Surname Steyn

First Name Wilmon

Student Number 116753

Subject Marketing Management

Course/ Intake Master of Business Administration/ January 2012

Lecturer Mr I Sahabodien

Examination Venue Cape Town

Date Submitted 02 May 2012

Submission (√) First Submission

√ Re-Submission  

Postal Address P O Box 10638

George

6530

E-Mail wilmons@nedbank.co.za

Contact Numbers Work 044 – 805 2042

Cell 084 414 8868

Declaration: I hereby declare that the assignment submitted is an original piece of work produced by myself.

Signature: Wilmon Steyn Date: 02 May 2012

Marketing Management Page 2

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

Table of Content

Introduction 4

Question 1 5

Critically analyse the various marketing strategies that three senior executives discuss.

Question 2 12

Duncan Watts view that word-of-mouth or viral communications play a relatively minor role in diffusion. Do you agree? Substantiate your answer.

Question 3 16

Duncan Watts says that “There are some things that are predictable. And we should learn how to predict them.” Based on the above statement how can managers effectively predict consumer behaviour and market trends.

Question 4 20

“I haven’t met anybody – and I talk to a lot of my colleagues in the marketing world – who feels that they have the organization completely aligned with where this revolution’s going, because it’s happening so fast and so dramatically”.

4.1 Discuss the importance of having all role players in the organization aligned to your marking strategy.

4.2 How can the marketing manager create internal branding to enhance its marketing strategy?

Conclusion 25

Bibliography 26

Marketing Management Page 3

Introduction

Marketing has evolved over the past year with greater emphasis being placed around client

and consumer needs in order to gain a market competitive advantage. Companies continue to

unlocked differentiation within their marketing strategy that allows them to add value to the

overall customer experience through their brand resonance models.

Figure 1 - The Keller Brand Resonance Model

Many marketing activities communicate and deliver value and is geared to influence trade

channels and inevitable the consumer. Robert Lauterborn (1990:6) suggests that the Four P’s

of the Marketing Mix should correspond to the customers 4C’s.

Figure 2 - 4P’s alignment to 4C’s

The case study will analyse Virgin Atlantic Airways, American Express and Yahoo. The approach is to gain a greater understanding of these organisational approaches toward marketing and to test their effectiveness and impact on the market place. We will also discuss organisational buy-in to the marketing strategy through effective communication and creating internal branding.

Marketing Management Page 4

4P's

ProductPricePlacePromotion

4C's

Customer SolutionCustomer CostConvenienceCommunication

Stages of Brand Development

BrandBuilding Blocks

Branding Objectives at each Stage

Question 1

Critically analyse the various marketing strategies that three senior executives discuss.

The three organisations will be analysed separately against Ansoff’s Product-Market

Expansion Grid, SWOT analysis and the Macro Environmental forces including Brand

Positioning.

Virgin Atlantic has evolved their marketing strategy which is aimed at differentiation and

creating a superior customer experience. This strategy is realized through developing the

chemistry and attitudes of it staff and then connecting the right tools to the right people.

Holistic Marketing is an overarching concept where everything matters.

Collaboration between its customers, channels and partners has enabled Virgin Atlantic

Airways to build a very integrated interactive platform that allows them to manage daily

conversations and expectation between its marketing dimensions. By involving the maximum

marketing dimensions they have managed to co-create a value-based product. By opting to

adopt a more Holistic Marketing approach they have strengthened their dimensional

relationships.

“Still Red Hot” allowed Virgin Atlantic to expand its Market Penetration Strategy. When

applying Ansoff’s Product-Matrix Expansion grid to the “Still Red Hot” it becomes clear that

they managed to expand (Market-Penetration strategy) in the Current Products and Current

Markets segment of this grid. The advert allowed Virgin Atlantic to expand in the New

Market/ Current Products (Market Development Strategy) quartile and hence increase its

market Penetration figures by attracting competitor customers and looking for potential

customers for its existing products. Virgin Atlantic Airways additionally managed to develop

new markets on geographically grow their business.

Marketing Management Page 5

Products

When applying the SWOT analysis it becomes clear that Virgin Atlantic Airlines has

managed to gain ground over their competitors by applying and innovating how they interact

with their customers and suppliers. A SWOT analysis helps executives to summarize the

major facts and forecasts derived from the external and internal analysis that can be

implemented in the company’s strategic plan. The ‘Still Red Hot” advertising campaign went

viral and had a massively positive effect on the brand and what their positioning is about.

