Introductory description

The module builds on the more managerial perspective in Principles of Marketing/Foundations of Marketing to consider the longer term issues in the evolution of markets and competition and the ways in which organisations, through their offerings, both sustain their own position(s) and erode those of their competitors. The module is concerned with strategic marketing. The focus is on strategic market management decisions which have a long-term impact on the organisation and its offerings and which are difficult and costly to reverse. To achieve this, the strategic marketing decision-making process is supported by external analysis (analysis of the organisation's environment) and internal analysis.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Introduction and Basic Concepts in Marketing Strategy
External Analysis in Strategic Marketing
Environmental Uncertainty and Internal Analysis in Strategic Marketing
The Concept of Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Market Entry Timing Strategy
Building Brand Equity
Positioning and Growth Strategies
Experiential Marketing and Selected Marketing Mix Strategies
Strategy Planning and Implementation in Organisations
Reviewing the State of Marketing Strategy

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand the basic processes underlying the evolution and development of competitive markets
• Appreciate the nature of both sustainability and erosion in the context of competitive advantage in such markets
• Recognise in general the ways in which both customer and technology evolution can substantially influence such processes. -

Indicative reading list

Strategic Market Management, by David A. Aaker and Christine Moorman, John Wiley and Sons, 2018
The Advanced Dictionary of Marketing by Scott G. Dacko, Oxford University Press, 2008

Subject specific skills

Understand and work with a set of useful and important concepts such as unmet needs, strategic groups, sustainable competitive advantage, risk, key success factors, strategic opportunities or threats, strategic strengths, weaknesses, or problems, strategic uncertainties, vision, product markets, segmentation, industry structure, portfolio analysis, and scenarios.

• Apply these various concepts in a number of specific commercial situations.
• Identify and address strategic questions

Transferable skills

• Analytical skills from analysing complex cases as well as from synthesising facts from research for the individual assignment, with emphasis on analyses of marketing strategy processes
• Written communication skills from individual assignment preparation
• Oral communication skills from in-class participation with cases
• Initiative from managing individual assignment tasks
• Time management from managing individual assignment tasks
  -Critical thinking skills in all the above