Marketing strategies used in business planning. Company marketing strategy: from development to analysis. Marketing communications strategy

Marins Park Hotel Sochi

In the current difficult financial and economic situation, for Russian Federation, the activities of many tourism and service enterprises are associated with economic risks. Many tourism enterprises have problems that are associated with financial instability. In this regard, the development of an enterprise’s own marketing strategy is becoming increasingly important. Management of the activities of enterprises in the tourism and service sector, such as, for example, the Marins Park Hotel Sochi enterprise, should pay special attention to marketing, which helps to meet the needs of the guest, stimulates the expansion of sales markets, increases the competitiveness of the services provided, improves the level of competence of the enterprise management when accepting marketing solutions, establishes relationships with regular partners, promotes the introduction of new technologies and, in general, improves financial condition enterprises. When solving these problems, there is a need to analyze the complexities that determine the described solutions. These include the lack of guarantees of the ultimate effectiveness of managing the activities of an enterprise based on marketing orientation. High responsibility of enterprise managers to end consumers for the supply and sale of products, high-quality feasibility studies of management decisions, and, accordingly, specific solutions to management problems.

Analysis of the criteria on the basis of which decisions are made marketing solutions, showed that they are multidimensional in nature.

A strategy is a program of action that identifies the priority of problems and resources to achieve the main goal. The strategy forms the main goals and the main ways to achieve them in such a way that the enterprise receives a single direction of action. Marketing strategy represents a system of enterprise actions in which the internal environment is correlated with the external one.

The development of a marketing strategy is preceded by marketing research, which represents specific decisions on the following issues:

Determining the influence of external and internal factors on the activities of the enterprise;

Analysis of the current market situation;

Comprehensive assessment by the enterprise of its production potential;

Increasing the competitiveness of services;

Pricing policy planning;

Management and promotion of product sales;

Formation of demand and determination of market capacity;

Planning the optimal volume of production that maximizes profits and minimizes losses of the enterprise, taking into account its marketing orientation;


Managing the product range based on the capabilities of the enterprise and market requirements;

Strategic management of the product production process in terms of production and sales costs.

Having carried out the appropriate marketing research, the Marins Park Hotel Sochi enterprise can proceed to the direct development of a marketing strategy, determining how it is necessary to apply the marketing structure in order to interest and satisfy target markets and achieve the goals of the enterprise.

The first part describes the size, structure and behavior of the target market, the expected stability of the product, and also provides long-term planning of indicators such as sales volume, market share and profit margin.

In the current economic conditions in the country, when considering a marketing strategy, the most important tasks for Marins Park Hotel Sochi are the following:

1) Increasing sales volume and managing the sales of services;

2) Achieving the best price level, therefore, reducing production costs mainly by reducing internal costs;

3) Overcoming competition and developing and implementing a marketing strategy at the enterprise will make it possible to withstand the onslaught of foreign companies and win back your customer segment in the market;

4) Integration of all marketing-based management functions with the unifying and coordinating management functions in the market;

5) A clearly reflected system of marketing services. The marketing service at the enterprise provides reliable information; conducts marketing research; develops a marketing strategy for the enterprise; forms a marketing plan; implements the action program and determines the marketing budget. Only if all links of this mechanism are well-functioning can one count on good results that will lead to the achievement of the main goal of the enterprise.

Marketing policy of an enterprise is mainly related to its financial capabilities. Today manufacturers are in difficult financial situation and do not have the opportunity to increase the cost of production without compromising its competitiveness, therefore marketing costs are very insignificant, which is reflected in the implementation of the marketing strategy. When developing and implementing a marketing strategy at an enterprise, it is possible to increase competitiveness, increase product sales and improve pricing policies in the unstable market conditions prevailing in the country.

The marketing strategy at the enterprise I am considering involves:

Development (improvement) of the hotel mission;

Development of a tree of general corporate goals for the hotel;

Choosing a new general corporate strategy hotels.

Let's look at each stage in more detail.

The development stage of the Marins Park Hotel Sochi mission includes:

1. Basis of enterprise competitiveness:

A large assortment products and services;

Constant demand for products and services;

High quality products and services, quality control;

Average production costs;

Formed sales market;

Natural materials;

High social protection of workers;

Stable financial condition;

New MTB;

Reserves for growth and increasing the efficiency of economic activity.

2. Market conditions:

Market scale – population of Sochi and the Krasnodar Territory, consumers from other regions, opportunity to enter the Russian market;

The presence of fully effective demand is balanced by supply from both Marins Park Hotel Sochi and other industry enterprises;

Market type – competitive;

Market dynamics: demand for enterprise services remains virtually unchanged (only seasonal fluctuations and activity in holidays), but customer preferences are changing, which are greatly influenced by fashion trends;

Degree business activity"Marins Park Hotel Sochi" is lower than that of its main competitors, the company is focused on clients, mainly with high and medium incomes;

Strength and scope of competition: in production plan the main competitors of the Marins Park Hotel Sochi provide services of a different type;

Restaurants are focused primarily on providing food services;

Degree government regulation hotel activities.

Currently, the hotel's activities are regulated by a number of federal laws: Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, regarding the fulfillment of economic obligations - the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

3. Contributing factors on the part of the state - the social orientation of state economic policy. Counteracting factors are the fairly low level of income of the population.

4. Subjective values ​​and principles from the outside:

The owner of Marins Park Hotel Sochi (founders) – making a profit, expanding the scope of activities, stable growth and development of the enterprise;

Managers - development, organization of production and sales of products, provision of services that allow high-quality use of staff labor, making profit in the interests of the founders in order to develop and strengthen the hotel’s material base, providing consumers wide range services and goods produced by the company, with priority for regular customers.

Personnel – high level income, labor safety, social guarantees, increasing the prestige of work.

5. Having analyzed the information obtained during this study, it can be argued that the mission of the Marins Park Hotel Sochi can be developed and acceptable to all participants of the enterprise (owner, management, employees).

