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Introduction to Marketing: A Comprehensive Guide

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Added on 2024/07/12

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This comprehensive guide delves into the fundamental concepts of marketing, exploring key areas such as marketing audit, market segmentation, market research, buyer behavior, and marketing strategy. Using real-world examples from Marks & Spencer, the report provides insights into how businesses can effectively analyze their market, understand customer needs, and develop successful marketing campaigns. The report also examines various theoretical frameworks, including the BCG matrix, AIDA model, EKB model, and Maslow's hierarchy of needs, to illustrate the complexities of consumer behavior and decision-making processes.

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Introduction to Marketing
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Table of contents
Introduction:.................................................................................................................................... 3
Marketing Audit:............................................................................................................................. 4
Market segmentation:...................................................................................................................... 6
Market Research:............................................................................................................................. 8
Buyer behaviour.............................................................................................................................10
Marketing Strategy:.......................................................................................................................13
Conclusion:.................................................................................................................................... 15
Reference list:................................................................................................................................ 16
2

Introduction:
Marketing is a management activity which involves advertising, buying and selling of product
and services to the people. The success of the marketing department of a company is highly
depended on marketing segmentation, market research, buyer behaviour and marketing strategy
(Armstrong et al., 2015). The main focus of the department is to meet the requirements of the
buyers as per their choice and preferences. In this report various aspects of marketing such as
customer demands, marketing strategy and marketing segmentation of Marks and spacers will be
discussed. In this report two sets of market segmentation criteria which could be successful
targeted by the business will be discussed. Apart from that, the buyer behaviour and marketing
strategy of Marks and Spencer’s will also be discussed in this scale.
3

Marketing Audit:
The marketing audit of a business refers to a systematic analysis of business marketing
environment, which involves internal and external factors, goals and objectives and principles to
enhance the marketing performances (Fill and Turnbull, 2016). The marketers of Marks and
Spencer should try to develop such a audit which is maintain comprehensive, systematic,
independent and periodical. In this process, Marks and Spencer should use BCG matrix (Boston
Consulting Group Matrix) to observe the marketing units of the company and determines the
profitability. BCG matrix provides business framework for allocating resources and allows
Marks and Spencer to compare different business units at a glance. The BCG matrix can be
classified by four factors such as Dogs, Question Marks, Stars and Cash Cows.
Dogs:
Dog is business unit which has a small market share in the mature industry. In this manner,
Dogs do not generate and consume large cash amount (Proctor, 2014). It is referred as “cash
traps” in which companies are investing on business which have low potential in the market.
Due to high market growth of fashion industry, the fashion market of Marks and Spencer should
be positioned at dogs.
Question Marks: A large amount of cash can be generated in Question marks. It consumes low
market share and high market growth. The market share of the company is eventually enhanced
in this process (Babin and Zikmund, 2015). When the market growth declines, then Question
marks will degenerate dogs. The marketer of Marks and Spencer should analyse Question marks
more carefully to determine that whether any future investment is required or not. As per the
BCG matrix, food markets of Marks and Spencer should be positioned in question marks,
because the market share of food market is generally low and generate high market growth.
Stars: Stars represents high relative market share and low market growth rate. A high amount of
cash can be generated in Stars because of high growth rate. When the growth rate of Stars
declines then it will become Cash Cow. As a diversified company, Marks and Spence should
maintain the Stars which will ensure the future cash generation and maintain the growth rate in
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the market. Due to high market share of clothing section of Marks and Spencer, it can be
positioned at stars. The current business portfolio can also be accessed by Stars.
Cash Cows: It represents the return on investment which is higher than the market growth rate.
Eventually, it generates more cash than what the company invests. In Cash cow, the relative
market share is low and the market growth rate is high. The administrative cost of the company
can be covered by Cash Cow, because it turns question marks in to a market leader. It generates
cash flows which are stable in the market. The value of this cash flow can be calculated by cash
flow analysis. Due to low market share of Foot ware department of Marks and Spencer, it can be
positioned at cash cows. Foot ware department of the company generates cash flow which are
stable in the market.
The growth rate matrix is important unit to determine the cash flow of the company and allocate
the resources in a single business unit. The business portfolio of Marks and Spencer can be
determined by BCG matrix and also determine the market growth of the company. Due to high
market growth, fashion industry of Marks and Spencer is positioned in Dogs, food and wine
market is positioned in question mark because of low market share, clothing section can be
positioned at stars because of high market share and foot wear section of Marks and Spencer is
positioned at cash cow due to stable market position and low market share.
5
Dogs
low
market
shares
low
market
growth
Question
Marks
low
market
share
high
market
growth
Stars
high
relative
market
share
low
market
growth
rate
Cash Cows
market
share is
low
market
growth
rate is
high

