Discuss Marketing management

You’re part of the marketing department at Cemex, a global provider of building materials. Your have been called to a meeting at the Monterrey, Mexico headquarters with members of several other departments, and Cemex’s CEO, Oswaldo Villalobos. “I just reviewed last quarter’s sales figures,” Villalobos says, “and I’m not happy. Profits are down in North America.”

Villalobos continues: “I’ve called this meeting because I’d like you to form a cross-functional business development team to focus on expanding our US operations. We know that spending on infrastructure is increasing,” he says.

Villalobos is referring to a large infrastructure package recently signed by the new US administration. You have just discussing the news over coffee yesterday morning.

The plan includes funding for bridges, roads, and sewage systems. There’s no question that US infrastructure spending will be up in the coming years.

“We’re well-positioned to grab a bigger market share of the cement business,” Villalobos says. “Cemex has mothballed capacity that we should tap into.”

Villalobos looks at your group: “Report back to me in four weeks with a detailed marketing plan for this expansion. Include the steps to implement the plan along with the control measures to ensure that our forecasted sales targets are met.”

As you learned one of the most important functional areas in business is marketing. Companies such as Airbus, Peugeot, GM, Burger King, and Tata have a passion for understanding their customers and satisfying their customers’ needs in “well-defined target markets” (Kotler & Armstrong, 2014, p. 4). Marketing is a managerial and social function through which companies and customers create and exchange value. The authors define marketing as the “process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return” (p.5).

B2B Buying Decisions

When it comes to business buying behavior, business customers and their suppliers explore different avenues to manage relationships and enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Closer relationships are partially driven by purchasing alliances, supply chain management, and early supplier involvement. Fostering the right relationship with businesses is crucial for any holistic marketing plan. Vertical coordination between the sellers and their business customers allows them to go beyond simple transactions to engage in activities that create value for both parties. Trust and knowledge are key to the success of business-to-business (B2B) relationships. B2B relationships are impacted by supply, complexity of supply, availability of alternatives, and supply market dynamism (Kotler & Keller, 2015).

Strategic Alliances

An emerging theme in organizational systems in the twenty-first century is an increased use of long-term global strategic alliances. Organizations form these alliances in an effort to secure commercial advantage and eliminate waste from their distribution channels. Choosing the right partners for global strategic alliances is crucial for success, but it can be a complex process. Organizations should identify and define the criteria for partner-selection prior to forging the alliance (Wu, Shih, & Shan, 2009). Cemex may consider forming strategic alliances to expand its US operations. These alliances can be with other producers or with distribution companies; a good example is the alliance between Nissan (a Japanese auto company) and Renault (a French auto company), with Carlos Ghosn serving as chairman and CEO of the alliance.