MBAs with a Mission    by Brook Raflo Thinking inside the Box    by Nicholas Shreiber,    Guest Columnist - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Online Feedback Form Tell us what you think about Goizueta Magazine				Back to Previous Page Marketing Strategy Unplugged (sidebars) Goizueta leads the charge If it's summer and the American Marketing Association (AMA) is having its annual meeting, then somebody from Goizueta is probably about to pick up an award for achievement in marketing strategy. This year it was Anil Menon and Sundar Bharadwaj, both associate professors of marketing, who received the Marketing Science Institute/H. Paul Root Award for their article on the key ingredients for making a successful marketing strategy. The year before, the Root award went to Rajendra Srivastava, professor of marketing and senior associate dean for academic programs at Goizueta. In fact, Srivastava's article on the importance of market-based assets also won the AMA's other major honor-the Harold H. Maynard Award-thus completing a rare sweep. So if it wasn't well known before, it is now: Goizueta is a national powerhouse on the subject of marketing strategy. Goizueta has long been home to nationally known marketing experts. Previous AMA award winners are scattered throughout the faculty. Ajay R. Kolhi won the Root award in 1990. Dean Thomas Robertson won the Maynard award in 1986, and Srivastava won another Root back in 1984. Today, Goizueta's faculty is following in their footsteps. Seven steps After two years of research, Anil Menon and Sundar Bharadwaj identified seven key components of marketing strategy making. Situational analysis -- Acquire and organize information to evaluate internal capabilities against external opportunities and threats. Comprehensiveness -- Identify and evaluate alternatives. This builds confidence in the strategy and generates alternatives in case the chosen strategy fails. Assets and capabilities -- A firm must have the resources and skills to execute a chosen strategy. Cross-functional integration -- The team must support the chosen strategy. Communications quality -- Formal and informal communications are critical to the failure or success of a particular marketing strategy. Resource commitment -- Successful marketing strategies require adequate levels of people, time, and money. Inadequacy in any of these areas can doom any particular strategy. Consensus commitment -- High levels of commitment reduce uncertainty and better focus on the substance of the strategy and its execution. Page 1 | Page 2 | Sidebars Top of Page
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