# Marketing Strategy, Opportunity Analysis and Segmentation

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## 🧭 Table of Contents
[TOC]

# 🖊️ Video Lessons & Synchronous Class

## 🧩 M11L2 - Marketing Essentials

**Lesson Objectives**:
* Define marketing and its relationship to business goals
* Describe the high-level tasks and functions associated with marketing
* Define the 5 C's of business strategy and marketing strategy
* Explain the customer marketing model
* Explain the purpose of customer personas and buyer journey

**Section Breakdown**:
This section introduces the fundamental definitions and philosophical underpinnings of marketing:
* Marketing is the creation and satisfaction of demand for a product or service
* The goal of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits their wants/needs and sells itself

### 🔸 Terminology

++Marketing++: the creation and satisfaction of demand for a product or service
++Strategy++: a set of ideas that outline how a product line or brand will achieve its objectives
++Tactic++: a specific action or method that contributes to achieving a goal

### 🔹 Marketing - What's the Purpose?


Why so many different bicycles? Simply, to provide a product for a wide-range of customers wants.

### 🔹 Firm Inputs into Marketing a Bicycle

* Analyze Needs
* Predict Wants
* Estimate Demand
* Determine Where
* Estimate Price
* Decide Promotion
* Estimate Competition
* Provide Service

### 🔸 Universal Functions of Marketing


* **Buying** - looking for and evaluating goods and services
* **Selling** - promoting product to prospective buyers
* **Transporting** - moving the goods from one place to another
* **Storing** - holding inventory until needed
* **Standardizing & Grading** - sorting products by size and quality
* **Financing** - providing the necessary cash and credit to produce, transport, store, promote, buy and sell products
* **Risk Taking** - assuming responsibility for uncertainties
* **Market Information** - collection, analysis, and distribution of all the information that marketers need to plan, implement, and control the satisfying of market activities

### 🔸 The Marketing Concept and Customer Value


---

## 🧩 M11L3 - Marketing Strategy

**Section Breakdown**:
If you think of Marketing like a funnel, where the idea of Marketing is the funnel itself then Strategy is the widepart of the funnel. It is the HOW a firm markets it's products to it's customers and the general approach, encompassed by the 5 C's. The concept that customers are the focal point of marketing is key here and the idea of Marketing Mix, which are factors that the company can control when marketing to customers.

### 🔸 Strategy - 5 C's


* ++Customers++ are potential buyers with wants and needs that the company aims to fulfill with its offerings. They are the focal point of the 5 C's.
* Also referred to as Consumers (Business buyers) and Customers (Non-Business buyers)
* ++Company++ is the organization or business unit providing certain goods or services.
* Strategy includes: SWOT, Perceptual and Positioning Maps, Marketing Mix Differentiation
* Must be aware of the competition
* ++Competitors++ are organizations that offer products or services that aim to fulfill the same wants and needs of the same customers as the company's offerings.
* Competitive Matrix is an analysis tool that captures things like the benefits and features of a competitor
* Porter's Five Forces another framework for capturing competitor's analysis
* ++Collaborators++ are external businesses that work with the company to create value for customers.
* Examples include: Raw Material suppliers, distributors, marketing agencies, 3rd party retailers
* Example: Samsung depends upon Costco, Target, AT&T, Verizon, etc.
* ++Context++ is the environment in which the company operates and it's associated elements.
* Elements include: regulations or laws, economic conditions, cultural norms, and technological factors
* PESTEL Analysis - Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors

The purpose of the 5 C's framework is to ground ourselves in the factors that influence strategy so that we can use them as a guide for analysis.

