data allows companies to identify the optimal marketing strategy for each segment, ensuring maximum return on investment (Tarver, 2024). The targeting of the marketing strategy will be guided by the customer segmentation analysis.

 

Psychographic Segmentation: VALS2 and PRIZM-NE

 

Psychographic segmentation divides consumers into groups based on their psychological traits, including values, beliefs, interests, and lifestyles. This approach helps companies create personalized marketing campaigns that aim for better engagement and customer loyalty. VALS2 is an example of psychographic segmentation that identifies eight customer segments based on values, attitudes, and lifestyles. PRIZM-NE is another psychographic segmentation tool that utilizes U.S. census data to categorize households into 14 social customer groups (Segment Your Market- Who’s Out There?, 2020). Effective segmentation allows companies to tailor their advertising to key consumer focus groups.

 

4 P’s of Marketing Implementation: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place

 

The insights gained from extensive marketing and customer analysis are implemented into a comprehensive marketing and advertising strategy, focusing on specific marketing strategies per customer segment. The marketing implementation will emphasize advertising campaigns across designated retailers and platforms, informing customers about product offerings, including price and availability in retail stores, benefits, complementary products, and promotional and loyalty programs (Villegas, 2021).

 

Product Positioning: Positioning Maps and Product Differentiation

 

Product positioning refers to the way a product is perceived by potential customers, which is subjective and intangible (Kaul & Rao, 1995). This involves creating a positive and attractive perception of the product for all customer segments targeted. In contrast, product differentiation provides a tangible comparison of how a product compares to its competitors (highlighting differences and advantages of the product compared to others) and its niche in the market, relating to its utility and benefits to customers. Effective product positioning can motivate target customers to choose the company’s products. Understanding the customer base is essential for shaping product differentiation and positioning advertising strategy.

 

Levels of Products and Services

 

Product levels highlight product-specific features, quality, design, and packaging, accentuating the product's uniqueness, associated services, warranty, and related product service lines. Product lines or multiple complementary products can enhance customer service and brand loyalty.

 

Brand Development and Equity

 

Brand development identifies a product or service that distinguishes it from competitors (Keller & Lehmann, 2006). Effective product branding emphasizes product attributes, benefits, and values, helping to create customer loyalty and recognition. Brand loyalty would enhance product would help establish product differentiation and specificity increasing the customer base and product sales.

 

References:

 

Villegas, J. (2021). Overview of Marketing by Dr. Villegas.  Lecture on Overview of Marketing. Personal Collection of J. Villegas, University of Illinois Springfield, IL.

 

Bhasin,H. (2024, June 19).  5 C’s of Marketing – Definition, Analysis and Examples. Marketing91.com.

https://www.marketing91.com/5-cs-of-marketing/#google_vignette

 

Tarver, E. (2024, June 7). Market Segmentation: Definition, Example, Types, Benefits. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketsegmentation.asp

 

Segment Your Market- Who’s Out There? (2020, December 7). https://biz.libretexts.org/@go/page/24262

 

Kaul, A., & Rao, V. Research for product positioning and design decisions: An integrative review. Volume 12, Issue 4, November 1995, Pages 293-320. International Journal of Research in Marketing.

https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-8116(94)00018-2

 

Keller, K., & Lehmann, D.  Brands and Branding: Research Findings and Future Priorities. Vol. 25, No. 6, November–December 2006, pp. 740–759.  Marketing Science. 

https://business.columbia.edu/sites/default/files-efs/pubfiles/2673/740.pdf

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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