BUS602: Marketing Management

This video discusses the traditional marketing mix: the 4Ps of marketing. It provides a perspective on consumer needs and some examples of products that many of us are familiar with. Pay attention to the marketing concepts and terminology used, as you will hear these throughout the course.

In this brief article, you should appreciate the problems marketers often face in deciding what is ethical or simply doing the right thing. Marketers must often pause, consider, and perhaps reconsider their actions and offers made to customers from an ethical standpoint. These decisions can be difficult at times.

Sales and selling are important functions within marketing where ethical concerns are significant. Salespeople are generally paid on a commission basis in whole or in part, so concluding or "closing" the sale is how they get paid. Watch this interview, which discusses ethics in sales. Note the comments on trust, relationships, and a long-term perspective toward the customer.

Read these sections, which discuss the strategic planning components and outline the strategic planning process. It's essential to follow the process to write an informed strategic plan. The firm's strategic plan sets the firm's direction, and management and employees must work together to meet the outlined objectives.

Read this page, which provides a brief outline for crafting or constructing the strategic plan.

Watch this interview with the former CEO of Unilever, who discusses the importance of execution of the firm's strategy. His comment "At the end of the day, execution is the strategy…" suggests that the best strategy will fail unless the execution matches the objectives of the firm.

This chapter reviews the marketing environment and outlines the aspects of the changing environmental trends that marketers must address when preparing a strategic marketing plan. Note the emphasis on the consumer and the need to uncover buying patterns and trends that may be affected by outside environmental forces and changes.

This article briefly provides in a few pages a comprehensive guide for marketers to develop a SWOT analysis. It is important for marketers to understand their firm's position in the marketplace, and to set realistic objectives within the marketing plan, as part of the organizational strategic plan. Note that this is an exercise and it requires the input of several key individuals to provide insight and input.

Marketing plans can be written in any format that is acceptable to the guidelines of the strategic planning process of the organization. A multinational company must assess its marketing strategy among several countries and regional markets. Small and medium-sized businesses will write their marketing plans according to their intended target markets and respective environments. This text provides guidance on how to format a marketing plan.

This scholarly case study looks at Sony's participation in the video game industry. Sony provides an example of marketing strategy and strategic positioning of its products in a highly competitive global environment. It illustrates the need for industry competitive data analysis, demographic segmentation, product features, product positioning, and the magnitude of marketing decisions faced by multinational companies. 

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the process of environmental scanning. It goes in depth by describing different methods used in environmental scanning.

This chapter outlines a common framework for assessing the macroenvironment. The acronym PESTEL is often used to describe the political, economic, sociocultural, technological, environmental, and legal components of the macro-environment. PESTEL is a framework tool that provides a guideline for marketers to be comprehensive when assessing macro-environmental forces.

This video on industry analysis provides an introduction and overview of how firms must assess their industries and consider close and nearby rivals. Several methods can be used to conduct industry analysis.

Michael Porter is a well-known Harvard Business School professor and author who developed the five-force analysis, as illustrated in several management, marketing, and strategy textbooks. Practitioners have found that the five-force analysis framework is helpful for marketing and management strategic planners. This video explains the Five-Force model that Michael Porter developed in 1979. The main takeaway is that business and marketing managers must not think too narrowly when assessing the industry and competitive environment.

This text gives an example of the firm's value chain as an important tool for determining how it provides value to the customer through its operational functions. The VRIO analytical tool is meant to answer specific questions that the firm must address when evaluating the firm's offerings.

This short text provides four characteristics of strategic resources that allow the firm to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Southwest Airlines is an example of its corporate culture, which is an intangible resource.

This article shows a research study of new technology-based firms (NTBFs), or otherwise entrepreneurial firms, based in Turkey were shown to be proactive in their marketing strategy and tactics. 

This case study shows how environmental scanning is applied to Egyptian wheat crop production. Note the use of different techniques to deal with the uncertainty of the various environmental factors in producing and marketing wheat crops.

This outline and brief video shows how an entrepreneurial marketer would use the marketing mix to market a solar powered hearing aid in Zimbabwe. Note that the 4 Ps are expanded to the 7 Ps in this example, to include People, Physical Environment and Process. The hospitality and service industries often use the 7 Ps for developing their marketing mix.

This text reviews product classifications. The categorization is related to the consumer effort in shopping for the product.

