Marketing Communications and Strategy

This assignment delves into the core concepts of marketing communications and strategy. Students will analyze the 7 Ps of the marketing mix, examine various marketing planning tools, and discuss the influence of service-dominant logic on contemporary marketing practices. The provided reading list features academic articles and books covering topics like viral video marketing, brand image, sustainable marketing, advertising, and omni-channel retailing.

Marketing Essentials

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 & P2 Essay.............................................................................................................................1
Introduction to concept of marketing with current and future trends.........................................1
Overview of different marketing processes................................................................................2
Explain the key roles and responsibilities of a marketing manager............................................2
Analysis of the roles and responsibilities of marketing (M1).....................................................4
Analysis and Evaluation of the key elements of marketing function (D1).................................4
How roles and responsibilities of marketing relates and impacts upon the different
departments and importance of marketing manager (P2)...........................................................5
M2 Analysis of the importance of interrelationships between different functional units...........6
PART 2............................................................................................................................................7
Comparison of the application of marketing mix elements in the Vodafone and EE for
attaining business objectives.......................................................................................................7
Evaluating different strategies opted by Vodafone (M3).........................................................10
Strategic marketing plan by applying 7P's (D2)......................................................................10
Produce a basic plan with clear objectives for Vodafone (P4).................................................10
Detailed and evidence based marketing plan (M4)...................................................................13
CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Marketing of a business is considered as the backbone of an organisation. It is the study
and management of exchange relationship. The exchanges are done with the set of activities like
creation process, advertising, promotion, communication, delivering, sales etc. Most of the
aspects of the business lies within the successful marketing. These elements are important as it
brings various benefits to the organisation such as higher sales, enhanced company’s reputation,
healthy competition, etc. (Sirkeci, 2013.)
This assignment is prepared to understand the marketing principles of a network provider
company, Vodafone. These laws highly depend upon the roles and responsibilities of marketing
manager and this study contains the duties that a manager need to play. This learning also
revolves around the interrelation between different departments. Further, the impact of those
actions on the other functional departments of the entity are discussed in this report. The
importance of marketing mix in enhancing the business value is also described in the present
report. Moreover, the effectiveness of an organisation is also evaluated in this study and for
evaluating this, comparison is made between Vodafone and another network provider entity.
After doing all these tasks, collective information will be used to prepare the impelling
marketing plan.
PART 1
P1 & P2 Essay
Introduction to concept of marketing with current and future trends.
Concept of marketing is that philosophy which companies should concentrate on to
satisfy the customers to achieve the higher profits. Moreover, it is a magnificent tool for network
providers. The current trends of marketing involve the concept of ” relationship marketing” that
focuses on the customer retention and satisfaction rather than sales transaction, business
marketing which is a practice of selling services to the other organisations and social marketing
that is used to determine the needs of the target market and deliver more satisfaction. In addition
to this, the most used tool of marketing in present era is E-commerce and online marketing. The
future trends of marketing depend upon the influence of four different factors viz globalisation,
technology, personalisation and integration (Stolyarova and Rialp, 2014). The impact of these
forces can boost up the marketing trends.
1

Overview of different marketing processes.
Depending upon the marketing concept, entities should evaluate the effective way to
fulfil the customer demands. There are four steps that are involved in the marketing process
namely, situation analysis, marketing strategy, marketing mix decision and implementation &
control. Firstly, the present market situation is analysed with the help of some techniques like
sales report, feedback, etc. After analysing the condition, appropriate strategies are designed to
cope up with the market situations (Strauss, 2016). This designing of strategies also includes the
effective marketing mix strategies. Afterwards the preparation of policies, they are implemented
in the marketing process to attain the desired results.
Explain the key roles and responsibilities of a marketing manager.
The heart of any business lies within the effective marketing. In achieving the
effectiveness in the marketing, manager plays a vital role. Also, there are several roles and
responsibilities that should be followed by marketing manager of Vodafone to attain the desired
results from this process-
 Market Research- To acquire the proper knowledge of customers is the key role that
should be performed by the manager. In this process, the target market is then selected
for carrying out other activities. All the further processing depends on this step; thus this
evaluation should be effective (Verhoef and et.al, 2015). The information can be
gathered by Vodafone through questionnaires, interviews, internet, buying habits, etc.
 Development of marketing strategy and plan- This is the most crucial step of marketing.
In this, depending upon the results of the market research, planning is done. The actions
that are taken while planning are situation analysis, object setting, strategy making, etc.
It is the major duty of a manager of Vodafone to revise the plan according to the yearly
results obtained through the planning.
 Managing marketing mix- Elements of marketing mix plays an important role in
marketing. Manager should acquire a deep knowledge of these elements depending upon
their entity. After all, appropriate knowledge of these factors helps in market the
products and services. The roles associated with this is providing facilities to the
customers, modification and development of product, etc.
 Customer relationship management- The steps that are included in this are maintaining
communication with the customer throughout the various stages of marketing processes.
2

