Marketing Management from Research to Control
Marketing Managers Start with a Look at the Market and Environment
Feb 3, 2009
Sales management and marketing management are not synonymous terms. Sales management is concerned more with selling existing products. Marketing management covers a much wider area from providing inputs for new product development to creating marketing orientation across the whole organization.
Strategic Marketing Management
The most effective kind of marketing starts with a detailed look at the markets and the environment in which the company operates. The research will typically involve:
- Profiling customers and competitors,
- Identifying the company's core competencies and special advantages,
- Looking at distribution channels and the company's experience with each, and
- Understanding industry trends and developments.
Based on the findings of the research, a marketing strategy will be developed. The strategy will spell out important decisions on such matters as:
- The objectives to be aimed for, such as higher margins, sustained revenue growth, increase in market share or long-term profitability
- The market segment to target, based on the company's special competencies and other strengths, and strategy objectives
- The desired position in customer minds that the company, product or brand wants to occupy, e.g. a "caring" company, a "value-for-money" product, a "luxury" brand
- The distribution channels to be tapped, such as own sales outlets, distribution through wholesalers and direct sales over the Internet. Distribution channels will be affected by the positioning decision, e.g. you don't sell cheap products through posh outlets in prime business districts
Marketing Management in Operation
Market Research: The current market oriented approach uses focus group interviews for gathering qualitative data, statistical surveys for collecting quantitative data, test marketing for marketing experiments and on-site observation for obtaining ethnographic details are common market research methods. Research will also look at competition in the market, and business environment, e.g. economic development, political situation, technology.
Marketing Plan: The marketing plan spells out in writing the rationale for and decisions on the marketing strategy (situation analysis, key marketing and financial objectives, target segments and competitive positioning) and the program for implementing it through a suggested marketing mix (4 Ps and specific tactics).
Marketing Operations: The following look at the marketing manager's work provides a framework for marketing management:
- Product development support by providing feedback from the market and customers, including customer complaints, desired features and competing product information.
- Pricing decision making by considering its implications for achieving strategy goals, e.g. below-cost, market penetration pricing for innovative new products
- Distribution of the products to selected places directly through own sales outlets/sales force or through different types of intermediaries
- Promotion mix choices from among the numerous publicity, advertisement and business promotion options
Marketing Control: Effective marketing invariably involves monitoring the effectiveness of the marketing strategy and tactics.
- Return on Investment (ROI) of each marketing campaign is measured by comparing the profits with the campaign outlays
- Targets for revenue and profits are set before each campaign and actual results are compared with these targets
- Techniques like split testing are used to pinpoint the specific elements that help campaigns to succeed
Marketing management is not merely selling your product using any means. Instead, it is a much bigger endeavor that starts with a research to learn about customer expectations, competing offers, industry trends and the business environment. Specific marketing strategies are developed based on the research findings, and implemented through appropriate marketing mix initiatives. Different techniques like ROI measurements and target/performance comparisons help measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
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