The Macro Environmental forces that affect Virgin Atlantic are:

Demographic – with the increase in disposable income and trade from the East

alliances with Air China and Singapore Airline are important.

Technological – continued investment into its on-line platform

Political-Legal – Legislative requirements and deregulation continues to have an

impact post September 11.

Natural – as a global organisation care should be taken to protect the environment.

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StrenghtsStrong brand recognitionConsistent onboard client experienceUse of Innovative technologyQuality Trained StaffRichard BransonPartnerships allows for transfer of core competenciesQuality award winners

WeaknessFlight delaysLimited travel routesSeptember 11 saw it cutting routesLate in getting on the InternetRichard BransonReliance Trans Atlantic trafficCost of VIP services

OpportunitiesImprovements through technologyIn flight internetWeb site improvementAdditional routesVirgin GalacticExpanding its on-line ad campaignsStrategic marketing around its brand positioning

ThreatsOn-going global recessionBrand DilutionCompetition for routes from BA and United Cost of fuelDeregulation

Market Penetration

Product Development

Market Development Diversification

Mar

kets

Pres

ent

Present

New

New

Figure 1.1 – Ansoff’s Product-Market Expansion Grid

Figure 1.2 – Swot Analysis of Virgin Atlantic

Brand Positioning

Kotler and Armstrong (2010:233) “the way the product is defined by the consumer on

important attributes – the place the product occupies in the consumers’ minds relative to

competitor products”

We ask ourselves – What makes the product stick in the mind of the customer

Blythe (2006:204) puts it forward that a brand position that includes the 4C’s will be

successful and the brand will sell

Clear – “Still Red Hot” was very effective around the brand positioning

Consistent – Virgin Atlantic Airways followed up the “Still Red Hot” add campaign with

“Your airline’s either got it or it hasn’t” which evoked a James Bond style messaging in

terms of being hot.

Credible – The brand has proved itself by winning most industry quality awards

Competitive – The line of advertising campaigns aligns to the product as being very

competitive and out there.

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Figure 1.3 – Position Map of Virgin Atlantic Airways comparable to British Airways

Virgin Atlantic Airways has moved away from the Richard Branson persona to a brand that

evokes emotions a smoky sensual style that screams I am that “special agent”. They have

adopted an undifferentiated marking approach that has gained them cult status amongst their

staff, customers and suppliers; this has work really well for them. Business reputations are

built around customer experiences and one believes that Virgin Atlantic Airways will stay

true to Branson’s Goal;

“To provide all classes of travellers with the highest quality travel at the lowest cost”

The Ansoff’s Product-Market Expansion grid can be applied to American Expresses “cross-

business function groups”. This strategy is aligned to the Market Penetration and Market

Development quadrants of the Ansoff’s grid. Their Small Business Saturday program has

allowed them to grow their present product offering into their present and new markets

amongst their customers, staff and suppliers. “you start building your marketing plans

around the sense of joining a community” John Hayes. These marketing plans align to

Ansoff’s grid positions.

The SWOT analysis for American Express shows that it strength lies in its cross-functional

teams. The success effectiveness of these teams will depend on the principles that govern

highly effective teams (Plowman 2011).

Figure 1.4 – Swot Analysis of American Express

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StrenghtsDiversified focus on generating revenuesStrong brand equityGlobal reach & presenceTravel services operationsGreat Products that have led to brand loyaltyCross business function groups

WeaknessLack of point-of-sale debit card servicesDeclining Traveler's check businessHigh interest coverage ratio increasing the company's risk profile

OpportunitiesGlobal expansion, particularly in ChinaFinancial services product expansionDivestment of AEB and AEIDC Small Business Saturdays

ThreatsInterchange fees associated with legislative rulings in EuropeHeavy competition from other financial institutionsFinancial turmoil in capital markets

The Macro Environmental forces that affect Virgin Atlantic are:

Demographic – Opportunities presenting itself in China

Technological – Identity theft and security

Political-Legal – Legislative requirements

Economic – Financial indebtedness in American and European markets

The 4C’s

Clear - Small Business Saturdays was very effective

Consistent – Very passionate community of Card Holders

Credible – Donating $100 million 87 million Membership Reward points to the Haiti

earthquake disaster

Competitive – Cross-functional teams that lead with creative ideas that results in cohesive

outcomes for their customers.