Managing old consumers is relatively easier and effective as compared to bring the new
ones. Thus, in order to keep the trust of existing buyers it is necessary to manage a high
level of customer relationship within the organisation.
 Brand development- This process includes the consistency of visuals such as logo,
sounds used in television or radio advertisement. All these factors help in development
of the brand that impacts upon the company’s reputation. Thus, Vodafone should
develop the brand by working on the above elements.
 Maintain communication- Manager should bring off the communication between and
within the departments and employees for the impelling working of operational and
functional unit. High communication level helps in evacuation of so many problems
related to the marketing process and hence, it is foremost duty of high level authorities to
maintain the good connection environment.
 Customer satisfaction- It is the most essential responsibility that should be accomplish
by the managers through ensuring proper delivery, making customer focused decisions,
etc.
 Innovations- This is a tactic that can help Vodafone in development of a brand-new
product by putting some innovations in the existing one (Sirkeci, 2013.). These
innovation helps in enhancing the revenue, hence managers should be innovation-
focused.
 Developing creative thinking skills- Development of creative products not only satisfy
the customers but creativeness in operation also impacts upon the working environment
of an entity.
 Managing agencies- There are numerous promotional items such as websites, brochures,
pamphlets, etc. These things need some form of outsourced help such as content writing,
graphics, deigning, etc. Thus, these agencies essentially require careful management.
 Measuring success- Vodafone should measure the success timely to check the
effectiveness of the implemented strategies. This measurement is important to evacuate
the unnecessary policies. Also, with the help of this mensuration the alteration and
modifications required in a scheme can be made.
3

 Competitive intelligence- Evaluation of the best practices present in the market that can
benefit you organisation is done to enhance the competitive edge. It is the responsibility
of a manger to research about the best principles of marketing and implement them.
All the above duties of manager ensures the successful operation of the marketing
practices.
Analysis of the roles and responsibilities of marketing (M1)
In a marketing environment, there are some rules and regulation which are to be followed
efficiently. These include proper listening to customer's needs, Co-ordinating with the marketing
partners like with publishers, journalists, designers, consultants etc. (Oseni and Pollitt, 2017).
They all help in enhancing the proper evaluation of the skills that are required to cope in the
marketing environment. Proper communication with the co-workers also makes a huge impact
on the business. It helps in improving the sales processes and dealing with the customers. Proper
management of the budgets is also equally important. One should have finite knowledge for
planning and defining different strategies which helps a business to grow at a faster rate.
Analysis and Evaluation of the key elements of marketing function (D1)
Main elements of any marketing function includes Products, Price, Place and Promotion.
These factors are discussed as below :
1. Product – It refers to finding the right product which can help in achieving the target. The
product must be developed according to the requirement of the customer (Simkin,
2016.).
2. Price – The most important element of market is the rate/ price of the product. It should
set at a reasonable that a customer is willing to pay and does not think it is more than the
product deserves.
3. Place – Selling the product at the right place is important. It means selling the type of
product in that type of market only. Selling it in another markets does not make any
sense.
How roles and responsibilities of marketing relates and impacts upon the different departments
and importance of marketing manager (P2).
Although, the functions of marketing are performed by the related department but this
process directly or indirectly depends upon the different context of organisation. Here are some
different functional units of an entity that relates and impacts upon the marketing:
4

1. Production: This unit helps in marketing by providing adequate research and development of
products to satisfy the customer needs. The area where this unit impacts the marketing section is
time. The marketing component of the organisation will try to get the products as soon a s
possible to ensure the competitive edge whereas the production section will wish to first test the
product to ensure that they do not need to rework on that service.
2. Finance department- The main objective of this unit is to ensure appropriate budgeting of the
research, promotion and distribution process. This department will want to provide equal and
allocated budget shares to the different functional sections of the Vodafone whereas the
marketing division will aim to more investment in marketing. Also, the marketing department
focuses on the sales volume and market share whereas the finance division will aim on the cash
flow (Shah, 2014.). Marketing unit further needs to include all the financial information
regarding the new and the existing services.
3. Human resource management- This department of the entity can not be ignored at any cost.
This unit ensures the research and development of new products, meeting the targets of
production, creation of effectual sales team. This division needs to balance the marketing roles
along with the other departments. Further, this unit should provide employees with the skills of
impelling sales and marketing. It should conduct various training programs and workshops for
this.
4. R&D department- This unit needs the assistance from the marketing department till a greater
extent. From idea of new product to implementation, this division depends upon the marketing
process. This divisions can gather the entire data of product development with the help of market
research.
5. Social media unit- This department of Vodafone looks after the promotion of the products
through social media. This unit directly impacts upon the marketing division. The effectiveness
of this section will enhance the merchandising process.
6. Sales department- This division of Vodafone looks after the selling of the product to achieve
the set target. This is the unit that entirely depends upon the marketing of the services. Thus,
merchandising should be impelling enough to cope up with the set objectives of product selling
(Oseni and Pollitt, 2017).
5