Expanded mission form:

The consumer can receive high-quality, cheap products and services that meet modern requirements;

Relations with competitors – focusing on the quality and price of your own products and services;

The owner will receive an increase in the profitability of the enterprise, an increase in revenue and profit;

Managers will receive expansion of sales markets, enterprise development, and the opportunity to own professional growth, when replacing equipment with new one – increasing production safety and increasing production output, reducing production costs;

Staff will receive higher wages, safe conditions labor and increasing the prestige of the profession.

From any economic plan you can learn about the company’s development options in a market environment, as well as practical and theoretical aspects of the company’s activities. Marketing is the science of setting goals and objectives, solving and achieving them, options for overcoming organizational problems in all categories of products and market areas over a certain period of time.

Marketing strategy necessary for an enterprise to achieve maximum compliance between the market situation and its resources for conducting successful production and financial activities. What features of marketing strategies should be taken into account and what should you pay attention to when choosing the right one?

What is the essence of marketing strategy

Marketing strategy- an integral part of the organizational strategy. In a specific market environment in a certain situation, establishing the right marketing strategy allows the company to develop more effectively. The formation of a marketing strategy requires the existence of an executive plan that helps the organization plan its activities taking into account its policies.

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There is such a thing as marketing planning. This is an element of the company’s marketing work, which allows you to constantly learn about its needs. A business strategy in marketing makes it possible to provide certain consumer groups with relevant products. The main task of a marketing strategy is to establish existing and potential markets for goods.

When planning a marketing strategy in a market environment in most economically successful countries, one should not forget that difficulties often arise with the sale of products. In conditions where fierce competition reigns in the market, many enterprises prefer to produce and sell new product, since, in their opinion, this is the most reliable way not to lose ground.

Major changes have occurred in almost all production areas (especially in the engineering industry). If they haven't happened yet, they will definitely come soon. Companies are beginning to use new technologies, which contributes to the development of the service industry, design and research work is carried out, equipment is rented, licenses are sold, consultations are conducted, etc.

Strategy and tactics marketing successful enterprises in a market environment is the desire for first positions and overtaking competitors who have currently achieved high performance in activities, and strengthening its positions in the future.

So, you have decided on the goals and objectives of your marketing strategy for a certain period of time. Further, the formation of a marketing strategy should be carried out taking into account several points. This is the amount of marketing costs, the order of their distribution among target markets, and a set of ideas for implementing the strategy.

Change of marketing strategy enterprise is justified in a number of situations, namely:

  • for several years the company's marketing strategy did not provide good results selling products and generating income;
  • organizations competing with your company have changed their strategy;
  • there has been a transformation of other external conditions affecting the existence and operation of the enterprise;
  • there is a chance to implement new reforms that can bring profit and increase benefits for your organization;
  • consumer preferences have changed, or there is a likelihood of these changes in the future;
  • the goals and objectives outlined by the current marketing strategy have been successfully achieved and resolved.

The company's marketing strategy may be adjusted due to the fact that the market has begun to focus on other indicators, fundamentally new products have begun to appear and be used modern methods bypassing competitors. It is not uncommon for firms to use different types of marketing strategies simultaneously.

Goals of the company's marketing strategy

  1. Market goals (or external program goals):
  • the organization's market share;
  • number of clients;
  • level of sales (in kind and value terms are taken into account).
  1. Production goals (internal program goals) are a continuation of market ones. They reflect everything that is needed for the enterprise to achieve market goals (organizational resources are not taken into account here). We are talking about ensuring certain production volumes (production volume = sales volume - existing inventories + planned inventories), creating a workshop, introducing new production technologies, etc.
  2. Organizational goals are the structure of the enterprise, employees, management. As part of its organizational goals, a company may plan to hire four specialists in a certain industry, increase staff salaries to the level of wages in the company currently occupying a leading position, introduce a project management system, etc.
  3. Financial goals. It talks about all the purposes in in value terms, namely:
  • the amount of costs;
  • net and gross profit;
  • net sales volume;
  • profitability of sales, etc.

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Main types of marketing strategies

Marketing strategies can be classified according to different criteria. Most often, basic marketing strategies are divided into categories such as:

  • Integrated growth. Companies want to expand their structure and use “vertical development”, that is, production new products or services. When implementing a marketing strategy for integrated growth, firms begin to control branches, suppliers, dealers of the enterprise, and try to influence the end consumer.
  • Concentrated growth. As part of this strategy, the product market may change or the product itself may be modernized. As a rule, the main objectives of such strategies are the fight against competing enterprises and the desire to occupy an expanded market share (“horizontal development”), find markets for existing products, and improve their quality.
  • Diversified growth. This strategy is chosen if the company currently does not have the opportunity to develop in a market environment with a specific type of product. The company can make every effort to produce new products using the resources it already has. However, this product may have minor differences from the old one or be completely new.
  • Reduction. This type of marketing strategy has the main goal of increasing the efficiency of the company after a long period of its development. Here you can think about reorganizing the company (for example, by reducing some departments), as well as its liquidation (as an option, gradually reduce activities to zero and at the same time receive maximum income).

When defining a marketing strategy, a company can target the entire market environment or specific segments of it. Here it is possible to implement three main strategic directions, namely:

  • Strategies for undifferentiated (mass) marketing. The strategy focuses on the entire market environment without differentiation in consumer demand. Due to the fact that production costs are reduced, products receive serious competitive advantages.
  • Differentiated Marketing Strategies. Enterprises are trying to cover as many market segments as possible by producing products specially designed for these purposes ( High Quality, attractive design, etc.).
  • Concentrated marketing strategies. The company focuses entirely on one market segment. As a result, the products are intended for a specific category of consumers. The bet is placed on the originality of a certain type of product. A concentrated marketing strategy is ideal for companies with limited resources.

