Monday 7 August 2017

MoM: Marketing Essentials Survival Guide

Going back to student life after spending years in the workforce can be overwhelming at the best of times. For those joining the Master of Marketing program in semester two, well I understand that it might be a shock to the system. But don’t worry! MoM has got you covered with this handy semester survival guide for all your marketing essentials.


Before you start feeling defeated by the heavy workload and lack of social life, just remember that we’re all here to help each other succeed. The University of Sydney has loads of workshops for maths, excel; while the Library’s Pat Norman holds workshops for using the databases; APA Referencing - there’s even a workshop on how to use Endnote if you haven’t already signed up.

But for now, let’s get you up to speed on the marketing basics.


5Cs Analysis 

Source: SMS

The 5C Analysis is one of the most commonly used frameworks, perfectly suited to understanding the internal and external environments, as well as identifying the key problems and challenges facing the company.
  • Company: Explore existing and potential problems with the company's business; the vision, strategies, capabilities, product line, technology, culture and objectives. 
  • Customers: This situational analysis involves knowing the target audience, their behaviours, market size, market growth, buying patterns, average purchase size, frequency of purchase, and preferred retail channels.
  • Competitors: A competitor analysis is crucial to understanding the external environment in which the firm operates. This involves knowing the competitors' strengths, weaknesses, positioning, market share, and upcoming initiatives.
  • Collaborators: Collaborators are otherwise referred to as external stakeholders with a mutually beneficial partnership. Understanding the capabilities, performances, and issues of agencies, suppliers, distributors, and business partners helps to better identify business problems. 
  • Climate/Context: This is the evaluation of the macro-environmental factors affecting the business. A PESTLE or PEST analysis framework can be used to analyse the economic, social/cultural, technological, environmental, and legal scenarios.

STP Targeted Marketing 


Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning, or STP, is a three-step process used in targeting marketing plans, and after SWOT is one of the most commonly applied models in practice.
  1. Segmentation: Identify potential market segments you could target in a marketing campaign.
  2. Targeting: Customise marketing campaigns and communication channels that appeal to each segment. 
  3. Positioning: How a brand or product is aligned within the target market. 

PESTLE or PEST Analysis 



The PESTLE/ PEST frameworks are used to explore the external environment of a company, providing an in-depth understanding of specific trends of the market from a macroeconomic perspective.
  • Political: Laws, global issues, legislation, and regulations. 
  • Economic: Taxes, interest rates, the stock markets, and consumer confidence.
  • Social: Lifestyle and buying trends, media, major events, ethics, advertising, and publicity factors.
  • Technological: Innovations, access to technology, licensing and patents, manufacturing, and global communications.
  • Legal: Legislation - both current and potential.
  • Environmental: Local and global environmental issues, and their social and political factors. 

SWOT

Source: Slide Model 


S.W.O.T. is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis is used to investigate the internal environment of the company based on its products and services. 

Strengths and weaknesses, such as patents and reputation, are internal to the company’s reputation. Whereas opportunities and threats, like competitors, developing technologies and legislation, are part of the part of the external market.


The Marketing Mix - 7Ps and 4Ps

Source: Marketing Mix

Traditionally known as the core 4Ps of Product, Price, Place and Promotion, the 4Ps were designed at a time where businesses sold products rather than services and the role of customer service in helping brand development wasn't so well known. Nowadays, the extended ‘service mix P’s'- People, Physical environment and Processes is more commonly used when reviewing competitive strategies.

Competitor Analysis 


A Competitor Analysis framework helps to identify competitors and evaluate their strategies to determine their strengths and weaknesses. This critical aspect of any marketing strategy first identifies competitors, determines whether they are direct or indirect, categorises their products/services, profitability, growth pattern, marketing objectives and assumptions, current and past strategies, organisational and cost  structure, strengths and weaknesses, and market share.

The simplest way to make comparisons with competitor’s products and services is to make a competition grid which will clearly illustrate how your company fits into the market.

Porter's Five Forces

Source: Mind Tools

Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter published this business strategy tool in 1979, to aid with the analysis of an industry's attractiveness and likely profitability. This framework goes beyond analysing competitors by examining other factors that could impact the business environment. These five forces that make up the competitive environment, are those which could possibly erode the profitability of a company.
  1. Competitive Rivalry looks at the number and strength of competitors in terms of quality. Fierce rivalry can induce aggressive price wars and high-impact marketing campaigns. Saturated markets allow suppliers and buyers to go elsewhere if they don't perceive enough value. 
  2. Supplier Power is determined by how easily suppliers can increase their prices and how expensive it would be to switch from one supplier to another
  3. Buyer Power looks at how much power consumers have to drive down prices or switch to a rival. It is better to have many customers then only a few who you rely on.
  4. Threat of Substitution refers to the likelihood of your customers finding a substitute product or service. A substitution that is easy and cheap to make can weaken your position and threaten your profitability. 
  5. Threat of New Entry concerns how a company's position is affected by the people's ability to enter that market. Strong and durable barriers to entry allow a company to preserve their position in the market.

Value Proposition 


Finally, the most important of all is the value proposition. It is a concise business or marketing statement that a company uses to summarise why a consumer should buy a product or use a service. With aspects relating to the core and augmented product, it communicates how a product solves pains and needs, communicates the specifics of the added benefit (augmentation), and states the differentiating aspects. 

Still confused? Sign up to any of these USYD workshops to get you up to speed:

Learning Centre
For English skills as well as other topics such as note-taking, time management, etc.
Location: Level 7, Education Building A35
Maths in Business
For Maths and Excel skills.
University Library 
Make use of the library resources and find the data you need.

Career Centre
Get help applying for jobs, writing resumes, etc.
Location: Level 5, Jane Foss Russell Building

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