Develop and apply knowledge of marketing communication industry

This article provides an overview of the marketing communication industry and focuses on Woolworths in Australia. It explains the 4Ps marketing mix strategy, competitive forces, and key players. It also discusses the role of marketing within society, ethical and legal obligations of marketers, and planning a career path in marketing.

Running head: DEVELOP AND APPLY KNOWLEDGE OF MARKETING
COMMUNICATION INDUSTRY
Develop and apply knowledge of marketing communication industry
Name of student
Name of University
Author note

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DEVELOP AND APPLY KNOWLEDGE OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION
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Table of Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
Industry overview........................................................................................................................3
Information regarding the focus of Woolworths..........................................................................8
Planning career path.....................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Task 1
Industry overview
Marketing definition and the key principles underlying marketing activities and strategies
The marketing within the retail industry means the various activities managed to promote
and sell the products and services and conduct market researches too along with advertising,
which can influence the purchasing behaviors of the clients. The marketing activities are aimed
at keeping the customers satisfied and making them informed about the products that they will
buy from Woolworths. The marketing mix helps in analyzing the brand covering the major areas
including the product, price, place and promotions. An effective marketing strategy involves
pricing, advertising and distribution of products for influencing the consumers’ buying behaviors
(woolworths.com.au, 2018).
The 4Ps marketing mix strategy
Product
The products of Woolworths are grocery items, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, drinks and
health and beauty products. There are other stationary products as well delivered by the company
and there are wide range of options available related to local produced items and international
cuisine too. The products are tested and approved by Woolworths to meet the quality standards,
which has kept the customers satisfied (Rawal, 2013).
Price

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The prices are competitive in the market, which can help in serving different market
segments comprising of customers who prefer low prices and premium prices. Vouchers are
provided during every purchase, which allows for getting discounts on the next purchases made.
Place
Woolworths has offline and online presence, which has created ease for the customers to
purchase products. There are many stores and the online website have eased the accessibility and
availability of products for the customers (Sozinova & Fokina, 2015).
Promotion
The marketing communications industry can allow Woolworths to focus on promoting
the products through online media and by advertising those on televisions, newspapers,
magazines and websites. Promotional offers provided on purchases have increased customer
loyalty towards the company and enhanced the visibility and brand awareness too (Royle &
Laing, 2014).
The broad structure of the industry, including competitive forces and key players
The retail industry in Australia is huge and it accounts for more than 4.1 percent of GDP
and nearly 11 percent of employment. The introduction of innovative retailers have created
convenience in overcoming the productivity gaps and even facilitated the online retailing
services, which created more customers and ensured better wealth generation. The retail industry
has a huge market share, which contributes to the growth in economy of the country.

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Michael Porter’s five forces framework identifies the competitive forces impacting the
business like the threat of new entrants, substitute products, bargaining power of suppliers,
purchases and competitive rivalry (Fill & Turnbull¸2016).
Figure: Michael Porters five forces (Fill & Turnbull¸2016)
Threat of new entrants- The new entries in the market by other retail companies can put pressure
on Woolworths through reduced cost of products, low pricing strategy and enable new value
propositions for the customers. Threat of new entrants is high, thus, Woolworths needs to
innovate products and conduct market researches for defining the standards and generate good
revenue.

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Threat of substitutes- Wesfarmers and other companies bring similar kinds of products that
sometimes may be of lower prices compared to Woolworths. This can influence the buyers and
make hem purchase those substitutes from other companies due to cost advantage, which shall
deteriorate the sales (Luxton, Reid & Mavondo, 2015). Thus, the threat of substitutes is
moderate, because Woolworths offers wide range of options available at reasonable prices to
create customer satisfaction.
Bargaining power of suppliers- The bargaining power of suppliers is moderate, because
Woolworths manages a good supply chain and uses different raw materials, which has resolved
the issues regarding resource availability.
Powers of customers- Customers possess the highest power, because if the customers are not
satisfied, then the sales revenue will gradually go down. Woolworths’ wide range of product
options available at reasonable prices has attracted many customers and created scopes for
streamlining the sales and production process (Dobbs , 2014). The marketing communications
have helped in keeping the informed about the new products, which made them feel, valued and
influenced to make purchases consistently.
Competitive rivalry- Coles, Wesfarmers are the competitors of Woolworths and all these
companies try their best to manage the marketing communication activities properly to attract
and retain customers. It could help Woolworths to remain competitive in the market and sustain
in the marketplace (Šerić, Gil-Saura & Ruiz-Molina, 2014).
The range of departmental structures, including several examples

