Steps for marketing strategies

Step 1. Understanding the corporate philosophy and strategy. For this purpose, we should examine
company’s goals and its basic business plans.
Step 2: Checking and setting marketing range of areas.
Due to the development of railroad and highway as well as information technology, the economic
zones at various parts of Japan have become beyond the boundaries of administrative
districts such as villages, towns, and cities. Thus we need to look at marketing range of areas,
which go over the administrative boundaries.
Step 3: Analyzing area’s features and regional differences.
At this stage, the local characteristics should be understood by studying and analyzing natural
and physical conditions of the area including its climate. The demographic data such as total
population, the composition of population, and the number of households should be made as the
basic indicators for analysis of particular region, together with a study on major industries.
The major regional industries such as agriculture, forestry, and fishing, manufacturing, etc
should be analyzed. Based on the analysis, a survey on regional economy, its marketing size,
and future prospect of the economy should be made.
Step 4: Analyzing Business and Marketing Environment
Analysis of business and marketing environment involves checking present conditions. of companies
in the regions. The three main factors for this check are consumers, competitors, and
the firm of its own.
Accordingly, the following 3 elements called The 3C’s (Customers, Competitors, and Company)
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need to be considered for the analysis. These are:
(i) Customers in the marketplace: Consumers by region, trend, and occupants have to be
examined.
(ii) Competitors: Existing opponents and new entrants, together with their possible substituted
products need to be checked.
(iii) Company: Corporation’s positions in the market such as sales volume, financial situation,
distribution channels, manufacturing facilities and human resources should be studied.
Step 5. Segmenting, Positioning and Targeting process
(i) Segmentation
Based on the results from Step 1 through 4, segmentation of the area should be made.
Both similarities and differences among the regions have to be examined clearly.
(ii) Positioning
At this stage, the market positioning of a company will be decided. Its position will be
among the choices of a market leader, a challenger, a follower, and a niche.
(iii) Examining targeting ends. Targeting goals will be examined.
When checking the targeting ends, the following three factors must be considered.
1) Position of a company in the market: It includes a choice of the market leader,
challenger, follower, and niche
2) Competitors such as exiting potential and new contenders must be elaborated.
3) The company’s business plan by the market situation will be made.