Having wonderfully interactive cross-functional teams is great however the true test around

their effectiveness is the conversion and putting into practice these ideas. Small Business

Saturdays seems to be a great success however it leaves one wondering how this success

compares to the industry competitors. The success of cross-functional teams is the direction

leadership provides.

Marketing Management Page 9

Figure 1.5 – Position Map of American Express comparable to Visa and MasterCard

Duncan Watts refers to data revolution and a scientific approach to Marketing. The available

range of the information that is available to the modern organisation is boundless.

Communication today is global and instantaneous with interactive and participative audiences

aplenty. The business revolution around brand loyalty and longevity has resulted in ever

increased focus on re-engineering a more customer-centric position and paying attention to

what customers, staff and suppliers are talking about via the modern communication

mediums.

The Ansoff’s Product-Market Expansion grid can be applied to Yahoo’s “Measure-and

React” strategy. Their strategy focuses on all four quadrants of the Ansoff’s grid.

“Everything becomes data driven in real-time, reactive way”. Duncan Watts.

The SWOT analysis for Yahoo shows that it strength lies in its 350 million users that they are

applying their “Measure-and React” strategy. A possible weakness is that are unable to react

timeously and a competitor web-based company gets it right.

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StrenghtsAffliliate advertising 350 million usersStrong brand positioningStrategic business unitsYahoo Directory

WeaknessDifferentiationFuture online advertisingJoint Venture with telecom providers

OpportunitiesInternational marktsDevelopment of Yahoo DirectoryMobile technologySME - Directory advertisers

ThreatsCompetitionInternational, cultural specific competition

Figure 1.6 – Swot Analysis of Yahoo

The Macro Environmental forces that affect Yahoo are:

Social-Cultural – changes in preference

Technological – competitor innovation

Political-Legal – Legislative requirements and Deregulation

Yahoo in indeed a truly global company with more than 350 million users that influences

culture and the way business is conducted. Yahoo is in the thick of technological innovation;

however Yahoo can be affected unless strategic alliances are forged. China has developed its

own search engines, as has India. That could raise question as to which search engine to use.

Yahoo requires to be innovating in order to retain its industry competitive advantage.

Lessons can be learned and applied from other global businesses.

Marketing Management Page 11

Comprehensive Technical assistance

Low Initial Price

Adequate Technical Assistance

High Initial Price

Figure 1.7 – Position Map of Yahoo comparable to AoL and Google

Question 2

Duncan Watts view that word-of-mouth (WOM) or viral communications play a

relatively minor role in diffusion. Do you agree? Substantiate your answer.

I do not agree with the view of Duncan Watts. Word-of-Mouth Marketing, also known as

buzz marketing and viral advertising, can be highly valued by product marketers due to the

personal nature of the communications between individuals. This sharing of product

information is communicated in such a way that it has an added layer of credibility (Wilson

and Sherrell 1993). Research points to individuals being more inclined to believe WOMM

than more formal forms of promotional methods where the receiver of WOM tends to believe

that the communicator is speaking honestly and is unlikely to have an ulterior motive.

Word-of-mouth Marketing can have a direct effect on the life cycle of goods and service.

There are two major differences between online consumer reviews and traditional WOM.

Traditional WOM is typically limited to a local social network (e.g., Brown and Reingen

1987, Biyalogorsky, Gerstner, and Libai 2001, Shi 2003). This is not a decision variable for

the seller.

The impact of online consumer reviews has global reach via the Internet and an online seller

can decide whether and when to provide them to its customers on its website.

Diffusion is the process by which the adoption of an innovation spreads among consumers

and can be grouped into five categories of adopters in the diffusion process.

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Research results have show that supplying online consumer reviews can benefit or hurt a

seller depending on the product characteristics and the information contained in the review.

Research also shows that the seller's decision to provide consumer reviews will increase its

incentive to offer more complete product information to consumers through more traditional

marketing communications (Chen, Yubo and Xie, Jinhong, Online Consumer Review: Word-

of-Mouth as a New Element of Marketing Communication Mix (July 1, 2004).