This video illustrates a presentation on new automobile products, where the features of the new products are discussed. The product features indicate how the products are differentiated relative to other similar products, and the features must be conveyed to the target audience in terms of benefits to the buyer.

This text illustrates the different pricing strategies marketers use, which are observable by consumers. The firm's pricing strategy must be set to satisfy consumer needs and provide a proper financial return to the marketer.

This video gives an example of Apple's pricing strategy for the iPhone. This is an example of a product with very strong branding which can command high prices due to high consumer demand.

This text discusses several objectives to be met when creating promotional messages and provides the components of the promotional mix. Promotional objectives and decisions concerning the promotional mix largely depend upon the stage in the product's lifecycle.

This video uses the acronym AIDA, commonly associated with emotional and sales strategies. Note the use of terminology such as emotion, core value, branding, and value proposition.

The text outlines distribution strategies and the factors determining what strategy should be followed.

This video provides an example of a French cake supplier that must decide on a distribution strategy. Note that market, producer, product, and competitive factors are involved in the decision-making, and all factors must be considered collectively.

This research article looks at tourism of Lake Samosir in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The underlying question is whether the implementation of the marketing mix influenced tourism in the area.

This reading provides an overview of marketing segmentation methods. Markets can be segmented using different segmentation approaches. The methods used are product and industry-specific, so marketers must use the methods that best identify the proper target markets for the firm's products.

This brief video explains geographic segmentation.

This short video also covers geographic market segmentation. This is a common segmentation method for small businesses serving nearby customers.

This video explains demographic segmentation rather comprehensively. Demographic segmentation is the most used type of market segmentation. There are 11 different dimensions on how to segment demographically.

This scholarly article illustrates the use of demographic segmentation, combined with psychographic segmentation for the promotion of ecotourism in Kuala Selangor, Malaysia.

This video shows an application developed by Twitter to identify personality types that marketers can use to target consumers based on personality factors.

This short article shows how psychographic segmentation in the medical and health care sciences can potentially be more effective than demographic segmentation. It addresses individuals' motivation, preference, and support factors when seeking health care.

This video explains behavioral segmentation based upon internet searches and capturing data from the internet user behavior. This has become a very common type of data collection and segmentation approach in recent years.

This scholarly article shows a rather extensive survey of consumer purchases of clothing from 4 countries and involving over 4600 survey respondents. View the full text of the article or download the pdf file.

This text gives examples of how firms decide on target markets in order to capture market share for their offerings. Several approaches are illustrated to demonstrate that the firm's offerings must be targeted to market segments where consumer needs and wants can be satisfied.

Here, you will explore the five steps for defining a target market, which include evaluating the size of a market and whether or not there are enough potential customers to support the business. The text includes a structure for conducting an analysis that can help a company make effective target market decisions.

This video gives an example of a mortgage broker using Facebook analytics to choose the target market size. Note the tradeoff between market prospect coverage and the cost of the ad.

This brief video illustrates an analysis of a company's sales performance compared with industry sales using an Excel spreadsheet.

Macroeconomic data, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), GDP per capita, rates of inflation, and so on, also help to paint a picture of the future. This video from the World Economic Forum provides a commentary on the global economy and its impending reset after the COVID 19 pandemic. There are short commentaries from a group of industry experts. As world business has become globalized over the past few decades, global economic analysis has become more relevant than country-specific economic analysis. Furthermore, economic analysis is data-driven, and data collection takes time. Therefore, we typically experience upturns and downturns in the economy before the data can substantiate the economic trends. COVID19 created a shock to the global economy, affecting numerous businesses and disrupting global supply chains. Economic growth estimates are accordingly amended and monitored as the uncertainty of economic growth persists.

This short chapter reviews competitive attacks and counterattacks among industry rivals. Some of these competitive moves are observable in consumer advertising.

This video shows an example of reducing advertising costs by selective targeting. This is a rather typical example of how a small business can reach a market segment cost-effectively.

This short text gives an overview of budgeting and several methods of budgeting for promotional expenses.

This video covers the importance of competitive advantage. A competitive advantage must be sustainable; therefore, we use the acronym SCA for sustainable competitive advantage.

This lecture covers competitive advantage. This is based on Michael Porter's work, where he develops a matrix of cost and differentiated approaches.

This scholarly article assesses the elements of competitive advantage in the Spanish wine industry. Strategy, resources, capability, and managerial ability all affect a firm's competitive advantage.

