• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 2655 0

price, promotion, and place (distribution)—which has been around since the early 1960s, demonstrates that the marketing function has long been conceived in terms of new product development and refinement, pricing, logistics, and distribution, as well as advertising, sales, sales promotion, and package design. This was not to suggest that marketing was solely responsible for product design and production, meeting shipping dates, or setting prices. Rather, the idea was that marketing represents the customer to the company as well as the company to the customer and is therefore responsible for the strategic alignment and coordination of all the factors that attract customers and preserve customer relationships (Perrault et al., 2008, 35–40; Pride and Ferrell, 2008, 3–7).

In 1969, Kotler and Levy’s seminal article, “Broadening the Concept of Marketing,” appeared in the Journal of Marketing. Therein, the authors stated, “Marketing is a pervasive societal activity that goes considerably beyond the selling of toothpaste, soap, and steel” (1969, 10). In short order, marketing experts accepted the notion that political candidates market themselves for votes; Hollywood markets celebrities to sell movie tickets; ordinary people market themselves to prospective employers; charities use marketing activities for fund-raising and soliciting volunteers; and organizations market ideas, such as “fasten your seatbelt” and “don’t drink and drive.” From the 1970s on, applications of marketing expanded to a variety of non-business contexts.

Moreover, in today’s marketplace, the concept of customer relationship management (CRM) demands that marketing be involved in technology as well (Greenberg, 2001, 1–43). Every single point of contact between the company and the customer is a marketing opportunity, and technology now plays an important role in facilitating company–customer communication and exchanges.

What Is Marketing Strategy?

In light of the scope of marketing discussed previously, one may well say that there is little difference between business strategy and marketing strategy. Ultimately, much of what an organization does strategically will have direct or indirect impact on the firm’s ability to cultivate and sustain customer relationships. A small stream of research has even emerged in marketing called internal marketing to address employee issues. This work does not take the place of the huge body of human resource literature; rather, it emphasizes those issues that affect employees in ways that are then secondarily transmitted to customers (Flipo 1986; Adomaitiene and Slatkeviiene, 2008). For example, unhappy employees are more likely to give customers poor service.

Ideally, therefore, the objective is to integrate marketing perspectives and activities into all aspects of a company’s business strategy. The benefits are several. First, the customer, without whom the business cannot exist, has representation whenever strategic decisions are undertaken. Second, companies are more likely to avoid making important marketing mistakes that are costly and detrimental to the company’s financial position. Third, marketing gains a better understanding of the capabilities and limitations of other functional areas. Fourth, other functional areas are apprised of market demands and competitive actions that affect the company’s overall performance. Many other benefits accrue from cross-functional integration as well.

Sales and Strategy

Sales is a subset of marketing. It is the personal promotion function within the firm’s total business strategy and the operational arm of marketing (Perrault et al., 2008, 10). In many (or most) organizations, sales is treated as a separate function from marketing and is managed separately. This approach, of course, breeds a number of difficulties, not the least of which are the tensions that arise between marketing and sales. Sales should be an important set of implementation activities within the scope of the company’s total business strategy. Unfortunately, silo effects often render null the