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Strategic planning is the process of creating and maintaining a fit between the organization's objectives and resources and the evolving market opportunities.

• - The goal of strategic planning is long-run profitability and growth.
• - Strategic decisions require long-term commitments of resources.

Marketing planning involves designing activities relating to marketing objectives and the changing marketing environment.

• - Marketing planning is the basis for all marketing strategies and decisions.
• - The marketing plan is a written document that acts as a guidebook of marketing activities for the marketing managers.

a statement of the firm's business based on a careful analysis of benefits sought by present and potential customers and an analysis of existing and anticipated environmental conditions.

- The way a firm defines its business mission profoundly affects the firm's long-run resource allocation, profitability, and survival.

identifying internal strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and also examining external opportunities (O) and threats (T).

Marketing objective is a statement of what is to be accomplished through marketing activities.

- Stated objectives should meet several criteria: realistic, measurable, time specific, compared to a benchmark.

Marketing strategy involves the activities of selecting and describing one or more target markets and developing and maintaining a marketing mix that will produce mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets.

- A market segment is a group of individuals or organizations that share one or more characteristics. They therefore may have relatively similar product needs. Example, parents of newborn babies need formula, diapers, and special foods.

• - The target market strategy identifies the market segment or segments on which to focus.
• - Target market(s) can be selected by appealing to the entire market with one marketing mix, concentrating on one segment, or appealing to multiple markets segments using multiple marketing mixes.
• - Any market segment that is targeted must be fully described.
• - Demographics, psychographics, and buyer behavior should be assessed.
• - If segments are differentiated by ethnicity, multicultural aspects of the marketing mix should be examined.
• - If the target market is international, it is especially important to describe differences in culture, economics and technological development, and political structure that may affect the marketing plan.

Marketing mix refers to a unique blend of product, place (distribution), promotion, and pricing strategies (often referred to as the four Ps) designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanges with a target market.

Product strategies is the heart of the marketing mix, the starting point, is the product offering and product strategy. The product includes not only the physical unit but also its package, warranty, after-sale service, brand name, company image, value, and many other factors.

Place, or distribution, strategies are concerned with making products available when and where customers want them. A part of this place is physical distribution, which involves all the business activities concerned with storing and transporting raw materials or finished products. The goal is to make sure products arrive in usable condition at designated places when needed.

Promotion includes advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. Promotion's role in the marketing mix is to bring about mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets by informing, educating, persuading, and reminding them of the benefits of an organization or product. A good promotion strategy can dramatically increase sales. Each element of the promotion is coordinated and managed with the others to create a promotional blend or mix.

Price is what a buyer must give up to obtain a product. It is often the most flexible of the four marketing mix elements - the quickest element to change. marketers can raise or lower prices more frequently and easily than they an change other marketing mix variable. Price is an important competitive weapon and is very important to the organization because price multiplied by the number of units sold equals total revenue for the firm.

A firm using the market penetration alternative would try to increase market share among existing customers.

Market development means attracting new customers to existing products. Ideally, new uses for old products stimulate additional sales among existing customers while also bringing in new buyers.

A product development strategy entails the creation of new products for present markets.

Diversification is a strategy of increasing sales by introducing new products into new markets.

A star is a market leader and growing fast.

• - The best marketing tactic is to protect existing market share by reinvesting earnings in product improvement, better distribution, more promotion, and production efficiency.
• - Management must capture new users as they enter market.

A cash cow is an SBU that generates more cash than it needs to maintain its market share.

• - It is in a low-growth market, but the product has a dominant market share.
• - The basic strategy for a cash cow is to maintain market dominance by being the price leader and making technological improvements in the product.
• - Managers should resist pressure to extend the basic line unless they can dramatically increase demand. Instead, they should allocate excess cash to the product categories where growth prospects are the greatest.

Problem child (question mark) shows rapid growth but poor profit margins.

• - It has a low market share in a high-growth industry.
• - Problem children need a great deal of cash. Without cash support, they eventually become dogs.
• - The strategy options are to invest heavily to gain better market share, acquire competitors to get the necessary market share, or drop the SBU.
• - Sometimes a firm can reposition the products of the SBU to move them into the star category.

A dog has low growth potential and a small market share.

- Most dogs eventually leave the marketplace.