Marketing Strategy
Exam material
,Table of Contents
Topic 1: What is marketing strategy? ................................................................................ 3
Topic 2: The playing fields. ................................................................................................ 7
Article 1: The Performance Implications of Fit Among Business Strategy, Marketing Organization
Structure, and Strategic Behaviour. ......................................................................................... 13
Topic 3: Price leadership ................................................................................................. 17
Article 2: Selling the Premium in Freemium ............................................................................ 26
Article 3: customer experience journeys: loyalty loops versus involvement spirals ................... 28
Topic 4: Quality Leadership ............................................................................................. 32
Topic 5: Hybrid strategies ................................................................................................ 35
Topic 6: Time leadership ................................................................................................. 36
Article 4: Why consumers don’t see the benefits of genetically modified foods, and what
marketers can do about it ...................................................................................................... 43
Topic 7: Ethics ................................................................................................................. 45
Article 5: Market reasoning as moral reasoning: why economists should re-engage with political
philosophy ............................................................................................................................. 49
Article 6: Bypassing the animal: plant-based meat and the communicative constitution of a
moral market. ........................................................................................................................ 51
Topic 8: The rules of the game & value proposition ......................................................... 53
Topic 9: The value proposition......................................................................................... 54
Article 7: Transient competitive advantage ............................................................................. 60
2
,Topic 1: What is
marketing strategy?
Strategy is the connection
between goals and actions.
Marketing strategy:
o Action you take to
convince so to buy
your product.
o Introduce your product
to a new market.
o Plan of how to sell
your products.
o Plan of how to reach your goals (long-term).
o Defines how firm competes with other firms in the market.
Goals need to be clear in content and time horizon. Sometimes goals are formulated in
absolute terms, sometimes relative to a fix point (e.g., competitor).
Goals can be set on different organizational levels (corporate level, strategic business unit
(SBU) level, functional unit level). If you only have one business unit, corporate goals will be
the same as SBU goals.
Strategy is a ‘’game plan for getting there [achieving (long-term) goals].’’ Strategies can be
implemented on the same organizational levels as goals.
• Corporate strategies – focus on fundamental decisions that influence the firm as
whole, i.e. strategic decisions that cannot be decentralized, e.g.:
o Synergy between SBUs.
o Selection of markets (and brand identities).
o Enabling & cultivating a market-oriented culture.
• SBU strategies – seek to gain competitive advantage in an SBU. These must be in
line with the corporate strategies.
• Functional strategies - fundamental decisions in areas such as pricing, promotion,
distribution, product, procurement, finance, sales, production, etc.
3
, A strategy provides a medium- to long-term (flexible) plan for future actions. Strategy
represents the connection between goals and (operative) actions.
Goals are therefore not part of the strategy, but its normative reference point. Actions are
taken to translate the strategic guidelines into concrete results.
Strategies are not fixed but need to be adaptable to changing environmental conditions.
Actions (tactics) are short-term tasks that can be precisely identified, monitored, and
evaluated.
Strategy + marketing = marketing
strategy
Marketing is both push and pull,
with a clear focus on pull, i.e.
catering to consumers (latent)
needs so that they demand the
product or service.
Marketing:
• Creating preference
• Creating desire
• Both push and pull, with a clear focus on pull, i.e., catering to consumers (latent)
needs so that they demand the product or service.
4
Exam material
,Table of Contents
Topic 1: What is marketing strategy? ................................................................................ 3
Topic 2: The playing fields. ................................................................................................ 7
Article 1: The Performance Implications of Fit Among Business Strategy, Marketing Organization
Structure, and Strategic Behaviour. ......................................................................................... 13
Topic 3: Price leadership ................................................................................................. 17
Article 2: Selling the Premium in Freemium ............................................................................ 26
Article 3: customer experience journeys: loyalty loops versus involvement spirals ................... 28
Topic 4: Quality Leadership ............................................................................................. 32
Topic 5: Hybrid strategies ................................................................................................ 35
Topic 6: Time leadership ................................................................................................. 36
Article 4: Why consumers don’t see the benefits of genetically modified foods, and what
marketers can do about it ...................................................................................................... 43
Topic 7: Ethics ................................................................................................................. 45
Article 5: Market reasoning as moral reasoning: why economists should re-engage with political
philosophy ............................................................................................................................. 49
Article 6: Bypassing the animal: plant-based meat and the communicative constitution of a
moral market. ........................................................................................................................ 51
Topic 8: The rules of the game & value proposition ......................................................... 53
Topic 9: The value proposition......................................................................................... 54
Article 7: Transient competitive advantage ............................................................................. 60
2
,Topic 1: What is
marketing strategy?
Strategy is the connection
between goals and actions.
Marketing strategy:
o Action you take to
convince so to buy
your product.
o Introduce your product
to a new market.
o Plan of how to sell
your products.
o Plan of how to reach your goals (long-term).
o Defines how firm competes with other firms in the market.
Goals need to be clear in content and time horizon. Sometimes goals are formulated in
absolute terms, sometimes relative to a fix point (e.g., competitor).
Goals can be set on different organizational levels (corporate level, strategic business unit
(SBU) level, functional unit level). If you only have one business unit, corporate goals will be
the same as SBU goals.
Strategy is a ‘’game plan for getting there [achieving (long-term) goals].’’ Strategies can be
implemented on the same organizational levels as goals.
• Corporate strategies – focus on fundamental decisions that influence the firm as
whole, i.e. strategic decisions that cannot be decentralized, e.g.:
o Synergy between SBUs.
o Selection of markets (and brand identities).
o Enabling & cultivating a market-oriented culture.
• SBU strategies – seek to gain competitive advantage in an SBU. These must be in
line with the corporate strategies.
• Functional strategies - fundamental decisions in areas such as pricing, promotion,
distribution, product, procurement, finance, sales, production, etc.
3
, A strategy provides a medium- to long-term (flexible) plan for future actions. Strategy
represents the connection between goals and (operative) actions.
Goals are therefore not part of the strategy, but its normative reference point. Actions are
taken to translate the strategic guidelines into concrete results.
Strategies are not fixed but need to be adaptable to changing environmental conditions.
Actions (tactics) are short-term tasks that can be precisely identified, monitored, and
evaluated.
Strategy + marketing = marketing
strategy
Marketing is both push and pull,
with a clear focus on pull, i.e.
catering to consumers (latent)
needs so that they demand the
product or service.
Marketing:
• Creating preference
• Creating desire
• Both push and pull, with a clear focus on pull, i.e., catering to consumers (latent)
needs so that they demand the product or service.
4
