PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS TO MANAGE TRADING COMPANY PERFORMANCE IN A COMPLEX AND UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The article seeks to explore practical aspects in applying the analytical tools to manage the relationships between procurement segmentation, product sales and turnover in warehouses to foster the performance of strategic and operational marketing units at the micro- and macrolevels under economic uncertainty, complex economic environment and periods of political instability. An emphasis is put that in crisis situations, competent and effective marketing strategy is a key driver in maintaining market share and enhancing the overall company performance. It is argued that the current crisis caused by war was not taken into account by marketing services and analysts in Ukrainian companies, thus most of them turned to be unprepared to face such challenges. The findings provide insights into the main trends, specifics and predictive marketing research tools for managing a trading company performance to develop a robust anti-crisis marketing strategy in difficult operational settings. The conclusions suggest practical implications as to reshaping the company product portfolio, developing its pricing, sales and promotion policies under the crisis. The research results demonstrate that in times of instability, marketing department effectiveness could be attained through assuring its dynamic performance, high efficiency, the ability to provide a prompt response to change, and what is more critical – by keeping a strong focus on commercial outcomes and multifaceted interests of the company target audience. The study asserts that company anti-crisis marketing management should rely on the principles of early problem detection, consistency in budget allocation as well as on on-going forecasting of the commercial result in the short term and accounting for the effects from changes in the external environment. Apart from that, the paper argues that it is strategically important to immediately respond to destabilizing factors, deliver benchmarking against competitors and monitor changes in the purchasing power of the target audience. Given the high probability of crisis frequent recurrence, personnel development and improvement programmes in the area of anti-crisis marketing should become a mandatory element in professional training in all companies operating in Ukraine.