Marketing Essentials: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Implementing Effective Marketing Strategies

This comprehensive guide delves into the fundamental principles of marketing, exploring its role within an organization, its interrelationship with other functional units, and the application of the marketing mix (7Ps) to achieve business objectives. It provides a detailed analysis of the marketing environment, examines the significance of interrelationships between marketing and other functional units, and critically evaluates the key elements of the marketing function. The guide also includes a step-by-step approach to developing and evaluating a basic marketing plan, incorporating practical examples and real-world applications. This resource is designed to equip students and professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively understand and implement successful marketing strategies.

Marketing Essentials
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Contents
Introduction:................................................................................................................................................3
LO 1 Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional units of an organization. 4
P1 Explain the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function......................................................4
P2 Explain how the roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organizational context.......5
M1 Analyse the roles and responsibilities of marketing in the context of the marketing environment........6
M2 Analyse the significance of interrelationships between marketing and other functional units of an
organization.................................................................................................................................................7
D1 Critically analyses and evaluate the key elements of the marketing function and how they interrelate
with other functional units of an organization.............................................................................................8
LO 2 compare the ways in which organization use elements of the marketing mix (7Ps) to achieve overall
business objectives......................................................................................................................................9
P3 Compare the ways in which the organizations apply the marketing mix to the marketing planning
process to achieve business objectives........................................................................................................9
M3 Evaluate different tactics applied by organizations to demonstrate how business objectives can be
achieved.....................................................................................................................................................10
D2 Design a strategic marketing plan that tactically applies the use of the 7Ps to achieve overall
marketing objectives..................................................................................................................................11
L03: Develop and evaluate a basic marketing plan....................................................................................13
P4: Produce and evaluate a basic marketing plan for an organization.......................................................13
M4 Produce a detailed, coherent evidence-based marketing plan for an organization...............................15
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................16
References :...............................................................................................................................................17
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Introduction:
Marketing is definitely one of the most significant things that a business indulges in. Marketing
not only helps in building an awareness regarding the business and engage consumers in turn.
There are several marketing essentials which help in informing the customers about the products
and services offered by the business (Sobreiro, et. al., 2014). It is obvious that a business
operator knows the ins and outs of the products but it is also important for the customers to know
them as well. Marketing is one of the most effective ways of communicating the value
proposition to the consumers. The fundamental functions of marketing essentials are equalizing,
sustaining, engaging, selling and growing the business.
Marketing is a tool that not only serves to make the business grow but help it reach new goals. It
is important for a business to figure out the long and short-term goals in the first place which, in
turn, can aid in planning the marketing campaign. This report is providing different strategies
and plans for Your destination organization which is useful to compete the National express
companies. This report is helpful to understand the responsibility and role of the marketing
manager for your destination organization. There are several steps in creating the marketing plan
and for that, a business needs to be aware of the essential marketing tools that a business needs to
employ. The first step should be to identify the target group of audience, outcomes that the
organization is willing to achieve and the means of achieving them. Then the business manager
should strategize optimally in order to steer clear of possible confusion and missteps. It is
advisable here to include each part of the strategy with minute detailing even though they appear
to be simple and obvious. Later, the business can proceed on to keep and engage the customer
base and finally craft out quality content. It is true that customers may come and go but a
business has a lot of loyal consumers who serve to be a powerful tool for marketing. People are
able to sense quality and they are always eager to appreciate and stand by the businesses that
offer good quality content. All these steps can aid the business to see the success drawing nearer.
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LO 1 Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional units of an
organization
P1 Explain the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function
The department of marketing in any business plays a critical role in the promotion of the
company as well as fulfilling the mission of the organization. It serves to be the face of the
concern by producing and coordinating all the materials that produce the business. There are
several important roles and responsibilities of the marketing department and some of them are
given as follows:
Managing and defining the brand: This factor involves defining the brand, what the business
stands for and what the company thinks about it and finally how the company operates. This
helps in defining the experience that constitutes the business.
Conducting different campaign management for the purpose of marketing: Marketing can
be proactively defined as the identification of services and products which pay attention to the
course of the sales cycles.
Producing promotional and marketing materials: The marketing department is required to
create the materials which would not just promote the core products and services but also keep
them updated with the evolution of those products and services.
Creating content that can take care of SEO requirements: The marketing department of a
business is required to look after the online presence of the business. This is because it is
probably the first place that people search for in order to find important details about the
business. Thus, search engine optimization is one of critical aspects of the duties of the
marketing department of any business.
