Changes in Strategies

Changes in strategies

Assignment #3

Jerome Anderson

Strayer University

Abstract

Activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers. In advanced industrial economies, marketing considerations play a major role in determining corporate policy (Porter, 1980). Once primarily concerned with increasing sales through advertising and other promotional techniques, corporate marketing departments now focus on credit policies, product development, customer support, distribution, and corporate communications. Marketers may look for outlets through which to sell the company's products, including retail stores, direct-mail marketing, and wholesaling (Tracey, 2000). They may make psychological and demographic studies of a potential market, experiment with various marketing strategies, and conduct informal interviews with target audiences. Marketing is used both to increase sales of an existing product and to introduce new products

Many people believe that marketing is just about advertising or sales. However, marketing is everything a company does to acquire customers and maintain a relationship with them (Tracey, 2000). Even the small tasks like writing thank-you letters, playing golf with a prospective client, returning calls promptly and meeting with a past client for coffee can be thought of as marketing. The ultimate goal of marketing is to match a company's products and services to the people who need and want them, thereby ensure profitability (Tracey, 2000).

Often times, decisions about product, place, promotion, and price will be dictated by the

competitive stance that a firm assumes in its target market. According to Michael Porter's classic book Competitive Strategy, the three most common competitive strategies are low-cost supplier, differentiation, and niche (Porter, 1980).

Companies that adopt a low-cost supplier strategy are usually characterized by a vigorous pursuit of efficiency and cost controls. A...