Marketing strategies are also product, price, advertising and branding. In this case, they are classified according to the marketing media that the company primarily uses.

Examples of new marketing strategies

Strategy #1. Positional defense.

For defense purposes, reliable defensive fortresses are always installed on their territory. But do not forget that any static defense without forward movement is a sure path to defeat. The marketing strategy of companies that are now purely defensive is shortsighted. Even if we are talking about companies such as Coca-Cola, Bayer or Aspirin, it is worth noting that income from their work is not guaranteed. Worldwide famous company Coca-Cola produces products in a huge number. In the production of soft drinks, its share in the world is very large - almost 50%. However, even Coca-Cola today is buying companies that produce fruit drinks, expanding its product range and mastering new types of production. If a company has already been attacked, it shouldn't focus on just building fortifications around its existing products.

Strategy No. 2. Flank protection.

Market leaders need a specific marketing strategy. Its goal is to create a “border service” and concentrate “combat-ready units” on the most vulnerable borders. These border areas are special because they can be used to launch a counterattack and move the fighting into enemy territory. Flank protection can be called even more effective and justified, subject to detailed study of all operations and phased implementation. Ford and General Motors lacked proper preparation, and this was their main mistake. When Japanese and European manufacturers began to attack the market, they were not taken seriously. As for the creation of Pinto and Vega, this was rather a formality. It cannot be said that the quality of small cars from US manufacturers was high. But at the same time, their prices were set at the level of foreign companies producing cars. As a result, part of the American market was temporarily captured by Japanese manufacturers, who offered compact vehicles to consumers.

Strategy No. 3. Proactive defensive actions.

If a passive position is not for you, then you can always disarm your competitor with a preemptive strike. Those who like this marketing strategy believe that taking vitamins for prevention is much more effective than serious treatment and fight against the disease. Companies can organize proactive defense in several ways. For example, conduct “combat reconnaissance” throughout the entire market: touch one competitor, attack another and threaten a third, which will disrupt their activities. The next step is to attack on all fronts, as did Seiko, which offered 2,300 watch models to distributors around the world, or Texas Instruments, which used price attacks. At the end of successful actions, achievements should be consolidated. One of the objectives of this marketing strategy is to maintain a high level of competitiveness.

Strategy No. 4. Mobile protection.

Mobile defense is not limited solely to protecting the borders of one's territory. The goal of implementing this marketing strategy is to influence new areas of the territory and create a base for attack. As part of the implementation of this type of marketing strategy, the company's boundaries are expanded not only through the standard distribution of goods, but also through expansion and changes in the market. This helps increase strategic depth, and the organization can withstand the blows that come its way. Diversifying the market without entering unrelated industries is one way to create strategic depth in defense. This is an effective marketing strategy. Example: American tobacco companies Philip Morris and Reynolds faced smoking restrictions. However, the firms did not even attempt to defend themselves, but began to buy up enterprises producing beer, soft drinks and frozen foods.

Strategy #5. Forced reduction.

Often, large companies realize that with the resources they currently have, the integrity of their territories cannot be effectively protected. Meanwhile, the opponent is advancing not on one, but on several fronts. In such cases the best option will be the planned reduction (strategic withdrawal). Taking such a measure does not mean leaving the business industry completely. Organizations should simply stop sending forces to those territories, the protection of which is a pointless exercise, and concentrate on areas that can bring more profit, and search for even more promising areas. Strategic reduction is aimed at achieving the stated goal of the strategy marketing activities and consolidation of competitive industries. Recently, this method has been used by General Electric, Heinz, Del Monte, and General Mills. Note that all these companies are leaders in their industry. Organizations applying for leadership positions, usually use offensive strategies.

Strategy #6. Attack on the position of the leading company in the market.

The strategy is associated with certain risks, but if the company manages to implement it, it will be the most effective method of combating the enemy. True, there is one condition - the company must give its all. If a company wants to take a leadership position in its field, it should research consumer needs and collect information on the level of customer satisfaction. Targets for attack may be large market segments where the leading company has not yet established itself, or those where consumers are not satisfied with the quality of products and services. Here we can recall the Miller company, which once released Lite beer - a beer with a low calorie content, which subsequently found many fans.

Strategy No. 7. Frontal attack.

A frontal attack is a kind of concentrated blow delivered by the main forces against the strongest positions of a competitor. The one who has more resources and a stronger spirit wins the fight. A frontal attack involves attacking advertising, products, and pricing policy competitor company. Of course, the one who has more chances to win in the fight by human resourses in larger quantities. However, this statement can be corrected if the competitor’s fire density is higher and the positions on the battlefield are more convenient.

According to military theory, a frontal attack for a company will be successful if it has firepower and manpower, which is three times greater than that of the opponent. If things are different, it is better not to resort to a frontal attack, since the company will inevitably fail. Such a marketing strategy will not be implemented. Example: a Brazilian blade manufacturing company tried to displace Gillette from its leadership position. At the same time, the company did not create a higher-quality blade, did not set a favorable price for the product, did not conduct a large-scale advertising campaign and did not attract distributors with discounts on bulk purchases. The organization simply wanted to become an industry leader without offering any innovation. Of course she failed.

Strategy No. 8. An attempt to surround.

Encircling the enemy involves an offensive in a number of directions - from the front line, from the flanks and rear territories. That is, a company that has given preference to this marketing strategy should provide the buyer with the same thing as its competitor, but in slightly larger quantities or best quality so that the client cannot refuse. Encircling the enemy is justified only if there is a significant volume and if the company is confident that a surprise attack will unsettle the enemy.

The Japanese watch manufacturer Seiko has achieved great success. The watches of this company are now represented in all major markets. The product range includes 2.3 thousand models. For example, an American consumer can choose any watch model out of 400. According to the vice president of the company, Seiko creates products taking into account all fashion trends, thinking through every detail, realizing all the buyer’s wishes and keeping in mind the factors that motivate the client.