Figure 1: BCG matrix of Marks and Spencer
(Source: Babin and Zikmund, 2015)
6

Market segmentation:
Market segmentation is a division of market into different groups of customers with similar
needs and product requirements. Marks and Spencer has been regarded as most reputed retail
brand in the world. The main objective of the company is to become a leader in the retail
industry and establish a permanent market position.
 Market segmentation
The general approach to view the market segmentation of Marks and Spencer is market
concentration. As it is regarded as the top retail brand in the world, therefore most logical
method to segment the market is by using demographic segmentation. Demographic
segmentation divides the market on the basis of age, gender, nationality, occupation and so on..
It is hard for the company to sell product without specifying a particular age group. Retail
business is one of the fast growing businesses in the world. Therefore, Marks and Spencer’s
should determine the proper bracketing for consumer groups.
Apart from Demographic segmentation, Marks and Spencer’s uses behavioural segmentation in
their marketing procedure. It is based on consumer’s behaviour. The marketers of Marks and
Spencer’s are analysing the fact that, which products are most demanding products in the market.
They are analysing their choices and decision making process. The audiences are segmented as
potential users, current users, ex users, first time users and so on.
 Market Targeting:
It is an easy task for the company after market segmentation to target customers. Marks and
Spencer’s should target the age group of 40 years and above. It has been observed that, the
demand of retailing has been reduced particularly within this age group of people. Company
needs to focus on that particular age group to maintain the business growth in the market, the.
Young professional should be another target for Marks and Spencer’s. The tastes of young
individuals are changing rapidly. Therefore, the company should change their business strategy
according to their needs and requirements. Eventually, specific targeting will specify the
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demands for the products and will enable the company to formulate particular marketing
strategies.
 Market Positioning:
Market positioning refers to the perception developed in the mind of target customers.
Positioning is purely procedural and depends upon the completion of stages. At first, Marks and
Spencer’s should define the target market. Then, the company has to emphasize on the attributes
of retail which are beneficial for the company and also as per the consumer demands. The
perceptions of the consumers should be analyzed by the company. Then the mind share of retail
products has to be established so that, when a customer buys any retail product then he or she
should ask for Marks and Spencer’s first instead of any other company. At the end the company
can develop their product that will fit both the capacity of the company and also satisfy the needs
of the customers.
For further research, the company should provide a perceptual mapping system. The company
needs to balance their products according to the target markets.
8

