Strategic Marketing Management

This episode explains how companies can systematically identify and select target customers through a structured eight-step process. It covers strategic targeting, tactical targeting, and final segment selection, emphasizing the importance of value drivers, segment attractiveness, and compatibility in shaping decisions. Practical tools such as rating scales and profiling factors help managers evaluate customer groups and develop ac...

This episode explores strategies for driving organic sales growth by managing adoption among new customers and usage among existing ones. It introduces the adoption funnel—awareness, attractiveness, and availability—and explains how to close gaps at each stage. The discussion also covers usage growth by improving satisfaction, increasing frequency and quantity of use, and simplifying repurchases to maximize customer lifetime value.

This episode examines how companies build and protect competitive advantage in dynamic markets. It explores offensive strategies such as differentiation, innovation, and market expansion, alongside defensive tactics like strengthening customer loyalty, raising switching costs, and preempting rivals. Listeners learn how firms balance proactive moves with protective measures to sustain their position over time and adapt to competitiv...

This episode dives deeper into brand design and portfolio management. It examines brand identifiers (name, logo, motto, characters, soundmarks, product design, packaging) and associations that shape brand meaning in customers’ minds. The discussion extends to branding strategies—umbrella branding, house-of-brands, and cobranding (internal and external)—highlighting their advantages, risks, and examples. Listeners also learn how bra...

This episode explores how companies manage products as part of their market offerings. It highlights the difference between core and augmented products, discusses the product life cycle from launch to decline, and examines strategies for growth and renewal. Listeners learn how design, features, and packaging contribute to differentiation, and why effective product management requires balancing innovation with long-term profitabilit...

This episode explores how businesses generate value not only for customers but also for the company itself. It explains the distinction between topline (revenues) and bottom-line (profits) impact, and the importance of aligning growth strategies with the firm’s overall objectives. Key takeaways include tradeoffs between revenue and profitability, the role of brand equity and customer relationships, and why sustainable growth requir...

This episode focuses on positioning as the art of shaping how customers perceive an offering. It contrasts single-benefit, multi-benefit, and holistic positioning strategies, and explores when each is most effective. Highlights include the choice of functional, psychological, or monetary benefits to emphasize, how sustainability varies across benefit types, and why psychological positioning often provides the strongest long-term ad...

This episode explains how companies design compelling value propositions by balancing benefits and costs across functional, psychological, and monetary dimensions. It introduces the idea of benefit ladders—starting from attributes and building to higher-level benefits—and shows how companies can tailor value propositions for different segments. Key insights include aligning value with customer needs, avoiding overpromise, and ensur...

This episode unpacks tactical targeting—how companies translate strategic choices into effective, cost-efficient ways of reaching customers. It highlights customer profiles (demographic, geographic, behavioral, psychographic), the tradeoffs between precision and efficiency, and the risks of overly narrow, broad, or misaligned targeting. Key takeaways include building accurate customer personas, aligning profiles with value, an...