### 🔸 Marketing Strategy


### 🔸 Customer Marketing Model


* ++Awareness++ - the potential customer identifies the product
* ++Interest & Engagement++ - the potential customer learns more about the product and engages with the product or company
* ++Acquisition++ - the customer actually purchases the product
* ++Customer Segmentation++ - the organization begins to differentiate between customers and markets to them appropriately
* ++Customer Retention++ - the organization focuses on convincing the customer to keep spending with them
* ++Support & Advocacy++ - the customer is so pleased with the product and the organization that they freely market on behalf of the company

### 🔸 Customer Profiles/Personas


++Personas/Profiles++ are depicitions of the target audience that help to identify the best marketing strategy for a particular group.

The example above shows a non-exhaustive depiction of customer profiles and is merely intended as a an example. Marketers must consider many more components.

### 🔹 Identifying Specific Customer Needs


In this example, the marketer is attempting to cater to the needs of the customer by offering a simple, easy-to-understand solution to their problems.


This example shows a marketer's attempt to cater to the needs of parents.

### 🔸 Buyer Journey


### 🔸 A Comprehensive Approach


This model depicts a firm that has focused on marketing the concept of strong customer satisfaction:
* Offer the customer a good value that attracts and satisfies the customer's wants or needs
* Keep customers by ensuring customer satisfaction and good value
* Leading to repeat sales and thus a stronger relationship with customers

---

## 🧩 M11L4 - Marketing Planning

**Lesson Objectives**:
* Explain the marketing strategy planning process and its importance
* Describe how organizations identify attractive opportunities
* Discuss the differences between market penetration and product development
* Explain the high-level components associated with the marketing mix

**Section Breakdown**:
So far, we have learned that Marketing is the wider concept, Market Strategy is the beginning of the fine details, and now we learn planning. Market Strategy is defined as Marketing Mix + Target Market. To turn this into planning, we simply add time-related details. What product, sell to who, for how long, at what quantity, using what resources, and what do we expect to gain? We would also specify a means of control, including procedures.

In addition, the concept of Market Penetration is considered. This is the idea of a firm aiming to increase the sale of their current product offering(s).

### 🔹 Marketing Strategy


### 🔸 Elements of a Firm's Marketing Program


++Marketing Plans++ specify what marketing mix will be offered, to whom, and for how long, what company resources will be needed and at what rate and what results are expected. Should also specify the means of control and procedures so that the responsible person has a means to identify error.

### 🔸 The Management Job in Marketing


++Market Management Process++ is the planning, implementation and control of marketing activities.
* Activities are continuous and decisions made in the past can affect other areas as well

++Strategic Management Planning++ involves developing and maintaining a match between resources and market opportunities. It includes:
* Planning for marketing, production, finance, human resources and other areas

**💡 Note**: Marketing Plan sets the tone and direction for the whole company.

++Implementation++ is the process of putting market plans into action.

++Control++ is assessing and evaluating marketing performance.

### 🔸 Marketing Strategy Planning Process Highlights Opportunities


Marketing Strategy:
1. Begins by gathering information about the market and the company
2. Narrows down that information from broad opportunities to specific strategies where screening criteria helps to identify the strategy
3. Segmentation helps pinpoint the target
4. The Strategy should evolve to adapt to changing customer needs


In this example, we can see Ford's use of the Market Strategy Planning over the decades. It started with a need for basic transportation, evolved to offer more options and eventually leads to more modern options.

### 🔸 Target Marketing


++Target Marketing++ is about tailoring the marketing mix to meet the needs of a specific group of target customers. Limited to a homogenous market segment.


++Mass Marketing++ offers a single marketing mix combination to everyone. It assumes everyone is the same and assumes everyone is a potential customer.

### 🔸 Attractive Opportunities


Proactively satisfying customer needs means the marketer must engage in a search for opportunities.

#### 🔹 Old Spice


Old Spice was using Marketing Strategy to alter the appearance of their bottles to appeal more to women. They conducted thorough market research and found that women were doing the majority of shopping for their household and as a result they altered the bottle to be more appealing to women. Today, they are shifting towards more masculine-looking bottles to appeal to a broader market.

