Marketing Management

0 · How to Use Thisread first

Postgrad strategic marketing. Assessed by a 2-hr final exam (50%) + a semester-long group Marketing Plan (Part A situation analysis 10% · Part B recommendations 20% · presentation 10% · best-5-of-8 seminar quizzes 10%). No exam hurdle.

The marked skill is running the marketing-planning process end-to-end — diagnose, segment, position, then design a mix that delivers value. Side 1 = strategy (concept, situation, STP, the plan); Side 2 = the mix + metrics. Textbook: Kotler, Keller & Chernev (17e).

1 · Marketing & ValueW1

Marketing = understanding, creating & delivering value — the constant that survives a changing environment. Market orientation puts the customer (not the product or sales push) at the centre of every decision.

Core Process of Marketing (the unit's organising loop): Diagnostics (read the market) → Strategy (design a customer-driven strategy) → Tactics (implement value-delivering activities) → Build Relationships (delighted customers become advocates) → Capture Value (keep it profitable & sustainable).

New Marketing Realities: four market forces → new firm capabilities + a new competitive landscape → the need for holistic marketing. AI is now central but a "double-edged sword" — sloppy AI use draws consumer backlash.

1b · Customer-Delivered Valueanalysis tool

Value = a customer's perception of net benefits for the costs incurred (Chen & Dubinsky 2003). Used as an actual analysis tool:

customer valueValue = Total Customer Benefit − Total Customer Cost
Benefit = product + services + personnel + image
Cost = monetary + time + energy + psychological

Each customer has their own value model — some cost-driven, some benefit-driven. This is why we segment.

1c · Strategy vs Tacticsthe spine

Strategy = the what & why (the game plan: STP, value proposition). Tactics = the how (the marketing-mix activities that execute it). The exam constantly tests whether you can tell them apart and link them.

2 · The Marketing Planthe assessed spine

The whole subject maps onto a two-part group plan for one real client (an NFP, a school, or a haircare brand):

part A → part BA · Situation analysis (~2000w) — diagnose
B · Recommendations (~4000w) — objectives, STP,
   mix, implementation, metrics

Part A = environment + customer + competitor research framing the challenge. Part B = SMART objectives → STP → proposed 7Ps mix → delivery plan with milestones & commercial implications (cost vs benefit, feasibility). AI allowed to plan & build visual mock-ups only, with disclosure. Everything you revise for the exam is the same toolkit you apply in the plan — learn it once, use it twice.

3 · Situation AnalysisW3 · Part A

Split the environment into two layers, then map both onto SWOT:

Macro-environment → PESTLE — external, largely uncontrollable, feeds O & T:

• Political · Economic · Socio-cultural
• Technological · Legal · natural Environment

Micro-environment — "closer" to the firm, more direct influence, feeds S & W: Company, Suppliers, Distributors, Customers, Competitors. Company strengths run beyond resources to brand equity, customer loyalty & marketing agility (how fast a firm iterates between sensing & executing — Kalaignanam et al. 2021).

The split is about control: you can shape the micro environment but only respond to the macro. That is why macro forces become opportunities/threats, micro factors strengths/weaknesses.

3b · SWOTsynthesise

S/W come from the micro scan; O/T from PESTLE. SWOT is a synthesis, not a list — it should point to the strategy.

3c · Micro Detailcompany & chain

Suppliers are a key link in the value chain, sometimes treated as partners (supplier transparency can itself be a strength). Distributors shape reach & experience; customers & competitors set the playing field. The point of the micro scan is to find controllable levers the firm can pull.

4 · Porter's Five ForcesPorter 1985 · attractiveness

Assesses the structural attractiveness of a segment/industry — high forces = low profit potential:

• Threat of new entrants — barriers, mobility
• Supplier power — concentration, switching cost
• Buyer power — choice, price sensitivity
• Threat of substitutes — alternatives meeting the need
• Competitive rivalry — # & aggression of rivals

Competitor analysis can be made quantitative via a weighted competitive-strength table (resource × importance weight × strength rating → overall score; Avery & Gupta). The exam value: it forces you to rank rivals on what matters, not just list them.