Marketing department of any business should also be responsible for the selection as well as
management of the agencies and vendors who can produce different materials for marketing.
These include PR agencies, ad agencies, print vendors, web providers and many others which are
required to be overseen by the marketing department (Pike, 2015).
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P2 Explain how the roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider
organizational context
Among the various fundamental functions of a business concern, marketing is definitely one of
the most critical ones. Regardless of the sector, a business operates in, in order to compete in the
globally unstable environment, it is imperative to have a clear idea of the various aspects for
optimal commercialization of the products and services offered by a business concern. There is a
general misconception about the concept of marketing and it mainly centers around advertising
and sales whereas, in reality, these two are the mere functions of marketing.
The invention of business function dates back to the mid 20th century at the time when the
American Marketing Association had defined marketing as a performance of different activities
which transfer the various kinds of goods and services from manufacturer to the owner.
In the recent time, the roles and responsibilities of marketing rules are viewed less as a separate
functional unit and more as a combination of organizational procedures through which the
business takes part in a market-oriented behaviour.
This helps in establishing the fact that the sector dealing with marketing has a substantial
positive impact on the link between performance and market-centered behaviour while the
department of sales has a negative transition effect. This testifies to the fact that the roles and
responsibilities of the marketing activities should be based on the functions of marketing and not
on the sales unit (Stanford, 2017).
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M1 Analyse the roles and responsibilities of marketing in the context of the marketing
environment
The marketing environment constitutes everything that a business needs to take into account
while developing and presenting any new product or services. The element of marketing
essentials includes but is not restricted to the altering preferences of the consumer, high level of
competition, political, legal and regulatory limitations and the resources and budget of the
business itself. Each of these factors impacts the marketing decisions of the business. The
various forces that must be considered while marketing is:
Taste and preferences of the consumers: In order to be successful, the marketing plan must
pay attention to the preferences of the consumer along with the current trends in the market. For
instance, a number of retailers are showing interest to adapt to the increasing enthusiasm of the
consumers for social media sites. They no longer feel it important to browse through the actual
site of the business since many platforms allow them to make a purchase without having to leave
the social media site.
Economy and budget: It goes without saying that the budget has an important role to play in the
marketing decisions. The overall economy has a massive impact on the marketing decisions
because if a business employs its marketing strategies in a down-flowing economy, no consumer
would be willing to pay a premium for the product.
Legal and political factors: Alterations in the legal and political environment can either restrict
or boost the marketing activities. Thus, the marketing managers should take into account the
various legal and political regulations so that they can devise the marketing campaign in a
suitable way (Sobreiro, et. al., 2014).
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M2 Analyse the significance of interrelationships between marketing and other functional
units of an organization
According to the eminent personality, Peter Drucker, marketing is not just a broader activity than
selling; it is also not a special activity but an encompassment of the entire business. It can be
described as the whole business seen from the perspective of the end result, which is definitely,
the consumers’ viewpoint. Thus, what can be pointed from the here is that the product must meet
the demands and preferences of the customers and the level of thinking involved in the process
should permeate the whole business. This shows that in order to develop an effective marketing
plan, the business should maintain a close connection with the various functional areas within the
business organisation. The most important functional units that must be taken into account while
making the marketing strategy include:
Human resource management- The marketing essentials of a business should work closely
with the HRM to make sure that the right skills and adequate levels of staff are employed for
developing new product ideas and meeting the production targets.
Finance department- The importance of the relation between finance and marketing department
lies in the availability of adequate budget in meeting the needs of promotion, research, and
distribution.
Production department- The marketing department needs to work in close conjunction with the
production and operation management team for ensuring that adequate amount of research is
conducted and development of the plan is carried for satisfying the current and future needs of
the consumers (Philip, 2014).
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D1 Critically analyses and evaluate the key elements of the marketing function and how
they interrelate with other functional units of an organization
It is not possible to cover the interrelationship between marketing essentials and other functional
units of a business organization within a restricted scope and opportunity. All decisions
pertaining to marketing whether it relates to distribution, pricing, promotion, and production- are
all related to the various business functions. It is important for the business manager to have a
comprehensive understanding of the inter-relationship between marketing and other essential
functions of the business.
Marketing and finance: A well-conceived plan of marketing includes a major decision related
to finance. Budgeting and analysis of profitability are key aspects of marketing and control
which needs to be resolved. The interface of marketing and finance is not restricted to the
exchange of approaches and concepts as inputs of better decisions.
Marketing and accounting: The procedures of managerial accounting procedures include a
substantial input on the marketing policies of the business. The main area of interdependence
between accounting and marketing lies in the allocation of costs and budgets.
