Analytical Frameworks for Strategic Marketing Planning

The issues to be address in Chapter 5 include: 1The concept of the product life-cycle (PLC).2The phases of the PLC — Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Decline — and the basic strategic alternatives associated with them.3Diffusion theory as confirmation of the existence of the PLC and an input to strategic planning.4Using the PLC as a planning tool.5Portfolio analysis as a technique for establishing the firm’s current standing and identifying possible future courses of action.6Criticism of portfolio analysis.7Strategic overviews and their role in diagnosing current threats and opportunities.8Gap analysis as a technique for detecting possible mismatches between aspirations and likely outcomes.9Scenario analysis as a means of coping with increasing environmental uncertainty.10SWOT analysis as the foundation for formal strategic planning.