ESSENTIALS OF MARKETING STRATEGIES

SYNOPSIS: Marketing Essentials blends theory and practice to facilitate immediate implementation and impact. You will learn to develop a strategic marketing plan for organizational implementation and integration with sales and customer plans. A review of the marketing environment (social, economic, legal, regulatory, competitive, and technological forces) is used to help develop the segmentation, targeting and market positioning strategy for implementation along with the marketing mix (product, price, place and promotion). The goal is the identification and delivery of organizational competitive advantage and customer satisfaction – key to long-term revenue growth, profitability and success.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

At the end of the training, participants will be able:

• Have a basic grasp of fundamental marketing principles
• Learn about the relationships between corporate strategic planning and marketing planning
• Understand the specific features of business-to-business and services marketing
• Have a framework for developing a strategic marketing plan
• Gain insights into the fundamental components of the marketing mix
• Have confidence to use some marketing tools and techniques
• Have a skeleton marketing plan for your organization or unit
• Be able to relate marketing principles to your specific area of responsibility

COURSE CONTENT

What is marketing?

• The Basics
• The Marketing Commitment
• Marketing Planning - 3Cs and 4 Ps
• Marketing Services and Intangibles - special considerations
• Who Markets and How? (exercise)

Know Your Customer

• Who are the Customers - current/potential; internal/external?
• Customer Needs - what do they buy and why?
• Market Segmentation
• Customer Segments - commonalities and differences (exercise)

Situation Analysis

• The External Environment (PESTLE)
• The Inner Environment (3Cs)
• The Changing Nature of Competition
• SWOT Analysis (exercise)

Developing the Product/Service Portfolio

• Core and Enhanced Products
• Tangibles and Intangibles
• Differentiation
• Product and Services Portfolio
• Product Development Process
• Product Opportunity Matrix (exercise)

Pricing

• Considerations
• Cost vs. Value
• Alternative Pricing Models
• Sources of Value
• Developing a Pricing Strategy (exercise)

Promotion

• Marketing Life Cycle
• AIDA - Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action
• Marketing Media - PR, posters, open sessions etc.
• Developing a Promotional Plan (exercise)

Sales and Channel Strategy (Place)

• Who sells and how?
• Direct vs. Indirect
• Selling Intangibles
• Winning Proposals
• Negotiation techniques - creating win-wins
• Client management
• Developing a Sales Plan (exercise)

Developing and Monitoring a Cohesive Marketing Plan

• The Marketing Audit
• Criteria of a Good Plan
• Market Intelligence and Research
• Marketing Information Systems
• The Marketing Mix
• Resource Planning and Change Management
• Performance Monitoring - market research, data collection, benchmarking
• Developing an Outline Plan (exercise)

TARGET AUDIENCE: Sales/Marketing Officers, Representatives, Managers etc.