Signature Assignment: The Entrepreneurial Marketing Manager
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Purpose of Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to assess marketing concepts and situations from an entrepreneurial manager’s point of view. Concepts and relationships are discussed with a special focus on aligning one’s ethics and values with their business actions and understanding the unique differences in marketing strategy planning for domestic business versus business abroad.
Assignment Steps
Resources: Marketing: Ch. 7: pg. 177-191; Ch. 16: pg. 438-440; Week 5 video
Scenario: Imagine you are an entrepreneur launching a business planning to operate both domestically and abroad. You are currently developing your marketing plan and strategies.
Develop a 1,050-word analysis addressing the following:
Describe your organization’s mission, vision, and values.
Explain how these values will be aligned to your own personal brand identity, ethics, and values when doing business, planning strategies, and solving problems.
Discuss at least two concepts from class that are elements of a marketing plan and are important tools to your entrepreneurial business’ success. Discuss how the concepts help align the organization’s values with your values. Explain the reasoning leading to these conclusions.
Select two of the following departments and explain marketing’s role in coordinating their distinct functions:
Distribution
Customer Service
Advertising and Public Relations
Research and Design
Sales
Operations or Manufacturing
Compare and contrast how culture is likely to impact domestic marketing strategies versus what the company may encounter when doing business abroad such as cultural norms, economics, politics, and legal systems.
Explain the actions the company can take to ensure that it evolves with the target at home and the countries it does business in.
Discuss any emerging marketing trends that may affect your business.
Cite a minimum of two peer-reviewed sources with one being from either the text, video material, or the University Library.
Sample
The Entrepreneurial Marketing Manager: Strategic, Ethical, and Global Perspectives
Organizational Mission, Vision, and Values
The proposed entrepreneurial venture is a digitally enabled consumer products company that designs and markets sustainable lifestyle goods for domestic and international markets. The mission of the organization is to provide high-quality, ethically sourced products that enhance everyday life while minimizing environmental impact. The vision is to become a globally trusted brand recognized for innovation, transparency, and social responsibility. The organization’s core values include integrity, customer-centricity, sustainability, cultural respect, and continuous innovation.
These mission-driven elements serve as the foundation of the marketing plan and guide all strategic decisions. From an entrepreneurial marketing manager’s perspective, aligning purpose with practice is essential to building long-term brand equity, especially in competitive and culturally diverse markets.
Alignment of Organizational Values with Personal Ethics and Brand Identity
As an entrepreneur, my personal brand identity emphasizes ethical leadership, accountability, inclusivity, and responsible growth. These values directly align with the organization’s commitment to sustainability and transparency. Ethical marketing practices—such as honest communication, responsible sourcing claims, and respect for cultural differences—are embedded in both personal and organizational decision-making processes.
When planning strategies and solving problems, ethical considerations guide choices related to supplier selection, promotional messaging, and market entry decisions. For example, rather than prioritizing short-term profit maximization, the company evaluates long-term stakeholder impact, including customers, employees, and host communities. This alignment ensures consistency between personal values and business actions, reinforcing authenticity and trust in the brand (Kotler & Keller, 2022).
Key Marketing Plan Concepts Supporting Entrepreneurial Success
Two critical marketing plan concepts that are essential to the entrepreneurial business’s success are market segmentation and targeting and the marketing mix (4Ps).
Market segmentation and targeting allow the company to identify and serve customer groups whose values align with sustainability and ethical consumption. By segmenting markets based on demographics, psychographics, and cultural preferences, the organization ensures that its offerings resonate with ethically conscious consumers. This approach aligns organizational values with personal values by avoiding exploitative or misleading practices and focusing on genuine customer needs (Kotler & Keller, 2022).
The **marketing mix—product, price, place, and promotion—**is another vital tool. Product decisions emphasize eco-friendly materials, while pricing strategies balance affordability with fair compensation for suppliers. Promotional strategies focus on transparency and education rather than exaggeration. Distribution choices prioritize partners that meet ethical and environmental standards. Together, these elements ensure that marketing execution reflects both organizational and personal ethics, reinforcing value-based decision-making.
Marketing’s Role in Coordinating Cross-Functional Departments
Advertising and Public Relations
Marketing plays a central role in coordinating advertising and public relations by ensuring that brand messaging is consistent, ethical, and culturally appropriate. Advertising communicates value propositions to target markets, while public relations manage the organization’s reputation and stakeholder relationships. Marketing ensures that campaigns align with the company’s mission and values, avoiding deceptive claims and culturally insensitive content, particularly in international markets.
Operations or Manufacturing
Marketing also collaborates closely with operations and manufacturing by translating customer needs and market insights into product specifications. Feedback from marketing research informs production decisions related to design, quality, and sustainability. This coordination ensures operational efficiency while maintaining ethical standards, such as responsible sourcing and environmentally conscious manufacturing processes. For an entrepreneurial firm, this integration reduces risk and enhances agility.
Cultural Impacts on Domestic versus International Marketing Strategies
Culture significantly influences marketing strategies, particularly when comparing domestic and international operations. Domestically, marketing strategies are shaped by familiar cultural norms, consumer expectations, legal frameworks, and communication styles. In contrast, international markets present diverse cultural values, economic conditions, political environments, and legal systems that require adaptation.
For example, promotional messages that emphasize individual achievement may resonate in the United States but be less effective in collectivist cultures that prioritize community and harmony. Economic disparities affect pricing strategies, while political and legal systems influence advertising regulations, product standards, and data privacy requirements. Failure to account for these differences can result in reputational damage or legal consequences (Hollensen, 2020).
Ensuring Organizational Evolution Across Markets
To remain relevant and competitive, the company must continuously evolve with its target markets at home and abroad. This includes ongoing market research, cultural training for marketing teams, and feedback mechanisms that capture changing consumer preferences. Building local partnerships and employing culturally knowledgeable staff further enhances adaptability.
Additionally, the company can implement flexible marketing strategies that allow for localization without compromising core brand values. Regular evaluation of political, economic, social, and technological (PEST) factors ensures proactive responses to environmental changes, supporting sustainable international growth.
Emerging Marketing Trends Affecting the Business
Several emerging marketing trends are likely to impact the entrepreneurial venture. Digital and social media marketing continue to shape consumer engagement, requiring authentic storytelling and interactive communication. Data-driven personalization, supported by ethical data practices, allows the company to deliver relevant content while respecting privacy regulations.
Sustainability-driven marketing is also gaining prominence as consumers increasingly demand transparency and accountability. Additionally, global e-commerce platforms enable small businesses to reach international markets more efficiently, intensifying the need for culturally sensitive and ethically consistent marketing strategies (Kotler & Keller, 2022).
Conclusion
From an entrepreneurial marketing manager’s perspective, effective marketing strategy integrates ethics, values, cross-functional coordination, and cultural awareness. By aligning personal ethics with organizational values, leveraging core marketing concepts, and adapting strategies across domestic and international markets, the company can achieve sustainable growth. Marketing’s role as a strategic connector across departments and cultures positions the organization to navigate complexity, build trust, and succeed in an evolving global marketplace.
References
Hollensen, S. (2020). Global marketing (8th ed.). Pearson Education.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2022). Marketing management (16th ed.). Pearson Education.
