LSUS MBA 706 Exam 1
Marketing - answer The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating,
communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers,
clients, partners, and society at large.
Marketing Strategy - answerA long-term plan that consists of activities of selecting
target markets and designing marketing mixes to satisfy the wants and needs of the
selected markets.
Factors to consider when developing a marketing strategy - answer-Market drivers
-Resources and skills available to companies
-Strategic windows
-Competition
-Stage of market lifecycle
Market drivers - answer-External to the company
-PEST Analysis helpful to understand
-What do they look like now and how are they expected to change in future?
PEST - answerPolitical - laws, political stability, election times, corruption level
Economic - economic stability, growth rate, inflation and interest rates
Socio-cultural - cultural factors, age groups, traditions, religion
Technological: Infrastructure, current and future technologies
Resource-Based Theory of Competitive Advantage - answer-External environment is
constantly changing
-internal factors, like resources and capabilities offer a more stable basis to define
strategy
-Resources and capabilities lead to competitive advantage, on which strategy should be
determined
Strategic Window - answer-Fit between external env and internal env
-Market is dynamic and constantly changing
4 Groups of change - answer- Development of new primary demand
- New competing technologies
- Market redefinition
- Channel changes
Industry Lifecycle - answerA company's strategy is affected by this:
-Introduction
-Growth
-Maturity
, -Decline
Can be used to assess market competitiveness - answerPorter's Five Forces
Rivalry among existing competitors - answerHow many competitors are in market? How
strong are they? What are their capabilities and skills?
Threat of New Entrants - answerHow difficult/easy it is for new competitors to enter the
market? Are barriers to entry (technologies, patents, financial requirements) high or
low?
Bargaining power of buyers - answerNumber and power of buyers in market; Can
buyers drive prices down? Can buyers easily switch to competitors' products?
Threat of substitute products or services - answerCan products or services easily be
substituted by competitors' products or services? Can your products or services be
outsourced?
Bargaining power of suppliers - answerNumber and power of suppliers in market. How
difficult/easy it is for suppliers to drive prices up? How difficult/easy it is to switch
between suppliers?
Competitive strategy is appropriate if: - answer-various goals and policies don't
contradict each other
-Goals/Policies don't contradict realities of the macro environment
-Goals/Policies fit resources and capabilities available
-Goals/Policies are understood and implementable
3 Step process for formulating competitive strategy - answerWhat are we doing now?
What is happening in the environment?
What should we be doing?
Strategic Business Unit - answerCan be a single business or group of businesses within
an organization. Usually has its own missions, target markets, competitors, etc.
Bottom-Up Planning - answerBusiness units develop their strategies
Top-Down Planning - answerCorporate is involved in developing business unit level
strategies
Boston Consulting's Group Growth-Share Matrix - answerFramework managers can use
for portfolio analysis; strategies based on market growth rate and relative market share
Stars - answer-High relative market share, high market growth rate
-Usually generate high profits, but require a lot of investment too in order to keep up
with market growth
Marketing - answer The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating,
communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers,
clients, partners, and society at large.
Marketing Strategy - answerA long-term plan that consists of activities of selecting
target markets and designing marketing mixes to satisfy the wants and needs of the
selected markets.
Factors to consider when developing a marketing strategy - answer-Market drivers
-Resources and skills available to companies
-Strategic windows
-Competition
-Stage of market lifecycle
Market drivers - answer-External to the company
-PEST Analysis helpful to understand
-What do they look like now and how are they expected to change in future?
PEST - answerPolitical - laws, political stability, election times, corruption level
Economic - economic stability, growth rate, inflation and interest rates
Socio-cultural - cultural factors, age groups, traditions, religion
Technological: Infrastructure, current and future technologies
Resource-Based Theory of Competitive Advantage - answer-External environment is
constantly changing
-internal factors, like resources and capabilities offer a more stable basis to define
strategy
-Resources and capabilities lead to competitive advantage, on which strategy should be
determined
Strategic Window - answer-Fit between external env and internal env
-Market is dynamic and constantly changing
4 Groups of change - answer- Development of new primary demand
- New competing technologies
- Market redefinition
- Channel changes
Industry Lifecycle - answerA company's strategy is affected by this:
-Introduction
-Growth
-Maturity
, -Decline
Can be used to assess market competitiveness - answerPorter's Five Forces
Rivalry among existing competitors - answerHow many competitors are in market? How
strong are they? What are their capabilities and skills?
Threat of New Entrants - answerHow difficult/easy it is for new competitors to enter the
market? Are barriers to entry (technologies, patents, financial requirements) high or
low?
Bargaining power of buyers - answerNumber and power of buyers in market; Can
buyers drive prices down? Can buyers easily switch to competitors' products?
Threat of substitute products or services - answerCan products or services easily be
substituted by competitors' products or services? Can your products or services be
outsourced?
Bargaining power of suppliers - answerNumber and power of suppliers in market. How
difficult/easy it is for suppliers to drive prices up? How difficult/easy it is to switch
between suppliers?
Competitive strategy is appropriate if: - answer-various goals and policies don't
contradict each other
-Goals/Policies don't contradict realities of the macro environment
-Goals/Policies fit resources and capabilities available
-Goals/Policies are understood and implementable
3 Step process for formulating competitive strategy - answerWhat are we doing now?
What is happening in the environment?
What should we be doing?
Strategic Business Unit - answerCan be a single business or group of businesses within
an organization. Usually has its own missions, target markets, competitors, etc.
Bottom-Up Planning - answerBusiness units develop their strategies
Top-Down Planning - answerCorporate is involved in developing business unit level
strategies
Boston Consulting's Group Growth-Share Matrix - answerFramework managers can use
for portfolio analysis; strategies based on market growth rate and relative market share
Stars - answer-High relative market share, high market growth rate
-Usually generate high profits, but require a lot of investment too in order to keep up
with market growth
