Most successful companies developed strongly customer-driven marketing strategies and programs that create customer value and relationships. Every organization has its own marketing plan. But most companies are guided by the following Four Steps of Strategic Planning & programs that must be customer focused.
1. Defining Marketing’s role:
Each organization and company developed a plan for long-run survival & growth. It makes a sense of a specific situation, opportunities, objectives, and resources that are all focused on strategic planning. “The process in which organization develops and maintains a strategic fit between the organization’s goals & capabilities & its changing marketing opportunities is called strategic planning”.
Annual plans, long-range plans, and strategic plans are generally prepared for every organization. Its main objective is that an organization should run in this process. The annual and long-range planning is useful for the company’s current businesses and how to keep them going. Whereas, strategic plans are useful for adapting the firms to take advantage of opportunities in their constantly changing environment.
We can see at the corporate level, they focused on the overall purpose & mission of the organization. There, the mission guide and supports the business objective and the entire company. Next, another division head decides the business portfolio; whether the product is useful or not, and how much support to give them. Then marketing managers take the necessary steps for specific marketing opportunities.
2. Defining a Market-Oriented Mission:
The mission states the overall organization’s purpose; what the company wants, and what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment. A clear mission is called the “invisible hand” that guides people perfectly in the organization.
The mission must be market-oriented that satisfy the basic needs of the target customer. No company should state its mission is to make more sales & profits. A company’s mission statement is always written for making a public relationship with the customer. The company knows that profits are the reward for creating value for customers.
3. Setting Company Objectives & Goals:
The manager should decide the company’s objectives & goals, and he is always responsible for achieving them. For example: “Zara”, a leading clothing brand, first decides its objectives and goals, and takes the necessary strategy for achieving them. First, they do market research, analyze SWOT, and select their competitors. Researching this, they enter into the market, sometimes they cut prices, give discounts, add membership card for keeping & growing customers.
4. Designing the Business Portfolio:
The business portfolio is actually the total collection of businesses and products that make up the company. For example, Walmart, a leading brand, has different types of products like men, women, kids, home decor & accessories. That’s all the business portfolio of Walmart.