This video gives an example of positioning by explaining the importance of a value proposition. Consumers need to know what is different about your offering and why they should buy your product rather than your competitors'. The value proposition is a means by which marketers position their product among rival products.

This video shows the positioning of a brand by differentiating your brand.

This comprehensive text explores the reasons behind a repositioning strategy and why companies choose to reposition a brand. The repositioning process is evaluated in-depth, including managing consumer perceptions about a brand and the importance of monitoring the strategy. Risks and pitfalls are also examined, as well as strategies for avoiding these mistakes.

This video lecture discusses effective branding. The purpose of branding is to create a relationship with your customer.

This lecture discusses the significance of branding.

Brand awareness is the first stage in a company's branding strategy. Marketers use promotion within the marketing mix to let consumers know about the brand so that consumers understand what the brand stands for.

This scholarly article discusses brand awareness in internet marketing. Note that it was written with a focus on Lithuania, but internet and social media marketing are currently very common and effective everywhere. 

This scholarly article illustrates that cognitive and emotional factors are involved in the brand loyalty of consumers in consumer goods markets.

This text explains brand equity and why it is important to marketers.

This scholarly article concerns the branding of universities and the various components of university branding as perceived by the consumers of education. Colleges, universities, and other non-profit organizations are now keenly aware of the value of branding.

Read this chapter on product offerings. The categories mentioned generally relate to the consumer and the consumer's method of seeking and selecting the product and ultimately purchasing the product.

Read these sections on the consumer purchase decision process. Consider the degree of involvement in a purchase, and how this would apply to some, but not all purchasing decisions.

This video explains impulse buying. Note that this is one type of consumer behavior, and the video provides some insight into the psychology of impulse buying behaviors.

This video pertains to the purchase of an automobile, requiring a high degree of involvement in the purchase decision. Most automobile transactions today are financed with a loan or leased. Thus, the buying decision is more complicated. This video illustrates how financing options are an important component of a large purchase.

Read this section concerning the factors influencing buyer behavior. Consider these factors based upon your own purchase decisions.

This video provides a comprehensive description of the factors affecting consumer buyer behavior. As purchasers of goods we are sometimes unaware of the factors which affect our general behavior and our purchase behavior. As marketers, we must consider how and why people make purchasing decisions, and what factors influence our actions.

Read these sections, being sure to click through to the next section. Often referred to as B2B markets, organizational buyers differ significantly in type. A government buyer, for example, is not a business. However, governments at all levels are significant buyers of goods and services. Similarly, a reseller, such as a wholesaler or retailer, is in a different business than an industrial buyer purchasing raw materials for a manufacturing process.

Read this section on the Organization Buying Process. The purchase decision process is more formal than the consumer purchase decision process. Consequently, decision making is more time consuming as decisions usually involve large purchases and involve several people.

Global purchasing and global supply chains are now common in most industries. This scholarly article written by Robin von Haartman and Lars Bengtsson describes and analyzes factors of global and regional sourcing and purchasing.

This text explains the importance of understanding different individuals' roles in organizational purchases. Note the terminology used: influencers, deciders, users, and gatekeepers. To be effective in organizational markets, the marketer must know how the process works and who is involved.

This video discusses consultative selling and how it applies to selling to organizational buyers. Pay attention to the aspect of risk in organizational buying decisions.

This video addresses the fact that many organizational purchases involve several buyers, or persons involved in the buying decision.

Outsourcing is more common in business today. Often referred to as "make or buy" decisions, firms often assess the costs and benefits of outsourcing goods and services compared to performing a service or making a product internally. This brief video provides some insight into the analysis.

This video explains how to use the U.S. government's database for securing federal government business.

This brief video by Ohio Development Services Agency provides information on how to market and sell to the state of Ohio. States, counties, and municipalities all have needs for goods and services. Marketers that intend to target these governmental buyers must understand the processes involved in government procurement practices.

This scholarly article explores the elements of service marketing within the banking industry. Note the emphasis on quality of service, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty.

This video describes the continuum of product and services, and how to design an effective service to meet buyer needs.

This video provides insight on the important factors of services marketing. The emphasis is on service quality rather than price.

This video demonstrates effective sales techniques in selling the intangible service of life insurance. As life insurance is generally considered an unsought product or service, and it is intangible, educating the customer and selling the benefit must be emphasized. Building trust is also important in marketing financial services.

