Marketing Strategy, Strategic Planning and Execution

It seems logical that performance is maximised when a business produces a creative marketing strategy and achieves marketing strategy implementation effectiveness. This report will focus on introducing the concepts of marketing strategy, strategic planning and execution. Potential financial and other risks associated with poor management of these concepts will be briefly explored. Further to this, recent thinking and best practises will be covered. The report will close by identifying some of the common mistakes associated with these concepts and recommendations to remedy.

According to Wikipedia (2012), “Marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage”. Varadarajan & Clark (1994) asserts that “marketing strategy is concerned with the creation of a marketing mix that enables the business to achieve its objectives in a target market”.

According to K Patil, R Dhobale & BS Pillai (2011), “Marketing strategy planning is a process that allows you to focus your limited resources on the best opportunities to increase your sales and thereby achieving a sustainable competitive advantage in your specific niche” Strategic Planning is a management tool that helps an organisation focus its energy, to ensure that members of the organisation are working toward the same goals, to assess and adjust the organisation's direction in response to a changing environment.

Execution or implementation, in essence, pulls a plan apart and diffuses it throughout an organisation. Every unit within the organisation which is involved must then accept the plan, agree to its direction, and implement specific actions. In order to effectively and efficiently implement a plan, all individuals involved in its implementation must function as a whole or the plan is destined for failure.

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