STRATEGIC MARKETING
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Strategic Marketing
Introduction
Marketing can serve a strategic purpose in forming sustainable competitive for the organizations focused on service delivery. A strategic marketing plan allows businesses to choose who they want as consumers, which is being able to determine their market niche, and then determine how appropriate to achieve targeted goals using particular strategies with the goal of maximizing returns on investment (ROI) (Varadarajan 2010, p. 120). Strategic marketing is increasingly becoming one of the effective business approaches that a firm can leverage to offer value and suitable services to buyers, thus distinguishing itself from industry rivalry by stressing its strengths. Firms that excel in their marketing practices have a better chance of increasing their revenue and are likely to foster engagement and stronger relationships (Varadarajan 2015, p. 79). Often, companies indulge in strategic marketing as a way of achieving sustainable competitive advantage, which are the features and opportunities that allow a company to achieve its consumer needs more appropriately than its rivals (Varadarajan 2010, p. 121). Hence, using real-life examples, the study identifies and describes the key factors that corporations need to consider as part of their strategic marketing to achieve impressive results. It shows the need to perform an environmental scanning to know how the dynamic environment impact on the firm’s marketing practice. This writing emphasizes the importance of profiling buyers using appropriate segmentation techniques, and the need to know how competitors conduct their marketing activities. This analysis also pays considerable attention to various aspects related to differentiation that organizations should consider as part of their strategic marketing plan. The sole argument is that deploying the various forms of strategic marketing as effectively as possible allows a business to become more focused on improving sales, generating profits, and achieving higher consumer and staff retention rates than rival firms.
Environment Scanning
Various factors in the business environment could influence how an organization indulges in marketing exercises, which makes it necessary to firms to understand the threats and opportunities that they present, and align business competences, resources, and capabilities to alleviate threats and enhance opportunities. Therefore, marketers should rely on the PESTLE analysis to know how political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors influence their marketing exercises (Buye 2021). The external features are essential forces impacting on organizations, their competitors, and aspects of the internal marketing environment. For example, as part of adhering to economic adjustments, the Four Seasons Resort Dubai focuses on offering products and services that a majority of buyers can afford. Similarly, the group continuously embraces new technology as part of improving its operations. The hotel also adheres to social requirements by offering services that members of the society can relate with and consider them part of the culture, including beach services and spas (Four Seasons 2022). Thus, performing an environmental scan is important to know how the business environment could determine marketing practices.
Segmentation
Performing buyer segmentation is a practice that strategic marketers use to understand the desires and qualities of the purchasers. Entities that want to excel in this area segment buyers according to geographic, behavioral, psychographic, and demographic features (Goyat 2011, p. 48). Saudi Aramco is a leading company in the Middle East that pays considerable attention to the segmentation approach. The oil and gas company pays considerable attention to demographic factors when profiling its buyers. Thus, it emphasizes on how the buyers’ family status, occupation, income, gender, and age can determine how it sells its products (Sayed near.). Mostly, the company relates with buyers who have the financial strength considering the costly nature of its services and products. This means that sellers can choose to use one or more of the segmentation techniques depending on their target and interest (Goyat 2011, p. 51). Consequently, firms that want to expand their strategic marketing techniques should turn their focus to the various segmentation approaches that have the capacity to give additional and useful information about customers.
Competitors Analysis
Knowing how competitors perform their marketing activities offers an opportunity to make necessary adjustments in key areas. It is important to know who they are and what strategies they might turn to in future. Comparing what the firm does in terms of marketing with that of competing firms offers the chance to avoid or incorporate features that affect performance or boost outcome, respectively. Various organizations have expanded their marketing practices by watching what their rivals do and enacting similar techniques to appeal to consumers. For example, Q-Cab, a fast-developing mobile app in Qatar that allows customers to book taxis and the convenience of their homes or office seems to be emulating the marketing techniques that major players in the sector such as Karwa and Uber use to appeal to customers. Q-Cab ventures into social media marketing, a technique that the rival companies that have serve for quite some time started using some years back. Thus, it shows the significance of learning from competitors.
The Marketing Mix
Conducting a marketing mix presents a better chance to improve an organization’s marketing practices. Analyzing the marketing mix model at Qatar Airways presents a suitable chance to understand how the 7Ps work in this case. Qatar Airways, which is a leading company worth emulating, focuses on all the elements of the 7Ps model – product/services, price, place, promotion, processes, partners, people, and physical evidence (MBASkool 2022). The group focuses on offering quality services and products, and appreciates the need to set prices that many buyers can afford. The team also ensures that buyers can access the services through various platforms including visiting the station and through digital platforms (MBASkool 2022). Also part of the marketing mix is to promote the services as a way of appealing to more customers. Qatar Airways seeks to develop a positive impression by ensuring that its buildings are impressive and all staff members have adequate training, and that it addresses any internal barriers that could derail processes. More fundamentally, the company considers the people who influence its operations and form partnerships that could bolster its operations (MBASkool 2022). The application of the 7Ps model by Qatar exemplifies how a robust marketing mix should work.
