The organisations in the 1970’s, 1980’s realised that the planning done basis the past experiences was not enough. Before this period, organisations used to do the planning basis the past data and experience to predict the sales, costs, etc.

With the advent of technology and entry of new players in the market, it has become very difficult to predict the preferences of buyers which keep changing rapidly. There has to be strategic adjustments made to the planning in order to survive the competition and changing consumer preferences. Strategic Planning focuses on the market environment the organisation operates in. The focus is not only on the current situation but also on the changes in future that will affect the strategic functions.
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According to Marketing Guru, Prof. Philip Kotler, SWOT analysis is for the overall evaluation of company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

I. Strength – A strength enables an organisation to take advantage of the market opportunity to give it advantage over competition.

It is internal to the firm and is based on the skills of the staff, specialised resources, etc. It is not common in the industry, and therefore empowers the firm to perform better than its market competitors. It is related to an opportunity in the market. If a firm has specialist staff but the skills are not relevant to the opportunity in the market, those specialists cannot be utilised to the firms’ advantage.

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Importance and Need of Strategic Marketing Planning

1) Provides direction and creates commitment – it provides the road map for smooth functioning of organisations activities. The decisions are made systematically focussing on organisations objectives and market objectives (via proper Internal and external analysis). It directs the energies of the entire organisation towards well specified goals.

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This was developed by Harvard Business School’s Michael E. Porter in 1979. It is a method which answers questions about the competition.

The five forces model looks at five factors –

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Marketing management is considered as a management function. An organisation has to function in an environment that has non-controllable as well as partially controllable factors. Based on the situations faced, marketing managers have to take various decisions on the product, its price, where to sell and how to influence customers to buy their products in an environment which is constantly changing, and is unpredictable to a large extent. Understanding the environment and the target markets helps an organisation to formulate effective (hassle free) and efficient (cost effective) marketing strategy. Marketing strategy is then implemented and changes are made to it as per requirements.

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The term Marketing Management Process and its Importance or Responsibilities of Marketing Management or Scope of Marketing Management are all the same.

Simple Marketing Management process involves-

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The Marketing Mix has different elements that must be utilised with a proper mix to meet the organizations goals. The other terms often used to describe Marketing Mix are-

1. The marketing program,
2. 4P’s (Product, place, price and promotion)
The term “Marketing Mix” was coined by James Culliton, and Professor Jerome McCarthy classified these tools into four broad groups that he called the 4P’s of marketing: product, price, place and promotion.

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An organisation utilises different strategies to influence the demand of its offerings. The 4P’s must be well utilised in relation to one another to avoid conflict in minds of buyers. A good quality product in a luxury market cannot have high price and a large discount at the same time.
These elements should be adjusted regularly to meet the needs of the target market. The importance of Marketing Mix in marketing strategy is given below –

(1) Influencing demand – the 4P’s are best utilised with proper mix to counter competition, attract customers and promote sales.

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Marketing concept has gone a dramatic change since the industrial revolution. The focus from making good quality products and availability has moved to customer satisfaction by making products of customers’ choice. This concept throws forward many challenges in the world where technology is constantly evolving and making lives of individuals less hectic and comfortable. Let us go through the challenges the modern world offers to marketers-

(1) Internet age / technology revolution – the use of internet by as young as 12-15 year olds offers lot of opportunities and threats to organisations. Where internet can be used to communicate directly with costumers, the customers ask for all the product information, trial, etc. for the products. Various internet groups share their review of a newly launched product even before it is available in the market. For example, an Apple iPhone which is yet to release in India is already available in US or UK. Customers in India can get the review of the iPhone from various internet forums. Thus the marketers have to be ready with all the answers for any queries apart from making sure that the product is a success.

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Market is an institution or a mechanism allowing buyers and sellers to make exchanges. The term Market holds different meaning for different people. It originates from the Latin word “Marcatus” which means “a place where business is conducted.” For an average person it is a place where buyers and sellers meet and make exchanges. These exchanges can be done by a personal meet between the two or via intermediaries involved.

Types of Markets-

1. Consumer Market –
The buyers buy products and services for their personal consumption. For example, soaps, office stationary, bread, etc., which fall under the category of Fast Moving Consumer Goods. And the other category in this market is Durable Goods – the products or services utilised over a long period. For example, Refrigerators, cars, insurance products, banking services, etc.

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