Strategic Marketing (HALF DAY, TWO DAY)

Customer-centric and competitively dominant marketing strategies are vital to business success. This workshop will give participants tools for developing an effective marketing strategy by examining how firms can profitably create and sustain customer value. The focus of this workshop is therefore on go-to-market programs as well as designing integrated, strategic marketing plans. Participants will learn insight into the process of value creation and methods for sustaining that value for their consumers.

Developed for practicing marketing managers and those in general management positions who need more understanding of the marketing function, this program enables vice presidents, directors and managers in marketing, finance, and operations to contribute to the critically important customer value creation process.

Specifically, participants will learn ways to drive long-term customer value by delivering above and beyond expectations. They will also explore:

How marketing innovation can be used to develop new and different value propositions that meet overlooked, latent and emerging customer needs.
How new products, processes and business models can be the source of sustainable competitive advantage for your company.
How the key to a building a successful strategic plan is to be customer-centric and competitively focused.

In the end, participants will gain a clear, in depth understanding of core marketing concepts, and identify the essential elements of a strong marketing plan by:

Developing a thorough understanding of customers and what motivates their behavior.
Understanding the value of your brands and how to build and develop that value.
Learning to use analysis to make - and support - marketing decisions.

Who Is This Course For?

This program will benefit executives across the organization (engineering, R&D, operations, finance, product development, etc.) as well as managers who are assuming marketing responsibilities for the first time, and those managers already in a marketing capacity but without significant formal education in this discipline.

Key Takeaways

Learn why marketing is all about value creation and the role of value creation in acquiring and retaining customers
Understand the buying decision process; determining the needs and wants of existing and prospective customers
Techniques for understanding customers and prospects
The advantages of market segmentation
Product positioning as the foundation for developing the marketing mix
Designing products and services that deliver meaningful customer value
Marketing communications planning: budget and the media mix
Pricing: shifting from cost to value based pricing
How to create a killer marketing plan

Suggested Half-day Workshop Options

Option 1: Modules 2,3,8,11
Option 2: Modules 3,4,5, 6

* The training agenda for any on-site program is finalized following a discussion with the training instructor to ensure it is relevant for your team.

Training Module*	Takeaway*
1. Introductions	Expectations Overview
2. Understand the targets needs	Hierarchy of needs concept Hands-on: build a hierarchy of need for a specific case
3. Principals of positioning	Positioning defined Basic positioning principles 5 classic brand positions Hands-on: Analyze the positioning of several brands
4. Make a differentiated brand promise	Building blocks of a brand positioning Points of Parity vs. Points of Difference Reasons to Believe The Brand Promise Hands-on: 3 step exercise to build a "Brand Bull's Eye"
5. Message Consistency	Pushing the same message through all the marketing pipes Mini cases showing consistency and inconsistency Consistency checklist Hands-on: Analysis of 3 case histories using the checklist
6. Marketing Principles	Product/service lifecycle The marketing "Ps", product design, distribution, packaging, presentation, pricing, promotion, and people
7. The Marketing Challenge	Changes in Today's Competitive Framework. Marketing's New Role. The New Drivers of Marketing. Benefits of a Purpose of the Organization. The Purpose Driven Marketing Organization What it means to be a Customer-Centric Organization.
8. Analyzing Buyer Behavior	Understanding customers to create value and the psychological of buyer behavior. How consumers make buying decisions and interpret advertising and sales messages Competitive intelligence
9. Advertising and Brand Communications	Managing the brand Understanding all the elements of the marketing-mix (product channels of distribution, communication, and pricing) necessary to satisfy customer needs profitably
10. Marketing Communications Mix	Understanding marketing communication goals, objectives including advertising, personal selling, public relations, sales promotion and direct marketing. Learning the decision-making process for developing promotional campaigns to support brand or product/service strategy.
11. The Art of Developing Strategy	The Planning Team and Process. Managing the Planning Process. Communicating the Strategy. Putting the Strategy into Action. Elevating Marketing in the Organization
12. Businesses and Brands	Defining the Competitive Framework for the Business. Determining the Optimal Competitive Framework. Elevating Brand Preference. Coordinating Brand Strategy and Business Strategy.
13. Evaluating the Strategy	Performance measures. Dashboards and scorecards. Valuing the Business as an Asset.
14. Measurement (Driving Success)	Marketing return on investment Calibrates effectiveness Offers continuous improvement targets Makes performance a fact Common language with finance Critical to agree on definition and usage with department head and finance Measuring ROI: What are you measuring? How are you measuring? What issues require agreement upfront
15. Writing a Killer Marketing Plan	The objectives of a good marketing plan The key elements of a complete plan How does your organization apply the plan? What are some examples of simplified, actionable marketing plans?
16. Summary of Learning Points	Now What Will You Do Differently? Concluding Comments

Strategic Marketing (HALF DAY, TWO DAY)

Course Options

Upcoming Classes

$5,000 Training Credit

Marketing Your Way