Roger Brooksbank

The Anatomy of Marketing Positioning Strategy

Describes the theory and practice of marketing positioning strategy. Reviews the basic decision components or “anatomy” of marketing positioning strategy formulation from a theoretical‐prescriptive perspective, and highlights those factors considered to be critical to success. Explains how a small UK‐based computer company put these principles successfully into action.

Marketing and Company Performance: An Examination of Medium Sized Manufacturing Firms in Britain

In recent years several studies have pointed to the importance of marketing to company performance and considerable emphasis has been placed, in Britain, on improving the marketing performance of small and mediumsized enterprises. Based on a mail survey of 231 medium sized manufacturing firms in the U.K., and in-depth inteviews with the Chief Marketing Executive of a sub-sample of 20 firms, the study confirms that the most successful companies are those which are marketing orientated. Nevertheless, several traditional tenets of marketing are questioned by the findings and it would seem that the traditional marketing model, as developed for large companies, is neither entirely necessary nor applicable for the smaller firm.

Successful Marketing Practice: A Literature Review and Checklist for Marketing Practitioners

Effective marketing is considered widely to be of critical, if not overwhelming importance to the achievement of competitive success. Organised around six key stages of the marketing process, a summarised review is therefore presented of the empirical research into successful marketing practice. Specifically, the aim is to provide the marketing practitioner with a “checklist” of all those marketing practices which have been found to be commonly associated with high‐performing companies, regardless of their type of business, size, or other strategic circumstances.

The BASIC marketing planning process: a practical framework for the smaller business

Notes that although in recent years much has been written about the critical, if not overwhelming contribution of effective marketing planning to the achievement of competitive success, most of the literature deals with the application of marketing planning as it relates to big business. By contrast, provides an understanding of how all the key principles can be applied in the smaller business, in the form of a practical step‐by‐step framework for plan development.

Marketing as a Determinant of Long-Run Competitive Success in Medium-Sized U.K. Manufacturing Firms

Over the last decade or so, many studies have highlighted the important role that marketing plays in contributing to a firms competitive success. Thus, this article aims to examine the contribution of marketing to the competitive success of forty two British medium-sized manufacturing firms at two time points, 1987/88 and 1997/98, in order to determine any success factors that are durable over time. The investigation is based on mail surveys and in-depth interviews undertaken within the same set of firms at both dates. The findings identify eight specific marketing practices that might well be described as key determinants of success. However, they also draw into question several of the traditional tenets of successful marketing.

The theory and practice of marketing planning in the smaller business

Amid an increasingly turbulent and competitive business environment, strategic marketing plann‐ing is typically referred to as the management discipline which enables the firm to improve its competitiveness by becoming more responsive and adaptable to changing market conditions. Most of the literature, however, deals with the application of strategic marketing planning as it relates to big business. By contrast, this article provides an understanding of how all the key principles can be applied in the smaller business, in the form of a practical framework for plan development. In addition, it features a case study showing how a small UK‐based computer company used the framework to develop its marketing plan.

Marketing in medium‐sized manufacturing firms

Many studies have highlighted the important role that marketing plays in contributing to a firm’s competitive success. In most cases, however, research has focused on either large businesses, or, to a lesser extent, very small businesses, essentially ignoring the many “medium‐sized” firms in between. Thus, this paper aims to assess, in quantitative terms, both the extent to which marketing has been adopted, and the rate of its adoption between 1987 and 1992 within UK medium‐sized manufacturing firms. The investigation is based on a mail survey, conducted in 1987, of 231 companies, which was repeated in 1992, resulting in the analysis of a matched sample of 81 firms. The survey suggests that although most businesses claim to be considerably marketing‐oriented in their overall business philosophy, they do not necessarily “practise what they preach”. Further, it shows that the state‐of‐the‐marketing‐art changed little during the five‐year period and raises questions about the evolution of marketing in small and medium‐sized enterprises and about the extent to which the normative models of marketing practice are applicable to smaller firms.

IT Adoption and the Independent Retail Business: The Retail Newsagency

ROGER BROOKSBANK IS AN independent marketing consultant, David Kirby is Booker Professor of Entrepreneurship at Durham University Business School, and Stephen Kane is managing director of Task Retail Management Systems Ltd., all in the United Kingdom. Thispaper focuses on the adoption of information technologh systems (IT) by independent retail newsagents -- small retail businesses operating in a traditional, established and economically important sector of UK retailing facing increasing pressure on its long-term survival. On the basis of two large-scale questionnaire surveyus conducted during 1988 and 1990 respectively, the paper examines the extent of usage and the rate of adoption, together with a range of issues surrounding the perceptions of newsagents as to its usefulness and the potential for future adoption. In contrast with other studies (Treadgold, 1988 and 1990), the results indicate a considerable proportion of newsagents using IT and demonstrates how IT helps the small independent retail business improve its competitive position.

Strategic marketing in Chinese manufacturing companies

Purpose – This article aims to examine the extent to which Western World “textbook” strategic marketing is being practised within Chinese manufacturing companies as well as its contribution to competitive success.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by means of a web‐based survey. A total of 89 usable questionnaires were received from Chinese manufacturing firms employing at least 50 people. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS.Findings – The results confirm that, on the whole, the basic strategic marketing practices which are typically advocated in the mainstream Western academic and prescriptive literature are being widely practised within Chinese manufacturing companies. The results also show the higher performing firms are clearly differentiated from their lower performing counterparts by doing more and better marketing.Research limitations/implications – Because of the relatively low response rate, one limitation is the extent to which the sample is representative of the population und...

Selling and Sales Management in Action: The New Model of Personal Selling: Micromarketing

In many markets personal selling is a critical component of marketing success. Yet despite an increasing amount of prescriptive marketing literature advocating a customer-oriented business approach, very little has been written about personal selling from a customer-oriented perspective. Based on the belief that, as part of the marketing process, personal selling should share the same customer-oriented philosophy and methodology, this article presents a new model of the personal selling process.