Service Quality
Being able to offer impressive quality is part of strategic marketing that all marketers should take seriously to achieve better results. Hence, employing quality models that make it possible to improve quality offers an opportunity to record superior outcomes. An effective framework that may lead an organization to deliver quality is the SERVQUAL approach also called the service quality model that was formed and executed by Valarie Zeithaml and Leonard Berry in the final parts of the 1980s (Pauna 2012). The quality model requires operators to pay attention to five critical elements – empathy, responsiveness, assurance, reliability, and tangibility to excel (Pauna 2012). Offering quality products and services allows organizations earn buyer loyalty, build brand recognition, and handle their costs more effectively. Therefore, businesses that want to develop their strategic marketing practices should consider service or product quality as being key.
Brand Building
A majority of strategic marketers think that branding should be a crucial element of the business strategy if the team wants to experience steady growth. Branding is essential to the firm because it serves as the visual identity of the organization, and if implemented appropriately, gives the entity not only a good name, but a voice as well and boosts buyer awareness regarding the corporation (Ukaj 2016, p. 53). An example of a company in the Middle East that has achieved tremendous performance in its brand building initiatives is Emirates Airlines, a UAE-based airline that has earned global reputation for its excellence in various areas. The group has a series of promotional programs and continuously work to develop operational techniques aimed at improving its activities (Kalmal 2018). Moreover, the diversification strategies along with the development of generic plans help to sell the airline as an advanced brand that buyers and other stakeholders should consider as their favorite carrier (Kalmal 2018). Emirates seems to understand the numerous benefits associated with brand building and that is why it invests substantially in areas that would strengthen its brand. Consequently, companies that want to build competitive strategic marketing plans should focus on building their brand and regard the process as one that would elevate how the company appeals to purchasers.
Relationship Marketing
Relationship marketing is fast gaining prominence, and companies invest much resources into knowing how the field works. Evidence by Nwakanma et al. (2007, p. 56) confirm that market-based relationship marketing play vital roles in building relationships with buyers that are difficult to imitate and thus results in sustainable competitive advantage. In the same way, exploring how network-based marketing works can nurture relationships with other key stakeholders that can offer the firm process and resource advantages that feed through into elevated consumer experiences and thus elevated buyer relationships. Knowing the values of relationship marketing, Mall of Qatar hired Coniq to help it complete its formation of a consumer loyalty program (Albright 2021). The mall’s management is optimistic that the adopted method will elevate how the business builds its connections with buyers, thus making it possible to meet their desires.
Conclusion
Institutions that deploy strategic marketing techniques have a better chance of witnessing more impressive performance, which is the reason why businesses need to understand how the approach works. However, it is necessary to understand and be able to implement some of the primary components of strategic marketing to increase the likelihood of witnessing satisfying outcomes. This essay illustrates the value of paying attention to the effects of the environment on marketing practices, and the significance of profiling buyers to understand their unique features and needs. It is easier to develop counter strategies when a business knows the marketing techniques that their rivals use to woo buyers. Thus, being able to perform a competitor analysis increases the chances of witnessing satisfying results. This analysis also provides valuable insight into the various ways of building value and creating clear points of differentiation for stakeholders through various techniques encompassing using the marketing mix model, improving quality, engaging in brand building initiatives, and focusing on relationship building.
Reference List
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Buye, R 2021, Critical examination of the PESTEL analysis model. Available from: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349506325_Critical_examination_of_the_PESTEL_Analysis_Model > [18 June 2022]
Four Seasons 2022, Experience Four Seasons in Dubai. Available from: < https://www.fourseasons.com/dubai/ > [18 June 2022]
Goyat, S 2011, ‘The basis of market segmentation: a critical review of literature’, European Journal of Business and Management, vol. 3, no. 9, pp. 45-54.
Kalmal, A 2018, Restoring brand identity: The Emirates take off! Available from: < https://brandthechange.com/featured/restoring-brand-identity-emirates/> [18 June 2022]
MBASkool 2022, Qatar Airways marketing strategy & marketing mix. Available from: < https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/services/17256-qatar-airways.html > [18 June 2022]
Nwakanma, H, Jackson, A, & Burkhalter, J 2007, ‘Relationship marketing: An important tool for success in the marketplace’, Journal of Business & Economics Research, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 55-64.
Pauna, D 2012, Measuring quality satisfaction with Servqual model. Available from: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255962411_Measuring_quality_satisfaction_with_Servqual_model > [18 June 2022]
Sayed, S near., Marketing management of Saudi Aramco. Available from: < https://www.academia.edu/15071487/Marketing_Management_of_Saudi_Aramco > [18 June 2022]
Ukaj, F 2016, ‘The role and importance of brand in the marketing of small and medium-sized enterprises in Kosovo’, International Journal of Marketing Studies, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 52-57.
Varadarajan, R 2015, ‘Strategic marketing, marketing strategy and marketing strategy’, Academy of Marketing Science Review, vol. 5, no. (3-4), pp. 78-90.
Varadarajan, R 2010, ‘Strategic marketing and marketing strategy: Domain, definition, fundamental issues and foundational premises’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 119-140.