Tentamenstof Strategic Marketing
1. Basics of SM and Strategic Market Orientation (SMO)
Resource-Based View (RBV)
RBV = firms gain sustained competitive advantage by leveraging their resources and capabilities
and not only from industry conditions (responding to Porters Five Forces)
VRIN criteria for resources (to gain Sustained Competitive Advantage)
- Valuable = resources should contribute to the firm (exploit opportunities or neutralize threats
in the environment)
- Rareness = resources should be uncommon or unique
- Imitability = resources must be difficult or costly for competitors to duplicate
- Non-substitutable = should be no resources that can replace it
Internal marketing resources: Assets and Capabilities
Marketing assets = resources the firm owns, builds or has acquired over time
Four types of marketing assets:
1. Customer based = brand equity and customer loyalty
2. Supply chain = good relationships with suppliers and retailers
3. Internal support = in-house expertise and company culture
4. Alliance-based = mutually beneficial relationships with alliances
Marketing capabilities = processes that deploy the assets to
create a competitive advantage (advertising, customer
relationship management (CRM), brand management)
Two types of marketing capabilities:
1. Dynamic marketing capabilities = the processes
that create new assets or capabilities to help sustain
the competitive advantage
→ inside-out, anticipate and respond
2. Adaptive marketing capabilities = the processes
that reconfigurate existing activities to stay effective
→ outside-in, fitness and effectiveness
Four marketing capabilities
1. Advertising, promotion and selling
2. Market-sensing capability
3. Customer relationship management (CRM)
4. Brand management
External resources
PESTEL model = macro environment analysis focuses on the current status of six key driving factors
of change, comprising their opportunities and threats
- Political: eg tax policy, trade policies, political stability, government policy, climate acts
- Economical: eg inflation and exchange rate, economic growth, interest rates, disposable
income, unemployment rate)
, - Social (& culture): eg lifestyle attitudes, cultural barriers, population growth, population age,
health consciousness, target demographics
- Technological: eg level of innovation, automation, technological awareness, cyber security,
technological change, internet availability/speed
- Environmental: eg weather, climate change, environmental policies, NGO pressure, recycling,
pollution, sustainability, waste disposal, energy consumption
- Legal: eg employment laws, discrimination laws, health and safety, copyright protection,
consumer safety
Scenario analysis = macro environment exploring multiple possible futures based on uncertainties.
→ aim: prepare strategies for multiple scenarios (best case, moderate, worst case scenario)
- Danger: over-focus on moderate scenarios and ignoring the extremes
Industry = a group of firms producing similar products/close substitutes
Sector = a broad classification that groups similar industries
Industry life cycle
How do the 5 competitive forces change over time?
1. Development = low rivalry: high differentiation, innovation key
2. Growth = low rivalry: high growth and weak buyers, but low entry barrier, growth ability key
3. Sake-out = increasing rivalry: slower growth and some exits, managerial and financial strength
key
4. Maturity = strong buyers: low growth and standard products, but higher entry barriers, market
share and cost key
5. Decline = extreme rivalry: typically many exits and price competition, cost and commitment
key
Analyzing competitor & markets
Strategic group = organisations within a same industry, with similar characteristics, following similar
strategies and aimed at similar customer groups
→ based on two major categories of characteristics
1. Scope of the activities: product range, geographical coverage, distribution channel
2. Resource commitment: brands, marketing spend, extent of vertical integration
Main advantages of strategic groups
- Understanding competition: who are direct competitors and what distinguishes the
organisation from most other groups?
- Strategic opportunities: identify white spaces, gaps between strategic groups
- Mobility barriers: moving from one group to another is not always easy, similar to barriers to
entry in five forces model, ideal situation: being in a successful strategic group with strong
mobility barriers
Competitor analysis = analyzing competitors current and future objectives, current strategy and
resource profile to predict their future strategies
→ strategic competitive reasoning (SCR)= anticipating competitors actions and reactions before
making moves (to prevent underestimating rivals performance)
, Market segment = dividing customers into groups with similar needs
→ determine segmentation based on demographics, geographic, psychographic (lifestyle,
personality traits etc) and behavioral (buying behavior, usage rate, brand loyalty)
SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis = summarize internal and external factors influencing strategy to focus on future
choices and the extent to which an organization is able to support these strategies
1. Internal factors: resources (assets and capabilities)
2. External factors: business environment
Strategic Market Orientation (SMO) - Competitive strategies
Central question: what is the primary focus of decision making?
