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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO STRATEGIC MARKETING

MANAGEMENT, STRATEGIC CONCEPTS AND STRATEGIC LEVELS
1.1 Definition of concepts
What is marketing: Marketing is the process of acquiring the right goods or services
or even the ideas to the right people at the right place, right time, and price, also using
the right promotion techniques to provide the customer services that are associated
with the goods, services, or the ideas. 
The concept which is referred to as the “right” principle is the main basis of all the
marketing strategies that are used by a business. Marketing is about creating exchanges
that would bring a positive change in the livelihood of the people. This exchange takes
place between two parties that give something of value to each other to satisfy their
own needs or wants. 

Types of marketing
i. Relationship marketing;

The key goal of marketing is to develop enduring relationships with all people or
organizations that could directly or indirectly affect the success of the firm’s marketing
activities.

 It has the aim of building and mutually satisfying long term relationships with key
parties i.e. customers, suppliers, distributors and other marketing partners. It builds
strong economic, technical and social ties among these partners. Relationship
marketing involves cultivating the right kind of relationship with the right stakeholder
groups. Its ultimate outcome is the building of a unique company asset called a
marketing network.

ii. Integrated marketing;

The marketer’s task is to devise marketing

activities and assemble fully integrated marketing programs to create, communicate

and deliver value for consumers. The two key themes of integrated marketing are;

 a.Many different marketing activities are employed to communicate and deliver value

.b.All marketing activities are co-ordinated to maximize their complimentary effects.

The design and implementation of any one marketing activity is done with all other
activities in mind.

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iii. Internal marketing;

Holistic marketing incorporates internal marketing ensuring that everyone in the

organization embraces appropriate marketing philosophies and principles
especially senior management.

It is the task of hiring, training and motivating employees with the aim of serving
customers well.

iv. Social responsibility marketing;

Holistic marketing incorporates social responsibility through understanding and

implementing broader societal concerns for ethical, environmental, legal and social
aspects of marketing activities and programs.

 The effect and cause of marketing clearly extends beyond the company and the
consumer to society as a whole. Social responsibility also requires that marketers
carefully consider the role that they are playing and could play in terms of social
welfare.

What are Needs, Wants and Demand

Marketing concept focuses on the needs, wants and demands of customers. Let us
understand them in brief.
1. Needs:
Needs are basic requirements that enable a healthy and active life. If needs are not
fulfilled, it will result in the dysfunction of the system, which can result in disability or
death. It can be objective as well as physical as in need of food, water and shelter.
2. Wants:
Wants are something that is desired by the person. These are not required for day to
day functioning. Wants are not necessary for basic survival and are mostly moulded by
cultural influence.
3. Demands:
When the needs and wants are supported by an ability to pay, it becomes a demand.

Types of Marketing Concept

1. Production Concept
2. Product Concept

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3. Selling concept
4. Marketing concept
5. Societal marketing concept

 Production Concept
This concept was based on the assumption that customers are primarily interested in
products which are accessible and affordable. This concept was introduced at a time
when business was focused mainly on production. It says that a business will be able
to lower costs by producing more quantity or mass production of goods.
Solely focusing on producing goods may lead to the firm deviating from its objective.

 Product Concept
The product concept is based on the assumption that customers will be more inclined
towards products that are offering more quality, innovative features and top-level
performance.
In this type of marketing concept, a business focuses on creating high-quality products
and refining it every time in order to develop a better and improved product.

 Selling Concept
While the previous two concepts focused on production, the selling concept is focused
on selling. It believes that customers will be buying products only when the product is
aggressively marketed by the company. It does not focus on building relationships
with customers, and ensuring customer satisfaction is also not deemed necessary.

 Marketing Concept
A marketing concept places the centre of focus on the customer. All the activities that
are undertaken by an organisation are done keeping the customer in mind. The
organisations are more concerned about creating value propositions for the customers,
which will differentiate them from the competition.

