The Marketing Book 5th Edition

Operational Strategic intent Strategic reality Strategic gaps

marketing policies

Products and services • Technical superiority • The product is difficult to use • Systems/solutions versus

• Maximum service • We are seen as a computer •computers


• content •specialist


• Specialist supplier
  Pricing and value • High price but high value • Expensive and over-priced • Value/quality perception


• Flexibility • Intractable •problem


• Real flexibility?
  Communications: • Advertising to reinforce • Our advertising is computers, • Positioning problem?


• Selling •positioning •not customer ‘business • Market coverage


• Advertising • Regular sales coverage •solutions’


• Promotion •of all accounts • We have less sales coverage


• Industry/sector based •than the competition


• promotion and training • We are seen as computer


• events •trainers not hardware suppliers
  Distribution: • Use direct channels • Customers go to traders, not • Understanding of the


• Channels • Offer rapid installation •direct •customer decision-


• Logistics • Provides 7-day servicing • We ignore advisers and •making units?


• Service • Provide technical •recommenders • The real service needs?


• consultancy • We talk to users not decision • Demand for hardware


• Emphasize personal •makers •versus demand for
  relationships • Customers do not trust us •services
  Strategic positioning • Rapid market growth for • The market is already mature • Market assumptions?


• Product/market life •next 5 years • We can take a tenable position • Customer perceptions?


• cycle • We take a dominant •at best • Real competitive


• Strategic position •position through • Our position is likely to weaken •strengths?


• Competitive •technological superiority • Everyone visits and entertains –


• differentiation • Focus on customer visits, •mostly better than we do


• Customer satisfaction •social events, etc.

Conclusions, implications, actions

• The major product/value issue is ‘technical’ (our company) versus ‘customer-oriented’ (the competitors)


• We urgently need to reassess the market in terms of the important customer decision-making units and
  priorities/needs to different players


• We need to investigate further our real position in the market


• We need to study the growth prospects here (if any)

Company:

XYZ Computers Ltd

Market:

Financial departmental systems

Strategy: Regain lost market share (get back to 20% from present 10%) by positioning as a specialist, high-quality

systems supplier marketing total business solutions

546 The Marketing Book

 Is the problem one of reformulating the

strategy (i.e. moving the intent closer to

the reality) or an issue for managerial

action (i.e. attempting to bring the reality

closer to the intent)?

Figure 21.5 shows an example of how this

approach was adopted with one organization – a

computer manufacturer – in which top manage-

ment had difficulty in understanding why their

marketing strategy for recovering market share

Figure 21.5 Analysing strategic gaps