Marketing is just one of the many departments that must work in tandem in order for a business to run smoothly. If a company hopes to be successful, it must be sure that all of its departments (marketing, IT, human resources, operations, purchasing, accounting, etc), can rapidly and efficiently exchange information. Strategically speaking, marketing is likely the most important business sector among these because it defines the overall purpose of most companies. The marketing philosophy dictates that a company’s primary objective should be building profitable relationships with consumer groups of significance to the company (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). Most successful companies today are guided by their own personal interpretation of the marketing philosophy.
Figure 1.A
Image Source: (Gudino, Monaco, Sorensen, Sullivan, 2014)
The marketing department does more than simply define the daily objectives of a business. Marketing also develops and designs the strategies that the company will take to achieve its long-term goals. The customer-driven marketing strategy is the 4-step method by which most modern companies target groups of consumers and create valuable products and offerings for them. This strategy, depicted in figure 1.A above, involves four major steps: segmentation, targeting, differentiation, and positioning. For a more in-depth understanding of how companies implement the customer-driven marketing strategy, please see my blog pages labelled “Market Segmentation and Market Targeting” and “The Value Proposition“.
References
Gudino, C., Monaco, A., Sorensen, C., Sullivan, B. (Directors) (2014, February 27). Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy. BUS 306-Marketing. Lecture conducted from CSUMB, Seaside.
Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2012). Principles of Marketing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Chad Sorensen - Marketing Portfolio 