Market Research:
Marketing research is systematic design, collection and the analysis of data relevant to a specific
marketing situation facing the company. The marketing research reduces the errors in decision
making. The information gathered by marketing research is used for problem solving and
decision making process (Hair and Lukas, 2014). To analyse the market research of Marks and
Spencer’s AIDA (Awareness, Interests, Desire and Action) Model has been used. The AIDA
model is purchasing funnel where the buyer goes to and fro in each stage. It stands on four
different stages such as Awareness, interests, desire and action.
AIDA model is used for the communication process rather than any decision making process. In
each of the stages, the marketers of Marks and Spencer’s are identifying different touch points
and different information throughout the stages:
 Awareness: This stage is about creating brand awareness. The marketers should research
the global market about the influential factors which enhance the brand image in the
global platform and also create brand awareness with their product and services. The
marketers of Marks and Spencer should identify the factors that aware buyers of their
products and services. In this process, they need to apply the outreach strategy. Apart
from that, they should organise brand awareness campaign and an attractive slogan for
the company.
 Interests: In this stage, the company is generating interest among customers. In this
process, the marketers of Marks and Spencer’s are researching the market about the
consumer’s interests and encourage the buyer to start to research further. They should
apply the content strategy. Marks and Spencer needs to analyse how they make
information of the product available for global audience. They should analyse customer
ratings, customer feedbacks for further research.
 Desire: In this stage, the company needs to find out about the emotional connection of
consumers with a particular product. This defines the brand’s personality. The marketers
of Marks and Spencer’s should apply strategically frameworks to move the consumer
from “liking” stage to “wanting stage”. The marketers should research about what makes
9

their products more desirable for consumers and how they can build an emotional
connection with their products and services.
 Action: This is the last stage of this model in which company aims to move the buyer to
interact with them and taking next step. In this process, the marketers of Marks and
Spencer’s should apply call to action strategy. They should engage with consumers via
mail, websites, and social networking pages and so on. It will be easy for them to
research about the customer’s requirement without any difficulties.
Therefore, by reviewing the AIDA model, it can be stated that, it is most informative model of
market research for the marketers of Marks and Spencer’s. The marketers can analyse the brand
awareness, desires of consumers (Krishna et al., 2017). By analysing this factor, Marks and
Spencer’s can implement appropriate marketing process and rectify their errors. Therefore, they
should analyse different platform of global market engage with different touch points and
analyse different information from various sources.
Figure 2: AIDA model
10
Awareness Interests
Desire Action

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(Source: Hair and Lukas, 2014)
11

Buyer behaviour
Buyer behaviour is the systematic approach which consumers follow when they enter the prices
of purchasing and making buying decision. In the case of Marks and Spencer, they analyse the
buyer behaviour to identify different stages of customer decision making process and understand
how opinions, attitudes and values are related to the consumer behaviour and how reference
group influences the consumer behaviour.
Marks and Spencer’s has divided their clothing ranges in three different types, those are perfect
range, classic range and autograph range (Marksandspencer.com, 2018). Each range has been
developed for a particular target segment customer. The products and services will be judged by
the customer and according to their judgement, the price, quality and market demand of the
product will be analysed. Marks and Spencer’s use demographic market Segmentation to analyse
their customer behaviour. They analysed their customer behaviour according to their age, gender,
income, social class and others. As the market is changing, customers are also changing their
needs and requirements. Therefore, Marks and Spencer’s should ware of this fact.
Numerous theories of consumer behaviour address important aspects such as how customers are
purchasing products as an individual and how they are purchasing in a group, purchasing
decisions and so on. Following are two models to determine consumer behaviour
EKB Model:
The Engel Kollat Blackwell model is been used to describe the basic components of consumer
behaviour (Ashman et al., 2015). The EKB model consist four different stages such as:
 Information input stage: In this stage consumer are getting necessary information from
marketing and non-marketing resources. This creates a conflict situation in decision
making process. External information will be activated during this stage if consumers are
still not arriving any particular decision.
 Processing Stage: This stage defines the consumer’s attention, perception and retention
of incoming information. The consumer is defining the massage, allocate some spaces
for the information, interpret the massage and retain the massage by transferring the input
in long time memory.
12

