To address the myriad complexities that contain different types of market, marketers need to plan and implement one or more marketing strategies in order to achieve the objectives that the company or business unit has set itself in its target market.
With this in mind, the present article describes various market strategies that have been raised by experts in the field, as.
Market Strategies, experts in the field:
Richard L. Sandhusen, in his book “Marketing” provides the following classification of strategies for market growth and growth strategies for existing products and for new additions to the portfolio of products [1]:
1. Intensive Growth Strategies: They consist of “cultivar” intensively existing markets of the company. They are suitable in situations where opportunities “product-market” existing not yet been fully exploited, and include the following strategies:
o Penetration strategy: It focuses on the aggressive marketing of existing products (for example, by offering more convenient than the competition and advertising activities, personal selling and sales promotion rather aggressive price). This type of strategy usually produces revenue and profits because
1) influence existing clients to use additional of the product,
2) attracts customers competitive and
3) persuade customers not resolute to become forecast.
Market progress strategy: It focuses on attracting members to new markets, for example, those segments that has not yet come (such as new geographic areas).
Product development strategy: Includes develop new products to attract members of existing markets, for example, developing a new product presentation that provides additional benefits to customers.
2. Integrative Growth Strategies: is to harness the strength that has a certain company in its industry to exercise control over suppliers, distributors and/or competitors. In that sense, a company can move backward, forward or horizontally .
Backward integration: Occurs when the company increases its control over sources of supply; checking his suppliers or at least its main supplier.
Forward integration: Occurs when the corporation increases it’s managed over its allotment system. For example, when a large company owns a network of shops or service stations and controls.
Horizontal integration: Occurs when the company increases its control over its competitors. For example, when hospitals or medical centers consortium negotiate arrangements with specialists for each physician provides services in a particular specialty (plastic surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, etc, but contained by the hospital or medical center.
3. Diversified development Strategies: They are appropriate when there are few opportunities for increase in the company’s goal market. Normally, they cover horizontal diversification, diversification and concentric diversification conglomerate.
Horizontal diversification strategies: consist of adding new products to the product line of the company, which are not related to existing products, but are designed to appeal to members of the target markets of the company. For example, when McDonalds adds toys to their children burger combo, which is really doing is adding products not linked to its major product lines, but that serves to draw in a more effective manner to a client group of your target market (in this case, children).
Conglomerate diversification strategies: consist sell new products unrelated to the existing product line, so that way, to attract new categories of customers.
Concentric diversification strategies: introduce new products having technological or marketing similarities with existing products and are designed to draw new market segment.
4. Market Leadership Strategies: They are used by companies that dominate the market with better products, ready for action success, or both. Once the company achieved leadership in its market, you have two strategic options for further growth:
Cooperative strategy: is to increase the total size of the market (for the same corporation and competitor) to find fresh users and applications of the product or service.
Competitive Strategy: is to achieve additional market share investing heavily (advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations) to attract customers from the competition.
5. Market Strategies Challenge: These are strategies that companies can take on next to the market manager and are classified into three :
Frontage: It consists of attacking the whole marketing mix (manufactured goods, price, allotment, promotion) the leader. Generally, the stronger competitors performed.
Attack on the sides: is to focus on the weak points of the leader, as the price. In general, the weaker competitors performed.
Referral strategies: is to focus on areas that are not covered by the leader (usually the performing competitors that have a niche product or service).
6. Tracking Market Strategies: They are employed by competing companies who are not interested in challenging the leader directly or indirectly. These companies try to maintain its market share (and profits) closely following the policy of product, price, place and promotion of leading.
7. Niche Market Strategies: They are used by smaller competitors who specialize in servicing and market niches that larger competitors often overlook or ignore their existence. These companies (niche as) offer very specific products or services and / or specialized to meet the needs or desires of small groups (individuals or organizations) but homogeneous in their needs or desires.
William Stanton, Bruce Michael Etzel and Walker, in his book “Fundamentals of Marketing” propose three strategies to target markets (which can be used after it has carried out market segmentation):
1. Market strategy congregation: Also recognized as mass market strategy or undifferentiated market plan is to:
1) Provide a single product the total market
2) design a pricing arrangement and a allocation system for manufactured goods and
3) use a single program intended to promote the whole market. This method is also known as “shotgun or buckshot” because it aims to reach a large target with a single program.
2. One segment strategy: Also called concentration strategy, the goal is to choose an open segment of the total market; therefore, a mixture of marketing is done to reach that single segment. Such a strategy allows the company or organizations to penetrate deep into the market segment you chose and acquire a reputation as a specialist or expert in that segment.
3. Multi – segment strategy : identify target consists of two or more groups of potential markets and customers make a marketing mix to reach each section; then, the company or organization develops a different version of the basic manufactured goods for each section, with tiered pricing, distribution systems and promotion programs tailored to each segment.
Ricardo Romero, in his book “Marketing”, mentions the following marketing strategies:
1. Market Segmentation: The method of dividing the total marketplace for a good or service into smaller groups so that members of each are similar in factors affecting demand. A criterion Romero, a key to the success of a business element is the ability to properly segment your market.
2. Market expansion: The set of actions that will be used at different times of the existence of a product to support their sales and profits, rather than suffer the normal decline.
3. Multiple brands: Consists in offering various brands in a particular product.
4. Brand extension: This involves the use of a trademark in other products.
Recommendations:
The purpose of the marketing strategies is to provide the company or organization useful guidance on how to meet the challenges that hold different types of market; therefore, they are part of strategic planning at the level of business.
Now, during the planning stage, specifically during the selection and development of marketing strategies, we must make a careful analysis of the characteristics of the company or organization, marketing mix, the target market in which supply and held the characteristics of the competitors in order to choose the most suitable or strategies. In other words, it is essential to conduct a study of the environment (both external and internal) of the company or organization before making a decision about the marketing strategies to be implemented.
Then, during the implementation stage of the marketing strategies that have been planned by the / the marketer (s), it is essential to carry out constant monitoring of the objectives to be achieved, so that way, make decisions about whether It maintains a particular strategy or changed by another according to the current situation. For example: In the case of a company (which ranks second in market share) intends to be a leader, you need to implement a strategy of challenging market by a frontal attack to achieve their goal. If after a while it gets, you need to change the marketing strategy (initial) by a competitive strategy leadership, to strengthen their position and get away from his followers.