Consumers continue to gain greater importance for making a purchasing decisions regarding

a specific product or service. A study by Forrester Research found that half of those who

visited the retailer sites with consumer postings reported that consumer reviews are important

Marketing Management Page 13

This group is eager, educated and has multiple sources of information and shows greater propensity to take risks. They appreciate technology and are motivated by the idea of being a change agent in their reference group – 2.5%

I N N O V A T O R S

They are social astute, educated and considered the visionaries in their market and are continuously looking to adopt and use new technology that will aid them in achieving dramatic competitive advantage in their industries - 13.5%

E A R L Y A D O P T E R SThey are deliberate and have many informal social contacts. They are motivated by evolutionary changes – 34%

E A R L Y M A J O R I T Y

These are sceptical, traditional and of lower socio-economic status. They are very price sensitive and require completely preassembled, bulletproof solutions – 34%

L A T E M A J O R I T Y

Laggards are technology sceptics who want only to maintain the status quo. They tend not to believe that technology can enhance productivity and are likely to block new technology purchases – 16%

L A G G A R D S

Productlife cyclecurve

Diffusioncurve

Figure 2.1 - The relationship between the diffusion process and the product life-cycle

Figure 2.2 - Model of Consumer Behaviour Groups

Source: Lamb Hair McDaniel Boshoff Terblanche (2005) Marketing (Second Edition) Oxford. P271

in their buying decisions (Los Angeles Times, Dec. 3, 1999). Amazon.com has found that

online book reviews have significant impact on book sales.

Online seller can provide two types of product information to its customers.

Seller-created product information to consumers via its website or more traditional

communication channels.

Consumer-created product information by allowing consumers to post their comments

on the seller’s website.

The consumer-created product information is, by definition, user-oriented and often describes

product attributes in terms of usage situations and measures product performance from a

user’s perspective (Bickart and Schindler 2001). More importantly, since this information is

posted by users with different preferences, levels of product knowledge, and usage situations

thus has the potential to be more relevant to consumers. Sellers can also be motivated to

supply highly appropriate product information to consumers however this can be very costly.

Online consumer reviews can serve as a new element of marketing the communications mix.

The seller’s information strategy on consumer-created information is aligned to its

information strategy on the seller created information. Additionally the consumer review

supply decision increases the seller’s incentive to provide full product information through its

traditional marketing communications.

WOMM eliminates the seller’s control over the content of product information accessible to

consumers, and because consumer reviews may not be fully informative could have adverse

impact.

The seller’s information supply strategy is a two-stage decision. In stage 1, the seller decides

whether to supply consumer review information to its customer. In stage 2, the seller decides

whether to offer full or partial information to consumers via the seller-created information.

The order of the decision is determined based on the fact that the consumer review

information supply decision is often less flexible than the seller’s own product information

content supply decision.

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There is a considerable positive relationship between the seller’s information channels and

the likelihood for the seller to offer consumer review information. The seller with wider

communication media is more likely to benefit from supplying consumer reviews and is thus

more likely to facilitate such a new information channel. It must be added that these

information channels requires constant review and monitoring by the seller. This has a direct

cost component attached to it.

New technology is making it possible for an online seller to efficiently provide two different

forms of product information to its potential buyers:

seller-created product information supplied by the seller via its website or other media, Consumer-created information self-posted by consumers on the seller’s website.

Information technology continuous to evolve and has significantly increased the overall

competitiveness of online sellers. They can now present traditional seller-created information

at a lower cost, but also has the new attractive option of supplying information to consumers

by allowing them to post their product evaluations on the seller’s website. It can be argued

that, since consumer-created information is user-oriented but seller-created information is

product-oriented, the former has an advantage over the latter in helping consumers to find

products matching their preferences.

Online consumer reviews will continue to have meaningful impact on firms marketing

strategies. Consumer reviews can be and should be employed as a new element of marketing

Marketing Management Page 15

Seller

Providing Consumer Reviews

Supplying Full Attribute

Information

Supplying Partial Attribute

information

Not Providing Consumer Reviews

Supplying Full Attribute

information

Supplying Partial Attributable Information

Stage 1 Consumer review Supply Decision Stage 2 Seller Information Content Decision

Figure 2.3 – Seller Information Strategy

communications mix. These strategies could help consumers to identify products that best

match their needs.

