Marketing Report on Argos Ltd: Branding Strategy, 7Ps of Marketing Mix, and New Marketing Plan

This marketing report analyzes the branding strategy of Argos Ltd, examines the current 7Ps of marketing mix, and proposes a new marketing plan to increase sales and market share through the use of technology. The report discusses the different types of branding strategies used by Argos Ltd, such as personal branding, product branding, corporate branding, service branding, co-branding, online branding, and no-brand branding. It also examines the 7Ps of marketing mix, including product, price, place & distribution, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence. Finally, the report proposes a new marketing plan for Argos Ltd, which aims to increase sales and market share through the use of technology.

MARKETING REPORT

Table of Contents.
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Analyse the branding strategy and how it benefits the company................................................3
Examine the current 7Ps of marketing mix.................................................................................5
New Marketing plan of Argos ltd................................................................................................8
The Marketing Mix......................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Marketing refers to the activity to promote the buying or selling of a product or service
within an organisation or to attract the customers towards the businesses. In other words, it is a
process for creating, delivering, communicating, exchanging the offerings which have some form
of value for the customers (Nitsenko and et.al., 2018). The practice of enhancing the awareness
for a service or product with the help of advertising, consumer-driven benefits, placement,
pricing and promotions. The report will discuss the marketing strategy of the Argos Ltd which
was established in the 1972 by Richard Tompkins is a catalogue retailer being operating in UK
and Ireland. The given organisation has acquired by the Sainsbury's supermarket chain in 2016.
The quoted company was named after the Greek city of Argos and acquired by Sainsbury's
supermarket chain in 2016. Case study will critically analyse the branding strategy which will
provide an insight being benefiting the organisation. It will examine the 7 Ps of the current
marketing which will be based on the branding approaches and positioning. The research will
provide recommendations of the given organisation which will help to improve the marketing
strategy putting more emphasis on the technology as a fundamental tool in the approach while
framing new marketing strategies.
MAIN BODY
Analyse the branding strategy and how it benefits the company
The meaning of branding strategy includes long-term strategic plan whose aim is to
develop the successful goodwill or brand name. It creates an image to the potential customers so
to purchase the product or use the service (Flikkema and et.al., 2019). The purpose of branding
strategy is to meet the expectation of the customers from the business organisation. It provides an
edge over the competitor and highlight the product features. Argos Ltd strategy is restricted to
the ' repositioning the channels for digitalisation'. The aim of the quoted company is to knit the
channels jointly. Following are the branding strategies which aids to build the brand name for the
organisation are:
 Personal branding: It is described and used for an individual person branding. The aim
is to advertise an individual personality, work, character. The most suitable example for
this kind of branding are athletes, celebrities, politicians, leaders.

 Product branding: It is one of the most important form of branding which enables a
product to be distinct from the others. Logos, symbols, designs, packaging, labelling
helps the customers to differentiate the product. Monster energy drink is the suitable
example which differs from Red bull drinks due to the unique symbol.
 Corporate branding: It expresses the core value of the business which helps to better
present itself to the customers, employees and the world (Taylor, 2021). The corporate
branding illustrate the organisation's personality, mission and norms. For example, Nike
company is a brand whose products are mainly for athletes and believe that any
individual can become an athlete who is passionate about the fitness.
 Service branding: Companies that use service branding provides the quality service to
their customers. It consists of different service sectors, industries and enterprises which
use different activities to build brand name.
 Co-branding: It is type of branding which connects the two companies together or in
simple words it is known as the partnership between different businesses which impacts
their brand name positively. It helps to spread brand awareness in a combined manner
and aids to enter into a new market. Doritos Locos Taco is the apt example which
appealed to the customers.
 Online branding: Also called as internet branding is a technique that is used by almost
all the businesses in today's world. This kind of branding follow the recent trends by
including the company's website, apps, blogs, articles, social media platforms and
various other different online contents.
 No-brand branding: It is also known as minimalist branding and are generic brands
which allow their products or service to speak for themselves. The unique packaging and
colour are very simple that aligns the mission of giving fairly priced product without
advertising it. For example, m/f skincare products opted for simple packaging of black &
white of a simple font.
The quoted company has mainly focus on the online branding and co-branding methods
of branding strategy. The brand purpose of the Argos Ltd is assuring the customer's to know that
the company is 'good to go' and are ready to perform according to customer's life. The given
company with the help mouth publicity increase their sales across the UK and highly relied on
this kind of promoting straegy.