4b · Consumer AnalysisW2 · feeds Part A

5-stage decision process: problem recognition → information search → evaluation → purchase → post-purchase.

Buying roles: initiator · influencer · decider · buyer · user (+ gatekeeper/payer) — the buyer is often not the user, which changes who you target.

Involvement: high vs low → extended / limited / routine problem-solving.

Influences: social (reference groups — membership/aspirational/dissociative; opinion leaders), personal (life-cycle, Big Five personality, lifestyle, self-concept), cultural (culture as a "codebook"; brand communities/tribes), situational (place, time, mood). Social Practice Theory (Shove): consumption = meanings + competences + materials — used to design behaviour change.

5 · STP — the Strategic CoreW4

STP = Segmentation → Targeting → Positioning; the three stages work together (the "cake" analogy). It converts a broad market into chosen segments, prioritised targets, and a distinctive position — the strategy that the mix then executes.

Output = the value proposition, sitting at the strategy↔tactics hinge. Get STP right and the mix almost designs itself; get it wrong and no amount of clever tactics rescues it. Segments without targeting is just description; targeting without positioning is a target you can't win.

5b · Why Segment?the logic

One offer can't serve everyone well. Segmentation lets the firm match a tailored value proposition to a group whose perceived costs & benefits are similar — raising relevance, willingness-to-pay and efficiency of spend. A good segment is measurable, substantial, accessible, differentiable & actionable.

6 · Segmentationtwo approaches

Ad-hoc (top-down, firm-driven) — four common bases:

• Demographic — age, income, life-stage
• Geographic — region, climate, density
• Psychographic — values, lifestyle, personality
• Behavioural — benefits sought, usage, loyalty

5-step routine: define market → select variables → aggregate → run statistical routines → build personae. Criticised for portraying consumers "as if they were strangers" defined only by firm-chosen variables — the firm decides who exists, then markets to its own construct.

7 · Targetingprioritise

"All customers are not created equal" — choose whom to prioritise & whom to ignore; put scarce resources on the highest-payoff segment. Select using three lenses (Gupta 2014): segment characteristics (size, growth, profit), competition (intensity), company fit (objectives, competencies).

Breadth spectrum (broad → narrow): undifferentiated (mass) → differentiated → concentrated (niche) → micromarketing → local → individual. Narrower = more relevance & loyalty but smaller volume & higher risk.

Persona = "the poster child of your segment" — demographics, behaviours, goals, pain points, channels. It keeps the team honest about who they're really designing for.

7b · Strategic vs Tacticaltargeting

Strategic = customising the offer to needs (compatibility & attractiveness). Tactical = reaching those customers cost-efficiently, matching values to profiles. The two must agree — no point targeting a segment you can't profitably reach.

7c · Build a PersonaPart A · optional

A persona makes the target segment vivid & decision-ready. Pin: demographics, behaviours, goals, pain points, motivations, preferred channels & devices. It anchors later choices — messaging, media, the customer journey — so the whole mix speaks to one believable person, not an abstraction.

8 · Positioningdistinctive place in the mind

Positioning = designing the offering & image to occupy a distinctive place in the target's mind; needs a frame of reference (the competitive set).

POP vs POD: Points of Parity = "table stakes" you must match to be considered; Points of Difference = what makes you the chosen one. Win on POD while covering POP.

Perceptual map — plot target perceptions on two opposed attribute axes relevant to the target; aim to stand alone (clear POD), not cluster with rivals. Build several maps on different attribute pairs if useful.

8b · Positioning Statementinternal doc, not a slogan

templateFor [target], [brand] is the [category]
that is the [POD] so they can [end benefit]
because [reason to believe].

Must be unique, memorable & credible. It is an internal compass, not ad copy. Part B requires two statements — current vs new (repositioning).

8c · Repositioningwhen & why

= redesigning the offer/image to shift the place in the mind. Driven by declining performance or environmental shifts; costly for established brands (many launch a new product/brand instead). Triggered by changes in POD, competitive frame, target market, product characteristics or value proposition. Existing customers may resist a shift they didn't ask for.

