Developing Successful Marketing Strategies

Building a successful marketing strategy is like taking a road trip. You
have to know where you want to go, what you want the experience to
be like, and you have to know the starting point. Once the starting and
ending points have been identified, designing the trip according to expec
tations becomes a lot easier. The trip’s outcome is more easily determined
if the planning includes a look at the resources required, the exact route,
and possible complications from outside forces such as the weather or
traffic congestion.
A vision and mission statement usually identifies the desired destina
tion. The vision and mission statement defines what you want to accom
plish and sets the parameters for how your organization will operate.
If the vision and mission statement is too vague, it will be difficult
to create a plan that will result in a clear direction for the enterprise.
Similarly, too much detail in a vision and mission statement can limit the
success of the enterprise.
In Houston, I work with a group of academicians and clinicians who
are focused on creating a research institute to develop devices to deliver
health care to underserved populations affordably.

he following is a proposed mission and vision statement:
eHealth Research Institute Mission and Vision Statement
Mission:
• To make available quality, affordable health care to all individ
uals worldwide
• To provide barrier breaking solutions to obstacles impeding
the delivery of health care through the use of technology and
telecommunications
• To create value and make a difference

Vision: To create a collaborative network of clinicians, researchers, acade
micians, and partners focused on creating modes of delivering affordable
health care worldwide. This will be accomplished by
• attracting the best and brightest people to work in an envi
ronment that is challenging and rewarding;
• creating a network of technology and industrial partners that
is focused on innovative solutions to health care delivery;
• establishing a center in Houston that serves as the worldwide
center and incubator for telehealth care solutions;
• working with hospitals and medical institutions worldwide to
deploy new medical delivery innovations by technology and
through telecommunications;
• working with industrial and financial partners to create new
markets for telehealth care delivery solutions;
• developing an organization that is highly effective, lean, and
fast moving;
• maximizing long-term financial return for partners and
long-term sustainability for the eHealth Research Institute
(Randazzo 2013, 3–4).

his mission and vision statement provides a framework that can be
used to build a plan for the organization. Based on the aforementioned,
it is apparent that the research institute will provide a place where physi
cians, engineers, academicians, and participants from industry can work
together to develop products that can be commercialized. From here a
planning group can begin designing the organization and start estimating
resources that will be needed. They will also be able to identify activities
that are required to put the organization into place.
Developing a Marketing Strategy
In designing a marketing strategy for a business, understanding the
starting point is critical and requires a very detailed description. This
description will include market forces and situations that are internal and
external to the organization. It should include resources available and
potential challenges.

After the starting point or the current state of affairs for the organi
zation is understood, then the objective (this is driven by the vision and
mission statement) to be achieved can be stated. The more clearly the
objective is stated, the better the chance that any marketing strategy that
is developed will be focused on achieving the objective.
After the objective is identified, then development of the marketing
strategy can begin. The strategy will recognize how each of the four Ps of
marketing will be used to reach the objective.
After the strategy is developed, the real work of creating a tactical plan
to successfully execute the strategy must be developed. The tactical plan
outlines the tactics for each of the four Ps and describes in detail how the
firm’s resources will be utilized and impacted.

he discussion that follows offers a simple example of how strategy,
tactics, and the four Ps of marketing work together.
Assess the Current Situation
Before the development of a marketing strategy, it is important to assess
the environment in which the organization will operate. This analysis will
identify the nature of the industry, the market, the competition, resources
available, and other factors that will determine the direction, magnitude,
and objectives for the marketing strategy. Once the environment has been
assessed, then the strategist can begin considering marketing objectives.
Set an Objective
T
he marketing effort begins with an objective. This objective can be to cre
ate a new business to serve a specific market, launch a new product for an
existing business, develop a new market with existing products, and so on.
After establishing the objective, it is important to take a hard look
at the business you are in or are hoping to start. This exercise will help
to better understand your current position in the industry and possible
avenues for growth. For example, if owning a cupcake specialty shop, you
should determine whether you are in the cupcake business, confectionary
business, restaurant business, or bakery business, and so on. The choice
will affect the strategy that might be employed to achieve the objective.

