10/04/2022
Marketing management uses the tools of economics and competitive strategy to analyze the industry context in which the firm operates. These include Porter's Five Forces analysis, competitor strategic group analysis, value chain analysis, and others[1].
When analyzing competitors, marketers build detailed profiles of each competitor in the market, focusing on their relative competitive advantages and disadvantages using SWOT analysis. Marketing managers study the cost structure of each competitor, sources of profit, resources and competencies, competitive positioning and product differentiation, the degree of vertical integration, historical reactions to the development of the industry and other factors.
Marketing management often conducts market research and marketing research to conduct marketing analysis. Marketers use various methods to conduct marketing research, but some of the most common include:
Qualitative marketing research, such as focus groups and various types of interviews
Quantitative marketing research, such as statistical research
Experimental methods such as market testing
Methods of observation, such as ethnographic (local) observation
Marketing managers can also design and control various environment scanning and competitive intelligence processes to help identify trends and provide marketing analysis to the company.