Strategy #9. Workaround maneuver.

Companies opting for this marketing strategy plan to target more accessible markets as it helps expand their base. Among the main objectives of the workaround strategy are the diversification of the enterprise’s production, its markets, and the introduction of new technologies. By implementing such a strategy, companies do not copy competitors' products and do not plan to attack rivals at the front, directing monetary resources to this. All this in this case is unjustified. If a company strives to become a leader in its industry, it should conduct Scientific research, develop new technologies, use attacks, as a result of which the front line would be territorially transferred to areas where the enterprise has a number of undeniable advantages.

Strategy No. 10. Guerrilla warfare.

If a company prefers this marketing strategy, it begins to attack in areas occupied by its rival, using small forces. The implementation of this marketing strategy involves an attack that demoralizes the competitor from pre-prepared bases. At the same time, the organization uses all methods and types of weapons suitable for war: selective price reductions, intensive blitz campaigns to promote goods and legal actions (as an exception). What guerrilla warfare is the best option for enterprises with limited resources, this is a misconception. Waging war involves serious investments. Moreover, conducting any guerrilla battle is, as a rule, preparation for war. As for the most effective method response to an attacking opponent is the use of a rapid counterattack.

Expert opinion

We have chosen a strategy aimed at increasing impact on the consumer

Vladimir Trifonov,

CEO CJSC "Office-SPb", St. Petersburg

At our enterprise, the marketing department sets prices, develops a partnership policy and implements it, controls sales, provides technical support for websites, develops an assortment and prints product catalogs. If we talk about marketing development, here we want, first of all, to increase our influence on the end consumer with whom our trading partners interact.

Whatever happens, sales growth will average 30-40%, even if we do not conduct costly advertising campaigns. We plan to increase the number of branches of our organization in the country, thereby expanding our activities. Due to this, our profits will increase over the next 2-3 years.

The main stages of developing a marketing strategy

Stage 1. Market environment research:

  • defining market boundaries;
  • establishing the enterprise's market share;
  • assessment of market capacity;
  • identifying market development trends;
  • conducting an initial assessment of the level of competition in the market environment.

When analyzing the external macroeconomic environment, companies study the following factors:

  1. Macroeconomic nature. Since the goals of the enterprise depend on the state of the economy, regular diagnostics and assessment of a number of economic factors: international balance of payments, inflation rates, income distribution of the country's population, employment levels, changes in the demographic situation. All of these parameters individually can provide an organization with new opportunities for development or threaten its activities.
  2. Political in nature. Since business is actively involved in politics, it can be concluded that government policy is important for any business. The state regularly monitors the regulatory documentation of the authorities Russian subjects, local authorities and the federal government.
  3. Technological in nature. Analysis of the technological environment may take into account changes in production technologies, the use of new IT solutions in the design and provision of goods, as well as advances in the development of communications.
  4. Social behavior. Here we're talking about about changing expectations, mores and attitudes in society.
  5. International in nature. If a company operates on an international market, it is necessary to regularly monitor and evaluate changes in it.

Stage 2. An assessment of the current state of the market environment includes:

  • Analysis of economic indicators, including the size and cost structure of the company, financial results, investment resources.
  • Research of production capacities: technological limitations, capabilities, production potential.
  • Conducting an audit of the marketing system (here the effectiveness of marketing expenses, systems for collecting and using marketing data, as well as the limitations of the marketing budget and communications are determined).
  • Performing portfolio analysis for strategic business units and product lines (ABC analysis, establishing stages life cycle goods, the use of matrix methods of portfolio analysis: BCG matrix, ICC matrix (MCC), GE/McKinsey matrix, etc.).
  • SWOT analysis.
  • Development of a forecast (determining prospects for the development of the organization, taking into account current realities).

Stage 3. Analysis of competing enterprises and assessment of the company’s competitiveness assumes:

  • Identification of competitors.
  • Determining their strategies.
  • Setting goals in work, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of competing companies.
  • Selecting the competitors you will attack; identifying those organizations with which it is better not to fight; assessment of the range of likely reactions from competing enterprises.

Stage 4. Determining the goal of the marketing strategy:

  • Assessment of goals (establishing the need to solve problems).
  • Setting goals (identifying problems that can be solved).
  • Establishing a hierarchy of goals.

Stage 5. Market segmentation and selection of target segments (consumer analysis):

  • Market segmentation is the identification of competitive target market segments.
  • Choosing a method and time to reach target segments.

Stage 6. Development of positioning, recommendations for the management and movement of marketing communications.

Stage 7. Preliminary economic assessment of marketing strategy and control tools:

  • Conducting analysis and making a forecast on resource intensity and quality of future products.
  • Forecasting the sales level and cost of future and existing goods.
  • Forecasting the level of competitiveness of future and existing products.
  • Determination of intermediate stages of control and benchmarks.
  • Forecast of profit and revenue levels.

All this represents the main stages of a marketing strategy.

Expert opinion

Why market research is important when developing a marketing strategy

Alexey Markov,

Head of Marketing Department at AquaDrive, Moscow

Our company always monitors the market situation. This is necessary in order to as soon as possible it was possible to take the right measures in case of unforeseen circumstances from the outside. We regularly research and analyze:

  • enterprises competing with us: their products, prices, promotions, advertising campaigns and, of course, members of the competing organization;
  • the purchasing environment and the level of existing demand, needs, attitudes and attitudes;
  • the effect that advertising gives.

Such monitoring allows our company to understand what kind of reputation the products we produce have, how the client evaluates it, how they respond to it, and to get an objective idea of ​​our strengths and weaknesses ah at the expense of consumer opinion. We know all the forecasts in the market environment, as well as the pros and cons of companies competing with us, and we understand how effective this or that media is.