### 🔸 Market Penetration - Starbies


Starbucks was using an ad to attempt to penetrate the market by increasing sales of the firm's present product in the market. They also used gift cards as an attempt to increase customer relations by offering personalizable gift cards.

Personal Note: Maybe try better coffee?

### 🔸 Product Development


In this ad, Tylenol is attempting to offer an improved product:
* New/Unique Benefits
* Create new market(s)

The new pill has laser-drilled holes in it so that the release happens much quicker. It does not have to dissolve before the medicine can begin taking effect.

Service firms also practice new product development by offering new services.

#### 🔹 Chrysler 👎 Minivans 👍

*(If you're reading this, the thumb down means that I hate Chrysler, their quality is garbage and as a QA guy they deserve to go under... But minivans are sick!)*

In the 1980s, Chrysler created their minivans. They used marketing analysis to identify a need for parents to have more accessibility to their vehicles and as such, the minivan was born!

The takeaway here is that they were intentional about observing consumer behaviors and continued to seek new ways to innovate and deliver greater value.

### 🔸 Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)


++Customer Lifetime Value++ is the total stream of purchases that a customer could contribue to the company over the length of the relationship.
* Extremely important to marketers as this value can add up to be quite a lot.
* A great example is Amazon Prime offering advantages such as 2-day shipping, access to video streaming library, music streaming library and other benefits.

### 🔸 International Opportunities

International trading is improving thanks to breakthroughs in transport and telecommunications.

Expansion into these markets can help to drive down manufacturing costs.
Early starts in these markets is crucial, but you should always be wary of the risks.

## 🧩 M11L5 - Marketing Mix

**Section Breakdown**:
Marketing Mix is a name for controllable variables in regards to marketing to customers. So what is controllable? The product for sale, the place you sell it, the price you give it, and any associated promotions on that item!

### 🔸 The 4 P's


#### 🔹 Product Element - Rubbermaid

Rubbermaid created collapsable containers for food storage. When not in use, you can collapse the size of the container down to 1 inch.

We have:
* Physical Characteristics
* Warranties
* Application Benefits

#### 🔹 Place Element

Get the product to the right consumer, at the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity, and in the right condition.

#### 🔹 Promotion Element - 3 Types


#### 🔹 Price Element

The right price relies on:
* Price Objectives
* Price Flexibility
* Price Over Life Cylce
* Discounts and Allowances
* Geographic Pricing Terms
* Competition

## 🧩 M11L6 - Evaluating Opportunities

**Lesson Objectives**:
* Reinforce the components of marketing strategy planning
* Describe the marketing environment
* Discuss company and competitive analysis
* Describe the components of the external marketing environment
* Discuss marketing planning grids and profit analysis

**Section Breakdown**:
So far, we have learned the concepts of Strategy, Marketing Mix, and the 4 P's of Marketing Mix. Taking it a step further, how do companies identify 'opportunities' for marketing to their defined marketing groups? Planning around the environment, which is both internal and external factors.

### 🔸 High-Level Marketing Strategy Planning Process


### 🔸 Market Strategy Planning

Recall this diagram:


Market Strategy Planning involves the following considerations:
* Company
* Objectives & Resources
* Competitors
* Current & Prospective
* External Market Environment
* Economic
* Technological
* Political & Legal
* Cultural & Social

Which all lead into:
* Evaluating Opportunities
* Screening Criteria
* Planning Grids
* Planning for Multiple Products

### 🔸 Marketing Environment


Marketers must make decisions on the 4 P's in the context of these environments. They must also continuously scan the environment.

## 🧩 Synchronous Class

The synchronous class did not seem to cover any new material, just provided examples of previously discussed concepts.

:::info
If you wish to provide notes from the synchronous class, please let me know! I will gladly add those.
:::

## 🧩 M11L7 - Company & Competitive Analysis

### 🔸 Hierarchy of Objectives


Company objectives drive the organization towards their objectives. Above you can see an example of the hierarchy for determining specific marketing objectives. Each layer guides the development of the next.

