Strategic Marketing: Planning and Control, Third Edition

■ Initial corporate wide

internal audit

As has already been stated some assets and competencies that can be

deployed to create advantage in marketing activities are found in the other

functional areas, besides marketing. Any audit will therefore need to carry

out a thorough analysis of company’s resources to establish assets and

competencies, that either currently or potentially could assist the market-

ing function, and support strategic marketing developments. Hooley et al.

(1998) suggest that these wider non-marketing assets and competencies

94 Strategic Marketing: Planning and Control

Success

Brand

Good service Range

Reliable delivery

Innovation

Solving

buyers

problems

Flexibility

Rapid response

Distribution +

logistics systems

Good

personal

relations

with buyers

Retailers

returning

goods

Staff discretion +

rule bending

Fast turnaround

of urgent orders

Low-plant utilisation

Use of

sub-contractors

for transport

Stock levels

24 hour dispatch

Primary assets

and competencies

for success

Secondary assets +

competencies for

success

Tertiary assets +

competencies for

success

Figure 5.2
Hierarchy of assets and competencies for a consumer goods company supplying major retail
outlets (Source: Adapted from Johnson and Scholes, 1999)