 Societal Marketing Concept

This is the fifth and most advanced form of the marketing concept. Here the focus is
on needs and wants of the customer as well as ensuring the safety of the customer and
society first. It believes in giving back to society and making the world a better place
for all human beings. Marketing concept is a set of strategies that the firms adopt
where they analyse the needs of their customers and implement strategies to fulfil

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those needs which will result in an increase in sales, profit maximisation and also beat
the existing competition.
Difference between marketing and strategic marketing
Definitions and meanings
Marketing:
Marketing means knowing your customer’s demand. Companies or businesses keep on
finding new ways and techniques to satisfy the needs and wants of customers through
marketing. Usually, people confused the concept of marketing with selling but, these
are “two” entirely different concepts. Selling means attracting your customers towards
your product to exchange it with cash whereas, marketing is related to the value that
the exchange is all about. Simply, marketing is all about discovering, developing,
creating and satisfying customer needs.
 Strategic Marketing:
Strategic marketing can be defined as the aim of identifying or designing a plan of
action to satisfy customer needs and achieve long-term objectives of company i.e.,
increasing productivity and profitability of the company as well as improving its
overall performance. Strategic marketing moves with a well researched written
strategic marketing plan that explains what type of marketing techniques or programs
are going to be used within the given time frame and how these programs will be
implemented in the near future.

MARKETING VS STRATEGIC MARKETING

Conceptual overview
It includes all the steps taken by the Strategic marketing means designing
organisation to make a healthy and programs and making plans to attract
beneficial relationship with its customers. customers so that business can easily
In simple words, it’s more like dominate the market.
networking.
Objectives
The objective of a company concerned to The main objective of strategic marketing
its marketing plan is to promote and is to find out the causes behind the past
advertise its products and services among marketing failures and avoid those
its target audience. In other words, it is failures to improve company
called a brand awareness to improve performance.
company performance as well as
profitability.
Tools and techniques

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Important tools and techniques of Strategic marketing use 3C’s as its tools
marketing are known as 4P’s of and techniques (customers, corporation,
Marketing or marketing mix (product, competitors)
price, place, promotion)
Importance in business success
It promotes the business,  it’s brand, and Strategic marketing helps
offerings business growth and success by giving an
edge over its competitors.

1.2 Major differences between marketing of goods and marketing of services

GOODS: A good is a tangible item made of the material which customers can touch
and own. Goods are about real things. For instance, a car, a pair of shoes, a computer,
a table, etc.

SERVICES: A service is an action of doing something for someone else. It is not

made of the materials hence it is intangible. Services are about experiences. For
instance, taking a TAXI, attending a business lesson, having a haircut, a train trip from
Paris to London, etc

Let’s take a look at the major differences between the marketing of goods and
services. The differences between the marketing of goods and services include the
following five characteristics: 

1. Intangibility

Cannot be touched.

Goods are tangible. The buyer purchases tangible goods. These are real physical
objects which can be touched and viewed. It is easy to tell customers in advance what
they will be getting because they can see the items. Marketers must emphasize
physical attributes to the clients. They must talk about the physical presence of the
good. The purchase is usually based on inspecting the good before buying.

For example, cars, clothes, cosmetics and airplanes can be touched and are visible.

Services are intangible. The buyer purchases intangible services. These are
experiences which cannot be touched and viewed. It is difficult to tell customers in

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advance what they will be getting because they cannot see the experiences. Marketers
must communicate the benefits of the service to the clients. They must talk about the
nature of the service. The purchase is usually based on reputation, trust and image.

For example, car insurance or health insurance as the financial services cannot be
touched even though there is a tangible insurance policy in the form of a certificate. 

2. Inseparability

Consumed at the time of purchase. 

Goods are separable. The buyer purchases separable goods. Separable from the point
where it is consumed and from the producer of the good. Separability of production
and consumption means that the good is not being produced at the same time when the
client is receiving it, but earlier. It is possible to separate the production from
consumption of the good. Companies do need to train workers at producing durable
goods.

For example, music CDs and movie DVDs can be purchased in the morning and
watched at home in the evening.

Services are inseparable. The buyer purchases inseparable services. Inseparable from
the point where it is consumed and from the provider of the service. Inseparability of
production and consumption means that the service is being provided at the same time
when the client is receiving it. It is not possible to separate the production from
consumption of the service. Companies need to train workers at providing outstanding
and consistent customer services.

For example, a live concert performance or watching a movie at the cinema as the
entertainment services themselves cannot be consumed at the other time.

3. Heterogeneity (Variability)

Different customer, different experience. 

Goods are homogenic. The buyer purchases homogenic goods. Goods are
homogeneous because all customers receive identical products. It is easy to compare
the quality of similar goods. The involvement of machines in producing goods means
that many products will be completely identical. Also, the same machine will make the

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particular good identically at different times. It is important for marketers to minimize

the differences in goods through maintenance of machinery and quality control.