9 · Setting ObjectivesPart B

Marketing objectives must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely (assignment caps at ≤2). Monetary goals (income, margin, ROI) vs strategic goals (sales volume, awareness, retention, social welfare for NFPs).

Objectives turn the diagnosis into a measurable target the mix must hit, and the metric you'll later track — they bridge Part A to Part B.

9b · Frame of Referencepositioning depends on it

No position exists in a vacuum — it's always relative to a competitive set. Pick the frame deliberately: a narrow frame makes your POD sharper but the market smaller; a broad frame grows the market but blurs difference. Get the frame wrong and the whole position misfires.

10 · The 7Ps Mixtactics

The marketing mix is the tactical layer that executes STP. 4Ps + 3 service Ps:

7PsProduct · Price · Place · Promotion
+ People · Physical evidence/Presence · Process

Treated as a "cake" — the elements are interdependent: change one P and there are implications for the others (an interaction table is taught). The mix must be internally consistent and aligned to the position. A premium price needs a premium product, selective place & aspirational promotion — mismatch any P and the offer feels incoherent.

11 · Implementation & Controlclose the loop

Part B "delivery plan" = a step-by-step action plan with short- & long-term milestones, visual mock-ups, and commercial implications (cost vs benefit, feasibility — e.g. an "impactful use of a $10–15K budget" for an NFP client).

Control closes the loop with marketing metrics (Side 2 §19) — market share, satisfaction/CLV/NPS, ROMI — reported on a dashboard. "If you can't measure it you can't improve it" (Drucker).

11b · The Client Planin practice

The group plan runs on one real client (NFP / school / haircare). Part A is researched, given verbal feedback in a progress meeting, then refined over the break; Part B builds straight on it. Live-partner groups can pitch at the end-of-semester competition. The skill rewarded is a coherent thread: the SWOT justifies the STP, the STP justifies the mix, the mix hits the objective.

12 · Strategy Checklistexam recall · side 1

• Marketing = create & deliver value; value = benefits − costs
• Core Process: diagnose → strategy → tactics → relationships → capture
• Macro = PESTLE → O/T · Micro = company/suppliers/etc → S/W
• Porter's 5 = segment attractiveness
• STP before the mix; feral = bottom-up via cultural intermediaries
• POP = table stakes · POD = why chosen
• Objectives are SMART; ≤2 in the plan

13 · Product & BrandW6 · P #1

Product = anything offered to satisfy a want/need (goods, services, experiences, places, ideas). "We design verbs, not nouns" — products deliver value, not objects.

5 product layers: Core benefit → Basic → Expected → Augmented → Potential. Differentiate on functionality, features, quality, durability, form, style, customisation.

Product mix (portfolio): width (# lines) · length (# items) · depth (variants per item) · consistency (relatedness). Decisions: line stretching (down/up/two-way) & line filling; flanker brands guard against dilution/cannibalisation.

13b · Brandingidentity vs image

Brand advantages: consumers (risk & search reduction, psychological reward); firms (loyalty, larger margins, inelastic response, comms efficiency).

Brand identity (signal the firm wants) vs brand image (how the market actually perceives) — alignment matters. Brand elements: name, logo, slogan, jingle, colour, characters.

13c · PLC & Diffusionstage = strategy

Product Life Cycle: Introduction → Growth → Maturity → Decline — each needs a different mix (objectives, the 4Ps, competition & consumer type all shift per stage).

Diffusion of Innovation: innovators (2.5%) → early adopters → early majority → late majority → laggards. Maps onto the PLC adopter mix.

13d · PLC Strategy Matrixmix shifts by stage

Ethics here: planned obsolescence, fast fashion & "dupes" (near-identical cheaper copies) all test how a brand manages its life cycle responsibly.

14 · ServicesW7 · +3 Ps

Services add People · Process · Presence to the 4Ps. Four characteristics — IHIP:

• Intangibility — can't touch or pre-evaluate
• Inseparability — produced & consumed at once
• Heterogeneity / Variability — quality fluctuates
• Perishability — unused capacity is lost

Servicescape (Bitner 1992): the physical environment as visual metaphor, interaction facilitator & differentiator (ambient conditions / spatial layout / signs & symbols → approach vs avoid).

