Make It Happen: Marketing Processes for Competitive Market Positioning of Firms in Transitional Economy

This paper presents some of the marketing processes, i.e. activities that firms in transitional economy can follow in the process of competitive market positioning. The main objective is to demonstrate that the practice of certain business processes, such as market orientation, market research, written marketing plans as a base for future business operations are correlated with creation of market positioning statements and thus increase the focus on market positioning in regards to competitors. This in addition, results in positive effects on profitability. Data are gathered through questionnaires and follow-up interviews. The results show that the analyzed processes have a positive outcome for firms in regards to competitive positioning. The creation of market positioning statement is found to be positively correlated with profitability. However, many of the firms in a transitional economy are slow in adapting to market changes, and have a selective approach to marketing activities. The most striking result is the more proactive approach of small and medium-sized enterprises in implementation of some of the marketing activities, like formal marketing planning and market research than large firms.