Strategic Marketing Problems: Cases and Comments

PREFACE: \ Preface\ Decision making in marketing is first and foremost a skill. Like most skills, it requires tools and terminology. Like all skills, it is best learned through practice. This book is dedicated to the development of decision-making skills in marketing. Textual material introduces concepts and tools useful in structuring and solving marketing problems. Case studies describing actual marketing problems provide an opportunity for those concepts and tools to be employed in practice. In every case study, the decision maker must develop a strategy consistent with the underlying factors existing in the situation presented and must consider the implications of that strategy for the organization and its environment.\ The ninth edition of Strategic Marketing Problems: Cases and Comments seeks a balance between marketing management content and process. The book consists of 11 chapters and 42 cases.\ Chapter 1, "Foundations of Strategic Marketing Management," provides an overview of the strategic marketing management process. The principal emphasis is on defining an organization's business, mission, and goals, identifying and framing organizational opportunities, formulating product-market strategies, budgeting, and controlling the marketing effort. The Appendix to Chapter 1 contains a marketing plan for an actual company, Paradise Kitchens&3174;, Inc. The plan is annotated to focus attention on substantive elements of the plan as well as style and layout elements.\ Chapter 2, "Financial Aspects of Marketing Management," reviews basic concepts from managerial accounting and managerial finance that are useful inmarketing management. Primary emphasis is placed on such concepts as cost structure, relevant versus sunk costs, margins, contribution analysis, liquidity, discounted cash flow, operating leverage, and preparing pro forma income statements.\ Chapter 3, "Marketing Decision Making and Case Analysis," introduces a systematic process for decision making and provides an overview of various aspects of case and decision analysis. A sample case and written student analysis are presented in the Appendix at the end of the book. The student analysis illustrates the nature and scope of a written case presentation, including the qualitative and quantitative analyses essential to a good presentation.\ Chapter 4,"OpportunityAnalysis and Market Targeting," focuses on the identification and evaluation of marketing opportunities. Market segmentation, market targeting, and market potential and profitability issues are considered in some depth.\ Chapter 5,"Product and Service Strategy and Brand Management," focuses on the management of the organization's offering. New-offering development, life-cycle management, product or service positioning, branding decisions, brand growth strategies, and brand valuation are emphasized.\ Chapter 6, "Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy and Management," raises issues in the design, execution, and evaluation of an integrated communication mix. Decisions concerned with communications objectives, strategy, budgeting, programming, and effectiveness, as well as sales management, are addressed.\ Chapter 7, "Marketing Channel Strategy and Management," introduces a variety of considerations affecting channel selection and modification as well as trade relations. Specific decision areas covered include direct versus indirect distribution, dual distribution, cost-benefit analysis of channel choice and management, and marketing channel conflict and coordination.\ Chapter 8, "Pricing Strategy and Management," highlights concepts and applications in price determination and modification. Emphasis is placed on evaluating demand, cost, and competitive influences when selecting or modifying pricing strategies for products and services and product-line pricing.\ Chapter 9, "Interactive Marketing and Electronic Commerce," introduces strategic marketing management issues encountered by companies engaged in electronic commerce. Attention is placed on marketing opportunity analysis, different Internet business models, formulating a customer value proposition, and strategic and operational challenges facing incumbent and new entrant companies in the new marketspace.\ Chapter 10,"Marketing Strategy Reformulation: The Control Process," focuses on the appraisal of marketing actions for the purpose of developing reformulation and recovery strategies. Considerations and techniques applicable to strategic and operations control are introduced.\ Chapter 11, "Comprehensive Marketing Programs," raises issues in developing integrated marketing strategies. Emphasis is placed on marketing program decisions for new and existing products and services, including issues related to marketing-mix interactions, marketing program implementation, and marketing organization.\ The case selection in this book reflects a broad overview of contemporary marketing problems and applications. Seventy-six percent of the cases are dated since 1995; 40 percent are dated since 1998. Of the 42 cases included, 30 deal with consumer products and services and 12 have a business-to-business marketing orientation. Nine cases introduce marketing issues in the international arena. Marketing of services is addressed in four cases, and four cases deal with electronic commerce. Sixty-one percent of the cases are new, revised, or updated for this edition, and many have spreadsheet applications embedded in the case analysis. All text and case material has been classroom tested.\ Computer-assisted programs and a student manual are available for use with 17 of the cases in the book. The manual contains all the material necessary to use spreadsheets. It includes a sample case demonstration, instructions for use with specific cases, and input and output forms. If this material is not available from your instructor or bookstore, please write to the publisher.\ The efforts of many people are reflected here. First, we thank those institutions and individuals who have kindly granted us permission to include their cases in this edition. The cases contribute significantly to the overall quality of the book, and each individual is prominently acknowledged in the Contents and at the bottom of the page on which the case begins. We specifically wish to thank the Harvard Business School and The University of Western Ontario for granting permission to reproduce cases authored by their faculties. Second, we wish to thank our numerous collaborators, whose efforts made the difference between good cases and excellent cases. Third, we thank the adopters of the previous eight editions of the book for their many comments and suggestions for improvements. Finally, we wish to thank the numerous reviewers of this and previous editions for their conscientious reviews of our material: David Berkowitz, University of Alabama in Huntsville; Lynne Payne, Livingston University; Michael Laric, University of Baltimore; Charles Brooks, Quinnipiac College; Michael Messina, Gannon University; Avery Abernethy, Auburn University; Richard Kolbe, Kent State University; Dwight Scherban, Central Connecticut State University; David E. Griffith, University of Oklahoma; Tammy Pappas, Eastern Michigan University; Audrey Guskey, Duquesne University; and John Barnes, University of Texas at El Paso. Naturally, we bear full responsibility for any errors of omission and commission in the final product.\ Roger A. Kerin\ Robert A. Peterson

Chapter 1: Foundations of Strategic Marketing Management Chapter 2: Financial Aspects of Marketing Management Chapter 3: Marketing Decision Making and Case Analysis Chapter 4: Opportunity Analysis and Market Targeting Chapter 5: Product and Service Strategy and Management Chapter 6: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy and Management Chapter 7: Marketing Channel Strategy and Management Chapter 8: Pricing Strategy and Management Chapter 9: Marketing Strategy Reformulation: The Control Process Chapter 10: Global Marketing Strategy

\ BooknewsForty-three contemporary cases challenge readers to perform meaningful quantitative and qualitative analyses in the context of actual marketing management problems. Forty-two percent of the cases are dated since 1995. They deal with issues encountered by well-known companies such as Southwest Airlines, Procter & Gamble, and Pharmacia & Upjohn; issues in China, Japan, Central and South America, India, Canada, and Europe; services and not-for-profit marketing; contemporary industrial, high-technology, and business-to-business marketing settings; and ethics and responsibility. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.\ \ \ \ \ BooknewsNew edition of a text that introduces concepts and tools useful in structuring and solving marketing problems. Case studies describe actual marketing problems, thus providing an opportunity for the decision maker to develop strategies consistent with the underlying factors in the situation presented, as well as its implications for the organization and its environment. Kerin (Southern Methodist U.) and Peterson (U. of Texas) present 11 chapters that discuss foundations; financial aspects; decision making and case analysis; opportunity analysis and market targeting; strategies for product and service, integrated marketing communication and management, market channel, and pricing; interactive marketing and electronic commerce; the control process; and comprehensive programs. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \