Marketing Management: Planning, Segmentation, and the Marketing Mix
Core concepts
Marketing management questions test whether you can connect analysis to decisions. Know the marketing planning cycle: situation analysis (5Cs - company, collaborators, customers, competitors, context), SWOT, STP (segmentation, targeting, positioning), the 4Ps/7Ps, budgeting, implementation, and control. Understand segmentation bases (demographic, geographic, psychographic, behavioral), the criteria for a viable segment (measurable, accessible, substantial, differentiable, actionable), and targeting strategies (undifferentiated, differentiated, concentrated, micromarketing). Positioning requires a value proposition and a point of difference that is important, distinctive, communicable, preemptive, affordable, and profitable.
Know the product life cycle (introduction, growth, maturity, decline) and how price, promotion, and channel emphasis shift across stages. Understand the Ansoff matrix (market penetration, product development, market development, diversification) and the BCG matrix (stars, cash cows, question marks, dogs). For pricing, distinguish cost-plus, value-based, and competitive pricing, and know penetration versus skimming. For channels, understand intensity levels (intensive, selective, exclusive) and the difference between push and pull promotion.
Traps
Questions often swap segmentation (dividing a market) with targeting (choosing segments) or positioning (occupying a place in the customer's mind). Watch for "which comes first" sequencing. Another trap is confusing the marketing concept (customer needs first) with the selling concept (push existing products). Distinguish a need, want, and demand. Do not confuse market share with share of customer.
Worked rule of thumb
When a question asks which growth strategy fits, map the answer to two axes: new versus existing markets, and new versus existing products. "Selling current products to current customers more often" is penetration, not development.
Key points
- STP precedes mix decisions; control closes the loop.
- Segments must be measurable, substantial, and actionable.
- Life-cycle stage drives mix emphasis.
- Ansoff and BCG matrices answer different questions (growth path vs. portfolio allocation).