Service Marketing Issues of Mark and Spencer: SWOT Analysis and Recommendations

This report analyzes the service marketing issues affecting Mark and Spencer, a retailing company in the UK. It includes a SWOT analysis, identification of key challenges, and recommendations to overcome them. The report discusses the challenges that Mark and Spencer may face in the future, such as intangibility, perishability, competitive pricing, and interactivity. It also provides recommendations to overcome these challenges and expand the company's market share.

Marketing issues
affecting an
organisation

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) facing the
organisation based on properly referenced sources. ..............................................................1
Identification of the organisation’s key service marketing challenges (Weakness and Threats)
for the next 3 years, drawing on secondary research and analysis. .......................................3
Analyses the threats through the lens of theoretical principles of services marketing and
provide recommendations to overcome challenges within the constraints of Strengths and
Opportunities. ........................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is the process of researching, promoting, selling and distributing the products
or services to the customers. It plays an important role in disseminating the information
regarding the products or services to the customers. It helps in exchanging and moving the
customers top the customers(Kotler, Kartajaya, and Setiawan, 2021). It is a good source of
generating the income and revenue to the company. In this report, Mark and Spencer is taken
into consideration which is a retailing company with headquartered in London, UK. It involves
the business of selling clothes, home products and food products. The report will cover the issues
and challenge face by an organisation through the swot analysis. In addition to this, it will
discuss the recommendation that will be provided in order to overcome the challenges.
MAIN BODY
Analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) facing the organisation
based on properly referenced sources.
SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool which is used to determine the strength,
weaknesses, opportunities thereat of the business. It provide the solid strategy to grow the
business by analysing the issue which may affect the business of a company. With reference to
the Mark and Spencer, the swot analysis has been done below:
Strength Weaknesses Recognised brand: M&S is a well
known brand in the industry because it
provides products with good quality to
its customers in the market(Djellabi and
et. al., 2021). It is a premium
supermarket which provide its
customers satisfactory premium
products which makes it popular among
the people. Variety of products: A business
concern offers wide range of products
 Supply chain scalability: the company
has poor scalability of the supply chain
due to which its products are not
reachable to the customer to many
locations globally. However, it has
online store where one can shop for its
products but these products are
accessible to every location.
 Declining sales: The sale of the
company gets reduced due to the poor
supply chain system and non
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that involves clothing, home products,
furniture products, financial products,
food products and so on. All these help
the company in increasing the base of
the customers. Market presence: An organisation has
a good presence in the marketplaces of
UK and international presence as well.
It has 1500 stores across the world. The
wide products portfolio assist the
company in expanding its market to
each place globally. Well experienced: M&S is the best
retailer in UK which provide the
products to the customers with great
satisfaction. It has good market
education because of its innovative
products which is the company biggest
strength and increase its experience as
well.
availability of the products. The
company is not able to met the demand
of the customers in time or different
location across the World which leads
to decrease in sales or low revenue
generation.
Opportunities Threat Global expansion: The company can
expand it business global by making
strong supply chain which help in
reaching the products to the customers
everywhere across the world. This may
result in generating the revenue for a
business concern ad increase its market
share as well. Market segmentation: The company
 High competition: M&S has variou8s
competitors such as Asda, Aldi, Tesco,
Sainsbury which provides tough
competition to a business concern.
They also provide good quality
products which provide satisfaction to
the consumers. Therefore, company
need a strong strategy in order to
remain in the competition in the
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can divide the customers into various
groups so that it enable the company
top provide the products as per their
needs(Büyüközkan, Mukul and Kongar,
2021). This also provide lot of
opportunities to an organisation to
bring innovative products and fulfil the
demand of the customers.
market.
Identification of the organisation’s key service marketing challenges (Weakness and Threats) for
the next 3 years, drawing on secondary research and analysis.
There are various service marketing challenges which a company have to face in order to
run its business activities. In relation to Mark and Spencer, these challenge have been mentioned
below which it may encounter:
Intangibility challenges: When the customers buy the products so they are able to know
what they are purchasing exactly can see and take them away. But, the services are not tangible
and the customers are not eligible to know the services until they experience it(Ferrell, Hartline,
and Hochstein, 2021). With reference to Mark and Spencer, it provides commercial banking
services to the customers such as deposit and offer investment , insurance products and so on.
