Nikitina Alina

Scientific advisor - Professor Grinyov A.V.

Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway University, Kharkiv

STRATEGIC MARKETING: CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS, ISSUES AND TENDENCIES

In the condition of permanent development of economic relationships it becomes very important to use the marketing strategy. It provides the market orientation of business district. It’s impossible for the market functioning company not to have its own and the most optimum marketing strategy. The word “strategy” means to have the long-term plan of business keeping.

It's very important to realize that the company should use complex approach while choosing definite strategy. It means learning the specific situation on the market. It's necessary to analyze correlation 'customer-product'. And the choice of general strategy based on analysis of conditions, methods of influence and marketing strategies.

There are a lot of various conceptions of the marketing strategy. But the most common is the strategy based on the different stages of the product life cycle. The product life cycle consists of:

ü bringing to the market;

ü growth;

ü maturity;

ü decline.

This strategy could help find the most necessary and suitable conception depending on the company product development stage.

Al the first stage the company has to a lot of money into the new product because product promoting needs great expenses and investments for advertising, acquaintance of buyers with product, providing the effective work on the trading business. Entering the market with the new product the company can range such marketing changes as prices, costs for product (stimulating sales), distribution changes, and product’s quality.

At this stage the company could use 4 different marketing strategies depending on the correlation of price and stimulating level (t.1.)

Table 1. Marketing strategy

		Sales stimulating level
		High	Low
Price	High	Strategy of intensive marketing	Strategy of optional penetrating
	Low	Strategy of wide penetrating	Strategy of passive marketing

The strategy of intensive marketing includes high price and high level of expenses for promoting products. The conditions for this strategy are the following:

ü buyers don’t have the information about the product;

ü customers knowing the product are ready to pay the high price;

ü company expects the potential competitinness and wants to have goodwill among clients.

The strategy of optional penetrating foresees the high price and the low expenses for the product promoting. The usage of this strategy becomes possible if:

ü there are a few market participants;

ü a considerable part of buyers know about the product;

ü clients are ready to pay the high price because the product is not wide-spread or required by every one;

ü there is no competition.

The strategy of wide penetration is characterized by establishing low price and the high promoting costs. The company uses the conception when:

ü there is high competition;

ü potential clients do not know the whole information about the product or have never met it at all;

ü a lot of buyers are not ready to pay the high prices.

The strategy of passive marketing is opposite to the intensive marketing strategy. The organization can use it at the following situations:

ü there is high competition;

ü well–informed buyers are ready to buy the product only at not high prices.

At the next step of the product life cycle the company should try to increase the product quality and to penetrate the other market parts, try to reduce the prices and attract new clients.

At the maturity lever business management should use the following strategies: market modification; product modification; complex marketing modification. The modification of market is increasing numbers of buyers of the existing product. Company should change the old clients position and attract the new ones. The strategy of product modification includes the product quality increase, outside decoration and package design improvement. The modification of marketing strategy foresees the price reduction, improving advertising, demand stimulating etc.

The decline stage is the worst step of the product life cycle, so the company should refuse from some market segments or leave market at all, because the product demand is declining or stays at the very low level.

In the conclusion, It’s necessary to underline that the market-oriented company should have its own marketing strategy to stay on the market as long as possible. If the organization has the marketing department, it will help not to be a market outsider because it could provide qualified and professional analysis, investigate market environment and give a good advice for business – making. Marketing manager investigates the market environment to make clear changes on the market and react them effectively. He makes plans and customers' data base about new potential clients, holds interviews with buyers to find out new requirements to changing production characteristics of the product and direction of new innovation investigations, provides advertising strategy of the company. Having the own specific marketing strategy is a good position to make success in business circuses.