1.4Marketing strategy

The key to marketing strategy is keeping "to whom, what value, and how to deliver it" consistent. First, STP carves up the market to set the target customer segment, and the marketing mix such as the 4P (product, price, place, promotion) is assembled to fit that aim. In planning digital marketing or CRM systems, an IT strategist judges "whether the measure is consistent with the target customer segment and positioning." This section covers STP, 4P/4C, the product life cycle, channels, pricing, CRM/LTV, and brand—not as rote definitions, but as the ability to judge the consistency of the mix against the target's constraints.

1.4.1STP and the marketing mix (4P/4C)

• STP sets "to whom and what unique value to appeal" in the order segmentation (subdivide the market by attributes or needs) -> targeting (choose the segment to aim at) -> positioning (clearly place the difference from rivals in the customer's mind). The marketing mix is designed subordinate to this STP.
• 4P is the seller-side combination of measures: Product, Price, Place, Promotion. Recast to the buyer's view, it becomes 4C: Customer value, the customer's total Cost, Convenience of obtaining, and two-way Communication. 4P and 4C correspond—Price <-> Cost, Place <-> Convenience—recast from the customer's side.

1.4.2Product life cycle, channels, pricing, CRM/LTV

• The product life cycle views a product as passing through introduction -> growth -> maturity -> decline, with priority measures changing by stage (introduction: expand awareness; growth: gain share; maturity: differentiate and lock in; decline: withdraw or harvest). Channels (distribution routes) and pricing (cost-based, demand-based, competition-based; skimming vs. penetration, etc.) are also chosen to fit the life cycle and target.
• CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is the idea and mechanism of continuously deepening customer relationships to retain and cultivate valuable customers. Its effect is measured by LTV (Customer Lifetime Value)—the profit a customer brings over their lifetime. In businesses with high acquisition cost, the key is to judge profitability by LTV from retention and continuation, not by the margin of a one-off transaction. A brand is built by repeated good experiences and becomes a source of price premium and switching cost.

As an IT strategist, you are supporting the marketing measures and the e-commerce/CRM planning for a home-appliance maker's new product. After examining STP, the target was set to "an upper segment valuing quality, design, and brand experience over price," and the positioning was decided as "high-quality, premium." Here the sales department proposes: "we want to sell volume fast, so let us cut the price sharply, distribute widely to mass retailers and discount EC sites, and put 'industry's lowest price' front and center in advertising." It seems to boost sales at a glance, but this contradicts the marketing mix against the target and positioning. For an upper segment aiming at premium, a sharp price cut (Price), indiscriminate mass-retail channels (Place), and lowest-price advertising (Promotion) each undermine the "high-quality, premium" positioning by one's own hand, damaging brand value and driving away target customers. The judgment an IT strategist should make is to keep the marketing mix consistent with the target and positioning: price at a premium commensurate with quality; channels of direct-sales EC or selected dealers (limited channels) where the brand experience can be managed; promotion appealing to the value of quality, design, and use experience rather than lowest price; and CRM designed to raise LTV through post-purchase relationship deepening, not one-off discounting. "First fix, via STP, to whom and what to appeal, then align every element of the 4P/4C with that target and positioning—if even one element contradicts, the whole mix's effect is undermined"—this consistency judgment separates success from failure in marketing measures.

1.4.3Section summary

• Set "to whom, what" via STP (segmentation -> targeting -> positioning), and design the mix such as the 4P/4C subordinate to it
• Choose channels and pricing per the product life cycle stage and target, and keep every mix element consistent with the positioning
• Deepen customer relationships via CRM, and judge profitability by LTV (customer lifetime value) rather than a one-off margin (weighed against acquisition cost)