Expert opinion

SWOT analysis is a formal technique for developing a marketing strategy

Mikhail Kapatsinsky,

General Director of Information and Postal Service M-City LLC, Moscow

First, you need to conduct a marketing audit describing the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise. For example, an advantage is an established team that has its own goals and objectives, a disadvantage is gaps in communication. Next, a study of the market environment is carried out and an assessment of opportunities (for example, market growth) and threats (the government often interferes with the activities of firms) that may come from outside. The third stage is entering information into a table with subsequent analysis. Taking into account threats and opportunities, weaknesses and strengths, companies develop hypothetical options for using the advantages of the enterprise and minimizing its weaknesses.

Probably, your organization’s marketer is fluent in the methodology of conducting SWOT analysis. All you have to do is set him the task of preparing the document.

External threats and internal features should be compared, and then decide on the strategy that the company will choose. When the enterprise answers the question “What are we doing?”, it will be necessary to find answers to further questions: “Where are we going?”, “Which route should we take to get to the desired point?”

How the company's marketing strategy is implemented

A marketing strategy allows shareholders to ultimately decide what services should be provided and how to produce certain products. The co-owners soberly assess the prospects and possible income from their activities, taking into account reliable information about the market, sales volumes and target audience.

Planning a marketing strategy is the direct responsibility of leading managers of an enterprise. It is the marketing strategy that is the determining link in establishing the direction of the company’s activities. Thanks to it, it is much easier to monitor the performance of marketers, as well as organize the work processes of others structural departments companies. Well-coordinated teamwork and joint execution of assignments allows a business to flourish and expand, satisfy the needs of the target audience and increase income.

It is on the basis of marketing strategy that heads of enterprise departments organize the activities of their subordinates. Departments whose main focus is attracting customers and external contacts must know about all the basics of a marketing strategy to maintain the company's image during negotiations with partners and clients when advertising products.

If you have an annual plan, don't wait until the deadline expires - check the effectiveness of your marketing strategy and your activities constantly. But if it is necessary or possible to increase work intensity or improve product quality, it is recommended to make adjustments to the marketing strategy taking into account new working conditions. The marketing department organizes advertising and promotional events, the main task of which is to enhance trade turnover. Managers should explore all possibilities for introducing new products into the market environment and at the same time carry out operations aimed at stimulating and increasing sales levels.

If there are any difficulties with sales turnover, and they cannot match the planned indicators, the company collectively decides to take one or more steps to stabilize the situation and minimize losses.

Anti-crisis measures are activities such as:

  • reduction in production volumes;
  • increase in frequency advertising campaigns and actions to promote services and products;
  • a check in the sales department to ensure that there are enough specialists working there to effectively perform their duties; making adjustments to the activities of the sales department, if necessary;
  • review of the cost of goods. This is often necessary to intensify sales;
  • improving the vocational and technical training of specialists working in the sales department;
  • introduction of bonus payments or allowances to wages in order to encourage staff to work more actively.

If the level of demand is greater than the quantity of production, it is justified to take measures such as:

  • increasing production volumes, introducing additional shifts, attracting more specialists to work (expansion of staff);
  • reduction of advertising costs;
  • increasing the price barrier to sales.

The marketing strategy has a basis, which is the principle of increasing labor activity and initiative on the part of the company’s specialists, which contributes to enhancing the effectiveness of collective activities and work performance, as well as the implementation of assigned tasks.

Evaluation and analysis of marketing strategy

Companies should determine whether their choice of marketing strategy is justified. This makes it possible to evaluate the correctness of the chosen concept and monitor the achievement of set goals. Here it is worth analyzing such components of the marketing strategy as:

  1. Sales of goods. The company evaluates sales markets, the popularity of products among consumers, the possibility of increasing market space, determines new points at which it is possible to start selling the product, and also looks at how accessible the product is to the buyer. In addition, the company analyzes factors influencing the activity of product sales. It is always interesting to determine the popularity of a certain product.
  2. Sales in relation to order volume. This allows you to understand how to implement simultaneous implementation to obtain the best market effect. The amount should also be determined minimum order for the release of goods.
  3. Sales to customers. Enterprises analyze the target audience and identify buyer groups whose needs should be taken into account first.
  4. Factors of product sales volume/market share. Thanks to the analysis, the company learns about the relationship between the distribution of market segments and the volume of products sold, which allows it to concentrate on the types of products that are most important to the company.
  5. Expenses and profits. The organization conducts an item-by-item analysis of indicators, which allows it to understand how to reduce costs on items with the highest cost indicator. From the income item you can find out which goods are the most consumed.

Thanks to a marketing audit, you can assess how different the results of strategic marketing are from the planned ones. If there are significant differences in the marketing strategy, adjustments should be made or a different option should be chosen. With successful design, the enterprise will certainly achieve its goals and become a leader in the market environment.

  1. We need to strive not for primacy, but to work on uniqueness. Companies often make the grave mistake of copying firms that compete with them. Don't try to be number one in your industry. Become an indispensable company for your audience.
  2. The main thing is to invest correctly, that is, to get the maximum return. Think about business development later, after achieving the initial goal mentioned above.
  3. It is impossible to become number one for all consumers without exception. It is necessary to set the limit of the company's capabilities. You should also consider what lengths a business will not go to in order to meet the needs of a client who is not very interested in cooperation.
  4. The company must operate successfully at each stage of the sale of a product or service. In other words, you should not focus solely on the product itself, ignoring the level of service or delivery. This is where the marketing strategy is properly implemented. Example: Zara company became successful at all stages of the marketing strategy and managed to achieve audience recognition.
  5. Stability is one of the main qualities that should be inherent in a strategy. When choosing a marketing strategy, the company should not have any hesitation or questions about how to get high income in the shortest possible time and please customers. The marketing strategy of an enterprise must be long-term. It is quite possible that you will have to take a forced step - to lose a certain part of the consumer audience in favor of competitors and a share of income, ensuring your company a stable profit.

Typical mistakes in developing an organization's marketing strategy

Error 1. Too much passion for the ideas of one of the leading enterprises.