Viral marketing strategies and the importance of diffusion is a new component to the

organisational marketing strategy that requires careful consideration. Granted that 50% of our

adopters in the diffusion process are either late majority or laggards one must consider the

levels of income within these groups. The economic benefit to the organisation is to be

realised by Innovators, Early Adopters and Early Majority. According to Parker Associates

(2009) the New Agers in the US that constitute Self Actualizers and Self Esteem Customer

personalities now comprise 60% of their generation.

Question 3

Duncan Watts says that “There are some things that are predictable. And we should

learn how to predict them.” Based on the above statement how can managers effectively

predict consumer behaviour and market trends.

Consumers represent the most important element of the marketing environment. An

important aim of marketing is to influence the way that consumers react to the marketing

offers of the company. In an attempt to influence purchasing behaviour, a marketer must

understand why consumers behave in the way that they do. An understanding of the various

factors that affect consumer behaviour and knowledge of the consumer decision-making

process are important when seeking to persuade consumers to choose one product rather than

another.

Prediction future buying decisions can only be narrowed down by utilizing a number of

models that will enable us to apply a more holistic understanding of the client and

encapsulating this into a unique Client Value Proposition (CVP). We will discuss a number

of models and their relevance to predicting consumer behaviour.

1. Major Forces

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Technological: Today this plays a critical part in all our lives and many consumers struggle

to stay abreast of technological advancement. It is the role of the marketer to understand the

technological advances and to envision the practical application and utilization thereof.

Natural: The environment is a major global concern. Marketers need to be aware of these

threats and opportunities associated with six trends.

Shortage of raw material especially water and oil

Increased cost of energy

Increased pollution

Changing roles of governments

Increased population levels

Global warming

Political – Legal: This force encompasses laws, government agencies, pressure groups and

deregulation. Laws and deregulation has the potential to create new business opportunities.

Two major trends deal with;

Increase in Business Legislation

Growth of Special Interest Groups

2. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Marketing Management Page 17

Demographic

Economic

Socio-Cultural

Natural

Technological

Political-Legal

Figure 3.1 – Major Forces

The marketer needs to have a greater understanding of the consumer in relation to Maslow’s

Hierarchy of Needs model and the understanding that organisations and individual consumers

progress up through the model as their levels of income changes. This will determine future

spending trends based on rising income levels.

3. Consumer Lifecycle

This could serve as a predictive consumer model as to the outcomes that can be plotted to a

certain degree of certainty.

4. Consumer Behaviour Model

Marketing Management Page 18

Figure 3.2 – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

All three “external” variables can impact on the consumer’s decision-making process which

in turn determines whether a consumer buys or not.

5. Buyer Behaviour

It must be noted that not one of these models can accurately predict consumer behaviour and

market trends. However in combination with each other and supporting sales trends and

analysis they can assist in making a more accurate assessment. Additional factors can assist

the organisation in predicting consumer behaviours and market trends with greater accuracy.

Marketing Management Page 19

Individual Factors

PerceptionMotivationLearningValues, beliefs, attitudesPersonality, self-concept, lifestyle

Social Factors

CultureReference GroupsOpinion leadersFamilySocial Class

The Buying Decision

Purchase reasonPurchase timePhysical surroundings

Individual Factors

Social Factors

Consumer Decision – Making Process

Buy or not to Buy

The Buying Situation

Source: [Kotler, P., 2000, Marketing management, Millennium edition, U.S.A.: Prentice-Hall, p. 161.]

Continue to advertise, however utilise a variety of platforms

Marketing strategy aligned to social networks

Embrace new communication technologies.

Stick to what works

Develop smart and unusual value marketing campaigns aimed at the Millennium

generation

Humour to be included in the marketing campaign

Build Brand loyalty by;

Interacting with your customers (CVP)

Reducing defections

Manage your customer base (CRM)

Developing Loyalty programmes

Create institutional ties

Have an effective Win-Back strategy

With the combined use of the highlighted models and factors we are able to predict certain outcomes with a degree of success, however human nature by its very nature is unpredictable and therefore there will always be that X-factor.

Question 4

4.1 Discuss the importance of having all role players in the organization aligned to your

marking strategy.