Marketing and production: The connection between marketing and production is also dual
since the production capabilities help in identifying the type and number of products which needs
to be marketed. Also, an accurate forecast of sales for the line of products is important for
effective operations of productions (Malhotra, 2015).
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LO 2 compare the ways in which organization use elements of the marketing mix (7Ps) to
achieve overall business objectives
P3 Compare the ways in which the organizations apply the marketing mix to the marketing
planning process to achieve business objectives
In the words of Peter’s and Kevin’s, it is marketing that can help a business find and retain the
customers. Preparation of the marketing plan is quite important in developing the product since it
educates the public regarding the business and its products, boosts the sales and profits while
improving the reputation of the company.
A marketing mix is a familiar tool which was conventionally restricted to the 4Ps namely,
Product, Place, Promotion, and Price. It is regarded as one of the top three tools for marketing
which was later modified into 7Ps designed by E. Jerome McCarthy in 1960.
The business concerns can make use of the 7Ps model for setting objectives, conducting a SWOT
analysis and undertaking a rivalry analysis (N.K., 2015). Here is a brief analysis of how the
marketing mix can help a business organization develop its marketing plan:
 Products or services: How can the products and services are developed?
 Prices or fees: How can a business alter its pricing model?
 Place or accessibility: What are the different options relating to customers’ experience?
 Promotion: How can the products be complimented or substituted within the earned or owned
media channels?
 Physical evidence: How can a business reassure the consumers?
 People: Who are the target consumers and employees?
 Partners: Does the business need any new partner or stakeholder for the existing business model?
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M3 Evaluate different tactics applied by organizations to demonstrate how business
objectives can be achieved
Having an effective marketing strategy can help in defining the overall direction as well as the
goals for marketing. The business strategies should articulate the ways in which the organisation
can present its products and services for satisfying the needs and preferences of the consumers.
The common tactics applied by business organisations to achieve the business objectives include:
Establishing the vision and overarching goals of the business- An in-depth analysis of the
business concern from the outside is crucial for charting out the most effective course in a fast-
paced world.
Measuring the progress- Once the business has reached its main goals, it is important to ensure
that the right strategies are developed in order to achieve them. This step demands the
construction of concrete metrics with the right objectives for every single object.
Turning long-term strategies into short-term objectives- With the development of clear-cut
strategies, it is important to analyse the goals and metrics for the concern by looking into the
current performance.
Getting every employee on board- The development of the tactical plan would demand for
deployment of objectives all through the organisation with the aid of time span of control (Tohidi
and Jabbari, 2012).
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D2 Design a strategic marketing plan that tactically applies the use of the 7Ps to achieve
overall marketing objectives
As a business has successfully established its marketing objectives, the next step involved is
developing the marketing strategies for achieving those objectives. The main areas of the 7Ps
should be considered for devising a strategic marketing plan in the following manner:
1. Products or services: For a business, this would include an integrated set of tools for handling
blogs, social media, web pages, email and SEO for leading intelligence tools.
2. Prices or fees: This would include software and service fees on a number of database and tools
used for the marketing strategies.
3. Place or access: This P of marketing mix includes the group of online partners and user groups
within the concern.
4. Promotion: For promotion, the business can indulge in webiners, useful guides, speaking to the
consumers or conducting an SEO or social media advertising.
5. Physical evidence: The physical evidence includes consistence of branding across the various
modes of communications.
6. People: This includes investment in various online services, employees, workers, and consumers.
7. Partners: A business looks to form partnerships with the widely favoured media partners such as
Google and Facebook along with local partners such as Smart Insights that can help in
collaborating with research all across Europe.
In order to make an effective use of 7Ps, it is important to consider each and every aspect unless
that particular area is completely outside the control of the business. By bringing about changes
in the marketing mix, the business organization can increase the market share, improve market
penetration and have a price advantage as well (Jadczaková, 2013).
Comparison of your destination and national express on the basis of 7Ps is given below:
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Products or services: The CNG and patrol product are used by the National Express whereas the
diesel products are used by Your Destination organization.
Prices or fees: According to the National Express the price will be fixed but according to your
destination, the price will be changed with the customer demand.
Place or access: the Nation Express is dependent on the customer call where your destination is
accessible by the large centres.
Promotion: National Express includes the celebrities for the promotion of the products where
your destination uses advertisement and peoples.
Physical evidence: The continuous evaluation and survey are used by both National Express and
your destination organisation.
People: National Express is utilized by the upper class that cannot use the transportation where
your destination is accessed by the station which is fixed. So it can be used by the people who
can use daily transportation.