 Decision Stage: This stage consists of five factors such as recognition of the problem, in
search for the alternatives, alternate decision, purchase and outcomes.
 Variables influences decision making: Environmental and individual influences are two
prime aspects of decision making process (Wen et al., 2014). Environmental influences
such as social influences and situational influences. Individual influences include values,
motivations, and lifestyles and so on.
By analysing these stages Marks and Spencer can get necessary information about customer’s
decision making process. Variables such as social influences and situational influences are
defining the culture, family and financial condition of consumer. This model shows that different
kinds of personality are affecting consumer’s decision making process. Marks and Spencer’s are
designing their clothing ranges as per the personality of consumers. According to their
behaviours and requirements, they segment their customer ranges.
Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs
In order to analyse the consumer behaviour, Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs has been used
by the company. It is psychological proposal which observes the human curiosity (Einstein et al.,
2016). This theory is based on five factors such as: Self actualization, Esteem, love/ belonging,
Safety, Psychological.
 Self actualization: In this factor the person has realized full potential. The individual
focuses n their needs specifically. In this case, an individual may have a strong desire to
purchase a product. Therefore, the company must analyse the desire of that person. Self
actualization is a motivational factor of a person (Anderson, 2014). As per the theory of
Maslow, the basic needs of a person must meet before the self actualization.
 Esteem: The needs of esteem are signified as ego needs to develop the concern with
getting the respect and recognition from others. It is typical human behaviour to get
recognition and respect from others.
 Love/ belonging: This is one kind of social belonging which involves feelings and
belongingness. The social belonging can be classified by three factors such as Friendship,
intimacy and family. Therefore, Marks and Spencer’s are creating some specified tees
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and clothing for these socially detachable individuals. They have created according to
their thinking process and adaptable natures.
 Psychological Needs: The psychological needs are considered as physical requirements
for survival. Human body will ultimately fail and cannot work properly of these needs are
not meet (Robertson, 2016). It is pone important aspect of human life. Clothing is
considered to be major psychological needs of human life. Apart from clothing other
psychological needs are: Water, food, sleep, shelter and breathing.
 Safety Needs: In the absence of psychological needs, safety needs are generated. Once
the psychological needs of a person are satisfied, safety needs take priority. This level is
more likely to be seen in children as emotional safety is working on them.
Therefore, it can be stated that Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs is one of the key tool to
analyse human behaviour and observe human curiosity. By Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs,
Marks and Spencer’s analysed the potential of an individual, psychological needs and proprieties
(Niemela and Kim, 2014). Based on theses information, Mark and Spencer’s develop their
clothing range and varieties. If Marketers of Marks and Spencer’s know their target market then
this can be used as a selling point to influence. By appealing to the primal needs of customers,
Marks and Spencer’s can encourage them to fulfil basic psychological motivation.
14

Marketing Strategy:
Marketing Strategy termed as a long term planning to achieve sustainable competitive
advantages in the global market. Marketing strategy includes the analysis of strategic situation
of the company and evaluation of marketing objective of the company as well (Wilson, 2015). In
the case of Marks and Spencer, the marketing strategy of the company can be analysed by 4Ps of
marketing mix.
Product: Marks and Spencer is considered as a biggest retail brand in UK. The marketing
products of all age group are considered as biggest advantage of the company. They offer
products for women which include clothing such as jeans, skirt, blazers and so on. Apart from
clothing they also have footwear section specifically for women. This footwear section includes
boots, heels, and loafers and so on (Marksandspencer.com, 2018). Home accessories and
furniture with various designs are also offered by Marks and Spencer. They offer bedroom
furniture, living room furniture, and dining room furniture and so on.
Price: Mark and Spencer use competitive strategy for pricing such as Pricing for market
penetration. They have their own house brands for footwear, clothing, foods and furniture. They
price their product between lower categories to premium category (Piercy, 2016). Premium
cards are generated by the company for premium card holders. Premium card holders are getting
extra discounts on their products. The company is following dynamic pricing strategy in seasonal
time because of the competition in the market. During the seasonal time, company offers more
discounts on their products and services.
Place: As a global brand Marks and Spencer is operating their services over 50 countries and has
more than 1000 stores around the world. In UK M&S have more than 900 stores. They are
majorly working in countries like Turkey, Hungary and Ireland etc. Apart from that, they have
their own online store where consumer can buy their products according to their choices and
time. They are providing international delivery for their exclusive products and services.
Promotion: Five main elements of promotional mix are advertisement, sales promotion, public
relation direct marketing and personal selling. They are following their promotional strategy
which aligns with their advertisement campaign (Capon and Go, 2016). They are using print
15

