How do managers create a marketing strategy?

"A firm creates a marketing strategy by understanding the external environment, defining the target market, determining a competitive advantage, and developing a marketing mix. Environmental scanning enables companies to understand the external environment. The target market is the specific group of consumers toward which a firm directs its marketing efforts. It is often divided into segments so that marketing strategies can be directed to a more specific target. A competitive advantage is a set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to those of the competition. Survey research is a marketing research method in which data is gathered from respondents, either in person, by telephone, by mail, at a mall, or through the internet to obtain facts, opinions, and attitudes. Test marketing is the process of testing a new product among potential users."