MKTG 14 Chapter 2: Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts for strategic planning, portfolio matrix models, competitive advantage, and marketing plan elements from Chapter 2 of MKTG 14.

Strategic Planning

The managerial process of creating and maintaining a fit between the organization’s objectives and resources and the evolving market opportunities.

Strategic Business Unit (SBU)

A subgroup of a single business or collection of related businesses within the larger organization.

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 present markets.

Diversification

A strategy of increasing sales by introducing new products into new markets.

Innovation Matrix

A framework enabling a company to see what types of assets need to be developed and what markets are possible to grow into (or create) across core, adjacent, and transformational levels.

Portfolio Matrix

A tool for allocating resources among products or strategic business units on the basis of relative market share and market growth rate.

Star

In the Boston Consulting Group portfolio matrix, a business unit that is a fast-growing market leader.

Cash Cow

In the Boston Consulting Group portfolio matrix, a business unit that generates more cash than it needs to maintain its market share.

Problem Child (Question Mark)

In the Boston Consulting Group portfolio matrix, a business unit that shows rapid growth but poor profit margins.

Dog

In the Boston Consulting Group portfolio matrix, a business unit that has low growth potential and a small market share.

General Electric Model

A strategic portfolio management grid that uses market attractiveness and company strength (business position) divided into high, medium, and low zones.

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 marketing 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 customers seek.

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

A set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to those of 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 experience 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 that of the competition.

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.

Marketing Objective

A statement of what is to be accomplished through marketing activities.

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.

Target Market

A group of people or organizations for which an organization designs, implements, and maintains a marketing mix intended to meet the needs of that group, resulting in mutually satisfying exchanges.

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 (Four Ps)

A unique blend of product, place (distribution), promotion, and pricing strategies designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanges with a target market.

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.

Task Force

A tightly organized unit under the direction of a manager who usually has broad authority, established to accomplish a single goal or mission against a deadline.

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.