Read this section to gain an understanding of the four stages of a product life cycle.

This video provides a clear explanation of the product life cycle.

Read this article on the application of the product life cycle. This incorporates the Boston Consulting Group Matrix, which characterizes the various stages in a product life cycle as "Question Mark", "Star", "Cash Cow" and "Dog".

Shorter product life cycles are more common today, than in prior years. Advances in technology and hyper competition have had the effect of faster entry into the marketplace for new products and new product models. This scholarly journal article addresses the shortening of the product life cycle within the automotive industry.

The following video describes the Technology Adoption Life Cycle, and how consumers differ in their willingness to purchase a new product. This is particularly important for companies that introduce products in the technology market sector; and it applies to new products as well as product enhancements.

Read this section concerning Marketing Information Systems. Students should gain an understanding of the various means used to gather marketing information. Successful marketing is based on successful information gathering.

Read these sections concerning the marketing research process. Note the 7-step process of marketing research. Consider why defining the problem (or opportunity) is the most important part of the process. Marketers must spend the proper amount of time in the problem definition and developing the research question(s) in order to ensure that the firm's resources are used wisely.

This video explains the difference between qualitative research and quantitative research. She uses an example of a French bakery and shows the different options of research available to the owner.

This video is like the previous video, but it describes the differences between primary and secondary data, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. It is often common to begin marketing research by exploring the available secondary research resources first. Secondary data is generally less expensive, sometimes free, and it is easier to obtain. However, the marketer must decide whether secondary data answers the specific research questions of the marketer. Primary data collection, when required, often follows secondary data research when the information available in secondary data does not provide the specific information required by the marketer.

This video explains observational research. This type of research is useful in determining consumer buying behaviors and is often used when research survey methods are determined to be less reliable. Pay particular attention to the terms used, such as unconscious and conscious reporting, which can occur in survey research methods.

Review this chapter on creating offerings, which you read in Unit 4. Note the term offering is used in place of the word product, as we also market services and information. This text is comprehensive, as it includes the various attributes of products, such as packaging, labeling, etc.

This video of the founder of Crocs shoes explains the development of the concept of the shoe and the story behind it.

This video describes a new way of thinking in product development. By considering sustainability at the start of the product development process companies recognize that they are satisfying consumer needs for sustainable products that are friendly to the environment.

This scholarly article concerns the modification of a Korean food (Gochujang) to be adapted for the European market. This is a good example of marketing research applied to product adaptation for international markets. Note that the consumer preferences are determined prior to the introduction of this product.

Read all of Chapter 8, sections 8.1-8.6, of the Principles of Marketing text, being sure to click through to the next sections. Become familiar with the various types of distribution channels used by marketers, and the terminology used.

This video lecture discusses international channels of distribution. International distribution is more complex than domestic distribution, as it crosses international boundaries and includes cultural, legal, political and language differences.

There are several factors to consider when deciding upon the appropriate distribution channels of an offering. A primary concern is determining buyer preferences. In other words, providing a product or service to consumers when they want it and where they want it. Other considerations include distribution costs, the degree of control required by the supplier, etc.

A distribution video was presented in Unit 2, which discussed the factors to consider when deciding on a distribution strategy. This video reviews the strategic considerations a marketer must review to formulate a distribution strategy or plan best suited to the marketer and the consumer. Note the use of various distribution metrics in this video.

This video discusses the distribution strategy of Unidesk. Note the planning and strategy applied by this firm to satisfy consumer needs.

This video describes the strategy of designing distribution channels for the farmer consumers in a less developed market. Similarly, the consideration is focused on consumer preferences for accessing the product, however, in this example, consumers are considered "bottom of the pyramid" who earn close to US$2.00 per day.

This scholarly article addresses the question that several marketers now face in our new e-commerce, internet-based marketing. Omni channel marketing has become common among marketers in recent years because more consumers can be reached by offering different channels of distribution. Omni channel marketing, however, presents challenges to the firm, as the article describes.

Read Chapter 9, sections 9.1-9.5, of the Principles of Marketing text, being sure to click through to the next sections. This chapter provides a comprehensive explanation of supply chain management and its relevance to marketing management.

This video will support the above reading by showing the integrated efforts of several functional departments to create effective supply chain management of the firm.

