1.2 Why Value Matters

Value is everything.

When we build a marketing strategy, it must center around what the customer gets, minus what they give up () and our , the special advantage that sets us apart. Customers aren’t just buying features; they are buying outcomes. They’re not chasing a trendy product just for the sake of it; they’re trying to solve a problem, save time, look good, feel good, or just make life easier.

Our job in marketing is simple but critical: Make sure that when customers stack us up against the competition, we win every time.

That kind of value doesn’t just happen—it’s built on purpose, with a plan. Every part of the business (finance, human resources, supply chain, and marketing) needs to align around a common purpose. Every team (from finance to supply chain) needs its own strategy that ladders up to the bigger business goals. But for now, we’re zooming in on the marketing side of that equation.

Marketing strategy is all about picking a specific target market and building a cohesive marketing mix around it—one that customers actually want, can afford, and are excited to buy.

To see how it all fits together, take a look at the Marketing Strategy Process in Figure 1.2. Each layer of the pyramid builds value—from understanding the environment and choosing your target to delivering with a strong marketing mix to ultimately capturing value through customer acquisition, customer retention, sales per customer, and margin.

The result? Profits powered by delivering superior customer value.

Figure 1.2: Marketing Strategy Process

The Path to Profitability: Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

The first step to profitability is simple: know your customers. Not just vaguely but really know them: What they want. What they need. What’s happening around them in the broader marketing environment.

Let’s break it down into a few steps:

  1. Segmentation: breaking the market into relatively similar groups based on how they’re likely to respond to our marketing efforts

  2. Targeting: deciding which groups to serve

  3. Positioning: deciding how we want to be seen by those target customers compared to the competition

Segmentation. Targeting. Positioning.

Or, as marketers like to call it, STP.

Strategy vs. Plan: Know the Difference

Once we have a marketing strategy in place, we’re not quite done. We still need a marketing plan, a practical, action-focused roadmap that fills in the real-world stuff, like how much it’ll cost and when it will happen.

Another simple formula to remember:

Marketing Plan = Marketing Strategy + Budget + Timeline

A strategy says what we’re going to do and why. A plan says how, when, and with what resources we’re going to pull it off. Later in this book, you’ll see how marketers build full marketing plans to launch new products, reposition brands, design promotional campaigns, and even expand into new markets.

Marketing Strategy at Little Caesars

Little Caesars shows how a simple, focused marketing mix can dominate a crowded, competitive market—all while keeping things fast, fun, and affordable.

Let’s look at a quick example to bring this all to life. Call it the marketer’s curse: once you learn the strategy, you start seeing it everywhere.

Who is the target?

What is the positive outcome the target is buying?

How does the marketing mix deliver that value?

Little Caesars targets economy-minded single adults and busy families who want a fast, satisfying meal without the hassle of cooking or cleaning.

Their marketing mix looks like this:

  • Product: Simple $5 pizzas with minimal toppings

  • Price: Low, a big selling point for budget-conscious customers

  • Place: Grab-and-go storefronts with little to no seating, keeping costs down for the company so they can make a profit even with a low price point

  • Promotion: Entertaining, engaging, and straightforward messaging emphasizing speed, value, and convenience

Once you know the components of a marketing strategy, it’s easy to spot.

Every part of Little Caesars’ marketing mix is perfectly aligned with what their target customer cares about most: quick, easy, and cheap.

They’re not trying to be fancy. They’re not trying to be trendy. They’re laser-focused on delivering exactly the positive outcome that their customers want—and that’s what makes their marketing strategy work.

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