Marketing Principles & Strategy

Marketing mix or 4 Ps

The four controllable areas used to create, communicate, deliver, and capture value: product, price, place, and promotion.

Product

The offering a firm creates to provide value; can be goods, services, or ideas.

Good

A tangible offering that can be physically held or possessed.

Service

An intangible offering that provides a benefit or experience rather than a physical object.

Idea

A concept or point of view that can be promoted as an offering.

Price

The value exchanged for an offering, including money, time, energy, information, or convenience.

Place

The activities that deliver an offering to the consumer, including the supply chain and place of purchase.

Supply chain

The network and process that moves the right product to the right customer at the right time.

Promotion

Communication used to describe an offering, attract customers, share value, and build interest or advocacy.

Stakeholders

People or groups affected by or able to affect an organization, including employees, owners, partners, customers, government, and society.

Internal marketing

Marketing directed toward internal parties, especially employees, to support the organization and its customer promise.

For-profit company

An organization that markets goods, services, or ideas in order to earn profits.

B2C

Business-to-consumer marketing: a business markets directly to individual consumers.

B2B

Business-to-business marketing: a business markets to another organization.

Manufacturer

A firm that produces goods or offerings.

Wholesaler

An intermediary that typically purchases and distributes products to retailers or other businesses.

Retailer

A business that sells products directly to consumers.

Nonprofit organization

An organization that uses marketing to advance a mission or serve a cause rather than distribute profits.

C2C

Consumer-to-consumer marketing: an individual markets or sells to another individual.

Market research

The collection and analysis of information about customers, competitors, and the marketplace.

Segmentation

Dividing a broad marketplace into groups of customers with shared characteristics or needs.

Value proposition

A concise statement of the specific benefits an offering provides and why it is superior to alternatives.

Personal value equation

Value = benefits / price, where perceived value rises when benefits increase or total sacrifices decrease.

Customer

The person or organization that buys a product.

Consumer

The person who uses a product, who may drive the purchase even when someone else buys it.

Transactional orientation

A short-term approach where the interaction feels like a single transaction or the customer is just a number.

Relational orientation

A long-term approach focused on building ongoing, mutually valuable customer relationships.

Customer relationship management (CRM)

Systems and practices that warehouse and leverage customer data to improve communication and manage loyalty.

Value co-creation

The process of creating value together with customers through interaction, feedback, and participation.

Customer retention

Keeping existing customers over time; a central goal of relationship marketing.

Customer equity

The total value of a firm's customer relationships, built through loyalty and profitable long-term connections.

Strategic planning

The process of setting direction, choosing objectives, and allocating resources to achieve organizational goals.

Corporate-level strategy

Organization-wide strategy set by top executives.

Business-level strategy

Strategy for a strategic business unit or line of business.

Functional-level strategy

Departmental strategy that supports business- and corporate-level plans.

Strategic business unit (SBU)

A distinct business or product-market area within a larger organization that can have its own strategy.

Marketing plan

A written document that records marketing strategy, objectives, target markets, mix, competitive advantage, and resources.

Mission statement

A statement of an organization's current purpose, what it does, whom it serves, and how it differs from competitors.

Product orientation

An organizational focus that emphasizes the product or offering itself.

Customer orientation

An organizational focus that emphasizes customer needs, value, and satisfaction.

Competitive advantage

A meaningful advantage over competitors that helps an organization create and deliver superior value.

Sustainable competitive advantage

An advantage that is valuable, difficult to imitate, rare, and supported by the organization.

VRIO framework

A test for sustainable advantage: Valuable, Rare, difficult to Imitate, and supported by the Organization.

Customer excellence

An advantage based on strong customer service and genuine care for customers.

Company culture

Shared attitudes and behaviors that shape how employees work and support performance and retention.

Intellectual property

Protected creations such as copyrights, patents, and trademarks that can differentiate a firm.

Operational excellence

An advantage based on efficient, reliable, and effective operations.

Product excellence

An advantage based on an offering's quality, performance, design, or desirability.

Locational excellence

An advantage created by being in a convenient or strategically useful location.

Situational analysis

Assessment of an organization's internal capabilities and external environment.

SWOT analysis

A framework that organizes internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats.

Strengths

Internal resources or capabilities that help an organization compete.

Weaknesses

Internal limitations or gaps that hinder performance.

Opportunities

External conditions an organization may use to improve performance or create value.

Threats

External conditions that may harm performance or make competition more difficult.

5M framework

An internal-resource checklist: Minds, Minutes, Machinery, Materials, and Money.

Microenvironment

Nearby external forces that directly affect the organization, including partners, suppliers, customers, and competitors.

Market intermediaries

Partners such as retailers and wholesalers that help move offerings to customers.

Competitive intelligence

The proactive and reactive process of identifying, researching, and investigating direct and indirect competitors.

Direct competitor

A competitor offering a similar solution to the same target customers.

Indirect competitor

A competitor offering a different solution that satisfies a similar customer need.

Macroenvironment

Broad external forces affecting organizations and markets, including social, technological, economic, and political/legal factors.

Demographics

Population characteristics such as age, income, education, and race.

Cultural trends

Shifts in shared values and behaviors, such as health and wellness or privacy concerns.

Demographic cliff

A sharp or significant change in population size or composition that can affect demand and planning.

Technological factors

Innovations, automation, and research and development changes that improve offerings or operations.

Economic factors

Conditions affecting how consumers buy and spend, including inflation, unemployment, interest rates, and growth.

Political/legal factors

Government organizations, legislation, and laws shaping legal competition and consumer protection.

Objectives

Short-term actions or measurable steps that help an organization move toward its goals.

Goals

Long-term outcomes an organization wants to achieve.

Issues

Important context or challenges identified through SWOT analysis that affect planning.

Target audience

The specific group of people or organizations a marketing effort is designed to reach.

Targeting

Evaluating market segments for attractiveness and choosing which customers to pursue.

Buyer persona

A description of the ideal customer, including relevant characteristics, needs, motivations, and behaviors.