The major steps in establishing a strategic control and evaluation program arc described in Exhibit 15.5. Strategic and annual marketing plans set the direction and guidelines for the evaluation and control process. A strategic marketing audit may be conducted when setting up an evaluation program, and periodically thereafter. Next, performance standards and metrics need to be determined, followed by obtaining and analyzing information for the purpose of performance-gap identification. Actions arc initiated to pursue opportunities or avoid threats, keep performance on track, or solve a particular decision-making problem.
The Strategic Marketing Audit
A marketing audit is useful when initiating a strategic evaluation program. Since evaluation compares results with expectations, it is necessary to lay some groundwork before setting up a tracking program. The audit can be used to initiate a formal strategic marketing plan¬ning program, and it may be repeated on a periodic basis. Normally, the situation analysis is part of the annual development of marketing plans. Audits may be conducted every three to five years, or more frequently in special situations (e.g.. acquisition'merger).
A guide to conducting the strategic marketing audit is shown in Exhibit 15.6. This for¬mat can be adapted to meet the needs of a particular firm. For example, if a company does not use indirect channels of distribution, this section of the audit guide will require
EXHIBIT 15.5 Strategic .Marketing Evaluation and Control
Select performance
criteria and _ choose relevant y' marketing metrics
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EXHIBIT 15.6 Guide to Conducting the Strategic Marketing Audit
• CORPORATE MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
2004, Does the mission statement offer a clear guide to the product-markets of interest to the firm?
2005, Have objectives been established for the corporation?
2006, Is information available for the review' of corporate progress toward objectives, and are the reviews conducted on a regular (e.g., quarterly, monthly) basis?
2007, Has corporate strategy been successful in meeting objectives?
2008, Are opportunities or problems pending that may require altering marketing strategy?
2009, What are the responsibilities of the chief marketing executive in corporate strategic planning?
• BUSINESS COMPOSITION AND STRATEGIES
2004, What is the composition of the business (business segments, strategic planning units, and specific product-markets)?
2005, Have business strength and product-market attractiveness analyses been conducted for each planning unit? What are the results of the analyses?
2006, What is the corporate strategy for each planning unit (e.g., develop, stabilize, turn around, or harvest)?
2007, What objectives are assigned to each planning unit?
2008, Does each unit have a strategic pilari?
2009, For each unit what objectives and responsibilities have been assigned to marketing?
• MARKETING STRATEGY (FOR EACH PLANNING UNIT)
2004, Strategic planning and marketing:
2005. Is marketing's role and responsibility in corporate strategic planning clearly specified?
2006. Are responsibility and authority for marketing strategy assigned to one executive? ,
2007. How well is the firm's marketing strategy working?
2008. Are changes likely to occur in the corporate/marketing environment that may affect the firm's marketing strategy?
2009. Are there major contingencies that should be included in the strategic marketing plan?
2005, Marketing planning and organizational structure:
2005. Are annual and longer-range strategic marketing plans developed, and are they being used?
2006. Are the responsibilities of the various units in the marketing organization clearly specified?
2007. What are the strengths and limitations of the key members of the marketing organization? What is being done to develop people? What gaps in experience and capabilities exist on the marketing staff.
2008. Is the organizational structure for marketing effective for implementing marketing plans?
2006, Market target strategy:
2005. Has each market target been clearly defined and its importance to the firm established?
2006. Have demand, industry, and competition in each market target been analyzed and key trends, opportunities, and threats identified?
2007. Has the proper market target strategy been adopted?
2008. Should repositioning or exit from any product-market be considered?
2007, Objectives:
2005. Are objectives established for each market target, and are these consistent with planning-unit objectives and the available resources? Are the objectives realistic?
2006. Are sales, cost, and other performance information available for monitoring the progress of planned performance against actual results?
Chapter 15 Marketing Strategy hnpk'inentationand Control 487
into regular tracking activities (e.g.. the effectiveness of advertising expenditures). Other information is obtained as the need arises, such as a special study of consumer preferences for different brands.
Examples of performance criteria are discussed in several chapters. Criteria should be selected for the total plan and its important components. Illustrative criteria for total per¬formance include sales, market share, profit, expense, and customer satisfaction targets. Brand-positioning map analyses may.also be useful, in tracking how a brand is positioned relative to key competitors. These assessments can be used to gauge overall performance and for specific market targets. Performance criteria are also needed for the marketing mix components. For example, new-customer and lost-customer tracking is often included in sales force performance monitoring. Pricing performance monitoring may include com¬parisons of actual to list prices', extent of discounting, and profit contribution. Since many possible performance criteria can be selected, management must identify the key measures that will show how the firm's marketing strategy is performing in its competitive environ¬ment and point to where changes are needed. Recall that the growing impact of CRM sys¬tems offers management access to a larger number of performance measures, particularly those relating (o customer retention and defection (Chapter 4).
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