Strategic Marketing Management
Customer-centric and competitively dominant marketing strategies are vital to business success. This leadership training program provides participants with tools for developing an effective marketing strategy by examining how firms can profitably create and sustain customer value.
What You Can Expect
The Strategic Marketing Management program's focus is on appraising go-to-market programs and designing integrated, strategic marketing plans. You will learn how to evaluate marketplace potential and risk from the perspective of the firm's unique ability to develop and deliver goods and services of meaningful customer value.
Your Course of Study
The curriculum yields insight into the process of value creation and provides management tools for sustaining it and securing a share of the value created. You will learn by participating in interactive problem-solving.
Who Is Right for the Program
Developed for practicing marketing managers and those in general management positions who need more understanding of the marketing function, this executive education program enables vice presidents, directors and managers in marketing, finance, and operations to contribute to the customer value creation process.
What You Can Expect
Improving Your Organization's Performance
To thrive in a highly competitive marketplace, companies must develop marketing plans that align them with their customers and differentiate them from their competitors. Without integrated and innovative strategies, corporate leaders will struggle to create value and generate growth.
This program explores the principal concepts and tools of contemporary marketing management, from market segmentation and product positioning to the design of distribution channels and communications strategy. As you examine marketing from a value-creation perspective, you will learn to evaluate the competitive advantage and potential of the unique goods and services your organization offers.
Taking Your Skills to the Next Level
Participating in classroom presentations, discussions, team problem solving, and in-depth case-study analysis, you will strengthen your capacity to:
- Analyze and understand customer needs and buying behavior
- Understand competitor strengths and weaknesses
- Identify shifts in the technological, regulatory, and cultural context of business
- Partner with collaborators to build go-to-market power
- Understand marketing program development and implementation
- Comprehend your role in a fully integrated, strategic marketing plan
"Strategic Marketing Management was an excellent experience. The diverse backgrounds, industries, and nationalities of my classmates helped me look at marketing strategy from many different perspectives, test tried-and-true beliefs, and gain new strategic insights."
Nick Athanasiou [Marketing Manager], Pfizer Animal Health, U.S.
Your Course of Study
Strategic Marketing Management explores the following topics:
Marketing As A Value Creation Process
- A framework for analyzing market opportunities and risks, and understanding customer needs using state-of-the-art techniques
- The role of value creation in acquiring and retaining customers
Analyzing Buyer Behavior
- Understanding the buying decision process
- Determining the needs and wants of existing and prospective customers
- Research techniques for understanding customers and prospects
Selecting the Target Market and Positioning the Product
- The advantages of market segmentation
- Product positioning as the foundation for developing the marketing mix
- Standardization versus customization: the world of one-to-one marketing
Developing the Integrated Marketing Program to Generate Maximum Customer Value
- Designing products and services that deliver meaningful customer value
- The "augmented" product as an antidote to commoditization
- Marketing communications planning: budget and the media mix
- Going to market: designing and managing the distribution channel
- Positioning the Internet as an effective online sales tool
Capturing Created Value for the Firm
- Pricing: shifting from cost- to value-based pricing
- Characteristics of profitable pricing practices
Marketing Management
- Creating the marketing plan
- Anticipating and adapting to change
- Ethical and legal issues
"Strategic Marketing Management exceeded my expectations, taking me outside my comfort zone and making me rethink old concepts and decision-making paradigms. Case discussions were particularly valuable because they enhanced my expertise and my ability to help my company grow while maintaining a highly ethical business environment. I am now a more effective marketer and a better leader for my team."
Mariella Soto [Marketing Director, LACMASS], Eli Lilly and Company, Peru
Who Is Right for the Program
Strategic Marketing Management addresses the needs of two distinct executive groups. Marketing managers will learn to enhance their planning and implementation skills through a structured approach to market analysis and strategy development. General managers will learn what excellent marketing can contribute to enterprise success, and how to audit the performance of their marketing function.