Each objective should be explicit so that they are quantified and related to time deadlines.

### 🔸 Resources Limit Opportunities


Key areas that might limit opportunities are defined above.
* Finanical Strength - Opportunities cost money, less money means less opportunities explored
* Production Capability & Flexibility - As the quantity of units produced increases, price decreases however, changes are costly
* Marketing Strengths - Familiar brands, strong customer relations, creative advertisements, etc.

Examples of Company Resources:
* Financial Strength → AT&T
* Production Flexibility → Dell
* R&D → IBM
* Relationships → P&G
* Loyal Customer Base → Apple
* New Product Capability → 3M

### 🔸 Analyzing Competitors & Environment


Prudent managers make decisions to avoid competition OR prepare for it.

++Monopoly++ is a situation where one company serves the entire customer base.
++Monopolistic Competition++ is where a number of different firms offer marketing mixes that at least some customers see as different
++Oligopoly++ where a small number of firms control the market
++Pure Competition++ is where a large number of firms compete with essentially similar or commodity-like products. Price is the determining factor for consumers here.

## 🧩 M11L8 - External Marketing Environment

### 🔸 Economic Environment


Even the best laid marketing strategies are influenced due to the economic conditions. In a recession, consumers spend less money so the marketing strategy is ineffective and as a result, marketing managers look for ways to lessen the impact of these.

Inflation rates also affect these due to the value of money dropping.

### 🔸 Political Environment


The political environment considers how and to what degree a government interferes in the economy. Common areas include trade policies, labor laws, and the political stability of the region.

### 🔸 Legal Environment

Legal factors include;
* Health & Safety
* Advertising Standards
* Product Safety
* Product Labeling
* Consumer Rights

### 🔸 Cultural & Social Environment

Also known as Sociocultural factors, these areas involve the shared beliefs and attitude of the population in a given area. Affected by;
* Population Growth
* Age Distribution
* Health Consciousness
* Career Attitudes
* Etc.

## 🧩 M11L9 - Planning & Profit Analysis

### 🔸 Planning Grid


Planning grids help managers summarize the interaction of several key factors identified by the company to be important. A strategic planning grid positions opportunities according to industry attractiveness and business strengths.

++Industry Attractiveness++ includes characteristics such as market size, growth and competitive structure.
++Business Strengths++ are the resources of the organization such as people skills, technological position, growth, market share or profitability.

Combining these two, the manager can show where an opportunity appears on this grid.

#### 🔹 Proctor & Gamble

P&G owns several brands ranging from haircare to foodsnacks. They used to own Folgers coffee company, but sold the brand back in 2008. They are an excellent example of strategic planning.

## 🧩 M11L10 - Segmentation

**Lesson Objectives**:
* Describe markets and the role in selecting a target market strategy
* Define segmentation and its role in identifying possible target markets
* Discuss key criteria for determining segments
* Describe core segmentation dimensions
* Discuss segmenting business markets
* Outline best practices for segmenting product markets

### 🔸 Focusing Market Strategy with Segmentation


++Segmentation++ includes:
* Defining Markets
* Dimensions to use
* Identifying segments
* Identifying segments to target
* Segmentation approaches

### 🔸 Understanding Markets

**💡 Note**: Strategy planning is a "narrowing-down" process.

++Market++ - a group of potential customers with similar needs who are willing to exchange something of value for a product

**💡 Note**: Customers make the market and their needs/wants change with time.

* ++Product-Oriented Approach++ runs the risk of ignoring customers by fixating on the product rather than the buyer's interest

* ++Generic Market++ - a market with broadly similar needs and sellers offering various, and often diverse, ways of satisfying those needs
* Examples: entertainment such as music concerts, movies, or cruises