For example, soda drinks, books, smartphones, computers, etc. are identical when
mass produced. There are not even slight differences between those products.

Services are heterogenic. The buyer purchases heterogenic services. Services are
heterogeneous because different customers have different experiences. It is difficult to
compare the quality of similar services. The involvement of humans in providing
services means that no two services will be completely identical. Also, the same
person will deliver the particular service differently at different times. It is important
for marketers to minimize the differences in performance through training and setting
standards.

For example, having your smartphone fixed by the same serviceman might give you
different level of customer satisfaction or the length of time when the service is
completed. Going to the coffee shop to read the book one day can provide you with
excellent service by a certain barista, and completely poor experience the next day in
the same coffee shop reading the same book but being served by a different employee.

4. Perishability

Cannot be stored. 

Goods are storable. The buyer purchases storable goods. Unused capacity can be
stored for future use. Once it has been produced, it can be moved around many places
and the good remains the same. The customer can return the good anytime.

For example, millions of cans of Coca-Cola and Pepsi can be stored in warehouses for
a long time before being distributed around the world to different wholesalers and
retailers. 

Services are perishable. The buyer purchases perishable services. Unused capacity
cannot be stored for future use. Perishable in that once it has occurred it cannot be
repeated in exactly the same way. The customer cannot return the service once its
finished.

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For example, a soccer game during European Champions League where spectators
drink cola during the game cannot be repeated. There will be no such game anymore.
Also, any empty seats in the stadium mean a loss in sales revenue from entrance
tickets as spare seats cannot be transferred or saved up until the next game.

5. No rights of ownership

Cannot be legally owned. 

Goods have rights of ownership. The buyer purchases goods with the right of
ownership. Right of ownership is taken to the good, since the customer owns it. The
customer can sell it on once it belongs to him as he takes ownership of the good.

For example, a serviceman fixes air-conditioners which you own in your house. These
air-conditioning units belong to you and you have all the ownership rights.

Services have no rights of ownership. The buyer purchases services without the right
of ownership. Right of ownership is not taken to the service, since the customer only
experiences it. The customer cannot sell it on once it has been consumed as he does
not take ownership of it.

For example, you do not own the service when the serviceman fixes your air-
conditioning system nor you own his electrical tools. Neither you own that servicemen
while he is servicing your air-conditioners.

1.3 What is Bank

An institution which receives funds from the public and gives loans and advances to
those who need it.
Controls the supply of money and credit
The banks can create credit i.e creation of additional money for lending with the aim
of making profit, it is regarded as a commercial institution.
Role of banks
- Capital formation
- Provision of medium and long term finance
- Innovations

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- Finance for priority sectors

- monetization
What is Bank Marketing?
Bank marketing is the aggregate of functions directed at providing services to satisfy
customer’s financial needs and wants, more effectively and efficiently than
competitors keeping in view the organizational objectives of the bank.
Characteristics of Bank Marketing

 Customer-centric: Financial services are usually customer focused. Financial

Services are provided, depending on the need of customer for example, leasing finance
service may be needed by an industrial customer, while merchant banker’s services
may be needed by a company issuing new equity share in the market.

Financial services firms like other service firms continuously remain in touch with
their customers, so that they can design products which can cater to the specific needs
of their customers.

 Intangibility: Financial services are intangible in nature. In a highly

competitive global environment, brand image is very important. Unless the financial
institutions providing financial products and services have good image, enjoying the
confidence of their clients, they may not be successful.

 Concomitant(simultaneous action): Production of financial services and

delivery of these services have to be concomitant. Both these functions i.e. production
of new and innovative financial services and supplying of these services are to be
performed simultaneously.

 Perishable in nature: Like other services, financial services also require a

match between demand and supply. Services cannot be stored. They have to be
supplied when customers need them.

 Dominance of human element: Financial services are dominated by human

element. Thus, financial services are labour intensive. It requires competent and skilled
personnel to market the quality financial products.

 Advisory: Financial services can be of three types i.e. a fund based or a fee-

based or both. In case of fee-based services, the advisory function is dominant. Issue
management, registrar of issue, merchant banking, pricing of securities etc. are few

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examples of advisory financial services.

 Heterogeneity: Financial services are customized services. It cannot be uniform

for all clients. Financial services vary from one client to other. Institutional client
requirements differ from individual client. After analysing the needs of the clients,
financial institutions offer customised financial services to the clients.

 Information based: Financial service industry is an information based industry.