A value chain is a business model that describes the full range of activities needed to create a product or service. For companies that produce goods, a value chain involves bringing a product from conception to distribution and everything in between, such as procuring raw materials, manufacturing functions, and marketing activities. Service companies also have value chains because the service delivered provides value to the customer.

The value chain of a firm relates to the supply chain. However, the word "value" changes the meaning to more than a supply chain. Often used in strategic management, the term value chain concerns how the firm creates value for the customer through its inbound supply chain, its outbound distribution channel, and the firm's operation and processes within the internal workings of the firm.

This video presentation concerns the analysis of a value chain of a New Zealand firm that exports high-quality beef to many countries. Note that an analysis of the targeted consumer and the producer is required, as this is a high-quality, differentiated product.

This video discusses sustainable value chains. Educated consumers are increasingly interested in doing business with firms that include sustainability throughout their value chains, as there is more concern today about climate change and a more efficient use of our planet's resources.

We discussed Professor Michael Porter in a previous unit. In this video, Dr. Porter discusses the concept of creating shared value. This is a forward-thinking approach for businesses, wherein Dr. Porter argues that the wealth created by capitalism can be shared as a social benefit by businesses that rethink their value chain.

Logistical operations are largely determined by product type and industry specific practices. This video lecture reviews the overview of crude oil logistics in the United States. Note that pipeline distribution is the primary method of this commodity product, and other modes such as ships, barges, trucks, and railcars are part of the total logistical network.

This brief audio video provides an overview of the meaning of logistics. Note that the term is over 200 years old and originates from military operations.

This video lecture discusses ocean transportation and the development of trade routes, enhancement of ship size, and increases in trade volumes. This pertains mainly to general cargo and containerized ships, although it points out that liquid and dry bulk cargoes constitute the major tonnage shipped throughout the world.

This video provides a simple example of the use of terms. Marketers must be careful with the common use of abbreviations and acronyms.

In particular, one of the frustrating aspects of shipping and transportation for marketers concerns the use of shipping terms. Shipping terms have evolved over several hundred years and are often misinterpreted or misunderstood. This problem often results in disputes between buyer and seller, particularly with international cargo movements. Abbreviations and acronyms are commonly used and can be misunderstood. When you doubt the meaning of a shipping term, look it up.

For more on current shipping terms, you can visit the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) website and review "Incoterms". This provides the standard terminology used throughout the world for shipping terms. It is a good reference if you are planning to go on to do work in international marketing.

Warehouses and distribution centers built today are designed for efficiency and enhanced with barcode or RFID technology for easy location of products. This video shows an example of a warehouse built for perishable goods for distribution in South Africa.

This video produced demonstrates a container distribution center and warehouse in the port of Singapore, a large and active transshipment port serving many of the countries in Southeast Asia. Though the video is promotional in nature, note the high degree of sophistication and efficiency gained through infrastructure and technology investments.

This video presentation shows an example of how artificial intelligence (AI) is used to model an inventory requirement for maintenance parts. Note that the modeling is designed to satisfy the delicate balance between storage costs of the marketer and the required service rate that the customer requires.

Read this section for a brief overview of the types of promotion used by organizations.

There are several factors to consider when deciding on a promotional strategy for an offering. View some successful promotional messages throughout the past decades. Note the difference in push and pull promotional strategies and the difference between promotion to consumers compared to promotion to businesses.

Internet promotional marketing and the use of social media for promotion have become increasingly common in recent years. Remember that marketers must promote to consumers where their promotional messages will be received, read, and viewed. As consumers spend more time on their smartphones, tablets, and computers, marketers deliberately reach out to people where they are – on the internet.

This video shows an example of a plan for integrated marketing communications for a small business. Note that she discusses a promotional strategy, based upon objectives to be accomplished.

You read this article in Unit 3, but it might be helpful to review it in context of the impact on brand awareness using internet marketing tools.

Read these sections. You'll become familiar with the terminology used for different pricing methods as you read.

This video shows a break-even analysis graph and provides an explanation through an example.

This video explains break-even sensitivity analysis. This is useful because managers must adapt to changes in the real business world and consider what-if scenarios as they manage their business.

Most companies selling products and services sell more than one product or service. So, different prices, costs, and contribution margins apply to the products. These differences must be factored in to calculate a break-even point for a company selling multiple products, so a weighted average contribution margin must be calculated.

This video is a follow-up of the previous video, and it explains how to compute a breakeven point, using a weighted average contribution margin, for a company selling multiple products.