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The marketing department has a hierarchical structure, which allows Woolworths to
manage the marketing activities together as a team and assess the market segments to which the
products and services shall be delivered.
The range of activities and functions that marketers perform
 The marketers are responsible for managing the marketing functions and enhance the
visibility of Woolworths to attract more customers and spread brand awareness. The
major activities include:
 Maintenance of a proper distribution channel for connecting to the audiences and place
products in different market segments
 Providing finance and finding money through investments, personal capital and money
required to manage marketing research and advertise products and services
 Conducting the market research to assess the needs of different market segments
 Set proper prices for the products and conducting market researches
 Responding to the customers through effective customers’ services
 Management of promotional channels and advertisements on televisions, newspapers,
internet websites
 Matching the products with the needs and preferences of the customers
The role of marketing within society, including ethical and legal obligations of marketers
Woolworths created huge employment opportunities for many people in Australia and
managed advertisements by ensuring that the branding, statement and marketing statements are
not false or may lead to misinterpretations. The prices of products were put inclusive of the

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additional costs properly. The organization complied with the Privacy Act to prevent disclosure
of customer information while complying with the Intellectual property regulations helped in
managing the trade laws (Bacile, Ye & Swilley, 2014). The company introduced environment
friendly products to fulfill the environmental standards and create lesser harmful environmental
impact.
Identification of at least three relevant associations and networks
The associations and networks include Woolworths Food group, Caltex Woolworths, Dan
Murphy’s Woolworths Liquor and Flemings.
Information regarding the focus of Woolworths
Departmental structure and operating environment
The company follows a hierarchical structure and it operates within the Australian retail
industry (Blakeman, 2018).
Three typical roles in the organization
The roles are related to marketing that include:
 Managing a proper channel for distribution of the products and services in the market
 Providing great customers’ services to influence their buying behaviors
 Providing finance for managing the market research and marketing activities through
promotions and advertisements
Stakeholder analysis

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The stakeholders are shareholders or investors, suppliers, customers, employees,
managers and the Government bodies. Internal stakeholders are customers who buy the products,
employees who are assigned with the work at Woolworths. The external stakeholder are
suppliers who supply raw materials and resources, customers and the Governmental bodies that
support business functioning (Baccarella et al., 2014).
Planning career path
I worked as a marketing analyst at first and slowly gained relevant skills and knowledge,
which helped me to get promotions and I got the marketing managerial post. I am currently
working as the marketing manager and even took part in the graduate recruitment program.
The target role is to manage the marketing department properly, at the same time,
promoting the products and services, and influence the buying behaviors of the consumers. The
marketing activities shall include managing customers’ services too, communicate about the
product related information with them for gaining their trust and loyalty, and even respond to
their queries properly. This could establish positive relationships between the business and its
customers (Pauwels, Erguncu & Yildirim, 2013).
Few of areas where I am weak can be my over confidence, because of which, sometimes
I did not bother about the opinions and ideas of the employees before making a business
decision. Sometimes, I felt nervous to deliver speech in front of many people due to lack of
interpersonal skills.

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The training and developmental needs should be assessed to monitor the areas of
weaknesses, based on which I could take part in training sessions or overcoming the gaps and
improve own skills and expertise (Sozinova & Fokina, 2015).

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References
Baccarella, C. V., Scheiner, C. W., Trefzger, T. F., & Voigt, K. I. (2014). High-tech marketing
communication in the automotive industry: a content analysis of print
advertisements. International Journal of Business Environment, 6(4), 395-410.
Bacile, T. J., Ye, C., & Swilley, E. (2014). From firm-controlled to consumer-contributed:
Consumer co-production of personal media marketing communication. Journal of
Interactive Marketing, 28(2), 117-133.
Blakeman, R. (2018). Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to
implementation. Rowman & Littlefield.
E. Dobbs, M. (2014). Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry
analysis templates. Competitiveness Review, 24(1), 32-45.
Fill, C., & Turnbull, S. L. (2016). Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation. Pearson.
Luxton, S., Reid, M., & Mavondo, F. (2015). Integrated marketing communication capability
and brand performance. Journal of Advertising, 44(1), 37-46.
Pauwels, K., Erguncu, S., & Yildirim, G. (2013). Winning hearts, minds and sales: How
marketing communication enters the purchase process in emerging and mature
markets. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 30(1), 57-68.

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Rawal, P. (2013). AIDA Marketing Communication Model: Stimulating a purchase decision in
the minds of the consumers through a linear progression of steps. International Journal of
Multidisciplinary research in social & management sciences, 1(1), 37-44.
Royle, J., & Laing, A. (2014). The digital marketing skills gap: Developing a Digital Marketer
Model for the communication industries. International Journal of Information
Management, 34(2), 65-73.
Šerić, M., Gil-Saura, I., & Ruiz-Molina, M. E. (2014). How can integrated marketing
communications and advanced technology influence the creation of customer-based
brand equity? Evidence from the hospitality industry. International Journal of Hospitality
Management, 39, 144-156.
Sozinova, A. A., & Fokina, O. V. (2015). Special aspects of studying the internet as a marketing
communication channel of the service industry. Mediterranean Journal of Social
Sciences, 6(4), 139.
woolworths.com.au. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.woolworths.com.au/