LIPA CITY COLLEGES

COLLEGE OF BUSINES AND ACCOUNTANCY

UNDERSTAND THE CORPORATE, BUSINESS AND MARKET DRIVEN

STRATEGY

Research Outline

Submitted to

Mrs. Angelita Mando

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the course

Strategic Management

Submitted By

Aguinaldo, Maurine Rose T.

AC2A

Bachelor of Science in Accountancy

August 29,2024
 Understanding Corporate Business and Market-Driven Strategy
A business is an organization or entity engaged in commercial, industrial, or
professional activities. The primary objective of a business is to produce goods or
provide services to customers, with the aim of generating profit. Businesses can vary
in size, structure, and industry but are typically driven by the goal of creating value
for stakeholders, including owners, employees, and customers.

The nature of a business market can tell a company how to advertise and sell their
products to specific demographics of consumers. When you work in sales, knowing
about the types of business markets can help your company determine which form of
marketing might bring the most success to your business.A market-driven strategy is a
business approach that prioritizes the customer. These strategies reflect a customer-
focused and organization-wide approach to planning and deploying business assets.
From there, customer feedback and market insights might inform strategic product
plans and product road maps.

Markets are an important part of the economy. They allow a space where
governments, businesses, and individuals can buy and sell their goods and services.
But that's not all. They help determine the pricing of goods and services and inject
much-needed liquidity into the economy. Hence, That’s how important marketing
strategies are to business. A marketing strategy refers to a business's overall game
plan for reaching prospective consumers and turning them into customers of their
products or services. Market driving strategy focuses on proactively influencing
change in a firm's marketing environment, including customers, competitors and
market structure (Jaworski et al., 2000).

Market competition exists when there are multiple buyers and sellers, and no single
entity controls the price of goods or services. As such, businesses are more attuned to
consumer demand and have to innovate to make their products different and better
than the rest. When businesses compete, consumers benefit through lower prices,
more product choices, and better-quality goods and services
I. Identify market and the Customer that forms the market

Identifying and understanding your customers is an essential part of your

business and marketing plan. Not everyone is your potential buyer, so it’s important
to have a clear understanding of your target market early on. A target market is a
group of people that have been identified as the most likely potential customers for a
product because of their shared characteristics, such as age, income, and lifestyle.
Identifying the target market is a key part of the decision-making process when a
company designs, packages, and advertises its product.

Market researchers use activity, interest, and opinion (AIO) surveys to

construct psycho graphic profiles of their target customers. Marketing professionals
divide consumers into four major segments:
1. Demographic: These are the main characteristics that define your target
market. Everyone can be identified as belonging to a specific age group, income level,
gender, occupation, and education level.
2. Geographic: This segment is increasingly relevant in the era of
globalization. Regional preferences need to be taken into account
3. Psycho graphic: This segment goes beyond the basics of demographics to
consider lifestyle, attitudes, interests, and values.
4. Behavioral: This is the one segment that relies on research into the decisions
of a company's current customers. New products may be introduced based on research
into the proven appeal of past products.

A market is any place or venue where buyers and sellers can exchange goods
and services. A market may be physical, like a retail outlet, or virtual, like an online
brokerage with no physical contact between buyers and sellers. Markets can be
physical, like a retail outlet, or virtual, like an e-retailer.Beyond this broad definition,
there are many types of markets, depending on what is being sold. For instance, it
may refer to the stock market, which is the place where securities are traded.

Market segmentation is important when identifying target customers. Dividing

a target market into segments means grouping the population according to the key
characteristics that drive their spending decisions. Some of these are gender, age,
income level, race, education level, religion, marital status, and geographic location.
Consumers with the same demographics tend to value the same products and services,
which is why narrowing down the segments is one of the most important factors in
determining target markets.A business may have more than one target market—a
primary target market, which is the main focus, and a secondary target market, which
is smaller but has growth potential.A target market defines a product as well as vice
versa. Once a target market is identified, it can influence a product's design,
packaging, price, promotion, and distribution.

A. Categorize a marketing Strategy

A marketing strategy is an overview of how a business or organization will articulate

its value proposition to its customers. Generally, a marketing strategy outlines
business goals, target market, buyer personas, competitors, and value for customers.
Marketing strategy is a planned and systematic approach to develop a recall value in
the mind of the potential customers for the product and increase its sale. It deals with
building up of brand image in the market and enhance the sales of the product along
with maintaining a long term relationship with the customers.