Many firms focus on larger and larger companies, perceiving this as a kind of game. Their management places orders to create similar advertising stories, conduct similar promotions, and even adjusts the characteristics of the product to the parameters of the products of the leading organization. But such copying (often down to elements of the corporate logo) does not benefit the company. A business cannot exist because of someone else. You shouldn't focus on someone. Product parameters need to be adjusted to your own client audience, products must be developed taking into account the suggestions and wishes of consumers.

Error 2. Lack of contact information.

Statistics show that on the home Internet pages of 60% of the websites of American companies operating in the small and medium-sized segment, there are no company phone numbers. But is it worth creating a website or other information material if it does not allow a client, whether potential or permanent, to contact the organization and ask it a question of interest? If your audience cannot quickly dial your phone number or send a letter to one of your representatives, consider that you have wasted your money and effort. Feedback - required condition for any company. In addition, you must be prepared to answer all questions and deal with all requests.

Error 3. Passion for super strategies.

Small businesses should work according to the principle: “the simpler the better.” This is an ideal option for them. The most outstanding achievements are always based on the simplest concepts. All the consumer wants to know is that the company’s product is the best, to receive information where it can be purchased, and in what ways it is superior to similar products from competitors. Various super strategies and complex concepts only cause buyer irritation. In addition, their implementation takes a lot of effort, time and money.

Error 4. Inability to learn lessons from the past.

If the head of the company is professional and competent, he pays increased attention to analyzing the results of his work, spending time and money resources. When a new marketing strategy is implemented, management analyzes its results, highlighting the pros and cons. All this information is required in the future, when experience allows the company to decide on the most appropriate marketing solutions.

Error 5. Lack of development.

A company that stands still is unlikely to succeed. To this day, there are organizations whose goods or services can only be paid for, for example, in cash. There are also companies that believe that their presence in the Internet space is not at all necessary. And here we are not even talking about large-scale Internet campaigns or promotion in social media: many companies still do not have simple electronic business cards. If a manager is not able to adapt to the realities of the 21st century and keep up with the times, his clients experience certain difficulties, which, of course, has a detrimental effect on the business. Compared to more savvy competitors, the company appears in an unfavorable light.

Error 6. Refusal to conduct traditional marketing.

At the same time, you don’t need to limit yourself only to the Internet space. Although traditional marketing is somewhat old-fashioned, the effectiveness of this type of marketing strategy is time-tested. From billboards, radio advertising, media, brochures and prospectuses, your consumer can learn something important - something that you want to convey to him as accurately as possible.

Error 7. Insufficient attention to appearance.

It is important that the business project is visualized with high quality. Frequency of status updates on the company page social network and the number of media publications over the past few weeks do not matter if the visual image of the project is flawed. An organization should give due attention to external parameters as much as to internal ones. This applies to the design of shop windows, signs, building facades, and employee uniforms. Everything must be perfect and thought out to the smallest detail.

Error 8. Excessive imposition of your services.

Many companies that have managed to acquire some kind of client base begin to overly impose their services on it. Firms constantly send messages, call, and remind about minor events of the organization, which greatly irritates consumers. Remember that timely and reasonable communication with a regular or potential buyer increases his loyalty to you. By sending any reminder that does not affect the real interests of consumers, the company risks losing a certain percentage of customers.

Error 9. Ignoring competing organizations.

Of course, first of all, the company should be focused on its own activities. But at the same time, we cannot lose sight of what competing firms are doing. Today, everyone who has a smartphone can compare prices, read real reviews and choose what is more profitable. In this regard, you should more carefully monitor the activities of competitors located closer to the organization, at least from a territorial point of view.

Error 10. Unaccounted for consumer opinion.

No marketing strategy will help if customers are unhappy with the quality of goods or services provided by the company. The formation of a marketing strategy should be carried out taking into account the negative and positive experiences of consumers.

Information about the experts

Vladimir Trifonov, General Director of ZAO Office-SPb, St. Petersburg. CJSC "Office-SPb" specializes in wholesale trade office supplies, comprehensive services companies professionally engaged in supplying enterprises and organizations. The head office is in St. Petersburg (since 1993), branches are in Moscow (since 2001), Yekaterinburg (since 2005) and Samara (since 2006).

Alexey Markov, Head of Marketing Department at AquaDrive, Moscow. The AquaDrive organization specializes in wholesale boats, accessories for them, boat engines, oils and lubricants.

Mikhail Kapatsinsky, General Director of Information and Postal Service M-City LLC, Moscow. Information and postal service "M-City" is a large direct marketing agency in Russia. The M-City information and postal service today is a holding company with a developed infrastructure and an active participant in the direct marketing market in Russia. IPS "M-City" consists of Russian Association direct marketing (RADM) and the National Association of Distance Selling (NADT).

Any company should consider studying this issue. Marketing strategy is a component of corporate strategy that determines the direction of the company’s activities, taking into account its current internal state and the external conditions in which the enterprise operates.

The need to develop a marketing strategy

Strategic management is more common among large enterprises, which have a need professional approach to determine the direction of activity, the vision of the company in the future and have enough funds for this. The market position of small enterprises is often determined on an intuitive, reactionary level, since the distribution of a small amount of resources does not require significant labor and funds, and the future of such enterprises is more susceptible to outside influences. However, it is worth noting that strategic management to one degree or another is necessary in every enterprise, because competent management allows you to select the right ways to achieve the final goal.

A marketing strategy helps to choose a basic model of enterprise behavior in the market and ensure its further successful formation. It may not be able to protect against all market dangers, but it can help develop ways to respond to the most likely options and make the most efficient use of all available resources. The process of forming a marketing strategy, like other positions of this complex concept, ends with the choice of one of the alternatives, but management moves to the next stage - the development of action programs, which determines ways to achieve the goals set at the previous stage. Also, to develop a marketing strategy, it is important to establish an effective intra-organizational communication system.