Identify a Customer Base
Also considering the business, it is important to identify the potential
customer base (key customers) you will be serving and your business
capabilities. For example, if you are entering an established market but
have limited resources, you may be forced to serve the least profitable
customer. In other words, the market leaders will have developed prod
ucts and services that serve the most profitable customers and your lim
ited resources will put you at a disadvantage when competing for those
customers.

his exercise may also uncover other customer segments that may
offer opportunities but may not represent the key customer category. If
you, for example, served the least profitable customer you might also find
some of the industry’s more profitable customers have a reason to choose
your product or service.
Going after the least profitable customers may be an advantage since
the market leaders are not likely to focus on customers who would require
resources to be taken from efforts to serve their more profitable clients.

his approach would make you a disruptor and your product a disruptive
innovation since you would be starting with the least profitable customer
and work to create ways to “move up the customer chain” in this market.
On the other hand, if you have a new idea or innovation and want to
compete for the very profitable customers, then you must consider ways
of protecting your market position. Since this innovation can likely be
duplicated in some fashion by the competition, it will be important to
choose a marketing strategy that makes duplication by competitors more
difficult.
Set a Strategy
Strategy is what you will do to reach your objective that is driven by your
vision and mission statement.
As an example, let’s say that your objective is to become a leader in
providing exterior maintenance service. If, in the beginning, you had
some basic equipment and could perform basic pressure washing of con
crete, you might decide to start a business to clean concrete surfaces. Your

customers would likely be individuals who could not afford or perhaps
didn’t need the range of services offered by the more established pressure
washing services. A careful look at the type of business, the customer
segment, and the resources might be helpful in developing a marketing
strategy. In this case, the strategic statement (the what you want to do)
might be: “To enter the maintenance service business by providing basic
pressure washing services to homeowners with a plan to expand service
offerings to homeowners and businesses in Texas.”
In this case, you are a potential market disruptor (trying to make a
profit serving the least profitable customer) that will be part of the main
tenance service industry and will start with a pressure washing service.
Develop the Tactics
Tactics are how you will successfully execute the strategy.
Tactics will require attention to the price, place, product, and pro
motion components of marketing and the planning, organizing, direct
ing, and controlling principles of management. Additionally, the tactics
will have to consider how the marketing components and management
principles fit with the workforce, financial requirements and capabilities,
capital equipment needs, and operational procedures.

he more the marketing, management, and operational plans are in
concert, the better the chances of achieving the strategic goal. This set of
exercises is critical in the sense that they are focused on creating the most
efficient, objective driven organization possible.
Considering the pressure washing service, the tactics might involve
the following:
1. Product: Begin with power washing home decks, driveways, and
sidewalks; expanding to gutter cleaning, window cleaning, and pool
service; then moving into commercial maintenance (this approach
provides the ability to grow horizontally and vertically—gateway
capacity).
2. Pricing: Start with simple low-level pricing moving to a bundling
approach as more services are added. This allows the ability to sell
new services to existing customers and create customer loyalty by

providing discounts based on the number of services purchased.
Additionally, contract pricing would be provided for long-term
purchase commitments.
3. Place: Begin in an area easily served by limited manpower and
resources with a plan to expand to adjacent areas so that supply chain
and resources are not strained.
4. Promotion: Limit promotion to grow business within the ability to
serve the demand. Begin with very targeted, low-cost promotion and
expand as territory is increased.
5. Workforce: Contract labor that can be quickly assigned to com
plete jobs. As the business grows, evaluate the need for permanent
employees with specialized expertise.
6. Financial requirements: A small amount of start-up cash and initial
payment from customers should be enough to cover the cost of com
pleting the job. Consider half payment at sale and half at comple
tion. Put aside 20 percent of each job for investment into company
growth and new equipment. Assume 10 percent of each job will be
used for repair and maintenance.
7. Operational procedures: Utilize contract labor at negotiated and
contracted rates that allow easy determination and maintenance of
profit margins. Require bonding of contractors to provide assurance
that the job will be completed and allow some level of comfort to
the customer when requiring half of the job cost be paid in advance.
8. Capital equipment: Lease basic, rugged pressure washing equip
ment in the beginning. Consider purchasing equipment when it
is advantageous. Expand the inventory of equipment as business
increases.

his is a simple example but illustrates that there is a sequence that
should be followed for the best results. If you start with tactical measures
or with a strategy that hasn’t identified the industry or customer base, a
great deal of time will be spent on course correcting to develop a success
ful model.
Every time you re-evaluate and change direction, internal changes are
required that can be costly in that each of the previously listed tactical
categories will likely be impacted.

his process works for established businesses, new businesses, and
businesses that have had a significant change in their industry.
Simply stated: “Vision and mission statement before objective,
objective before strategy, and strategy before tactics.”

his book is based on the premise that the four Ps of marketing (price,
place, product, and promotion) must be used in concert to develop a
successful marketing strategy. Further, the strategy must work within the
market constraints and challenges and within the firm’s resources to reach
the overall marketing objectives.

he material that is presented is designed to provide managers with
a structured approach that can be used to develop a successful marketing
strategy for any organization