Argos Ltd is being benefited by using the branding strategy and is the UK's best
multichannel retailer. With the help of using technology in advertising the company provides
better experience to the customer's. The success of the quoted company is depend on the good in-
store experience due to the technological utilization in the stores. The digital kiosk and portable
devices helps to find the stock in easy manner. The Argos Fast Track service allows the customer
to make an order and pickup service on the same day. With effective branding strategy the given
organisation is providing the fastest and convenient option. Click & collect option reduce the
basket time and customers are not all restricted to the operating hours. The freedom to choose
between different slots or two-hour shipping window in exchange for the phone number is
definitely a strong method of promotional technique (Stewart, 2020). This would help to increase
their loyal customer's by sending offer messages. The layout or design of the website and apps
aids the company to promote their products or service through the big billion sales during the
time of Christmas. The app provides nearby stores map which also allows the customers to
prominently see the stocks. The mega-menu allows customers to watch all the categories in a
single frame without even scrolling it. Because of the brand strategies, the quoted company focus
on the user-friendly mobile app as it connects the customers with the suppliers which are being
taken care by the company's employee. The geo-location technology benefits the suppliers to
figure out who they have to target. Argos Ltd partner with the OpenText media management to
serve the digital assets to become a reality. Therefore, it minimizes the manual tasks with the
automation providing solid growth platform and an competitive edge over the retailers like Tesco
and Amazon.
Examine the current 7Ps of marketing mix
The term marketing mix was founded by Neil Borden in 1949 and the 4Ps was further
developed by E. Jerome McCarthy and with evolution promoted to 7 Ps. It is also known as
service marketing mix which is a combination of elements that helps to develop the right service
or product by reaching the correct customer at the right time giving the better experience to the
customer (Thabit and Raewf, 2018). 7Ps of marketing mix would be applied to the service
industry whereas 4Ps to the product based industry. The retailer can use different variable
methods to arrive at an efficient marketing strategy which helps to attract the audience. This help

the quoted organisation to better position in the competitive market to achieve the objectives and
goals. Following are the 7Ps marketing mix of Argos Ltd:
 Product: It is also known as product assortment which refers to the products align that
are being offered by its customers. Product is the essential element for any business
collection of all the products being offered by the organization is known as product mix
(Bhasin, 2019). The given company is a leading retailer based in UK offering more than
60,000 products with the assistance of its apps, stores, websites. The company was
dealing in a limited product in 20th century but recently have added variety of new
products. The latest products the quoted organization has moved in are the furniture,
refrigerator, pet services, personalized care and insurance. It always emphasized on the
logo making modification twice till now. There are many brands which are being
acquired by the Argos Ltd such as Pro fitness, Visiq, Cookworks, Challenge etc.
 Price: This mix is a make it or break it and entire business is dependent on this factor. It
consists of quoted organisation sales, ROI, expenditure and sales. Profitability and cash
flow are the two essential elements of pricing in order to survive the retail business. The
price variable could not be determined in isolation. Argos Ltd follow low price strategy
which helps to cover huge market share. The low prices CDs & DVDs aids to strengthen
this approach. The given organisation maintain a direct relationship with the suppliers
which helps them to avail low selling prices (Hammett, 2018). The Black Friday sales
witness the great offers with a lowest price on many products. Argos Ltd while making
the pricing of the products or services must keep in mind the competitor's pricing and
customer's perception.
 Place & distribution: Place mix is related to making available of products or services
to the right audience at the right time and place. Normally, it is being observed that for
regular use of products or services the customers relies on the local markets and avoid
travelling (Lajoie and et.al., 2020). There are two essential components of place i.e.
marketing channels and physical distribution such as transportation, material handling,
warehousing, transportation etc. Argos Ltd believed that over 75% of the households in
UK using this service which includes both offline stores and e-commerce service. They
have a strong distribution channel due to more than 850 physical stores spread across

