Industrial Marketing

Strategic planning plays a vital role in coordinating and directing the business activities toward organizational goals. It is required at all the levels of the firm from the business operations level to corporate level. In business markets, the firm can gain a competitive advantage by designing the marketing strategy aligned with strategies of other functional areas. Marketing has different roles to play at different hierarchical levels of the firm.

For example, at the corporate level, the marketing strategy supports customer oriented decisions, analyzes the market structure, and positions the value proposition of the firm. And at the business and operational level, the marketing strategy is concerned with segmenting, targeting, and deciding on marketing mix strategies.

For the development of an integrated marketing strategy there should be a clear understanding of the interdependency of marketing and different functional areas and the extent of their participation in decision making. Different types of marketing strategies are product-based, demand-based, and competitive strategies.