14b · People & Processdeliver the promise

Services marketing triangle: internal + interactive + external marketing — "enabling / delivering / setting the promise." Service-Profit Chain: internal service quality → employee satisfaction → value → customer satisfaction → loyalty → profit.

Process: a service blueprint (firm-side, with lines of interaction/visibility) vs a customer journey map (customer-side, anchored by a persona).

14c · Experience & RecoveryCX

Experience Economy (Pine & Gilmore 1998): commodities → goods → services → experiences (rising value). Map touchpoints across pre-purchase / purchase / post-purchase; fix pain points (frustration → drop-out/switching).

Service recovery paradox: a well-recovered failure can exceed baseline satisfaction. Fairness = outcome + procedural + interactional justice (Tax & Brown 1998: detect & correct).

14d · Managing IHIPturn problem → tactic

Each IHIP trait is not just a definition — it's a prompt for a specific tactic, which is exactly what the exam wants you to supply, not the label alone.

14e · Search / Experience / CredenceW7

Offers vary by how easily quality is judged: search qualities (assessed before buying — a phone's specs), experience qualities (judged only after use — a meal), credence qualities (hard to judge even after — a medical or legal service). The more a service leans on credence, the more trust, signals & reputation matter.

15 · PricingW8 · P #2

6 steps to set price: define objective → determine demand → estimate costs → analyse competition → select method → set final price.

Objectives: short-term profit · market penetration (low price, share) · market skimming (high price, early margin) · quality/price leadership.

Demand = ceiling (price elasticity), costs = floor (fixed/variable/total/average). Methods by perspective (Best et al. 2023): cost (cost-plus, markup, target-return + break-even), customer (perceived-value), market (competition-based), product (product-mix). Plus everyday-low, subscription & dynamic pricing.

15b · TEV vs PV & Break-Evencompute it

Perceived-value pricing (Dolan & Gourville): True Economic Value (TEV) = the next-best alternative's price + the value of any difference; Perceived Value (PV) = what the buyer believes it's worth. Price below TEV to give the buyer surplus.

break-evenBE units = Fixed cost ÷ (Price − Variable cost/unit)
Contribution/unit = Price − Variable cost/unit
Target-volume = (Fixed + target profit) ÷ contribution

Consumer surplus & price customisation — capture willingness-to-pay via discounts by history / location / age / status / timing / quantity (airline fare-class logic). TCO (total cost of ownership) = the value seen beyond the purchase price (running, switching & disposal costs).

15c · Product-Mix & Adapting6 + over time

Product-mix pricing (6): line · optional-feature · captive · two-part · by-product · bundle. Manage price at three levels: industry, product-market, transaction.

Raising prices via low-visibility tactics (shrinkflation, substitution, feature removal); cutting risks a low-quality signal or price war. Ethics: predatory pricing; surge-pricing backlash.

15d · Reducing Sensitivitycommand a premium

Buyers are less price-sensitive when: the product is unique or high-quality, substitutes are hard to compare, switching costs are high, the spend is small relative to income, or part of the cost is shared/borne by another party. Strong positioning & brand equity all lower elasticity — which is the commercial payoff of everything on Side 1.

16 · Place / ChannelsW9 · P #3

"Place creates value." Five distribution decisions:

1. Channel levels (0/1/2) — long = reach, short = control (e.g. a DTC mattress brand)
2. Single vs multi vs omni-channel — customer "experiences a brand, not a channel"
3. Coverage — intensive / selective / exclusive
4. Partnerships — conventional / VMS / horizontal; vertical integration (forward/backward/balanced)
5. Channel management — leader/captain, power types, conflict & stewardship

3 omnichannel strategies (McKinsey 2022): Commerce (seamless buying), Personalisation (tailored across channels), Ecosystem (an app/platform that bundles services).

16b · Coverage & Powerchannel design

Channel power sources: coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, referent. Conflict (vertical between levels / horizontal at one level) is resolved via exclusives, branded variants & joint problem-solving.

17 · IMCW10 · P #4

8 communication tools: advertising · sales promotion · PR · personal selling · direct marketing · social-media marketing · events & experiences · branded content.