The setting of all organisation strategy is set at the senior management level in the

organisation and is strategic by nature. The role of the Marketing Manager in an organization

is to create and deliver value to customers and to shareholders. Value is created via products

and services through the effective implementation of the marketing strategy.

The marketing strategy communication requires differentiation to your B2B and B2C

markets. The true success of any strategy is the effective communication thereof and the

alignment back to the organisational objectives and mission. All marketing strategies within

an organisation should include a communication strategy to all internal stakeholder i.e. staff

and suppliers. The marketing plan implementation is strategic in nature.

Simple Tools to assist in designing an effective marketing plan is SOSTAC® + 3M.

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SOSTAC® essential elements include;

Situation Analysis – where are we now?

Objectives – what do you want to achieve?

Strategy – how are you going to get there? 

Tactics - what are the details of the strategy?

Actions – who is going to do what, and by when?

Controls – how are you going to measure success?

The 3M model deals with resources that include;

Men - people, expertise and abilities to do different jobs.

Money - budgets

Minutes - what are the time scales?

Effective Communication between the organisational levels is critical to any Marketing

Strategy.

Tier 1

Their organisational role is the developing of strategies and quality control measurements to

monitor performance, which they are responsible for. They do not get involved in the daily

operational implementation; however they do oversee the developing of measurements to

Marketing Management Page 21

TIER 1Board of Directors,

Senior ManagementTIER 2

Division HeadsMiddle Management

TIER 3Junior Management

Strategic

Tactical

Operational

Communicat

Commun

Communic

C

o

m

m

u

Figure 4.1.1: Communication lines in a 3 Tier organisational structure and levels of management

Communic

Communic

Communic

meet organisation objectives and regulatory requirement. These managers normally have a

great depth of experience as they have moved up through the organisation structure.

Tier 2

Middle-level managers are responsible for carrying out the goals set by top management and

are normally some of the more knowledgeable and operationally experienced staff members

in an organisation. They act as the conduit for relaying strategic intent into workable actions

as set out by top management. This is operationalised by setting goals for their respective

business units’ i.e. sales targets. They are the motivators for first line managers and

traditionally communicate with senior managers regarding suggestions and feedback.

Tier 3

These managers are responsible for the daily management and operational requirements of

the organisation. They are present in every work unit in the organisation. These managers

traditionally do not set goals for the organization, however they are integrally responsible for

ensuring that these goals or objectives are met and where possible exceeded on. These are the

managers that most employees interact with on a daily basis, and hence have great influence

in the organizational structure. Traditionally they communicate with middle-management

however in modern organizations where hierarchical structures have flattened these managers

are encouraged to communicate and suggest efficiencies to top management.

In the modern organisation employees are encouraged to share information and ideas across

the organisational hierarchy. Today in many Good to Great (Jim Collins, 2001) companies

CEO’s regularly engage with first-line managers and ordinary staff to share the company

objectives, vision and values. An effective marketing strategy communication requires an

organisation integrated approach. Employees are often encouraged to share organisation

objectives in cross-divisional teams which in turn encourage cross-functional communication.

Cross-functional work groups that are properly led greatly improve the operationalization of

the marketing strategies into its most basic outcomes that align back to the strategy. It also

presents a platform for giving and receiving feedback around the current marketing strategies

and to validate understanding.

Holistic Marketing is an overarching concept where everything matters.

Marketing Management Page 22Marketing Opportunities Other DepartmentsSenior Management

Communication

Holistic Marketing can be viewed as the development, design and implementation of

marketing programmes, processes, and activities that support the interdependencies of their

efforts. Communicating this effectively to all levels within the organisation will ensure the

buy-in and support at all organisational levels.

Marketing is everyone’s business.

4.2 How can the marketing manager create internal branding to enhance its marketing

strategy?

Branding is ultimately perceived as an outbound process that reaches out to customers and

stakeholders resulting in the neglect of the organisations internal audience. This has resulted

in a perceived brand gap view between employee and customer. Building a truly world-class

brand requires that the company makes sure that all of its internal processes, practices and

symbols, fit its brand values. Employees ‘own’ the brand and are by large part supposed to be

an intrinsic part of the brand and ultimately responsible for delivering on the brand promise.

In many ways employees are the brand and should be treated as a priority audience.

