‘balanced scorecard’ approach. This involves taking both financial/
non-financial measures and examines the benefits delivered to all the organ-
isation’s stakeholders. A balanced scorecard approach involves four sets of
measures:
1 Financial measures: Here we examine how we are perceived by
investors and shareholders.
2 Customers: How do our customers view us?
3 Internal activities: By examining the key areas of activity which deliver
customer satisfaction, we can identify where the organisation must
outdo it’s competitors.
4 Innovation and learning: To survive and prosper, all organisations need
to improve and adapt. Any business activity can be viewed as a learn-
ing experience with the goal of continuously creating value.
Performance indicators are established within each of these areas. These
become an objective basis with which to evaluate and formulate strategy.
A winning strategy should address the above and offer a range of initia-
tives for the future.■ The role of marketing within
strategy
As noted earlier, all organisations need to make strategic decisions relating to
their external environment. Strategy must address issues such as customers,
competitors and market trends. It needs to be proactive as opposed to simply
reacting to events. In this way, strategy can detect and influence changes in
the business environment. By its nature, marketing defines how the organ-
isation interacts with its market place. Consequently, all strategic planning,
to a greater or lesser degree, requires an element of marketing. Only in this
way can organisations become strategically responsive to customer need
and commercial pressures. Indeed, it is possible to view marketing as more
than a functional activity. It can be adopted as a business philosophy. Here
the organisation adopts a marketing orientation – success by a process of under-
standing and meeting customer need.Basically, the company’s orientation
defines it’s fundamental business philosophy, highlighting what is perceived
as the primary route to success. Market orientations are now widely estab-
lished within the business world (and often seen as the ‘holy grail’ of mar-
keters) but other business orientations are equally common.
● Production orientation: Here business success is attributed to efficient
production. The emphasis is on mass production, economy of scale
and cost control. Management’s key concern is with achieving volume
and meeting production schedules. This philosophy has its place, but
risks limiting operations to low added-value assembly work.
● Product orientation: The belief is that product innovation and design
will have buyers beating a path to our door. Management’s perception
is that our products are so good they will, in effect, sell themselves.10 Strategic Marketing: Planning and Control