Lesson 3



                            Marketing Orientation Sounds Easy, Isn't it?

                                           SWOT Analysis

*      Strengths

*      Weaknesses

*      Opportunities

*      Threats

                                    The purpose of SWOT Analysis

*      It is an easy-to-use tool for developing an overview of a company's strategic situation

  --  It forms a basis for matching your company's strategy to its situation

                                             Strenghts

*     What are the Strengths?

  --   Manufacturing Efficiency?

  --   Good Market Share?

  --   Strong Financial Picture?

  --   Qualified Labour Force?

  --   Superior Reputation?

  

                                             Weaknesses

*     What are the Weaknesses?

  --  Outdated Facilities?

  --  Inadequate R & D?

  --  Obsolete Technologies?

  --  Weak Management?

  --  Past Planning Failures?

  --  Product-related?

  -- Market-related?

                                           Opportunities

*      An OPPORTUNITY is a chance for firm growth or progress due to a favorable juncture of
circumstances in the business environment.

*      Possible Opportunities:

  --  Emerging customer needs

  --  Quality Improvements

  --  Expanding global markets

  --   Legal requirements/limits

                                              Threats

*      A THREAT is a factor in your company's external environment that poses a danger to its
well-being.

*      Possible Threats:

  --  New entry by competitors

  --  Changing demographics/shifting demand

  --  Emergence of cheaper technologies

  --  Regulatory requirements



                              Identify Critical Issues and Priorities

*     The SWOT analysis should lead to critical issues that a firm must address to maintain its
competitive and financial performance

                                          Recommendations

*      Your recommendations MUST be based on the analysis performed.

*      What are priorities:

  --   short-term

  --   long-term

*      Capabilities of management

*      Infrastructure:  product, market

*      Product-related functions (R&D, manufacturing, etc.)

                                    Your Recommendations should:

*     Help achieve good fit with the overall situation

*     Help build competitive advantage

*     Contribute to higher company performance or a better situation

                    Opportunities and Threats form a basis for EXTERNAL analysis

*      By examining opportunities, you can discover untapped markets, and new products or
technologies, or identify potential avenues for diversification.

*      By examining threats, you can identify unfavorable market shifts or changes in technology,
and create a defensive posture aimed at preserving your competitive position.

                                      Create a Plan of Action

*      What steps can you take to:

  --   Capitalize on your strengths

  --   Overcome or minimize your weaknesses

  --   Take advantage of some new opportunities

  --   Respond to the threats

*      Set goals and objectives, like with any other plan

  

                                           The purpose of
                                        Five-Forces Analysis

*      The five forces are environmental forces that impact on a company's ability to compete in a
given market.

*      The purpose of five-forces analysis is to diagnose the principal competitive pressures in a
market and assess how strong and important each one is.























                            The Five Forces are Unique to Every Industry

*      Five-Forces Analysis is a framework for analyzing a particular industry.

  --  Yet, the five forces affect all the other businesses in that industry.

                                    Marketing Management Process

                                  The Four Ps of the Marketing Mix