V. S. Lisokolenko, postgraduate student

Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics

Methods of strategic analysis of enterprise marketing communications

In recent years, the strategic management process has become more complex and costly. In condition of growing competitiveness in many markets managers face the problem of conducting a profound strategic analysis of enterprise marketing communications. Therefore, in order to assist strategic managers, a wide variety of tools and techniques have been developed.

Strategic analysis is extremely vital, because it enables enterprise to take advantage of the path of least resistance for achieving its goals.

There are a lot of scientific works of famous economists devoted to the problem of managing the communicational policy of the enterprise and its impact on the efficiency of the organization, namely Abramov, Bagiev, Basovskii, Bernet, Golubkov, Zavialov, Kotler, Panko, Prymak, Prohorova, Romanov, Rossister and others. Considering the works of Ukrainian scientists, marketing communications have become the object of research not so long ago - less than a decade. However, in their works, methods of communicational management at an enterprise haven’t been formulated distinctly yet. That is the reason, why topic of this article is vitally relevant.

The aim of the article is to determine the main methods of strategic analysis of enterprise marketing communications.

Permanently auditing the marketing environment is of considerable importance for the planning of marketing measures and their implementation. Globally changing value orientation, fashions and styles may influence the contents of communication messages. The social acceptance of certain consumption areas may change und thus suddenly represent a new chance (e. g. the social acceptance of environmentally friendly fuels) or threat (e. g. outlawing of environmentally hazardous sources of energy) for marketing, especially the marketing of newly developed products. [1]

The first methods of strategic analysis are analysing opportunities and threats. In our day and age, corporations distinguish themselves by their increasing dynamics and complexity. Changes in their macro-environment considerably affect the management of marketing communications. These changes in the marketing environment create new opportunities for marketing communications (e. g. by a greater differentiation of the media system), but they also hold new threats (e. g. increased information overload of the targeted persons) [3].

Executives employ a specific opportunity and risk analysis in order to identify the relevant external environmental forces which are of significance for their corporation ( fig. 1).

Fig. 1 – Analysing opportunities and threats.

The second methods of strategic analysis are analysing strengths and weaknesses. The decisions taken with regard to market communications are considerably affected by the competitive situation which companies are facing. They need to take into account the activities of their rivals, especially when they decide on positioning and the way in which this is communicated but also when they start their media planning process and design their advertising messages [2] (fig. 2).

In a strengths and weaknesses analysis you explore your strengths and weaknesses and try to discover the professional opportunities that exist for you. Your personal obstacles, issues that might hinder your progress, are discussed as well. A strengths and weaknesses analysis can also be called a personal SWOT analysis.

Probing your own strengths and weaknesses will clarify what the best next step is and how you can improve yourself. It will also tell you more on where you would like to work and where you would be able to prove yourself most.

It is a good idea to prepare for an assessment by performing your own strengths and weaknesses analysis, so that you are clear about what you think you have to offer to a company and in what areas you need improvement. These issues will be brought up in the assessment for sure, and having thought about it in advance will be in your benefit. Basically this is how you present yourself to the employer: what are the advantages the company can count on and what areas need to be worked on. You do not want to mess up a presentation like this [5].

Fig. 2 - Communication-oriented analysis of strengths and weaknesses.

The third methods of strategic analysis are portfolio analysis. The portfolio analysis ensures that a corporation is always considered as an entity and that its philosophy is future as well as strategy oriented. Market communication can only be reasonably planned and implemented if it is imbedded in an overall corporate strategy. The portfolio analysis determines, above all, budget requirements (fig. 3).

Fig. 3 - Portfolio analysis.

Portfolio analysis involves quantifying the operational and financial impact of the portfolio. It is vital to evaluate the performances of investments and timing the returns effectively.

The analysis of a portfolio extends to all classes of investments such as bonds, equities, indexes, commodities, funds, options and securities. Portfolio analysis gains importance because each asset class has peculiar risk factors and returns associated with it. Hence, the composition of a portfolio affects the rate of return of the overall investment [2].

The fourth methods of strategic analysis are positioning analysis. The positioning of their business units and the product and service they offers is a vital decision area for corporate management. It encompasses the central idea that captures the corporation’s or brand’s meaning and their distinctiveness and thus represents the starting point of each and every communication concept.

On positioning their products, and on communicating this position to their customers, companies ought to avoid the following mistakes [4]:

- Underpositioning occurs when there is a perceived lack of differentiation, i. e. the target groups cannot identify any special features about a company or its offers which are considered to be one of many.

- Overpositioning results from the fact that a company and its offer are perceived as too specific or too narrow by the target group. This causes certain demand potentials to be restricted or even excluded.

- Confused positioning arises due to an uncertain or diffuse image in the minds of customers due to contradictory positioning attempts, multiple utility claims or frequent repositioning.

- Doubtful positioning, i. e. the target group has strong reservations about the company or brand and accredits it with little credibility.

Thus, strategic analysis is extremely vital, because it enables enterprise to take advantage of the path of least resistance to achieve goals. It assists to define and determine the best path to take, helps in measuring the success or failure of the strategies implemented in the company. Analytical methods and tools are keys to ensuring that consistency and an appropriate level of rigor are applied to the analysis.

References:

1. Busch, R. Marketing communication policies: monography / R. Busch. –

Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2012. – 378 р.

2. Businessballs Porter’s five forces model. www.businessballs.com/portersfiveforcesofcompetition.htm [Accessed 12 February 2008].

3. Middleton, J. The ultimate strategy library: the 50 most influential strategic ideas of all time /J. Middeleton. - Oxford: Capstone, 2008. – 264 p.

4. Porter, M.E. Competitive strategy: techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. / M.E. Porter. - New York, London: Free Press, 2009. – P. 23-30.

5. Орлов П. А. Маркетинг: [ навчальний посібник] / П. А. Орлов, С. І. Косенков, Т.П. Прохорова та ін. – Х.: ВД «ІНЖЕК», 2012. – 528 с.

6. Пономаренко В. С. Стратегія розвитку підприємства в умовах кризи : монографія / В. С. Пономаренко, А. М. Тридід, Н. А. Кизим. Х.: ХНЕУ, 2003. – 324 с.

7. Прохорова Т. П. Маркетинговая политика коммуникаций: Учебное пособие. – Х.: ИД «ИНЖЭК» , 2005. – 224 с.