Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

Perreault−McCarthy: Basic

Marketing: A

Global−Managerial

Approach, 14/e

21. Developing Innovative
    Marketing Plans

Text © The McGraw−Hill

Companies, 2002

Bounty can probably get a
reasonably good forecast of sales
for its improved paper towels
based on experience with similar
products that it already sells. By
contrast, satellite navigation is a
newer concept and it will
probably be more difficult for
Garmin to accurately forecast
how quickly sales for its new
eTrex product will grow.

Physical good

Service

Features

Benefits

Quality level

Accessories

Installation

Instructions

Warranty

Product lines

Packaging

Branding

Objectives

Channel type

Market exposure

Kinds of

middlemen

Kinds and

locations of

stores

How to handle

transporting

and storing

Service levels

Recruiting

middlemen

Managing

channels

Objectives

Promotion blend

Salespeople

Kind

Number

Selection

Training

Motivation

Advertising

Targets

Kinds of ads

Media type

Copy thrust

Prepared by

whom

Sales promotion

Publicity

Objectives

Flexibility

Level over

product life

cycle

Geographic terms

Discounts

Allowances

Product Place Promotion Price

Exhibit 21-2
Strategy Decision Areas
Organized by the Four Ps

Just as some mixes are superior, some mixes are clearly inferior—or unsuitable.

For example, a national TV advertising campaign might make sense for a large com-

pany like Maytag—but it could quickly be screened out by a small firm that only

has the resources to put a web page on the Internet and perhaps get some help from

manufacturers’ agents.

Exhibit 21-2 reviews the major marketing strategy decision areas organized by the

four Ps. Each of these requires careful decision making. Yet marketing planning

involves much more than just independent decisions and assembling the parts into

a marketing mix. The four Ps must be creatively blended—so the firm develops the

best mix for its target market. In other words, each decision must work well with

all of the others to make a logical whole.

Throughout the text, we’ve given the job of integrating the four Ps strategy deci-

sions to the marketing manager. The title of that person might vary, but now you

should see the need for this integrating role. It is easy for specialists to focus on

their own areas and expect the rest of the company to work for or around them.

Inferior mixes are easy
to reject

Marketing manager
must blend the four Ps

612 Chapter 21