MO Strategic Planning & Vision 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A company discovers its market share is declining despite strong product quality. Which strategic planning step should the marketing officer prioritize first?
- Launch a new product immediately
- Conduct a competitive landscape analysis (Correct answer)
- Increase advertising spend across all channels
- Reduce prices to match competitors
Correct answer: Conduct a competitive landscape analysis
A competitive landscape analysis identifies why share is eroding before committing resources to a response strategy.
Question 2: Which planning horizon is most associated with a corporate vision statement?
- 1 year
- 3 years
- 5–10 years (Correct answer)
- 90 days
Correct answer: 5–10 years
Vision statements articulate an aspirational future state typically 5–10 years out, providing long-range strategic direction.
Question 3: A marketing officer wants to prioritize markets with the highest strategic fit. Which framework evaluates market attractiveness against business strength?
- BCG Growth-Share Matrix
- GE-McKinsey Nine-Box Matrix (Correct answer)
- Porter's Five Forces
- Ansoff Matrix
Correct answer: GE-McKinsey Nine-Box Matrix
The GE-McKinsey Nine-Box Matrix plots industry attractiveness versus competitive strength to guide resource allocation decisions.
Question 4: In scenario planning, what is the primary purpose of developing multiple future scenarios?
- To predict the single most likely future
- To confuse competitors
- To prepare strategies that remain robust under different futures (Correct answer)
- To satisfy regulatory requirements
Correct answer: To prepare strategies that remain robust under different futures
Scenario planning builds organizational resilience by stress-testing strategies against a range of plausible futures.
Question 5: A mission statement differs from a vision statement primarily because it focuses on:
- What the company aspires to become
- Why the company exists and what it does today (Correct answer)
- Financial targets for the fiscal year
- Employee benefits and culture
Correct answer: Why the company exists and what it does today
A mission statement defines current purpose and scope, answering 'why we exist,' while a vision describes a future aspiration.
Question 6: Which metric best measures whether a marketing strategy is achieving its intended market position?
- Gross margin percentage
- Brand perception index relative to competitors (Correct answer)
- Number of social media followers
- Cost per click
Correct answer: Brand perception index relative to competitors
A brand perception index tracks how target customers view the brand versus competitors, directly reflecting positioning success.
Question 7: When aligning marketing strategy with corporate strategy, which document should marketing officers reference first?
- The product roadmap
- The annual budget spreadsheet
- The corporate strategic plan (Correct answer)
- The departmental org chart
Correct answer: The corporate strategic plan
Marketing strategy must cascade from the corporate strategic plan to ensure functional alignment with enterprise-wide goals.
MO Strategic Planning & Vision 2
A company discovers its market share is declining despite strong product quality.
Which strategic planning step should the marketing officer prioritize first?