The marketing plan is primarily determined by the strategic plans of a company,

whether it is to launch a new product, to develop a market as a leader (or to access
new segments.
According to Brand Strategy Insider, there are four types of marketing strategies that
guide the types of marketing plans we see in action:
1. Market penetration.
Market penetration is when a company decides to market its existing products to
existing customers. This is the most popular strategy in the business world.
2. Market development.
The strategy is when the company decides to sell its existing brands on new markets,
focusing on developing distribution channels, marketing activities increasing brand
awareness.
3. Product/Service development.
This type of development strategy is about launching new products and selling them
to existing customers.
4. Diversification.
Diversification is the fourth type of strategies and is focused on launching new
products or services in new markets.

However, With the changing technology, consumers have become smarter.

They now seek more and more information about the various options available in the
market before actually buying a particular product.

Figure 1. Types of
Marketing Strategies

The business organizations can go for any of the above strategies, depending on the
factors which are discussed further in this content.

1. Niche Marketing
This marketing strategy targets a defined demographic, psychographic and
geographic market segment to become the market leader or specialist in a particular
product.
2. Trade Show Marketing
The trade show marketing strategy brings all the people dealing in a particular
industry under a single roof. It is one of the popular strategy opted by the small
organization to acquire bulk orders and meet new customers, vendors, partners, etc.
for the growth of the business.
3. Social Media Marketing
With the increase in the use of social media, it is rapidly used by the business
organization to communicate with a large number of audience and convert them into
buyers.
4. Freebie Marketing
This marketing strategy psychologically influences the buyers by giving out a low-
value product as a gift with a high-value product. Getting something additional or
complementary enhances the satisfaction level of the customers.
5. Undercover or Buzz Marketing
In the undercover marketing strategy, the company, even before launching the
product, creates a buzz or sensation about it. It brings enthusiasm, excitement,
eagerness and curiosity among the target audience. This type of marketing strategy is
usually done for a new or innovative product.
6. Outbound Marketing and Inbound Marketing
In outbound marketing, the company has to make efforts to reach out the potential
customers through advertisements, telemarketing, cold calling, flyers, etc. The
organization aims at selling its product to the customers.
7. Cross Promotion Marketing
Under cross-promotion marketing, one brand partners with one or more non-
competitive brand to target similar customers for entirely different products. It is a
strategy which is cost-efficient and extends the target market.

A clear marketing strategy should revolve around the company’s value proposition.
This communicates to consumers what the company stands for, how it operates, and
why it deserves the customers' business.
B. Illustrate a market driven strategy

Being market-driven means allowing knowledge of the market, customer needs, and
customer desires to influence business strategy. It means seeing the business and its
products from the customer’s point of view. This is an essential characteristic
because it uses data to prioritize products and features that customers want and are not
satisfied with current market offerings. A market-driven strategy is a business
approach that prioritizes the customer. These strategies reflect a customer-focused and
organization-wide approach to planning and deploying business assets. From
there, customer feedback and market insights might inform strategic product plans
and product roadmaps.

Figure 2. Market Driven Strategy

The figure above outlines a “Market-Driven Strategy” in four steps, each of which is
fundamental to aligning a company’s operations with market needs and customer
expectations.
Step: 1. Becoming Market Oriented:
 This step emphasizes the importance of the customer as the central focus of
the business. A market-oriented approach means that the company is constantly
attuned to the changing needs and preferences of the customer, which guides its
product development, marketing, and overall business strategy. •
Goal: To ensure that customer needs drive all aspects of the business, making
the customer the focal point of all strategic decisions.

Step 2. Determining Distinctive Capabilities:

Here, the company identifies its unique capabilities that set it apart from
competitors. These capabilities should be superior to those of the competition and
difficult to duplicate, giving the company a competitive advantage. •
Goal: To leverage these distinctive capabilities in a way that differentiates the
company in the marketplace, making it harder for competitors to imitate or surpass.

Step 3. Customer Value Capabilities:

This step involves aligning the company’s capabilities with the value that
customers expect. It’s about ensuring that the company’s offerings meet or exceed
customer expectations, thereby delivering superior value.
Goal: To create a strong alignment between what customers value and what
the company can deliver, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Step 4. Superior Performance:

The final step is achieving superior performance, which is the outcome of
effectively implementing the first three steps. Superior performance typically results
in better market position, increased profitability, and sustained competitive advantage.
Goal: To achieve and maintain a leading position in the market through
consistent delivery of superior products or services.

