Strategic marketing

Marketing consists of a strategic - and an operational component. Strategic marketing forms the basis of operational marketing action. It signifies gathering information, analysing it, thinking and making directional decisions, whereas operational marketing (covering the classical four P’s - product or *service, *advertising, *pricing and distribution) means implementing these decisions. The importance of these two components is asymmetric. Weak strategic marketing cannot be compensated by excellent operational marketing, like a summit cannot be reached by running at extremely high speed, but in the wrong direction.