It involves creation, dissemination and use of information. Information is an essential
component in the production of financial services.

1.4 The need for marketing in Banking

Marketing is the process of creating value for a company or organization by attracting
and keeping customers. Financial services companies are no exception, as marketing
plays an important role in positioning them in the market and helping them to grow
their businesses.

One of the main goals of marketing is to create awareness among potential customers
about a product or service. This can be done through advertising, public relations, and
other methods. Once potential customers are aware of a company or product, they can
make a decision about whether or not to buy it.

Financial services companies also need to target specific markets in order to generate
the most revenue. For example, banks may focus on affluent consumers who want to
invest their money wisely. Alternatively, insurance companies may target those who
are at risk for financial accidents.

The success of a financial services company depends largely on its marketing strategy.
If it does not have a plan in place, it will struggle to attract new customers and grow its
business. It is therefore essential for firms to employ qualified professionals who can
create effective campaigns across various channels.

Identifying the most profitable markets now and in future

Assessing the present and future needs of customers

Setting business development goals and making plans to meet them

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Managing the various services and promoting them

Adapting to a changing environment

The Benefits Of Marketing In Financial Services

1. Marketing in financial services can help businesses generate more revenue and grow
their customer base.

2. Effective marketing can help businesses target potential customers and increase
their chances of success.

3. Marketing in financial services can also help businesses create a positive image and
increase brand loyalty.

4. Finally, effective marketing in financial services can lead to increased market share
and reduced competition.

1.5 Four key elements of Marketing

Marketing encompasses a number of different activities such

as product design, pricing, strategies, advertising and others. However these are just
activities which have to be done in the process of marketing. There are also some
crucial elements of marketing which are very necessary for the success of marketing
and they form the backbone of marketing. There four elements are as follows.

1) Research –

If you want to launch your own company or a product what will you do? The first
thing that you will do will be market research. You will like to determine what
the market actually wants. Similarly, during marketing too, market research is needed
to determine what message should the company adopt and which medium will be best,
what positioning needs to be achieved to target the right segment. By doing market
research, we can gather data which can help us in analysis and action.

2) Strategy –

Once you have your data ready, you know where your product stands and also the
standing of your company in the market in terms of strengths and weaknesses. You

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also have an idea of what strategies will need to be implemented and what factors will
need to be adopted by the company to beat competitors and succeed in the market.
Thus, after research, strategies decide the vision of the company, its goal,
its mission and in general where the company wants to be. The strategic plan needs to
be well thought of by realistically considering all possibilities.

3) Planning –

Now that you know, Where you want to be, naturally you have to plan How you are
going to reach there. That is the job of the marketing planning department.
The marketing plan involves sales forecasting, financial planning,
communications strategy and many such benchmarks which define how the company
is going to achieve its strategic goals in the future. The planning department also keeps
a track of the timeline so that time to time we can determine whether we are on track
with the strategic plan or not.

4) Tactics –

Where planning happens at the topmost level, tactics are the street smart, short term
plans you implement to attract customers, beat your competitors, increase sales,
provide a better value for your customers or for any other short term objective which
needs to be achieved. Giving an offer such as “Buy 1, get 1 free” is a sales tactic.
Lessening the price of your product during festival time is a promotional tactic.
Several such tactics can be implemented by the company to make sure that it is inline
with the planning done in the earlier stage. Some industries, such as FMCG and
consumer durable, mainly survive on time to time tactics that the implement. Due to
the competitive nature of these industries, smart tactics ar absolutely necessary to
achieve good revenues and for customer acquisition.

1.6 Marketing environmental variables

Business activities do not operate in a vacuum. But they are surrounded by

environmental variables, which affect them, either positively or negatively. These
marketing environmental variables are categorized into two, namely:

1. Controllable variables.

2. Uncontrollable Variables.

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1. CONTROLLABLE VARIABLES

These refer to those variables that can be easily controlled by a business-man or a

company to suit the demand of the business. They include the following:

• Product:

A company or marketer is said to have control over a product because he or she can
undertake the following adjustments to suit prevailing demands of the business:

i) He can increase the capacity of output to cope with increasing demand.

ii) He can modify the product in terms of color, size, shape, fashion, design, e.t.c.

iii) He can change the package of the product and so on.

• Price:

Financial institutions are said to have control over price of their products because he or
she can undertake the following adjustments to suit the demand on business:

i) He can offer discounts.

ii) He can offer price reductions.

iii) He can use the money off e.g. he can use this slogan, “buy two get one free”.

