Introduction
The environment creates opportunities for business investors to satisfy the needs created in the society while at the same time earning returns for it. Since there are several people that see the same opportunity or seize an opportunity based on the prospects of already existing businesses, businesses owners need to make strategic decisions to remain relevant to the market and increase their market share. This requires strategies based on necessary information and statistics for dealing with a competitive market environment.
The basic strategies for market entry or positioning are based on the elements of place, price, people and promotion (the 4Ps). Positioning therefore creates value in decision making for marketing purposes as an individual concept and with the use of its elements of positioning maps. Since the positioning and positioning maps are valuable and relevant in strategic marketing decision making, they can be analyzed in the context of the brewing industry.
Strategic Marketing Management
Marketing is encompassed in promotion, advertising and other similar aspects. Effective marketing is mainly founded on the basis of a brand that needs to be strengthened, established or introduced in the market. Modern times are faced with competitive environment that requires marketing that succeeds in enabling a company attain a competitive advantage over its competitors by being distinguishable from them (Gordon, 2002).
Marketing is thus a broad and dynamic concept which is of high consideration in competitive industries such as the beer industry. Strategic marketing enables the businesses to use strategic marketing mix, reinforce its visibility and capacity while obtaining necessary market information and acting on it.
It relies on the aspects of Porter’s five force model for obtaining and analyzing information. The aspect of strategic marketing being dependent on the brand strength requires use of marketing as a tool for increasing its strength through identification of a market niche for it (Aaker, 2001).
Strategic decision making in marketing relies on the attributes of positioning, segmentation and effective targeting policies. Positioning and positioning maps are therefore effective strategic marketing tools for making decisions because of their ability to provide up-to-date strategic information (Stuart et al., 2001).
Summary of Positioning and Positioning Maps
Positioning in marketing generally refers to the process of determining the manner of offering a product or service to the market. Positioning is very crucial since it determines the perceptions the target market receives of the company or organization (Johnson, 1995). This perception either attracts the target market or just does not interest them.
Positioning goes hand in hand with segmentation and targeting aspects. Segmentation allows the marketers to narrow down a target market on characteristics such as geographical, psycho-graphical and demographical which enables the identification of their requirements or needs to allow for positioning with the advantage of predictability of the perceptions of the segmented market (Gordon, 2002).
Positioning through targeting and segmentation takes into consideration changes that could affect the perceptions of the customers. Positioning of products or services thus entails providing product values and brands with features that are valued by the target customers and not able to be imitated by competitors (Aaker, 2001).
Positioning being a broad aspect has elements that require the identification of the product opportunities, requirements of the customers and other market considerations which can be effective through strategic representational forms. Positioning maps or perceptual maps provide comparisons of products or services based on quality and cost (Aaker, 2001). They are relevant in locating different products of the same category in a matrix of technology and style to show how value is added by incorporation of these elements (Gordon, 2002).
The Value of Positioning in Strategic Marketing Decision Making
Positioning is very crucial in marketing and the extent to which it is useful in making strategic marketing decisions cannot be undermined. It is crucial in decisions of product development. Strategic decision making in marketing relies on information. The positioning of a company creates provision for access to information through increased market research which makes decision making easier and more informed.
Positioning enables an organization or company to address the needs and expectations of the target market which influence and add value to segmentation decisions. Further, the positioning of a company determines the strength of the brand whose outcome affects major decision making (Gordon, 2002).
Positioning creates a brand community from the target market which not only creates customer retention, loyalty and profits, but also facilitates the brand management which is a core decision in strategic marketing. Strategic decisions in marketing that incorporate the changes in the market such as competitions, pricing mechanisms, improvement of quality, support services to offer, product launching are all dependent on the positioning level of an organization.
The social trends, technical advances and economic factors that affect the perceptions of the customer are addressed through the positioning of the company (Aaker, 2001). The marketing tools are all related to positioning which lowers the marketing costs with better positioning and forms the foundation of major decisions such as repositioning of products or services (Stuart et al., 2001).
The Value of Positioning Maps in Strategic Marketing Decision Making
Positioning maps are important in strategic decision making for management since first and foremost they are relevant in the determination of the product or service positioning. This is also facilitated in the decisions of segmentation and market targeting (Gordon, 2002). Perceptual maps provide insight into the potential of the product or service in a competitive environment which facilitates decision making for the maintenance of a competitive advantage.
They are also very important in the strategic marketing decision making of the identification of potential customers and other new market opportunities (Dickson, 1997). Additionally, the maps are important in the decision making process involving the marketing functions of analysis of market cluster, trends analysis to enable organizations adapt faster and objectively and in the evaluation of market concepts.
Since the positioning maps are represented graphically, they make decision making easier since explanations and the location of relationship analysis is possible. While maps play a crucial role in positioning, they facilitate research of the market relative to the brand with comparisons to competitors which makes the process of brand management, establishment and repositioning easier and more efficient (Dickson, 1997).
They help in the identification and analysis of social trends, technological advances, social factors and economic factors among others that form a major influence on the perceptions of the customers (Gordon, 2002). This is necessary for new product development that requires strategic marketing decision making.
Conclusion
The value of positioning of products and services and the importance of positioning maps are crucial in strategic decision making. Positioning and positioning maps not only provide market and environment analysis, but they are also necessary in major marketing decision making and functions. This paper has provided a summary of strategic marketing and reviewed the values that positioning and positioning maps play in the strategic decision making process of management.
Reference List
Aaker, D., 2001. Strategic marketing management. New York: Wiley Publications.
Dickson, P., 1997. Marketing management. New York: Dryden Press.
Gordon, W., 2002. Segmentation architecture. Marketing management, 11(2), pp.6-7.
Johnson, R., 1995. Market segmentation: A strategic management tool. Marketing Management, 3(4), pp.49-54.
Stuart, J. Kinnear, T. & Deighan, M., 2001. Pharmasim: Brand management simulation. Charlottesville: Interpretive Publications.