the UK and Ireland. The “Hub & Spoke” distribution network of the quoted company
enables same day delivery and collection of around 20,000 products.
 Promotion: It is the tactic being used by the company's to make aware about the
products they are offering which helps to build their brand image. An organisation
should select the particular promotional type which help to advertise the product or
service of the company. Argos Ltd has followed direct advertising to ensure that
customers are being aware of the offering. Due to the low pricing strategy the buyers are
relatively more attracted towards the company. The quoted company utilize various
others' method such as mouth publicity, online banners, print media, social media
engagement. The another method is by offering vouchers which could be combinely
used in a single transaction. It is also known as communication mix which consists of
unique ways to promote the company's product or services.
 People: This mix based on the relation between the customer and creator. It is the most
important aspect in the retail industry and people in the offline stores or online customer
care support help the audience regarding the particular product. People mix includes the
staff capacity, availability and the efficiency. Argos Ltd have employees capacity of
around 30000 individuals across all its channels. They are well-trained and aware about
the product range & new varieties to demonstrate the products to the customer. The
corporate culture at the quoted organisation provides a friendly environment and mainly
recruits locals who are thoroughly aware about the details of the products. Staff must
comprised of technical, interpersonal, communication and basic core skills which
provide the customer's service heterogeneity. The success of an organisation is highly
dependent on the training and retaining the correct set of people.
 Process: It is important to have robust system of process for delivery. The process is
streamlined in keeping in mind the customer's need and to satisfy it. Process is one of
the most important variable in the retail market as right from the moment when
customer enters the store he has to follow the given process (Alnawas and Al Khateeb,
2022). It would help them find the appropriate product. Order processing and database
management are the two processes which are being operated in the retail market. Argos
catalogue have range of products and once order is placed via online is confirmed by the
seller after that delivery department manage the faster and safer delivery.

 Physical evidence: Argos Ltd presence could be witnessed throughout UK and using
catalogue by the customer for the window shopping. The stores layout and check out
points are integral part of the physical evidence. The testimonials, cash receipts and
after-sale service are also part of it.
New Marketing plan of Argos ltd
Aim: to satisfy a significant proportion of the association's potential clients.
SMART objective :
Specific: To be more explicit, the association's goal is to increase firm sales and marketing share
through the use of technology.
Measuring: to boost the income by 25% by the mid of the year in adequate manner.
Achievable: to achieve the organization's purpose, the technology for marketing was used.
Realistic: the Argos ltd will create web presences and employ fresh candidates for performing
the operation of the company in adequate manner.
Time bond: the Argos ltd will receive the results in mid of the year with the utilization of the
effective technology.
Background
Argos Ltd is a major corporation that earns a bigger profit from the market, but the Argos ltd is
currently suffering significant marketing issues as competition is om peek. In this sense, the
company wishes to improve marketing through the use of technology. It is critical to have an
acceptable marketing plan in place in order to attract a big number of clients in an effective and
efficient manner. Marketing helps the company increase its presence in both the local as well as
foreign markets(Kwok, Tang, and Yu, 2020). Argos Ltd will use a digital platform for this since
a huge number of people rely on technology. The people form the decision by inspiring and
getting encouraged by the advertisement on different platform. Prospective buyers of the
company evaluate and make purchasing decisions based on the evaluations and material
provided on the technological platform. As a result, the enterprise will strengthen the
association's performance. The use of a platform increases the effectiveness of the firm and helps
the Argos ltd to expand on a larger scale. As a result, the Argos ltd may assess employee
performance and focus on their employability.