This framework is based on the principles of market-driven strategy, which

emphasizes the need for companies to continuously adapt to the market environment
by focusing on customer needs, leveraging unique capabilities, and striving for
superior performance.

C. Corporate mission and Vision and setting business objectives

Developing a mission statement is the first step in setting strategic direction.
A mission statement describes the company’s present business scope. It identifies
‘who they are’ and ‘what they do’. The mission statement identifies the products and
services being offered by the company, types of customer it has and technological
business capabilities of the company. A mission statement is a description of the
current business of a company. The mission statement can be used as the basis for
deciding where a company is headed in the future

A well defined mission statement incorporates the following three elements

- Customer need i.e what is being satisfied
- Customer groups i.e who is being satisfied
- Company’s activities, technologies and competencies i.e how the company
goes about satisfying the wants and need of it’s customers.

A mission statement that incorporates all the above three elements can be
considered as a complete mission statement. It identifies the product and services
currently being offered by the company as well as the customer group. .

Next comes the vision statement for the organization. The vision statement
essentially specifies 'where an organization is headed." It provides long term direction
to the company. A vision statement is a very important strategic tool. A vision
statement normally considers the company position and situation five years or more
from today. It is aimed at answering key questions such as:
• Where do we want to be five years from hence?
• What new products and services should we be offering?
• What industry standing do we want to achieve?
• What are the changes in our larger customers - which new target customer
groups should we focus upon?
 Setting the vision statement is a precursor to setting objectives and goals. It is
the vision statement that dictates the company strategic objectives and goals. Strategic
vision is a reflection of management's intentions and goals concerning the future of
the organization. It is a reflection of how well the management have considered the
future of the company. Setting the vision statement requires analyzing the internal and
external business environment. It is aimed at shaping the business direction and path
for the next five years. It is also aimed at understanding how its present business
needs will change in the years to come.

Once the business vision statement has been defined, the next step is defining
the strategic objectives for the business. The business vision statement is a key input
to this process. The business vision statement defines the strategic objectives and
goals of the organization. Selling strategic objectives transforms the strategic vision
into specific a performance targets. Setting strategic objective is a key element of
crafting strategy. I is a very important exercise lo ensure that the organization's long
term plans and goals are attained. It exhibits management's commitment to action and
outcomes. All objectives must meet the SMART criteria to be selective. The SMART
methodology is a widely-used technique to frame meaningful objectives. SMART is
an acronym that stands for:

S- SPECIFIC
In order for a goal to be effective, it needs to be specific. A specific goal answers
questions like:
1. What needs to be accomplished?
2. Who’s responsible for it?
3. What steps need to be taken to achieve it?
Thinking through these questions helps get to the heart of what you’re aiming for.
Here’s an example of a specific goal Jane might come up with:
Grow the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by optimizing our app-
store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns.

M-MEASURABLE
 Specificity is a solid start, but quantifying your goals (that is, making sure they’re
measurable) makes it easier to track progress and know when you’ve reached the
finish line.
Jane and her product team want to grow the number of their mobile app users – but
by how much? If they get even one new signup, that’s technically positive growth –
so does that mean they’re done? Same goes for their strategy – how many platforms
will they advertise on?
To make this SMART objective more impactful, Jane should incorporate measurable,
trackable benchmarks.

Increase the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by 1,000 by

optimizing our app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns for
four social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

A- ATTAINABLE
Objectives must be attainable that is, it must be achievable. Thus, setting
objectives requires careful assessment and understanding of the capabilities of the
organizational resources. Resources include all tangible and intangible assets.
Tangible assets include things such as plant, equipment, machinery, tools,
infrastructure, work environment, human resource. Intangibles includes knowledge
capability, skills capability, innovation, change and adaptability, supplier relations etc.

R-Relevant
Objectives must be linked to the overall goals and mission of the organization.
Objectives that are misaligned with the mission and goals of an enterprise will only
result in confusion, misdirection, and waste of valuable organizational resources.

T- Time bound
Each objective must have a stated time limit within which it must be accomplished.
This is important in evaluating whether organization has been successful in achieving
their objectives. Time constraints must be set taking into consideration the
environment in which the change must be achieved, the scope of the change expected,
and how it fits into the overall work plan [4).

Strategic leaders need to ensure that their organizations have three types of
aims. A vision states what the organization aspires to become in the future. A mission
reflects the organization’s past and present by stating why the organization exists and
what role it plays in society. Goals are the more specific aims that organizations
pursue to reach their visions and missions. The best goals are SMART: specific,
measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.

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