Some successful organizations, at times, get carried away by their past success, and the complacency thus induced renders them intellectually arrogant, eventually leading to marketing disasters. This article captures some of the biggest marketing goof ups in recent times and the learnings from these catastrophes. It attempts to develop a framework for marketers to scrutinize and pre-test their strategies and plans to avoid denting the company's reputation and image, and consequent financial losses.

Business leaders, all over the world, have come to accept the fact that a strong marketing base is a prerequisite for the financial success of an organization. While sound marketing strategies and well-conceived plans greatly enhance the chances of an organization's success, half-baked plans and hastily laid out tactics undoubtedly spell doom for organizations, however great their past performances were.

Before going into details of the subject, it would be appropriate to understand the essence of the strategic marketing process. Strategic marketing is all about understanding, creating, delivering, communicating and sustaining customer value. Marketing plan is the key document that directs and controls the marketing effort. It operates at two levels, viz., strategic plan, which identifies the target markets and the value proposition to be offered; and tactical plan, which focuses on the four elements of the marketing mix, viz., product, price, place and promotion. Needless to mention, the success of a marketing plan depends as much on strategic planning as it does on the tactical aspects of marketing. An otherwise good strategy, if not properly implemented, is a great opportunity lost and can set the organization back by a few years.

Marketing in the 21^st century has become highly challenging, thanks to globalization, rapid technological advancements, economic liberalization, privatization of business, enlightened customer groups and retail explosion. Sam Hill and Glenn Rifkin (1999) set the rules of the game in their famous book Radical Marketing. According to them, CEOs themselves should own the marketing function and use market research cautiously. They should hire passionate missionaries and not traditional `marketers'.

Marketing Mastermind Magazine, Marketing Pitfalls, Strategic Planning, Radical Marketing, Economic Liberalization, Globalization, Strategic Marketing, Multinational Corporations, Emerging Markets, Indian Market, Brand Strategy, Mass-Market Products.