The Marketing Mix
The marketing mix is one of the most effective tools for helping to improve productivity quality.
In this regard, the organisation improves the company's marketing and introduces new marketing
elements that the Argos ltd considers for increased effectiveness (Lim, 2021). The marketing
consist of some element which the Argos ltd will used are mentioned in a following way:
Seven P's of marketing mix will use by Argos ltd.
Product(P): The Argos ltd is well-known for providing excellent services and productivity, but
there is still room for improvement. The Argos ltd provides a wide range of commodities and
services, including grocery or household products such as eatable products such as juice,
chocolate coffee, dessert, and so on, based on the taste and preferences of each individual. In
order to effect change, the Argos ltd will launch new products, which will include a wider range
of clothing. Furthermore, the Argos ltd improves the quality of the commodity that it provides to
customers in order to provide them with better experiences.
Price(P): the The firm improves its price plan in order to provide satisfaction and attract
customers to the company's manufacturing. The firm is able to create customer confidence and
provide transparency in an acceptable manner with the help of a smart pricing plan. The firm
intends to provide reduced commodity costs in the new marketing plan. In addition, the
corporation focuses on production in order to reduce manufacturing costs and expenses. With
their aid, the Argos ltd is able to provide suitable pricing to customers that is reasonable to
individuals of all economic levels (Donndelinger, and Ferguson, 2020). Although the
organization's price and discount strategy is dependent on the purchasing power of the
individual. The Argos ltd deliver values to the customer with the assistance of pricing strategy.
Place(P): the The business already has a huge number of supermarkets in the local and foreign
markets, allowing it to serve a large number of clients. In addition, the firm offers home delivery
services to a significant number of customers in order to give comfort and flexibility. The
company consists of two stores, one online and one physical. The firm will enhance and give
internet shopping facilities to a wide range of clients, allowing individuals to sell a wide range of
products in order to satisfy their demands in an appropriate manner. As a result, the firm receives
great feedback from clients and generates more income than the previous year. The firm is able
to meet the rules of the covid 19 and keep social distance for the well health of clients by using
online or internet services(Wahyuni, 2 020)

.
Promotion: Because of marketing, ARGOS has a high value in both the domestic and foreign
markets. The group used several platforms to grow its visibility in order to raise public
awareness in a suitable manner(Thwala, and Slabbert, 2018). The firm will market its products
and services on digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snap Chat, and others
in order to boost the company's productivity. With the help of the platform, the Argos ltd will
ensure that the firm delivers relevant material on the internet and recognises those who use the
organization's services or not. Argos ltd utilises this platform to convey expertise and
information about discounts, offers, incentives, and coupons in adequate manner. It will aid in
fostering an individual's interest in the organization's production. In order to promote the
business, the firm will also offer online payment services to a big number of clients.
People: In order to improve client experiences, the business will hire new candidates and
workers who will offer their skills and knowledge in an effective and efficient manner. To
improve the client experience, the firm will give workers with training and development
programmes that will raise their competence and expertise in order to achieve the company's
goals in an acceptable manner. To supply values in the marketplace to customers, the
association's manager will provide feedback to workers based on their performance and efforts
for the organization's welfare. As a result, the Argos ltd is able to boost the company's image in
the worldwide market and attract a significant number of customers (Bahl,and Chandra, 2018).
Process: In addition, the Argos ltd smothers the company's process as it delivers values to
customers and improves customer experiences in an effective and efficient manner. The business
uses technology to convey the guidance to the workers in which the individual person has to
complete the task in order to achieve the company's goal in a short period of time. With the help
of technology, the Argos ltd allows customers to track their orders and discuss any concerns that
they or their staff are having with the company's productivity. Furthermore, as a result of this, the
firm is able to provide quick and sanctification services to customers, hence increasing the
company's productivity. apart from that the company add more values in the shipping process.
Packaging: Furthermore, the Argos ltd suffocates the company's process by effectively and
efficiently delivering values to consumers and improving customer experiences. The corporation
use technology to communicate instructions to employees, and each individual is responsible for
completing the assignment in order for the Argos ltd to meet its objectives in a timely manner.

