What Are Strategic Dimensions?

Marketing offers a variety of ways to look at a product and present it to the public. The various facets of marketing are sometimes called strategic dimensions because of the potential depth of each tactical element. In general, the four main marketing strategic dimensions include internal marketing, integrated marketing, relationship marketing, and performance marketing. Each general dimension also contains specific dimensions, for example, integrated marketing typically involves branding, public relations, and a number of other facets.

Internal marketing is marketing directed at employees. This strategic dimension ensures that everyone within an organization understands and enjoys the product, and understands the current strategic marketing campaign. In times of organizational crisis, positive internal marketing messages may reassure the staff and offer tips for dealing with the media and consumers.

Integrated marketing attempts to offer a unified marketing message to anyone who comes in contact with the company or its products. Information technology has encouraged the growth of integrated marketing and related strategic dimensions because of the increases in points of contact between a business and consumers. Unified integrated marketing messages usually involve communicating value to a specific set of potential customers, known as the product's target market.

Relationship marketing is a strategic dimension centered on the creation of lasting connections with customers, media members, distributors, and other businesses. Customer relationship marketing (CRM) is a popular element of this strategic dimension. In CRM, companies keep vast data banks full of customer information to help employees personalize communications and products to meet the needs of individual clients. Like integrated marketing, CRM is driven by access to information technology.

Performance marketing deals with the results of a marketing campaign and evaluating the application of strategic dimensions to the business process. Evaluations of these programs typically include analysis of sales reports and the administration of customer surveys. Far-reaching business elements, such as social, ethical, and legal concerns, are also facets of performance management, and involve evaluation of the business impact on the public and the environment.

Some strategic dimensions cross over into each other. For example, market research is a huge, overriding part of the field that influences almost every aspect, or dimension, of a company's marketing campaign. Marketers research the market looking for an unfilled need or want, then create a product to fill that void, and target advertisements to the consumers who may need or want the product. This research into the target market member's lifestyles can tell marketers how to reach consumers and how to structure advertising messages.