→ possible options: focus on competition, focus on customer value or more abstract: focus on
revenue generation, focus on cost reduction, focus on both
Competitive strategies:
Cost leadership focus (internal focus: efficiency)
1. No frills strategy: low price and low perceived products/service benefits, focus on
price-sensitive market segment (eg ryan air,, aldi and lidl)
2. Low price/cost strategy: lower price than competitors and similar perceived products or
service benefits, focusing on market segments that are less attractive to competitors (eg
H&M, Walmart, Skoda)
Differentiation focus strategies (external focus: satisfaction)
3. Broad/general differentiation: offer products/services that provide unique benefits
compared to competitors, which are widely valued by buyers. Price premium allows the
company to charge higher prices due to the perceived added value (eg Netflix, tesla)
4. Focused differentiation: high perceived products/service benefits at a substantial price
premium in a secreted market segment (niche markets)
Dual focus strategy
5. Dual focus: seeks to simultaneously achieve differentiation and a price lower than that of
competitors, success depends on the ability to deliver increased benefits to consumers at a
1. Basics of SM and Strategic Market Orientation (SMO)
Resource-Based View (RBV)
RBV = firms gain sustained competitive advantage by leveraging their resources and capabilities
and not only from industry conditions (responding to Porters Five Forces)
VRIN criteria for resources (to gain Sustained Competitive Advantage)
- Valuable = resources should contribute to the firm (exploit opportunities or neutralize threats
in the environment)
- Rareness = resources should be uncommon or unique
- Imitability = resources must be difficult or costly for competitors to duplicate
- Non-substitutable = should be no resources that can replace it
Internal marketing resources: Assets and Capabilities
Marketing assets = resources the firm owns, builds or has acquired over time
Four types of marketing assets:
1. Customer based = brand equity and customer loyalty
2. Supply chain = good relationships with suppliers and retailers
3. Internal support = in-house expertise and company culture
4. Alliance-based = mutually beneficial relationships with alliances
Marketing capabilities = processes that deploy the assets to
create a competitive advantage (advertising, customer
relationship management (CRM), brand management)
Two types of marketing capabilities:
1. Dynamic marketing capabilities = the processes
that create new assets or capabilities to help sustain
the competitive advantage
→ inside-out, anticipate and respond
2. Adaptive marketing capabilities = the processes
that reconfigurate existing activities to stay effective
→ outside-in, fitness and effectiveness
Four marketing capabilities
1. Advertising, promotion and selling
2. Market-sensing capability
3. Customer relationship management (CRM)
4. Brand management
External resources
PESTEL model = macro environment analysis focuses on the current status of six key driving factors
of change, comprising their opportunities and threats
- Political: eg tax policy, trade policies, political stability, government policy, climate acts
- Economical: eg inflation and exchange rate, economic growth, interest rates, disposable
income, unemployment rate)
, - Social (& culture): eg lifestyle attitudes, cultural barriers, population growth, population age,
health consciousness, target demographics
- Technological: eg level of innovation, automation, technological awareness, cyber security,
technological change, internet availability/speed
- Environmental: eg weather, climate change, environmental policies, NGO pressure, recycling,
pollution, sustainability, waste disposal, energy consumption
- Legal: eg employment laws, discrimination laws, health and safety, copyright protection,
consumer safety
Scenario analysis = macro environment exploring multiple possible futures based on uncertainties.
→ aim: prepare strategies for multiple scenarios (best case, moderate, worst case scenario)
- Danger: over-focus on moderate scenarios and ignoring the extremes
Industry = a group of firms producing similar products/close substitutes
Sector = a broad classification that groups similar industries
Industry life cycle
How do the 5 competitive forces change over time?
1. Development = low rivalry: high differentiation, innovation key
2. Growth = low rivalry: high growth and weak buyers, but low entry barrier, growth ability key
3. Sake-out = increasing rivalry: slower growth and some exits, managerial and financial strength
key
4. Maturity = strong buyers: low growth and standard products, but higher entry barriers, market
share and cost key
5. Decline = extreme rivalry: typically many exits and price competition, cost and commitment
key
Analyzing competitor & markets
Strategic group = organisations within a same industry, with similar characteristics, following similar
strategies and aimed at similar customer groups
→ based on two major categories of characteristics
1. Scope of the activities: product range, geographical coverage, distribution channel
2. Resource commitment: brands, marketing spend, extent of vertical integration
Main advantages of strategic groups
- Understanding competition: who are direct competitors and what distinguishes the
organisation from most other groups?
- Strategic opportunities: identify white spaces, gaps between strategic groups
- Mobility barriers: moving from one group to another is not always easy, similar to barriers to
entry in five forces model, ideal situation: being in a successful strategic group with strong
mobility barriers
Competitor analysis = analyzing competitors current and future objectives, current strategy and
resource profile to predict their future strategies
→ strategic competitive reasoning (SCR)= anticipating competitors actions and reactions before
making moves (to prevent underestimating rivals performance)
, Market segment = dividing customers into groups with similar needs
→ determine segmentation based on demographics, geographic, psychographic (lifestyle,
personality traits etc) and behavioral (buying behavior, usage rate, brand loyalty)
SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis = summarize internal and external factors influencing strategy to focus on future
choices and the extent to which an organization is able to support these strategies
1. Internal factors: resources (assets and capabilities)
2. External factors: business environment
Strategic Market Orientation (SMO) - Competitive strategies
Central question: what is the primary focus of decision making?
→ possible options: focus on competition, focus on customer value or more abstract: focus on
revenue generation, focus on cost reduction, focus on both
Competitive strategies:
Cost leadership focus (internal focus: efficiency)
1. No frills strategy: low price and low perceived products/service benefits, focus on
price-sensitive market segment (eg ryan air,, aldi and lidl)
2. Low price/cost strategy: lower price than competitors and similar perceived products or
service benefits, focusing on market segments that are less attractive to competitors (eg
H&M, Walmart, Skoda)
Differentiation focus strategies (external focus: satisfaction)
3. Broad/general differentiation: offer products/services that provide unique benefits
compared to competitors, which are widely valued by buyers. Price premium allows the
company to charge higher prices due to the perceived added value (eg Netflix, tesla)
4. Focused differentiation: high perceived products/service benefits at a substantial price
premium in a secreted market segment (niche markets)
Dual focus strategy
5. Dual focus: seeks to simultaneously achieve differentiation and a price lower than that of
competitors, success depends on the ability to deliver increased benefits to consumers at a