media, mobile ads, TV ads and social media campaign. They are dining their floors according to
their products and operations. There are separate floors for clothing, flowers, foods and wine
and footwear. They are operating a separate website for their promotional activity. Consumer can
subscribe to their website so that they will get notification when the company will launch their
new products in the market. As a promotional activity they offer extra discounts on their product
during the seasonal time. Reward points are also generated for consumers according to their
purchasing amount.
The marketing strategy of Marks and Spencer is based on two behavioural theories of
consumers. By EKB model the decision making process of consumers can be observed by the
company. Therefore, company can set out their prices for some particular products which are
demanding in the market. By analysing the Maslow hierarchy human needs, company analyses
the psychological needs of the consumer and company sets out their promotional activity of the
company (Baker, 2014). Therefore, it can be stated that, it is important for the company to
analyse buyer behaviour to implement the competitive strategy in the market.
16

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Conclusion:
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that marketing process is a combination of
marketing audit, marketing strategy, buyer behaviour, proper market research and market
segmentation. It identifies, anticipates and supplies customer requirements efficiently and
profitably. In the above discussion the marketing audit of Marks and Spencer by BCG matrix
have been discussed. Apart from that buyers behaviour is analysed by using EKB model and
Maslow’s hierarchy needs. AIDA model have been used to analyse the market research of the
company. In this process the marketing strategy of M&S have been analysed by using 4Ps
marketing mix tool. Therefore it can be stated that, Marks and Spencer is using effective
marketing strategy to analyse their market growth and improve their market share in this scale.
17

Reference list:
Anderson, A., 2014. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The Prairie Light Review, 36(2), p.7.
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Ashman, R., Solomon, M.R. and Wolny, J., 2015. An old model for a new age: Consumer
decision making in participatory digital culture. Journal of Customer Behaviour, 14(2), pp.127-
146.
Babin, B.J. and Zikmund, W.G., 2015. Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning.
Baker, M.J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Macmillan International Higher
Education.
Capon, N. and Go, F., 2016. Frameworks for Market Strategy: European Edition. Routledge.
Cherry, K., 2014. Hierarchy of needs. Retrieved Aug, 16, p.2014.
Einstein, A., Addams, J. and Roosevelt, E., 2016. Maslow's hierarchy of needs002E
Fill, C. and Turnbull, S.L., 2016. Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation. Pearson.
Hair Jr, J.F. and Lukas, B., 2014. Marketing research (Vol. 2). McGraw-Hill Education
Australia.
Krishna, A., Lee, S.W., Li, X. and Schwarz, N., 2017. Embodied Cognition, Sensory Marketing,
and the Conceptualization of Consumers’ Judgment and Decision Processes: Introduction to the
Issue. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(4), pp.377-381.
Marksandspencer.com. (2018). Welcome to Marks & Spencer. [online] Available at:
https://www.marksandspencer.com/ [Accessed 7 Aug. 2018].
Niemela, P. and Kim, S., 2014. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Encyclopedia of Quality of Life
and Well-Being Research, pp.3843-3846.
18

Piercy, N.F., 2016. Market-led strategic change: Transforming the process of going to market.
Routledge.
Proctor, T., 2014. Strategic marketing: an introduction. Routledge.
Robertson, F., 2016. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In Gower Handbook of Internal
Communication (pp. 143-148). Routledge.
Wen, C., R. Prybutok, V., Blankson, C. and Fang, J., 2014. The role of E-quality within the
consumer decision making process. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, 34(12), pp.1506-1536.
Wilson, J.P., 2015. The triple bottom line: Undertaking an economic, social, and environmental
retail sustainability strategy. International Journal of Retail & Distribution
Management, 43(4/5), pp.432-447.
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