Role of Marketing Function in Small Business Enterprises

Running Head: SALES MANAGEMENT
Sales Management

SALES MANAGEMENT 2
Understand sales and marketing strategy
1.1 evaluating the links between corporate sales and strategy along with the marketing
strategy
There is a strong link that exists between the corporate strategy and the marketing strategy. It
can be said that for a company are two of the most vital plans. However, both of them tend to
have different structures and components but they are equally important for making a
business successful. The corporate strategy is mainly regarded as the car engine of the firm. It
tends to drive the business towards the goals that are long-terms. On the other hand, the
marketing strategy is a business-level strategy defining how an organization will be attracting
consumers to their products (Ansoff, 1957).
1.2
The strategies for the competitive advantage by a company are as follows: operational
effectiveness strategy, cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy and technology based
competitive strategy.
It can be said that the growth strategies are required by the business for growing their
business and enhancing profits and sales. There are some of the ways by which the firms may
use for implementing the growth strategies. The strategies for the growth are as follows:
Market development, market penetration strategy, growth through diversification and product
expansion strategy.
The strategies for the markets are as follows: Projecting the marketing share, pricing the
product in an effective manner, distribution, promotion plan and sales potential.
The strategies for the market position are as follows: Pricing as the positioning strategy,
positioning strategy based on the application or use, positioning based on the culture

SALES MANAGEMENT 3
symbols, positioning strategy with regards to the product class and positioning strategy with
regards to the competitors.
1.3
There are some of the methods for setting the basic sales. Some of them are as follows:
Challenging the prospect status quo of the company, finding the value edge, telling stories
with the required contrast, and making the consumer as hero. On the other hand, the methods
of evaluating the marketing objectives are as follows: Checking for changes in the sales,
using a good questionnaire, evaluating the return on investment, monitoring the progress, and
contrasting the strategy with the competitors.
1.4
It can be said that there is certain criteria for evaluating the strategic options and a choice has
to be made by an individual. The following are some of the success criteria for the strategic
options evaluation- Suitability, acceptability and feasibility. On the other hand, it has been
observed that the strategic options can also be used in making the decisions (Bruno and
Leidecker, 1988).
1.5
It has been observed that technological advancement has streamlined the entire sales process
to a great extent. In the next 10 years it has been predicted that the technological
advancements will be impacting most aspects of the marketing and sales strategy and
management.
Below are some of the ways by which the technological advancement is changing the
strategic sales and marketing: