strategic planning
the managerial process of creating and maintaining a fit between the organization's objectives and resources and evolving market opportunities
planning
the process of anticipating future events and determining strategies to achieve organizational objectives in the future
marketing planning
designing activities relating to marketing objectives and the changing market environment
marketing plan
a written document that acts as a guidebook of marketing activities for the marketing manager
mission statement
a statement of the firm's business based on a careful analysis of benefits sought by present and potential customers and an analysis of existing and anticipated environmental conditions
marketing myopia
defining a business in terms of goods and services rather than in terms of the benefits that customers seek
strategic business unit (SBU)
a subgroup of a single business or a collection of related businesses within the larger organization
marketing objective
a statement of what is to be accomplished through marketing activities
SWOT analysis
identifying internal strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and also examining external opportunities (O) and threats (T)
environmental scanning
collection and interpretation of information about forces, events, and relationships in the external environment that may affect the future of the organization or the implementation of the marketing plan
competitive advantage
the set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to the competition
cost competitive advantage
being the low-cost competitor in an industry while maintaining satisfactory profit margins
experience curves
curves that show costs declining at a predictable rate as experiences with a product increases
product/service differentiation competitive advantage
the provision of something that is unique and valuable to buyers beyond simply offering a lower price than the competition's
niche competitive advantage
the advantage achieved when a firm seeks to target and effectively serve a small segment of the market
sustainable competitive advantage
an advantage that cannot be copied by the competition
market penetration
a marketing strategy that tries to increase market share among existing customers
market development
a marketing strategy that entails attracting new customers to existing products
product development
a marketing strategy that entails the creation of new products for current customers
diversification
a strategy of increasing sales by introducing new products into new markets
portfolio matrix
a tool for allocating resources among products or strategic business unites on the basis of relative market share and market growth rate
star
in the portfolio matrix, a business unit that is a fast-growing market leader
cash cow
in the portfolio matrix, a business unit that usually generates more cash than it needs to maintain its market share
problem child (question mark)
in the portfolio matrix, a business unit that shows rapid growth but poor profit margins
dog
in the portfolio matrix, a business unit that has low growth potential and a small market share
marketing strategy
the activities of selecting and describing one or more target markets and developing and maintaining a marketing mix that will produce mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets
market opportunity analysis (MOA)
the description and estimation of the size and sales potential of market segments that are of interest to the firm and the assessment of key competitors in these market segments
marketing mix
a unique blend of product, place, promotion, and pricing strategies designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanges within a target market
four Ps
product, place, promotion, and price, which together make up the marketing mix
implementation
the process that turns a marketing plan into action assignments and ensures that these assignments are executed in a way that accomplishes the plan's objectives
evaluation
gauging the extent to which the marketing objectives have been achieved during the specified time period
control
provides the mechanisms for evaluating marketing results in light of the plan's objectives and for correcting actions that do not help the organization reach those objectives within budget guidelines
marketing audit
a thorough, systematic, periodic evaluation of the objectives, strategies, structure, and performance of the marketing organization