MARKETING STRATEGY (Undergraduate)

A. Course Learning Objectives

This course focuses on strategically analyzing and solving marketing problems from a
decision makers’ perspective. Specifically, the course has two key learning objectives:
1. Understanding and effectively using the fundamental frameworks, processes, and
analysis tools of marketing strategy
2. Using the “first principles” of marketing strategy to solve business problems

Most of the frameworks, processes, and analyses developed by marketing researchers,

consultants, and managers are focused on solving four fundamental marketing problems.
1. All customers differ
2. All customers change
3. All competitors react
4. All resources are limited

Using the relevant marketing frameworks, processes, and analyses to solve each of these
four underlying marketing problems is termed the First Principles of Marketing Strategy and
represents the focus of this course. Specifically, the first two lectures provide an overview of
marketing strategy, introduce each of the First Principles of Marketing Strategy, and outline
the basic research methods and analyses needed in marketing strategy. The next six lectures
provides an in depth coverage of the First Principles of Marketing Strategy. Finally, the last
two sessions focus on executing marketing strategies in two different ways. Teams will
compete with one another in a simulated business environment (MarkStrat) using the First
Principles of Marketing and each team will solve a “real marketing problem” using the
frameworks, tools, and processes outlined in class and readings.

This course builds on the topics explored in Marketing Management by focusing on specific
marketing strategies (e.g., developing and launching innovative products, building customer
loyalty) and critical marketing tools/processes (e.g., cluster and conjoint analysis, choice
models) in greater detail and accentuating the integrative nature of the marketing function
through the development of a marketing plan and use of simulation software (Markstrat).

Some critical success factors for business leaders include framing the business issue or
problem (frameworks), outlining the steps for solving problems (processes), collecting data
and applying analysis tools to inform problems (data collection and analyses), and weighting
and integrating information to make choices (decisions). Thus, the overall objective of the
readings, lectures, in-class exercises, assignments, and cases will focus on these critical
success factors.
B. Course Description
I will use the “Tell-Show-Do” sequence to give you hands-on experience in using the course
materials for making marketing decisions. The first part uses lectures to present and discuss
course topics. Reading the assigned material prior to class and active involvement during the
lecture will increase the value you gain from the class, as well as make it more interesting for
everyone. During some sessions, in-class exercises function to make the topic more “real,”
and not just an academic exercise. The second part of many sessions will often include a
case, data analysis, or Markstrat discussion, usually related to the same topic as the lecture.
Similar to the expectations in your other classes, preparation is paramount to making the
class discussion valuable.

Each team will compete against 4 to 6 other teams within a simulated business environment
using Markstrat. Marketing decisions involving new product development projects, product
attributes, pricing, advertising, and resource allocation will affect each firms’ market share
and financial performance.

C. Course Materials
1. Textbook: Robert W. Palmatier and Shrihari Sridhar, Marketing Strategy: Based on
First Principles and Data Analytics, (Palgrave McMillian, 2017).
2. Software: The following are required software packages:
a. MarkStrat: Marketing strategy simulation package.
b. Marketing Engineering: An Excel-addin package that allows you to perform a
large number of different marketing analyses.

D. Teaching Method and Performance Evaluation

There are four components to the course grade:

1. Class Participation (14%). Your individual participation grades depend on the quantity
and quality of your contributions, answering questions, engaging in in-class exercises,
asking insightful questions, offering applicable work experience examples, and
evidencing general engagement in the class.

2. Markstrat Simulation (25%). Each team will run a business, in competition with the
other teams in a dynamic environment. The simulation software (Markstrat) is very
sophisticated, so you will need to buy research reports, evaluate past performance,
respond to competitive actions, and make numerous marketing decisions. Each team will
need to finish decisions by the weekly assigned deadline. Your overall results will be
evaluated based on the stock price, which determines your final standing in Markstrat. In
addition, near the end of the quarter, I will summarize the final results, and we will
participate in a Markstrat debriefing discussion, during which each team will outline its
strategy, what worked, and what did not work in a “case-like” discussion format (i.e.,
from your seat, without handing anything in). Your team’s final standing and your
 discussion of the effectiveness of your strategy will serve to determine your final grade
for this portion of the class.

3. Case Replication Assignments (4x9=36%). We will be covering four example cases

through the duration of the course, all of which involve the use of data. On the case day,
I will lead class discussion of the cases, but may call on any and all to discuss their
understanding of the case. You should turn in the analysis output of the cases in the next
class period. You should submit the assignment in the form of a Word document, due
before class begins, the next in-class session after the case. I expect you to learn by
observing how I solve the case, and replicate the work later. All work is to be printed and
handed in. The format should be as follows:
a. Student Name.
b. A one-page single spaced write-up of what you learnt from the case, i.e. the main
business challenge, the solution, and the insight about how to solve a similar
business problem in the future .
c. Analysis output pertaining to each question in the case (in Tables/Figures- as
many pages as relevant).

4. Final Exam (25%): On the second to last class session we will have a team-based oral
final exam for about 1 to 1.5 hours. In essence, this session will be a closed book review
of the material covered in this class. A question will be projected on the screen, each
team will have a few minutes to come up with an answer and select a spokesperson. A
team will be randomly selected from the “proverbial hat” and that team must give the
answer. I will then give the answer. Another question will be projected and the process
will be repeated. Each team will receive a final grade based on the average of their
responses. A curve may be applied to the final exam grade depending on the outcome.
 D. Class Schedule
Sessio
Week Topic Assignment
n
1 1.1 Overview and Benefits of Marketing Strategy
2 1.2 Overview of First Principle’s Approach (con’t)
Principle 1: All Customers are Different  Managing Customer
3 2.1
Heterogeneity
4 2.2 Segmentation and Targeting Concept and Demonstration MeXL (Dentmax Case)
DentMax Case
5 3.1 Markstrat Session 1 and/or Case Assignment
Replication
6 3.2 Positioning Concepts and Demonstration
7 4.1 Markstrat Session 2 and/or Case Assignment
8 4.2 Principle 2: All Customers Change  Managing Customer Dynamics
9 5.1 Markstrat Session 3 and/or Case  
10 5.2 Choice Models Concept and Demonstration MeXL (TKL Case)
11 6.1 Markstrat Session 4 and/or Case TKL Case Replication
Principle 3: All Competitors React  Managing Sustainable Competitive
12 6.2
Advantage
13 7.1 Markstrat Session 5 and/or Case
14 7.2 Principle 3 (con’t): Managing Brand-Based Competitive Advantage
15 8.1 Markstrat Session 6 and/or Case
16 8.2 Principle 3 (con’t): Managing Offering-Based Competitive Advantage
17 9.1 Markstrat Session 7 and/or Case  
18 9.2 Conjoint Concept and Demonstration MeXL (Exteriors Case)
Exteriors Case
19 10.1 Markstrat Session 8 and/or Case
Replication
Principle 3 (con’t): Managing Relationship-Based Competitive
20 10.2
Advantage
21 11.1 Markstrat Session 9 and/or Case
22 11.2 Principle 4: All Resources are Limited  Managing Resource Tradeoffs
23 12.1 Markstrat Session 10 and/or Case  
24 12.2 Response Models Concept and Demonstration MeXL (BRT Tribune Case)
BRT Tribune Case
25 13.1 Markstrat Session 11 and/or Case
Replication
26 13.2 Integrating the Four Principles
27 14.1 Review of Markstrat Performance
28 14.2 Review of First Principles of Marketing
28 Final Exam