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END-OF-CHAPTER SUPPORT
MARKETING DEBATE—What Good Is a Mission Statement?
Mission statements are often the product of much deliberation and discussion. At the same time,
critics claim they sometimes lack “teeth” and specificity, or do not vary much from firm to firm
and make the same empty promises.
Take a position: Mission statements are critical to a successful marketing organization versus mission
statements rarely provide useful marketing value.
Pro: A well-crafted corporate mission statement reflects the values of the firm as they relate to the
community at large, its stakeholders, its employees, and its customers. Once the firm’s positions are
delineated in the mission statement, marketing can begin the process of setting its priorities, goals, and
objectives derived from the stated priorities of the firm. With the advent of holistic marketing, what
the firm believes about the communities at large and what strategic direction the firm wishes to take
should be defined through its mission statement.
Con: Mission statements are written for public consumption and rarely if ever do they reflect the
actual goals, objectives, and mission of the firm. These statements are for public
consumption and are written to placate the corporate stakeholders, employees, and consumers.
Although most mission statements are written with good intentions, the real direction of the firm must
be found in the application of its business practices. Marketing should not make the mistake of
deriving its goals, objectives, and strategies from these platitudes.
MARKETING DISCUSSION
Consider Porter’s value chain and the holistic marketing orientation model. What implications do they
have for marketing planning? How would you structure a marketing plan to incorporate some of their
concepts?
Answer: Michael Porter’s value chain is a tool for identifying ways to create more customer value.
This value chain identifies nine strategically relevant activities that create value and cost in a business.
There are five primary activities and four support activities in this value chain. The five primary
activities are: inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. The
four support activities are: procurement, technology development, human resource management, and
infrastructure.
Before the marketing function begins its planning, it first must examine the costs and performance of
the firm in each of these value-creating activities and look for ways to improve or reduce
costs/products as needed. Marketing must also force the firm to benchmark itself to the competition in
all of these areas.
The structure of the marketing plan must take into account each of the five primary activities and each
of the four support activities. A marketing plan must incorporate both a “downstream” and “upstream”
review in the process to deliver superior customer value. This means that the planning process must
include areas for improvement in the five primary areas and the four support areas as part of its
strategy and product development. Essentially, the marketing plan becomes an “improvement”
document for the firm in each of these nine strategic activities delineating areas for change or
modification for the firm.
Marketing Excellence: CISCO
1. How is building a brand in a business-to-business context different from doing so in the consumer
market?
2. Is Cisco’s plan to reach out to consumers a viable one? Why or why not?
Marketing Excellence: Intel
1. Discuss how Intel changed ingredient-marketing history. What did it do so well in those initial
campaigns?
2. Evaluate Intel’s more recent marketing efforts as the industry moves out of the PC era. What are
Intel’s greatest risks and strengths during this changing time?
