Assignment Guide for Strategic Marketing

Assignment Guide for Strategic Marketing

1. 1. Understand the principles of strategic marketing

 

Role of marketing strategy

• Definitions of marketing strategy, its role in the organisation and how it underpins marketing planning and activities, concept of product and customer in different organisations, resources and implementation, monitoring and control

 

Corporate strategy and marketing strategy

• Corporate strategy, linking marketing strategy to corporate mission and vision, meeting corporate objectives with marketing strategy, corporate social responsibility and marketing

 

Developing a marketing strategy

• Analysis of the environment, setting objectives, dynamic strategy – flexibility for change

 

2. 2. Understand how to carry out strategic marketing analysis

 

Internal analysis – approaches

• Resource-based, performance, value chain, functional

 

External analysis

• Macro environment, micro environment, competitor analysis, wider external factors including Government

 

Integration

• Fit between internal and external environment

 

3. 3. Analyse strategic marketing decisions and choices

 

Corporate decisions

• Vision and mission of organisation, directional strategy for marketing, Porter’s generic strategies/Ansoff’s Matrix, identifying generic strategies for organisation and business units; how the strategy informs corporate activities

 

Business unit and functional level

• How corporate strategies translate to unit and function level, decisions to be made at unit and function level, setting objectives for unit and functional level, marketing and other functions: finance, human resources, research

 

Competitive positioning

• Marketing objectives, risk, market leader, market challenger, market follower, market niche

 

4. 4. Understand how a range of marketing strategies can be implemented to contribute to competitive advantage

 

Marketing strategies

• Segmentation, targeting and positioning, relationship strategies, product innovation and development, branding, service marketing, pricing and distribution, E-marketing

 

Communications

• MARCOMS strategic process, setting objectives, media choices, the role of public relations, cost decisions, frequency, operations and measurement, international communications, implementation, organisation and control, managing competitive advantage, monitoring and evaluation

 

Application

• Applicability for organisation and environment, resources, implementation, management, implications

Unit 6.5    Strategic Marketing    

 

Level 6     15 Credits

Assignment

Scenario

 

You are employed by a specialist marketing consultancy business, ‘Total Marketing Solutions’ (TMS), that provides support and advice to organisations looking to develop their strategic marketing plans.  To recruit additional business, you have been asked to put together information for prospective clients that outlines:

 

• the principles of strategic marketing
• how organisations can carry out strategic marketing analysis
• how strategic marketing decisions and choices are analysed and assessed
• how a range of marketing strategies can be implemented to contribute to competitive advantage.

 

Activity 1

 

Create an information pack for prospective new clients that outlines the principles of strategic marketing.  Your pack must cover the following topics:

 

• an assessment of the role of strategic marketing in an organisation
• an analysis of the relationship between corporate strategy and marketing strategy
• an analysis of how marketing strategy is developed.

 

Your pack should demonstrate an understanding of the connection between strategic corporate and strategic marketing decisions and choices.  You should:

 

• analyse decisions and choices that are made at a corporate level
• assess how these decisions influence marketing at business unit and functional level
• analyse approaches to competitive positioning of organisations.

 

Assessment Criteria 1.1/1.2/1.3/3.1/3.2/3.3

 

Activity 2

 

A range of potential new clients have expressed an interest in working with TMS based on the information pack you provided.  They would like some further information to understand how strategic marketing analysis may be carried out.

 

You have been asked to design a short training session for prospective clients, to develop their understanding of strategic marketing analysis. Your session must cover the following topics:

 

• an evaluation of approaches to internal environmental analysis
• an evaluation of approaches to external environmental analysis
• an explanation of how internal and external analyses are integrated.

 

You will need to produce your notes for the training session and have appropriate hand-outs for the clients detailing the topics covered.

 

Assessment Criteria 2.1/2.2/2.3

 

 

 

 

Activity 3

 

Following your training session, a new client has decided to work with TMS to develop their marketing strategy.  They have asked to work with you to explore how marketing strategies can be used to give them greater competitive advantage.  Your task is to create a report which:

 

• identifies a range of strategies that can contribute to their businesses competitive advantage
• provides an analysis of marketing communication strategies for the business
• analyses marketing strategies and how they can be applied and implemented by the organisation, including resource and management implications.

 

Your report should be clearly and professionally presented.

 

Assessment Criteria 4.1/4.2/4.3

Guidelines for assessors

The assignments submitted by students must achieve the learning outcomes and meet the standards specified by the assessment criteria for the unit.  The suggested evidence listed below is how students can demonstrate that they have met the required standards.

 

Activity number	ACs	Suggested evidence
1	1.1/1.2/1.3/3.1/3.2/3.3	The information pack should demonstrate learners’ knowledge and understanding of the principles of strategic marketing including the role and relationships between corporate and marketing strategy.  They should be able to confidently analyse how marketing strategy is developed, making reference to a range of appropriate corporate decisions and choices.
2	2.1/2.2/2.3	The training session could be a presentation delivered to the assessor and peers supported by appropriate, high quality handouts.  Alternatively, learners may wish to record an ‘online training session’ using learning technologies, such as audio/video, screen capture software or use of mobile technologies.The format is flexible but the evidence must demonstrate learners’ understanding of how to carry out strategic marketing analysis including a range of both internal and external approaches and how the two integrate together.
3	4.1/4.2/4.3	The report should be structured in a formal way with clear layout and appropriate presentation. Following identification of a wide range of marketing and communication strategies that can contribute to competitive advantage, evidence must demonstrate learners’ ability to analyse strategies and how they can be applied and implemented for an organisation.  This can be contextualised to an appropriate case study organisation or in more general terms.

 

 

 

 

Unit 6.5  Strategic Marketing

Level 6   15 Credits

Resources

Texts

Market led strategic change
Piercy, Nigel F
Oxford; Butterworth Heinemann, 2009

Strategic marketing plan audit
Baker, Michael
London; Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2000
Strategic marketing
Proctor, Tony
London; Routledge, 2000
Strategic marketing and the global banking industry elements of excellence
Jagersma, Pieter Klaas
Journal of Business Strategy vol 27 no 4 2006 pp50-59

Core competencies of service firms a framework for strategic decisions in international markets
Aung, May; Heeler, Roger
Journal of Marketing Management Sep vol 17 no 7/8 2001 pp619-643
An empirical investigation into the process of strategic marketing planning in SMEs
Lancaster, Geoff; Waddelow, Ian
Journal of Marketing Management Nov vol 14 no 8 1998 pp853-878
Please insert the automatic table of contents.

Assignments should be done on the company Arabian Adventures unless there is a different name given in the assignments as specified.

Please insert relevant pictures and diagrams wherever possible.

Plagiarism should be maximum 5%.

Thank you.

 

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