Introduction to Marketing: A Comprehensive Guide

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
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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.
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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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