Therefore, the company have to provide its better services to the people so that it can enhance the
experience of the customers.
Perishable: This means that the services are provided within a specific time and it cannot
be stored so that the customer can get the in time which help in enhancing their experience.
Therefore, the service can not be stored for the future sale like products which can be store for
limited time period. With reference to Mark and Spencer, it provides its services to the
customers by providing them products in time. An organisation can not sale the produces until
the customers is not available.
Competitive pricing: It is the process of selecting the best strategy for the price to gain
the competitive advantage by selling the products or services in the market. There are many
firms which charge different price for their services in the same industry to overcome the
competition. In relation to the Mark and Spencer, it has different prices for its products and
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services because its provides good service to satisfy the wants of the customers and increase the
market share.
Interactivity: The service depends on a chain of interaction between then customers and
services provider. So the cooperation is needed by both the customers and the services
providers(Mothersbaugh and et. al., 2020). In relation to Mark and Spencer, the sales person of a
company have to cooperate with the customers in order to provide them good services and
satisfaction. But sometime it become difficult to make coordination with them.
Analyses the threats through the lens of theoretical principles of services marketing and provide
recommendations to overcome challenges within the constraints of Strengths and
Opportunities.
There are some principle of service marketing that help the service marketer in providing
the services by emphasizing the knowledge, certification and performance. In relation to Mark
and Spencer, the principles are described as under:
Products: There are various services firms which provide products such as consultancy,
accounting, financial service, training and maintenance(de Jong and et. al., 2021). In relation to
M&S, it provides financial services to the customers to increase the customers' experience.
Specialisation: With reference to M&S, it provides premium quality products to the
customers and target only the customer who are of higher class. So it offers different services of
commercial banking by depositing and offering investment plan.
Problem solving: In relation to Mark and Spencer, it also solve the quires of the
customers who have problem regrading the services of banking and so on in order to make
reputation tin the industry(Abolmasom, Moshabaki Esfahani, and Neami, 2021). Therefore it
mainly focuses in the skills and experience in providing their services to the people.
Knowledge: In relation to Mark and Spencer, it emphasises on knowledge and skills that
it can build credibility in the market and may able top establish reputation in the industry.
People: the service firm depends on the people in order to provide high quality problem
solving services. With reference to Mark and Spencer, it provides solution to the problem to
build trust of the customers.
Relationship: In context to Mark and Spencer, it establishes relationship with its client by
providing good services and solving their problems.
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Value: Mark and Spencer provide value to the customers rather that pricing in order to
grow the market of its products and generate profitability.
Place: Mark and Spencer provides the services to the customer in their offices where
customers are easily reachable.
Recommendation
Mark and Spencer is a well known organisation for its products and services but it may
face the challenges in future which are mentioned above. Therefore, a business concern should
provide its better services to the customers and maintain good relation with them in order to
retain connectivity. An organisation also expand its market by providing their products to every
location which help in increasing its market share and overcome the competition prevailing in
the industry.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it has been concluded that marketing has significant role in
order to run a business which help in analysing the demand of the customers so that the products
according to their needs are provided to them. The report has discussed the challenges which it
can face in future and also make swot to know its opportunities which assist in enhancing the
customer base. The company have high threat from its competitors as they also provide good
product or services to the customers which may force them switch for their products. Therefore it
has to bring strategy in order to compete with its rivals and increase its market share.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Kotler, P., Kartajaya, H. and Setiawan, I., 2021. Marketing 5.0: Technology for humanity. John
Wiley & Sons.
Djellabi and et. al., 2021. SWOT analysis of photocatalytic materials towards large scale
environmental remediation. Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering, 33, p.100696.
Büyüközkan, G., Mukul, E. and Kongar, E., 2021. Health tourism strategy selection via SWOT
analysis and integrated hesitant fuzzy linguistic AHP-MABAC approach. Socio-
Economic Planning Sciences, 74, p.100929.
Ferrell, O.C., Hartline, M. and Hochstein, B.W., 2021. Marketing strategy. Cengage Learning.
Mothersbaugh and et. al., 2020. Consumer behavior: Building marketing strategy. New York,
NY, USA: McGraw-Hill Education.
de Jong and et. al., 2021. Key trends in business-to-business services marketing strategies:
Developing a practice-based research agenda. Industrial Marketing Management, 93,
pp.1-9.
Abolmasom, M., Moshabaki Esfahani, A. and Neami, A., 2021. Smart Marketing Model in the
Development of Handicraft Investment Companies. Islamic Art Studies, 17(40), pp.7-21.
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