Media types: traditional (mass, one-way) vs digital (two-way) vs social (two-way + peer cross-ways). Sales promo: consumer = Pull, trade = Push.

17c · Why "Integrated"?one voice

IMC means every tool tells one consistent story built from the positioning — the "big idea" brings the position to life across channels. A fragmented message wastes spend and confuses the brand image; an integrated one compounds reach & recall over time.

16c · VMS vs Conventionalwho controls?

A conventional channel = independent firms each maximising their own profit (conflict-prone). A vertical marketing system (VMS) coordinates the channel as one system — corporate (owned), contractual (franchise/voluntary chain) or administered (led by a dominant member). Vertical integration (forward toward the customer, backward toward supply, or balanced) buys control at the cost of flexibility & capital.

17b · IMC Process & Ladder6 steps

6 steps: set objectives → identify audience → craft message → decide media → develop creative → measure.

objectives ladderawareness → information → attitude change
→ action → loyalty
(match the audience's current state)

Budget: affordability · % of sales · competitive parity · objective-and-task (best) · experimental. Message appeals: rational (head) / emotional (heart) / moral (conscience). Source credibility = expertise + trust + likeability.

Media plan = reach × frequency × impact + timing: continuity · concentration · flighting · pulsing. Measure via aided/unaided recall, attitude, click-through, social analytics.

18 · ResearchW11

Marketing research (systematic design/collect/analyse/report — advances knowledge) vs market research (commercial market insight). Good research = scientific, multi-method (triangulation), ethical, value vs cost — and "Good/Fast/Cheap: pick two."

Research design: exploratory / descriptive / causal. Sources: secondary (internal/external) vs primary. Qual (interviews, focus groups, observation, ethnography/netnography — Kozinets) vs quant (surveys, experiments, Likert) vs mixed. 5-step process + Voice of the Customer. Watch research bias (sample, recruitment, wording, ambiguity).

18b · Qual vs Quantchoose the fit

Often sequenced: qual to explore & generate hypotheses, then quant to measure & confirm them at scale (a mixed-methods design).

18c · 5-Step ProcessKotler

1. Define the problem & objectives
2. Develop the research plan
3. Collect the data
4. Analyse & interpret
5. Present findings → decision

Research only earns its cost if it reduces a real decision risk — tie every study to a choice the manager faces.

19 · Metrics & ControlW11 · close the loop

Metrics quantify, compare & interpret performance on a dashboard. Four families:

• Customer — satisfaction (forward-looking), CLV, NPS
• Unit — market share
• Cash-flow — ROMI
• Brand — equity/health/power (Kantar BrandZ, FRIEND)

key formulasROMI = (Revenue − Mktg spend) ÷ Mktg spend × 100
CLV = (avg margin × retention) over the relationship
NPS = %Promoters − %Detractors
Market share = brand sales ÷ total market sales

Vanity vs value: reach/impressions/likes (vanity) vs conversion/CLV/ROMI (value). Marketing as investment, not expense.

20 · Sustainability & Ethicsrecurring

UN SDGs as a change-vehicle; greenwashing (overstating environmental virtue) vs bluewashing (overstating social/UN credentials) vs "purpose-washing." The attitude–behaviour gap: socially-responsible attitudes ≠ purchases (willingness-to-pay is contested). B Corp as market-shaping. Ethics revisited weekly: planned obsolescence, "dupes," predatory pricing, deceptive ads (ACCC).

For the exam, treat sustainability as a strategic lens, not an add-on — it can be a POD, a positioning risk, or a source of brand purpose, but only if backed by genuine action. Empty claims invite ACCC scrutiny and consumer backlash.

21 · Exam Disciplinein the room

• 2 hr · 50% · no hurdle — applied, not rote
• For a stimulus: name framework → apply → recommend
• Define the term, then do something with it
• Link strategy (STP) to tactics (the 7Ps)
• Quote a metric (CLV, ROMI, share) to justify a decision
• Add an ethics/sustainability angle where it fits
• Plan time: read all questions first, allocate by marks
• Use the stimulus's own facts as evidence; don't invent
• Structure the answer: brief intro, signposted points, a clear recommendation