Marketing strategy in the strategic pyramid

Strategic management involves the formation of a “strategic pyramid” at the enterprise, which includes four levels of strategies:

  • Corporate.
  • Business.
  • Functional.
  • Operational.

At the stage of forming a business strategy, the following are determined: portfolio strategy, growth strategy and direct marketing (competitive) strategy. Let's focus on how to ensure its formation. A marketing strategy determines ways to enter and consolidate in certain markets and market niches, assesses development prospects in certain strategic business areas, methods of competition, and ensuring product competitiveness.

Types of Marketing Strategies

At the stage of choosing a competitive strategy, the enterprise determines the general model of behavior in the market, the methods by which target demand will be won and retained. The alternatives that an enterprise can follow are divided into types.

Marketing strategy is:

  • Violent (power).
  • Patient (niche).
  • Commutative (adaptive).
  • Explerent (pioneer).

The violent (force) strategy is used in the management of large firms specializing in mass, standardized production. Competitiveness in this case is ensured through “economies of scale,” which allows for the mass production of high-quality products and their sale at a relatively low price.

The patent (niche) strategy is typical for those firms that are focused on niche business, that is, specialized products to meet demand in a narrow market segment. The strategy is applicable for those who produce specialized high-quality goods according to high price. This strategy is good because it allows you to find that part of the market that will be inaccessible to competitors, thereby making it possible to reduce the costs of competition and redirect resources to self-development.

The commutative (adaptive) strategy involves satisfaction individual services, solving problems on a local scale, which is typical for small, private enterprises, often of short-term existence. Companies with a commutative strategy look for any opportunity to satisfy their customers' services, so such companies are usually very flexible in their activities.

Exploratory strategy (pioneer, innovative) is the riskiest of strategies, it involves the creation of completely new products, revolutionary products. The main problem of such companies is that it is impossible to study the demand for their products, since it simply does not exist yet; the exporters create the need for own product, and their success in business depends on how well they succeed. The practice of experimenting companies shows that only a small percentage of “pioneers” achieve success, but this success huge scale and often covers the costs of all failures. Such a business is called “scalable” in the literature.

Functional Marketing Strategies

Next comes the functional level, which involves the development of tactical measures for different divisions of the company to achieve the strategies that were laid down at the previous stage. At this stage, existing product marketing is developed or improved, which is divided into the following types.

Marketing strategy at the functional level is divided into the following types:

  • Assorted.
  • Promotion.
  • Distribution.
  • Pricing.
  • Selecting the target market.

Assortment marketing strategy involves determining product groups, which will be in the company’s portfolio, the breadth and depth of the assortment, describe the differentiation of products or the development of new products.

Determining the target audience to which the enterprise’s activities will be directed, developing communication plans and conducting an information campaign that will familiarize potential consumers with the product - all this is included in building a promotion strategy. A promotional marketing strategy can also refer to a firm's advertising budget.

In our modern world, enterprises in various industries are rapidly growing and developing. Accordingly, competition is also increasing. In order for a business to take off, it is necessary to make every effort and develop a specific work plan for the organization to achieve its goals. This is exactly what a detailed plan is. Let's take a closer look at this term, its tasks and development.

The essence of marketing strategy

So, the very concept of “marketing strategy” includes the planning and implementation of all kinds of organizational activities that are aimed at achieving the company’s planned goals. It should be understood that marketing strategy is part of the overall strategy of the organization. It addresses precisely those issues that relate to increasing sales and income. This strategy is developed by helping to understand how to properly use available resources in order to achieve dynamic sales of products over a long period of time.

More details about strategic planning for business development:

This concept is the purpose of marketing. As for its tasks, the following should be included:

  • comprehensively study the entire market;
  • objectively assess demand and needs;
  • develop the marketing strategy itself, and then a set of tools aimed at its implementation.

In general, a marketing strategy should answer two specific questions:

  • How will the enterprise survive target market, and then take a leading position?
  • How can you profitably increase your organization's market share?

Features of marketing strategy and its planning

To properly develop marketing plan, you need to know about the features that are characteristic of a marketing strategy. These include:

  • when completing the planning of a marketing strategy, the general directions in which the company should move further to strengthen and grow the business should be specifically established;
  • choosing operational management decisions, the head of the company, as a rule, uses fairly complete information that he needs. When forming a marketing strategy, you will have to make do with less voluminous information;
  • When developing a strategy, you need to be prepared for the fact that new information may always appear, and the decision made will need to be changed. Changing the initially set goals, their constant adjustment are characteristic features strategic planning. That is why it must be cyclical;
  • In this development, it may be difficult to determine numerical indicators of the benefits of the selected solutions. Here the rating system used may be subject to adjustment. The basis may be the amount of money spent.

Basic Marketing Strategies

In the 80s, a certain professor Porter, who taught at Harvard Business School, divided marketing strategy into basic options. These began to include:

  • . It is based on cost saving;
  • differentiation strategy;
  • specialization strategy.

Let's look at each point in more detail. So, the leadership strategy focuses on production. Here the emphasis is on constant control of costs, labor productivity, investments and low costs (advertising and sales). New products also need to be carefully designed.

Differentiation strategy - working on the distinctive properties of the company. The consumer must immediately identify the products of this company for himself, since they differ significantly from the products of competitors. This may include appearance product, packaging, company image, service, etc.

The specialization strategy implies that the company must improve its activities in a specifically selected segment. That is, one should not strive to completely cover the market. It is much better to be a leader in one segment than to occupy an average position in the entire market.

Step-by-step development of a marketing strategy

As with any plan, the marketing system also consists of several stages, namely:

  • research the market;
  • We assess his condition;
  • We analyze the activities of competitors, assess the company’s capabilities;
  • set goals for ourselves;
  • We research consumer requests;
  • analyze the chosen strategy;
  • we give economic assessment marketing strategies;
  • choosing control tools.