Review this brief video lecture from a professor on demand and supply. Understand that the market forces of consumer demand and suppliers of goods willing to supply goods and services are dynamic, not static. Therefore, the pricing of goods and services is subject to change when demand and supply conditions change.

Marketers face the challenge of determining what quantities of the offering would be demanded or purchased by lowering prices or increasing prices. This concerns the slope of the demand curve. A rather flat demand curve is called elastic, and a steep demand curve is called inelastic, which refers to the sensitivity or responsiveness of the quantity demanded by consumers due to price changes by the marketer. An elastic demand curve means that if the price is changed up or down, the demand or willingness to pay or buy would be greater than the price change. An inelastic demand curve means that consumers are more indifferent to changes in price; therefore, a change in price would not result in a significant change in the quantity demanded.

Marketers generally must make educated estimates or models of the demand elasticity for their goods and services. Changing prices up or down regularly would develop real data on demand elasticity, but it would create havoc with consumers and is therefore unrealistic.

This video lecture from the University of Massachusetts explains elasticity of demand. Note that marketers generally try to create inelastic demand curves by creating uniqueness in their offerings, where there are limited substitutes for their offerings.

Read this overview of the marketing plan and planning process. Note that the marketing plan is part of the firm's strategic plan. Large firms often staff a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), who sets the strategy for the firm. Small and medium size businesses may have a Vice President of Marketing, or a Marketing Manager. Regardless of the organization's size, the development of the marketing plan usually involves several individuals, as it is a key component of the organizational strategic plan.

In Unit 2, we discussed the external environment and the environmental scanning process. This video lecture reviews the external environment, which must be done before writing the marketing plan.

In addition to the macro-environmental forces which affect marketing plans, marketers must carefully consider the industry and competitive environment. The firms that can affect the marketer more directly are the rival firms, supplier firms, customers, firms that offer substitutes, and new entrants into the industry.

Michael Porter best describes the industry and competitive environment. In this video, Porter describes the Five Forces model he developed to better inform management and marketers to develop sustainable strategies within their firms.

This video by a graduate student in marketing explains the use of SMART objectives and the relevance to marketing strategy.

This video describes the factors that must be considered while developing a product strategy. Note that the author provides additional resources for understanding product strategy.

This video discusses segmentation and developing target markets by providing some practical examples.

We previously discussed various segmentation methods that are used to develop target markets. The segmentation methods are used specifically to determine what customers exist in the target market for the firm's offering. Marketers do not want to spend resources promoting their products to consumers who likely do not want to buy them. Therefore, marketers must focus on the likely buyers of the target market and expend their resources on targeted customers.

This video describes brand positioning, which is similar to product positioning.

Positioning is important to marketers due to competing products in the market. Marketers must be able to answer the question, "Why should I buy your product instead of the competitor's product"? So, the marketer must "position" the product against the competing products and clarify how and why the product is different to the consumer.

Be aware that positioning can apply to a product, brand, or company. The point is to stand out from the competing products, brands, and companies and make sure the consumer understands how your offering is different and how it meets the customer's needs.

This video gives seven different pricing strategies that marketers can use. This video targets small businesses and covers fixed and variable costs, margins, and pricing terminology. Note that the difference between variable costs and price is correctly referred to as margin, gross margin, or contribution margin. Profit is not earned by the firm until all fixed costs and variable costs are covered, as we discussed in our break-even analysis in Unit 7.

Read this review of the promotional methods used by marketers. Marketers must consider several ways to deliver their promotional messages to their target markets.

This video from Business Week describes Costco's distribution strategy. Here is an example of a firm that must rely on high volume and high efficiency, to satisfy the targeted consumers' need for low prices.

This text explores production differentiation strategies and the performance measures that will evaluate results. In addition to determining whether or not an approach was successful, measuring outcomes can provide insight into changes that might be needed going forward. Watch the video that is included in this resource for a look at how a carpet company addressed the issue of sustainability in the industry.

This text explores the different metrics that can enable a company to understand the effectiveness of its marketing efforts across all media outlets and platforms. As you will see, it is important to conduct these measurements throughout a campaign to make changes immediately rather than waiting until it is too late to revise a strategy.

This is an example of a template on how to write a marketing plan. Students can locate numerous examples of marketing plans on the internet; and, as marketing plans vary according to the offerings, the industry, and other factors, there is no one best way to write a marketing plan.