Process: The organization value will be checked through feedbacks and survey for both
organizations.
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L03: Develop and evaluate a basic marketing plan
P4: Produce and evaluate a basic marketing plan for an organization
The business organization operating in any given market condition is bound to have both positive
and negative result. The marketing plan for business can be defined as a written declaration that
identifies the target market and specifies the marketing objectives by each product and services
and classifying the units of business strategy with scheduled budget elements. The planning
process typically involves three crucial steps: analysis of the situation, the setting of objectives
and specifying the marketing activities. A significant element here is also identification of
opportunity of markets as per the new market and products.
The marketing plan concerns the objectives and strategies of the product, its range and
developing the marketing plan for a specified span of time. In case of situation analysis, the
business needs to consider the revenues of the past, present and the future along with expenses
and profits of the business as a whole under individual segments. In the second step of setting out
the critical segments, it is important for the business to grow the industry branch and analyze its
competitive position along with markets for profit and revenue. The final step is the marketing
program which involves scheduling and description of the pricing, actions, and promotion of the
products (Pawar, 2014).
Analysis of the situation:
The situation of the organization can be analysed by using the SWOT analysis-
Strength: The organization can understand the strength factors by a survey which is provided by
users
Weakness: The organization can also understand the negative factors by a survey which is
provided by users
Opportunities: The Company can increase the business and they can increase business
continuity by understanding opportunities.
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Threats: The threat of Your Destination is the emergence of competitors in the market.
Budget plan:
“One of the real component that must be set and arranged while setting up the promoting plan of
the firm. The spending should be adequately set with the goal that firm can have the capacity to
utilize the assets according to its accessibility”.
Control:
“Your Destination organization needs to screen and watch out for the exercises and activities that
have been arranged and confined. The supervisors require checking in a standard way in order to
oversee and control the exercises”.
The objective of the marketing:
“The prime thought process of the firm in setting to promoting is that it needs to make the
organization's situation in the global market. The target of the firm is to build up its branches,
Manchester, Glasgow Aberdeen etc”.
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M4 Produce a detailed, coherent evidence-based marketing plan for an organization
The creation of an evidence-based marketing plan is undermined to be called as a strategic
process. There are various steps involved and each of them is discussed below in detail:
Situation analysis: In order to determine the present position of a business at present, it is
necessary to have access to the information of the past and present state. Costs, profits, and
revenues are also analysed through different stages for a long span of time. It is crucial here to
compare the business with one of the most influential competitors in the field. A business may
also choose to analyses the development of various comparable products with the other rivals.
Having a detailed analysis of the results that are achieved can aid in setting the right marketing
objectives which, in turn, helps in progressing to the second stage of the planning.
Setting target segments: The marketing plan must be in sync with the objectives of the business
and should be as precise as possible in terms of time schedule and volume. There are various
fields involved in the setting of the objectives including the position of the business in the
market, market share in sales, the presence of services, innovation, productivity, and public
responsibility, the performance of managers and other employees and many others.
Marketing program: The primary aim of the marketing program is to make sure that a business
adopts only pragmatic marketing strategies. This is inclusive of the delegation of the rights as
well as responsibilities of each and every worker along with the optimum distribution and
utilization of the available resources.
The marketing plan should be able to fulfil some requirements and each program should clearly
specify the resources along with the time schedule. It helps in classifying the marketing plan into
two major groups, namely partial measures and tactical jobs which pave the way for the
fulfillment of business goals (Lilly, 2014).
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Conclusion
In the recent time, businesses all across the globe are offering absolutely new propositions along
with technological developments which are making it easier for the business to grow and thrive.
A marketing manager should understand the real power of marketing in order to reap its benefits.
Regardless of whether a business is a small grocery store or a multinational corporation, the
marketing must be done in the right manner in order to reach out to the target audience. The
common areas of marketing such as web presence, relationships with existing and prospective
customers, social media presence, creation of quality content, joint ventures, affiliates,
partnerships, brand ambassadors, and networking should be dealt with utmost seriousness in
order to achieve the long and short-term goals. Also, online marketing holds a special place in
running a business in today’s world and the common aspects that need to be looked after in this
context are mobile marketing, search marketing that comprise of both PPC and SEO and
conversion rate optimization. Last but not the least; it is worthy of mention here that each
business is unique along with its position in the market and relationship with the consumers.
Therefore, even though there are some hard and fast marketing essentials, the real task of
marketing the products and services ultimately boils down to what suits the best for the
organization.
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