* ++Product Market++ - a market with very similar needs and sellers offering various, close substitute ways of satisfying their needs
* Examples: cameras offer compact digital cameras, rugged and waterproof cameras and super zoom cameras

* ++Broader Market++ - includes both generic and product markets and can help firms find opportunities
* Too broad and the company's resources seem insignificant
* Too narrow and the company's opportunities are limited
* No exact formula for aligning objectives & resources with opportunities

### 🔸 Relationship: Generic & Product Markets


### 🔸 Marketing Environment - An Example of a Breakdown


The process begins by considering the broader market: 'Hydration' →
Then we consider: 'Manufactured Beverages' → 'Performance Beverages' → 'Recovery Drinks' →
Lastly, we aggregate the market segments into groups!

### 🔸 Segmentation: Definition & Steps

++Segmentation++ - an aggregating process that clusters people with similar wants and needs into a market segment

**🧠 Insight**: Market Segmentation defines possible target markets.

**Steps**: Considering marketing bicycles

1. Define the broad product market: Bicycle Riders
2. Segment them into sub-markets: Using a marketing grid which allows for market segmentation and defining homogenous product markets.


### 🔸 Segmenting vs. Combining


### 🔸 Criteria for Determining Segments

1. People in the segements are roughly alike along some important consumer dimension(s)
2. People in the segments are different from the people in the other segments
3. The segment is large enough to be profitable.
4. The segmenting dimensions should be useful for identifying customers and designing the marketing mix.
5. If chosen to puruse; the company has the resources available to adjust its marketing mix to appeal to each segment.

### 🔸 How much Aggregation When Segmenting?


A market can be segmented into any number of aggregations. The idea is to either appeal to the broad market or to develop strategies to appeal to individual segments.

---

## 🧩 M11L11 - Segmentation Dimensions

### 🔸 Demographic Dimensions


### 🔸 Geographic Dimensions


### 🔸 Behavioral Dimensions


### 🔸 Segmenting Business Markets


### 🔸 Qualifying & Determining Dimensions

**Qualifying Dimensions**
* Relevant to including a customer type in a product market
* Help identify "core benefits"

**Determining Dimensions**
* Affect the customer's purchase of a product or brand
* Can be further segmented

### 🔸 Analytical Techniques for Segmentation

* Clustering - try to find similar patterns within sets of data
* Customer Relationship Managments (CRM) - sophisticated modeling techniques can predict the types of products or services an individual might want based on information

### 🔸 Best Practice Approach for Segmenting


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# ❓ Self-Assessment Questions

1. Which of the following are the core components of marketing strategy?

* target market, marketing mix

2. Which of the following **is not** considered a component of customer profiles/personas?

* Assumption attributes (speculation data, company opinions, guesstimates, etc.)

3. Lipton has increased sales by developing ads that encourage its current customers to drink Lipton tea instead of coffee at morning "coffee breaks." This effort focuses on:

* market penetration

4. The "four Ps" of a marketing mix are:

* Product, Place, Promotion, and Price

5. Which of the following is not part of the external marketing environment?

* competitive environment

6. Jazzy Tile Co. segmented its broad product-market and decided to aim at two different segments, offering each segment a different marketing mix. Jazzy Tile Co. is following the ______________ approach.

* multiple target market

7. Which of the following is NOT a factor that can affect the choice of segmenting or combining:

* Combining implies more marketing costs

8. Which of the following is not a criteria for determining segments?

* People in the segment are similar to people in other segments.

9. Torpedo Brands is a newly emerging shoe manufacturing company. After extensive market research the firm has divided its market into professional athletes, amateur players, and non-athlete casual. Each category has its own needs, traits, and marketing goals. In this scenario, Torpedo Brands has engaged in market _______

* segmentation

10. Which of the following activities are not considered marketing:

* building a facility to make furniture.

11. **(True/False)**. Part of the criteria for determining ta viable market segment is that the segment needs be large enough to be profitable.

* True