Employees are now seen as a critically important component of the brand, and as such they

need to develop a shared understanding of the brand values. If the company’s brand is

playing the role it should in creating value for the company, it should be viewed as a simple

cohesive framework for organising all of the internal practices and processes and making sure

they aligned to a shared desired customer experience. Successful companies do not see one

single department as custodian of the customer relationship and do not rely only on market

research data to get to know their customers. They seek to better understanding the

Marketing Management Page 23

Holistic Marketing

Integrated Marketing

Relationship Marketing

Socially Responsible Marketing

Internal Marketing

Product & Service

Channels

PartnersChannel

Customers

CommunityLegalEnvironment

Ethics

Figure 4.1.2 –Holistic Marketing DimensionsSource: Kotler and Keller (2012). Marketing Management. (14th Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. P41

customer’s values, and the ways customer relate with their brand. Sharing this understanding

at an intuitive level throughout their organisation becomes critical. Organisations build a

shared understanding of the desired brand experience and how it delivers value to the

customers and emphasise trust amongst employees.

The key principles that an organisation should implement in building a strong brand through

its people are:

Emphasise freedom not control - Trust the employees to do the right thing

Decentralise

Synchronize Your Brand Personality, Values and Corporate Culture

Do things differently - Emphasise uniquely owned processes and practices

Communicate own brand positioning to your people first - building a deep intuitive

understanding of the brand among own employees

Get Your Employees behind Your Brand

Keep it simple – applies use of language and the organisational processes

Cross-functional – collaboration between HR and Marketing (Karl D. Speak Internal

Brand Building: Leveraging an Innovative Collaboration Between Marketing and HR,

2009)

Think long term

Measure - the things that really matter and give feedback to the frontline staff in a

way that drives actions

Reinforce and Repeatedly Explain Brand Values and Behaviors

Internally, specific structural changes are required to promote unity, not simply ask for it:

a clear, articulated vision and mission statement

rolled up individual brand financial targets into group targets, making them internally

public

new product platforms to connect content from different business units

consolidated and centralized customer invoicing and customer service processes

new advertising, marketing collateral, trade exhibits, and internal communications

that for the first time demonstrated a unified image

Successful brands build loyal relationships with customers and these relationships are

reinforced through employees, based on their consistent delivery on the brand promise. Thus,

successful brands are those that align employee actions with a place that customers find

Marketing Management Page 24

unique and meaningful. They create brand “stickiness”. Marketing starts from the inside out.

It is important that all organizational employees are informed and included in new initiatives

and strategies that are taking place within the organization. Employee support is critical in the

support of the organizational marketing strategy.

Internal branding is about more that a "Go team, go!" mentality. It's about supporting your competitive advantage at every level of the organization, in every activity. Which means ensuring compensation structures, reporting systems - everything - tracks progress against the brand strategy? In order for internal branding to work, organizations need to see the brand as the corporate strategy, not just a communications platform. Stephanie Jackman, Integrated Marketing Strategist, Venture Communications - April 1, 2002

Conclusion:

Marketing continues to be a dynamic and exciting discipline. It has continues to be an

increasingly important business function and valuable activity for all organisations. The

marketing concept which emphasises a co-ordinate effort to satisfy customers needs and

aligns to the organisations objectives is a philosophy guiding today’s marketing managers.

Marketers continue to strive in creating long-term relationships with customers that are

mutually advantageous. Based on customer analysis firm continue to develop marketing

strategies that will be most appropriate for products and services. The Market Mix consists of

product, distribution, promotion and price variables. In today’s complex world, marketing

managers must continue to plan and make decisions in an ever changing environment. Market

managers must be aware of and be able to adapt their marketing strategies to the

demographic, economic, Socio-cultural, natural, technological and political-legal

environments. Today global markets, increased technological change and changes in

industries from deregulation and consolidation have fundamental impact on the modern

marketer.

Marketing Management Page 25

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2. Lamb Hair McDaniel Boshoff Terblanche. 2004. Marketing. 2nd edition., Oxford

3. Bateman & Snell. 1999. Management: Building Competitive Advantage, 4th Ed.

4. Pearce & Robinson. 1997. Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and

Control. Sixth Edition, Page 171.

5. Eileen Hammar & Anne Malatchi. 2011. Seven Habits of Highly Effective IEP Teams

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