Details about offensive and defensive strategy:

As an example of a marketing strategy, you can focus your attention on the French company Auchan, which has quickly mastered an area already filled with competitors Russian market. The French company owns hypermarkets around the world, offering products at more than low prices. It has already taken leading positions in Russian cities. It was the right strategy that allowed the company to reach such heights: a thorough analysis of the Russian market, a high level of products, analysis of experience and constant training of employees.

Marketing strategies: shaping factors

Marketing strategies in an organization should be formed based on the following important factors:

  • Suppliers play a huge role in a company's operations and productivity. It is important for every enterprise to find a supplier who will offer quality resources at a lower price;
  • Nowadays it is practically impossible to do without intermediaries. They also need to be chosen wisely and cost-effectively;
  • it is important to thoroughly study the entire process production activities enterprises, possible introduction of new technologies;
  • it is necessary to analyze the economic and social factors. The company needs to clearly understand what product the consumer needs. You should also study the prices of competitors for the selected segment;
  • the capabilities of the company itself;
  • what paths the organization should take to achieve its goals, that is, the components of the main concept of the company.

It consists in bringing the company's capabilities in line with the situation on the market, i.e., the internal environment with the external environment.

There can be many strategies, the main thing is to choose the appropriate one for each market and each product so that it meets the requirements of achieving marketing goals.

Here are some of these strategies:
  • improving the organizational structure;
  • increase in business activity (penetration into new market; introduction of a new product to an old market; penetration of market novelty into new market segments with goods, etc.);
  • reduction in business activity (cessation of sales of goods that have ceased to provide a given profit in a given market; curtailment of production of unprofitable goods; withdrawal from some markets and concentration of efforts on the most promising ones, etc.);
  • organization of a joint company with a foreign partner abroad;
  • organization of a joint company with a foreign partner in our country;
  • cooperation with a foreign company to enter markets where it has not yet been possible to operate successfully.

Depending on the market, the strategy may be one or another. They don't have to copy each other everywhere. Using mathematical market models and considering the strategy from the point of view of game theory, they choose the strategy “mini-max” (maximum expediency, regardless of risks), “maxi-min” (minimum risk, regardless of expediency) or a combination of them.

In this regard, the following factors must be taken into account:
  • segmentation of the markets in which the company operates (or intends to operate) must be carried out so that segments in different markets are characterized by generally the same response to advertising, product promotion and other marketing activities,
    that is, they had similar sociopsychological characteristics and needs;
  • the choice of the optimal segment should be carried out based on providing the company with the most complete leadership possible (sufficient capacity, favorable prospects, minimal or even zero competition, satisfaction of unmet needs);
  • the method of entering the market with a new product should most fully meet the consumer properties of the product and the capacity of the market (segment), adequately reflect the fame of the company and its reputation, as well as the scale of need for the product;
  • when choosing marketing means of influencing potential buyer It should be remembered that price as a factor in attracting attention to a product is now ranked 3rd-4th in importance among other factors;
  • it is necessary to carefully choose the time to enter the market with a new product (especially if this product is seasonal) and do not forget about advertising preparation: there is no point in entering the market during an unfavorable market situation if the company does not pursue far-reaching goals and does not prepare its customers, anticipating period of demand recovery.

The marketing strategy used by Japanese firms in new markets is of great interest. It consists in gaining a foothold in the markets of those countries that do not have national production of this product, and then, using the accumulated experience, to penetrate the markets of other countries (“laser beam strategy”). Thus, in order to enter the markets of Western European countries with their cars, Japanese automakers initially operated only in Finland, Norway, Denmark and Ireland for several years. And only having won a strong positive reputation there, they began to explore the more complex markets of Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, and Austria. The third step was entering the markets of Great Britain, Italy, Germany and France - countries with a powerful auto industry.

Also worthy of attention is the sequence designed for a very long period, characteristic of the activities of Japanese industrialists: starting with the export of the most widespread, inexpensive cars (and, accordingly, satisfying the needs of not too picky buyers), creating the image “Japanese means excellent quality,” these automobiles firms are gradually moving to work in the markets for more expensive cars (but not the most prestigious ones), trucks and special vehicles, and are also building car assembly plants in countries where they previously sent their cars assembled.

When developing a marketing strategy in the markets of capitalist countries, one should keep in mind, first of all, the serious aggravation of the sales problem. Competition has intensified, and, as a result, attention to new products has sharply increased, in the production and sale of which firms sometimes see the only way to survive. States impose protective duties. In general, there is (and has already occurred in many industries) a reorientation of the production policy of engineering companies towards a sharp increase in the share of products in their product range high technology(knowledge-intensive) and the corresponding growth of the service sector (sale of licenses; carrying out research, design and other engineering work; rental (leasing) of complex equipment; consultations, etc.).

The basis of the marketing strategy of companies achieving the greatest success in modern market, are a focus on superiority in the scientific and technical field over their competitors and increasing this gap.

Here is a list of some strategies that ensure rapid growth in sales:

  • rapid entry into new markets;
  • specialization, i.e. concentration of efforts on solving problems of selected groups of customers;
  • putting forward the concept of a new product;
  • application of the latest, especially flexible, technologies;
  • decisive removal of “sick” goods;
  • expansion of activities throughout the world;
  • intensification of R&D;
  • high rates of restructuring.
Scheme of cyclic (ring) management of a company (according to Murdus and Ross)

Except offensive strategy firms also use defensive strategies. If a company is satisfied with the size of its market share or is unable to increase it for one reason or another, it resorts to a defensive strategy. Its goal is a thoughtful defense of its positions from the onslaught of competitors. Of course, a defensive strategy in some markets can be combined with an offensive strategy in others.

An example of a defensive strategy is the “exit market” strategy. It consists of leaving certain markets and switching to other markets or types economic activity. This strategy is usually used for products with poor market positions that generate losses or reduced profits.