The Argos ltd uses technology to allow consumers to track their orders and address any problems
they or their employees have about the company's efficiency(Rahman, and Kuzminov, 2019).
Furthermore, as a result of this, the firm is able to give consumers with rapid and sanctification
services, enhancing the company's efficiency.
Customer driven strategy (STPD)
It is one of the successful strategies that the business will employ in order to boost customer
satisfaction and achieve the company's goals in a suitable manner. With its support, the firm is
able to target the client and market effectively and efficiently. With the use of these plans of
action, the business is able to create consumer trust and assist in delivering transparency. The
firm also collects feedback from a big number of clients in an appropriate manner.
Segmentation: In the current term, the firm will adequately target all types of clients. The firm
targets individuals of all ages in order to provide the greatest quality and standard product to the
consumer while also improving the association's efficiency. The product will be developed by
the Argos ltd based on the age group, gender preferences, individual capacity, professionals, and
education. With their guidance, the firm will be able to deliver the correct product to the right
consumers and efficiently satisfy their wants and needs. The firm will distribute to individuals of
all ages and provide them the option of selecting the best product for them(Do, and Vu 2020).
Targeting In the current term, the firm will adequately target all types of clients. The firm
targets individuals of all ages in order to provide the greatest quality and standard product to the
consumer while also improving the association's efficiency. The product will be developed by
the Argos ltd based on the age group, gender preferences, individual capacity, professionals, and
education. With their guidance, the firm will be able to deliver the correct product to the right
consumers and efficiently satisfy their wants and needs. The firm will distribute to individuals of
all ages and provide them the option of selecting the best product for them.
Positioning: the The firm has a high placement in numerous marketplaces since it provides the
best quality goods to diverse customers and delivers value to them (Rahman, and et.al 2019). In
the worldwide arena, the corporation faces intense rivalry as competitors continue to innovate
goods and apply innovation in appropriate ways. To obtain the greatest position in the market,
the corporation maintains changes in the environment as well as productivity and adequately
motivates the organization's workforce.

Differentiation: To serve a big number of consumers, the firm will introduce additional
alternative options in the marketplace based on the buyers' tastes and choices. The firm will
provide a valued product that is original or distinctive in comparison to rivals. The firm attracts
clients with the help of marketing. As a result, the corporation is able to boost the brand's image
in both the home and foreign markets. Argos Ltd will make modifications in the commodity
context to accommodate changes in customer purchasing preferences(Islam, 2020).
CONCLUSION
According to the above report, Argos Ltd is the market leader in both the domestic and
international markets. In addition, the Argos ltd adds value to the consumer by offering a diverse
range of products and services. According to the study, the firm provides commodities and
services based on the needs, tastes, and preferences of the clients. In this context, the research
elaborated the organization's past marketing strategy and STP in order to survive and succeed in
the marketplace. Latheron understood that in order to increase the company's productivity and
profitability, it needed to boost its marketing as well as use more technology to attract clients for
the positive. In relation to that, the above report mentioned the company's new marketing plan,
which differs from the previous marketing mix. The new marketing mix is more effective
because it includes a new promotional strategy and a technological platform, because a large
number of customers rely on technology. With the help of the marketing mix, the business is able
to raise its market share and enhance its profitability and output in an appropriate manner.
With the assistance of the marketing plan the Argos Argos Ltd able to develop the long term
relationship with the potential customer and deliver adequate values to them for making their
purchasing experiences better then before.

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