Participant titles may include, but are not limited to:
- Brand manager
- Business intelligence manager
- Director business development
- Director of operations
- Financial analyst
- General manager
- Senior marketing manager
- Marketing director
- Marketing manager
- Vice president of marketing
Past Participants Represented:
| Industries | Nationalities | ||||
| 12% | Chem/Pharm/Bio | 15% | Asia/Pacific | ||
| 2% | Communications | 31% | Europe | ||
| 18% | Consumer Products | 12% | Latin America | ||
| 6% | Financial | 42% | North America | ||
| 10% | High Technology | ||||
| 11% | Manufacturing | ||||
| 5% | Nonprofit Services | ||||
| 5% | Other Services | ||||
| 15% | Professional Services | ||||
| 4% | Raw Materials/Energy | ||||
| 1% | Real Estate/Construction | ||||
| 3% | Retail Services | ||||
| 8% | Utilities/Telecommunications | ||||
Participating Companies Have Included:
Amerada Hess Corporation |
Pfizer, Inc. |
"The program provided the invaluable opportunity to work in small groups with peers from different companies and industries. While discussions revealed that we confront very similar issues, each participant brought a unique perspective. Even though the program has ended, my fellow participants and I have continued to network and bounce ideas off one another. My marketing strategies are now much more effective."
Molly Bell [Executive Vice President of Marketing], PCA Skin, U.S.
Meet the Program Faculty
Harvard Business School Executive Education programs are developed and taught by a core faculty of HBS professors who are skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Faculty leverage their business expertise and field-based research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking on many levels. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.
Frank V. Cespedes, MBA Class of 1973 Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. Member of the Entrepreneurial Management Unit; and faculty chair of "Aligning Strategy and Sales."
Anita Elberse, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Marketing Unit.
John T. Gourville, Albert J. Weatherhead, Jr. Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Marketing Unit; and faculty chair of "Strategic Marketing Management."
Michael I. Norton, Associate Professor of Business Administration and Marvin Bower Fellow. Member of the Marketing Unit.
Ray Weaver, Assistant Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Marketing Unit.
Admissions
Because a diverse participant mix is an important part of every HBS Executive Education program, we look for candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds to enrich the learning experience.
Fees, Payments, and Cancellations
The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals.
No payment is necessary until you have been accepted into an HBS Executive Education program. After admission notification, we will send you an invoice via email; payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. If admission is within 30 days prior to the start of the program, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice. Payment is required prior to the program start date. We accept payment by company check, bank wire transfer, or credit card (American Express, MasterCard, Visa). Details are included on the program invoice.
If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Due to program demand and the volume of preprogram preparation, cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.
Requirements
Although there are no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility. We look for professionals who have demonstrated business talent and leadership potential.
HBS Executive Education programs enrich both participants and their sponsoring organizations, and require full commitment from each party. While participants devote time and intellect to the learning experience, sponsoring organizations agree to relieve individuals of their work responsibilities during the program.
Language Proficiency
We deliberately design our programs to encourage individual growth and to foster productive interaction among participants. For that reason, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. If English is your second language, or if you have less than one year's experience working in an English-speaking environment, HBS requires a brief statement documenting proficiency in English-language skills, both conversational and written. This may include a list of the English-language certification programs that you have completed; the degrees you have earned at English-speaking colleges and universities; or the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The Admissions Committee also may request a telephone interview.
Application Process
Program participants must be nominated and sponsored by their current employer. HBS must receive your application and all required documents in order to prepare the application for review by the Admissions Committee.
To apply, you may use our online form or download an application. You also may request a brochure by mail.
If you submit your application online, we will promptly acknowledge receipt of your submission via email. In the unlikely event that an email acknowledgment is not received, please contact the Admissions Committee by email: exed_admissions@hbs.edu, phone: +1-617-495-6226, or fax: +1-617-496-1731.
If you choose to submit a printed application, be sure to type or print legibly and sign your application. Send the application to the address or fax number listed on the form. Mailed or faxed applications are processed and acknowledged promptly upon receipt via email.
Complete Your Application
Please answer all questions thoroughly—the Admissions Committee will only consider completed applications. After reviewing your application and making the necessary edits or corrections, print or copy the application for your records.
Meet the Deadlines
We request applications at least four weeks in advance of the program start date. Early application does not guarantee admission. Programs often fill to capacity, so early application is recommended.
Notification of Acceptance
We acknowledge receipt of all applications and maintain all application information in strict confidentiality.
To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, the Admissions Committee selects a class that balances each participant's experience, the scope of his or her current responsibilities, and the type of organization.
The Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications four months before the start date, and qualified candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis. Once the review process has begun, applicants are notified within three weeks via email regarding Admissions Committee decisions. If your application is received within three weeks of the program's start date, the Admissions Committee will notify you of their decision as soon as possible.
Need help?
For further assistance, contact our client service specialists at: 1-800-427-5577 (outside the U.S., dial +1-617-495-6555).