• Promotion:

A marketer is said to have control over promotional activities of his organization

because of the following factors:

i) He is able to select appropriate promotional media to use depending on different

situations.

ii) He is able to select appropriate slogans to use for different market segments. He is
able to do this because different advertising slogans are perceived differently in
different market segments.

• Place or Distribution:

A company or a marketer is able to control distribution activities in his or her

organization by way of choosing appropriate marketing channels to use in the
distribution of his goods and services e.g. supermarkets, village shops, kiosks and
multiple shops. This will enable customers to get goods at the right time and place.

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• Suppliers:

Companies can either increase the number of suppliers or decrease it.

2. UNCONTROLLABLE VARIABLES

These refer to those variables that a marketer has little or no control over them. But
they can affect a marketer’s activities either positively or negatively. As such, a
marketer has to devise ways of undertaking these activities under the umbrella of these
variables. These variables include:

• Demography:

This simply refers to the study of human population as well as its structure. This can
affect marketing activities in the following ways:

i) A low rate of population growth implies small potential market for goods and
services, and vice versa.

ii) High mortality rate affects negatively the demand for goods and services. Demand
for goods and services always decreases.

• Technology:

Changes in technology affect marketing activities either positively or negatively.

However, the marketer has no control over them. As such, he needs to try and cope
with the situation. Among some of this changes are:

POSITIVE CHANGES DUE TO TECHNOLOGY

i) It has resulted in high output capacity.

ii) Modern technology has enabled direct marketing. Direct marketing uses modern
devices that enable producers to have direct access to ultimate consumers e.g. use of
internet, telephone, fax, e-commerce, vending machines e.t.c.

NEGATIVE CHANGES DUE TO TECHNOLOGY

i) It has stimulated new markets and industries in fields that are not related to new
technology.

ii) It has radically altered or virtually destroyed existing industries.

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iii) Modern technology has led to the development of modern machines that are
extremely expensive to acquire. Hence, it has negatively affected those firms that
cannot afford it.

• Political stability:

When a country is stable politically, a marketer’s activities are boosted. As such a

marketer is free to penetrate the market and serve all the customers. But during periods
of political instability in a country, marketers’ activities are jeopardized.

• Legal Forces:

The government makes laws that govern a given country. These rules and regulations
may affect marketing activities either positively or negatively.

• Social and Cultural Forces:

These include races, tribes, religion, class or status e.t.c. Due to these differences, the
marketer has to produce what suits the market e.g. Muslims do not eat pork, while
Christians do not smoke and drink beer e.t.c.

• Economic Forces:

When the economy of a country is booming, people’s purchasing power becomes high.
Hence they are able to purchase more goods and services. Thus, a marketer registers
high sales’ volume. But during economic recession, coupled with inflation and
devaluation of a country’s currency, prices of essential commodities hike. Hence,
people are not able to purchase all that they require due to limited purchasing power.
Instead, they reduce their consumption levels. As such the sales of a company’s
products will start to decline. This forces the marketer to derive techniques to improve
the situation, for instance, offering discounts and so on.

• Competition:

A company has no control over the activities of competing firms. But to ensure a
competitive strategy is laid down, it has to compete fairly by offering better services
and other strategic techniques.

1.7 What are the Main Challenges of Marketing Financial Services?

1. Keeping up with new marketing techniques

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The number one answer given when asked about the largest challenges of marketing
financial products and services was keeping up with new marketing techniques. In
fact, a whopping 52% of marketers stated that as their biggest concern — a 9%
increase from last year’s results.
This statistic is one that I completely understand. One of the very first “aha” moments
I had while working in marketing was learning that nothing ever stays the same. Once
you figure out a tactic that’s successful for you, something new comes along (like a
Google update or a shiny new social media platform). Just because something was a
surefire win one day doesn’t mean that it’ll still garner the same results a few months
later.

2. Keeping Up with the Competition

In an industry where innovation is a crucial part of staying relevant, financial service

marketers have to work with a proactive, not reactive mentality. Technology, trends
and tactics are constantly changing, and it’s important to stay more than a few steps
ahead of the game to make sure your organization stays in the forefront of your
audience’s mind.

3. Reaching the Right Audience & Generating Traffic

If you’ve spent time conducing a self-audit on your brand’s presence and your existing
content, you should have a pretty good idea of the types of topics your audience is
interested in. To set yourself apart from the gigantic sea of other financial services
companies, it is key to put a strong focus on your specific customer.

