POLICY TITLE: MARKETING POLICY & STRATEGY

ADMINISTERED BY: GENERAL MANAGER, MARKETING

APPLICABILITY: ALL SALES & MARKETING STAFF

Purpose

The purpose of the GSE Marketing Policy and Strategy is to identify potential customers, messages, methods and ensures that the right product and message reach the right market segment.

The Marketing Policy and Strategy applies to the GM Marketing, GM Sales, sales and marketing teams.

Marketing Strategy Responsibilities:

The Marketing GM and team is responsible for developing marketing strategies, verifying them with Department Managers and other key personnel, and communicating them to appropriate parties.

The CEO is responsible for strategy approval.

Marketing Strategy Definitions:

Cost leadership -A strategy of achieving leadership in an industry or line of business by offering products/services at a lower cost than competitors. Requires efficiency, tight cost and overhead control, avoiding marginal accounts, and cost minimization in areas like research & development. One of three common “generic competitive strategies”. The remaining two strategies are Differentiation and Focus.

Differentiation– A strategy of achieving leadership by creating a product/service that is perceived throughout the industry as unique. Differentiation may take the form of design, brand image, technology, features, service, or other dimensions; ideally, the company will differentiate itself along multiple dimensions.

Focus– A strategy of achieving leadership within a particular target market by serving that market more effectively or efficiently than competitors trying to serve a broader market. This may enable the focused company to have cost leadership or differentiation within the target market, or both.

Strategy– A long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal; a broad, non-specific statement of an approach to accomplishing a desired goal. A strategy relates to why and how a plan will work, relative to all influences upon the company and its activities (in particular, its customers and competitors).

Marketing Policy & Strategy:

The following strategies need to be completed before the marketing strategy is put forth for approval:

1.  Marketing Strategy-Introduction

2.  Developing Marketing Strategy

3.  Finalizing Marketing Strategies

4.  Marketing Strategy Review

The goal of a Marketing Strategy and Policy is to describe how and why GSE is going to achieve its goals and objectives AND to that end, the company must ensure that its strategies are aligned. Marketing strategies should identify customer groups the company can serve better than its competitors and tailor its product offerings, prices, distribution, promotional efforts, and services to those target market segments. Good marketing strategies helps GSE concentrate its efforts on the markets it can serve best.

It is crucial that GSEs strategy takes into account all aspects/functions of the company, so that the whole organization proceeds in the same direction with the same purpose. GSE’s strategy is more likely to yield positive results if all employees, contractors, etc., understand and agree with them.

Strategy is the result of relevant research and analysis, as appropriate; and synthesizing the parts into a cohesive unit to develop the Marketing Plan. But actions taken alone are just tactics. In order for GSE to survive and grow our Marketing Strategy Plan must be competitive.

Competitive Strategy

Creating strategic growth is based on a strong foundation that is competitive. Michael Porter outlines three “generic competitive strategies” in his book Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors: cost leadership, differentiation and focus.

COST LEADERSHIP STRATEGY

A strategy of achieving leadership our industry by offering products or services at a lower cost than our competitors. A Cost Leadership Strategy requires a focus on efficiency, tight cost and overhead internal controls and cost minimization in areas like research & development.

DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY

A strategy of achieving leadership by creating a product/service that is perceived throughout the industry as unique. A differentiation strategy may take the form of design, brand image, technology, features, service, or other dimensions; ideally, GSE will differentiate itself along multiple dimensions. A focus on quality could be a key differentiator.

FOCUS STRATEGY

A strategy of achieving leadership within a particular target market by serving that market more effectively or efficiently than competitors trying to serve a broader market is a focus strategy. This may enable the focused strategy company to have cost leadership or differentiation within a tightly focused target market, or both.

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