Marketing Decisions and Business Strategy
“Making Sure That Marketing Decisions Match the Business Strategy”
1. Comment of this statement: “Strategies most often fail because they aren’t executed well. Things that are supposed to happen don’t happen.”
A successful business strategy can help companies effectively execute and stay ahead of the competition. Maintaining strategic direction and relentlessly executing - rather than reacting to competitive conditions - is the most consistent route to success. Along with a successful strategy, a company needs to focus its culture and align it with employees. Aligning the right people in the right roles with the right strategy for your business will lead to organizational success.
2. Distinguish among the four fundamental business strategies described in this case: Pioneer, Fast Follower, Cost Leader, and Customer Centric.
There are four business strategies that companies can implement to become more aligned with their target market.
Pioneers identify and exploit new product and market opportunities by offering innovative products or by viewing the market from a different perspective. To be successful, pioneers must be both customer and innovation-oriented, patient, and have a decentralized marketing organization with a high proportion of marketing specialists. Pioneers must market aggressively because they are targeting innovators and early adopters. This strategy also requires educating customers and stimulating demand through advertising. Pioneers can charge a premium price for their product.
Fast Followers develop strategies with the knowledge gained from Pioneer’s. They identify opportunities by monitoring customer reactions and competitor’s activities, successes, and failures to identify unattended segments or product improvement opportunities. Successful Fast Followers also monitor competitors to understand their successes and failures.
Cost Leaders are typically late entrants that aggressively protect their market from competitors.
1. Comment of this statement: “Strategies most often fail because they aren’t executed well. Things that are supposed to happen don’t happen.”
A successful business strategy can help companies effectively execute and stay ahead of the competition. Maintaining strategic direction and relentlessly executing - rather than reacting to competitive conditions - is the most consistent route to success. Along with a successful strategy, a company needs to focus its culture and align it with employees. Aligning the right people in the right roles with the right strategy for your business will lead to organizational success.
2. Distinguish among the four fundamental business strategies described in this case: Pioneer, Fast Follower, Cost Leader, and Customer Centric.
There are four business strategies that companies can implement to become more aligned with their target market.
Pioneers identify and exploit new product and market opportunities by offering innovative products or by viewing the market from a different perspective. To be successful, pioneers must be both customer and innovation-oriented, patient, and have a decentralized marketing organization with a high proportion of marketing specialists. Pioneers must market aggressively because they are targeting innovators and early adopters. This strategy also requires educating customers and stimulating demand through advertising. Pioneers can charge a premium price for their product.
Fast Followers develop strategies with the knowledge gained from Pioneer’s. They identify opportunities by monitoring customer reactions and competitor’s activities, successes, and failures to identify unattended segments or product improvement opportunities. Successful Fast Followers also monitor competitors to understand their successes and failures.
Cost Leaders are typically late entrants that aggressively protect their market from competitors.