【正文】 rs that Implement Strategic Marketing Plan Development There are a number of factors that should impact the development of a strategic marketing plan for the anization. The first of these prises the assets and skills that the anization already possesses or that it can readily acquire. For example, if an anization has a significant programming department on the payroll, it would be feasible for it to make and market application software. However, if these personnel are already involved in other work and are not free to work on a new software project and the anization cannot afford to hire additional programmers, starting a new software line would be inadvisable at best. The second factor that must be considered when developing a marketing strategy is the market drivers. These are various political, economic, sociocultural, and technological forces that can influence the wants and needs of the consumer base. For example, the need to be able to handle increasing volumes of information and data has led to widespread use of information technology in many industries. Similarly, the need for a college education for an increasing number of jobs has led to a proliferation of forprofit institutions of higher education. Factors Impacting Marketing Strategy Market drivers, however, are not the only external force that shapes one39。s minds as using an abacus. Once the strategic window begins to close, it is typically best that the anization look for another opportunity. Development of Competitive Strategy To help meet their goals and objectives, many businesses develop a petitive strategy that will increase their petitive advantage. There are three generic approaches for petitive strategies: (1) the provision of low cost products or services, (2) differentiation of products from those of the petition, and (3) focus on the market niche. Low Cost Strategy The goal of the low cost strategy is to gain a larger market share. This is done by offering acceptable quality products or services at prices lower than those of the petition. The expectation in this strategy is that the anization will earn an acceptable return on investment by increasing volume of sales. The basic methods used in lowcost leadership strategies include reduction of overhead, buying or production costs and focused marketing strategies. For example, a restaurant may reduce the price of wine with the intention of making up the shortfall in profits by selling more than they did at the higher price. Similarly, a big box store may use a bination of effective management and information technology practices to reduce operation costs in order to deliver the lowest possible prices on its merchandise. Product Differentiation A second generic approach to petitive strategy is product differentiation. In this approach, the business attempts to differentiate itself from its petitors by producing a product or offering a service whose quality is perceived by customers to have unique features or characteristics that set it apart from similar offerings. This strategy attempts to build customer loyalty by offering something of value that is offered by no one else in the marketplace. In this strategy, the necessity of keeping the price of the product or service down bees less important because customers are frequently willing to pay more to get their favorite brand. However, value can be a subjective quality and brand loyalty is not necessarily sufficient to make this strategy successful.