1.8 STRATEGIC LEVELS

The three levels of strategy are corporate level strategy, business level strategy, and
functional level strategy. We explain the differences and how to apply them in your
organization. We also have separate articles on all 3 levels if you're only interested in
learning about a certain level.
Corporate Level Strategy

Business Level Strategy

Functional Level Strategy

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No matter the level of strategy, "organizations that promote a transparency and

collective culture when it comes to strategy, generate a stronger commitment and sense
of accountability from their employees." This statement by Guillermo Hermosillo Cue,
Global Innovation Director at Burger King in our state of strategy report echoes the
importance of strategic communication regardless of the strategy level. 

 Corporate Level Strategy

Corporate strategies are the top-level of strategy in an organization.

The corporate strategy defines the organization’s overall direction and the high-level
ideas of how to move towards it. These plans are usually created by a select strategy
group such as the CEO and the top management.

Generally, this is the group involved because they have a deep understanding of the
company and the strategic business knowledge needed to steer the organization in the
right direction.

A corporate strategy is generally broader than the other strategy levels. Strategies at
this level are more conceptual and futuristic than business and functional level
strategies. They usually span a 3-5 year period.

A corporate strategic plan generally encompasses:

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 The vision for the organization

 The company’s values
 The Strategic Focus areas
 The strategic objectives

Why Create a Corporate Strategy?

In the corporate strategic plan, you’ll decide the markets you’ll compete in as an
organization.

Then, it will direct the creation of business-unit-level and functional-level strategies.

These strategies, in turn, will guide the downstream decisions made by employees of
all levels. Therefore, every decision made in the organization should directly or
indirectly contribute to the strategy's corporate objectives. If it’s not clear yet:

Every organization needs a corporate strategy.

There is no such thing as a too-small organization nor a too-large one to define what
they want to achieve and how they will do it.

We've used our own strategic planning and execution software to create our corporate
strategic plan here at Cascade.

 Business Strategy Level

The business-level strategy is the second tier in the strategy hierarchy.

Sitting under the corporate strategy, the business strategy is a means to achieve the
goals of a specific business unit in the organization.

One thing to note, implementing this strategy level is only useful for organizations
with multiple business units. An organization with multiple business units may sell
products and services or may sell multiple products/services in different industries.

A business level strategy example

A large Bank is a prime example of an organization selling multiple services in

different industries.

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To name a few, it has business units in corporate banking, wealth management, risk
management, and capital raising. Each of these business units would have distinct
goals and a distinct business strategy to achieve these goals.

Why middle managers should create the business level strategy

Strategies at the business level should be constructed by the heads of business units

and other middle managers within each unit.

It’s important to include a range of managers from each unit to participate in the
strategy process because:

1. It increases buy-in:
Managers who've had a chance to contribute to the strategies creation feel included in
the decision making. Therefore, they’re more likely to accept the strategy and jump on
board with its execution.
2. It improves ownership:
Employees who are given the opportunity to contribute to the formation of the strategy
are more likely to take ownership over its completion.

If your organization only has one business unit, you don't need to worry about this
strategy level - and can skip to the functional strategy level.

Here at Cascade, we only have one business unit, our strategic planning and execution
software, so currently, we don't have a strategy at the business level.

Now let's say Cascade also developed a second type of software, for example, software
for processing payments. We would then need to develop a business-level strategy to
allow the two business types to grow alongside each other.

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 Functional Level Strategy

This is the level at the operating end of an organization.

At the functional level of strategy, decisions made by employees are often described as

tactical decisions. They are concerned with how the various functions of an
organization contribute to the other strategy levels.

These functions can include marketing, finance, manufacturing, human resources, and
more.

Functional strategy deals with a fairly restrictive plan. It gives the objectives for each
specific function.

In simple terms, this is the strategy that will inform the day-to-day work of employees
and will ultimately keep your organization moving in the right direction. The
functional strategy level is probably the most important level of strategy.

This is because, without functional strategies, your organization can quickly lose
traction and “get stuck” while competition moves forward.

Suppose you are a larger organization at this bottom strategy level. In that case, you
start to think about how the various departments will contribute to your growth and
how they will work together, keeping in mind your corporate strategy.

Your marketing strategy, finance, IT, operations, and other departments all have goals
and responsibilities to deliver. Having a visible functional level of strategy that aligns
back to the overall corporate strategy will increase the chances of success.

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