7. Promotion/Advertising department- This is that section of the organisation on which the
marketing department mainly depends upon. There are various functions performed by this
division that directly impacts upon the sale value of the services.
Marketing manager of Vodafone also plays an important role in implementation of the
process of merchandising. The significance of a manger involves the development of the
impelling strategies of product marketing that enhance the business value of the organisation.
Further, their role of managing the employees is a key factor to increase the performance of the
entity by enhancing the work ability of the employees. Managers also generates a good working
environment by improving the communication between the employees, these development
produces a comfortable environment for workers (Neupane, 2015). They further deals with the
customer relationship management that helps in boosting the satisfaction of the consumer.
Moreover, managers are important in identifying the new business opportunities which can help
Vodafone in achieving the desired results.
M2 Analysis of the importance of interrelationships between different functional units
There are many functional units with which marketing can be compared with and the
major among them are discussed as under :
 Finance Management – For both old and new products, there should be proper marketing
plans. Marketing can act as a supporting management at the time of decisions regarding
to investments (Mpuga, 2017). That way, it can give various inputs under different
strategies.
 Production Department – These departments are accessed for estimation of the type and
number of goods which are to be produced by the company. Various marketing
strategies also stimulates the process which increases the demand of the products and
services.
6

PART 2
Comparison of the application of marketing mix elements in the Vodafone and EE for attaining
business objectives.
Marketing mix constituents of 7 elements that helps organisation in influencing the
consumers to buy their services. The basic elements of this mix are known as 7 P's.
In order to examine the effectiveness of the marketing process of Vodafone, the
application of marketing mix in the organisation is made to compare with it's application another
network provider entity of UK, namely Everything Everywhere (EE). The comparison is done
below:
Element of
marketing mix
Description Vodafone EE
Product This is the element
that is being sold in
In case of product,
Vodafone offers a
Although, EE network
provider offers a
7
Illustration 1: 7 P's of marketing mix.
(Source: Babin, B. J. and Zikmund, W.G., 2015)

the market by the
organisation. It is the
tangible and physical
item that is bought or
sold.
wide range of services
such as voice,
messaging, data and
fixed line through pre-
paid, post-paid and
VAS.
good range of services
but it lacks Vodafone
in presenting that wide
range.
Price This is that amount
which is to be paid by
the customer for the
services they bought.
Organisations always
tries to set them high
to gain profit.
The price of the
products in this entity
are comparatively
higher than that of the
EE.
Irrespective of the
lower range of
services, EE satisfy
customers with the
price. The lower cost
of this network
provider bring
customers to it.
Place Places are the areas
where the product is
made available to the
consumers. Nowadays,
online shops are taking
place of street shops
and places in mall.
The major places that
are sued by Vodafone
are customer care
centres and shops.
Also, they use internet
sources to sell their
services. This type of
selling is most liked by
the customers as it
help them in saving
their time.
EE uses retailer shops,
customer care centres
and shops. They do not
have effective
availability of internet
sources for selling
their services.
Promotion This element is used
by entities to put their
message in front of the
target audience.
Promotion is done via
There are various
promotion means used
by a global level
entity, Vodafone such
as TV, billboards,
Promotion sources
used by EE includes
brochures, pamphlets,
hoardings, etc. This
method is also
8

advertising, PR, sales
promotion, personal
selling and social
media.
online, print, etc. With
the help of these
sources, they can
easily reach the
customers.
effective as they target
a lower range of
customers
(Mohammad Kazemi,
2015).
People This elements is
comprises of the front
line sales workers to
the managing director
present in the
company. Every entity
wants effective staff
that can enhance the
performance.
The priority of
Vodafone are its
customers and to assist
them there are around
100,000 employees
worldwide. These
employees are selected
through the global
level external
recruitment process.
EE being
comparatively lower
sized firm, uses
national level external
recruitment system for
hiring the .
Process This factor deals with
the method of delivery
of the services to the
customers (Lusch and
Vargo, 2014). The
process is reliant on
the amount of money,
the customer is paying
for the product.
As the entity receives
comparatively high
amount of money from
the customers, so it
provides them with the
effective processing of
their product. For
example- easy
availability of top-ups.
This entity lacks
Vodafone in
presenting effective
processing in front of
the customers.
Physical Evidence This is the material
part of the services.
The physical
evidences includes the
infrastructure,
equipments,
Vodafone has issued
SIM cards to every
customer. Apart from
the recharge vouchers,
Vodafone also
provides good stores,
EE also offers good
physical evidence to
the consumers such as
store services,
recharge vouchers, etc.
9

brochures, business
cards, etc.
services, digital TV
services etc. to prove
its physical evidence
side.
Thus, from the above table, the effectivenesses of the Vodafone can be evaluated by
comparing it with the services provided at the EE network provider. From the above judgement,
it is observed that Vodafone focuses on the quality factor whereas EE aims on the customer.
Further, Vodafone keeps better processing of product as compare to the EE. Also, the promotion
method used by the Vodafone are more impelling that that of the EE and covers wider range of
audience. In context to physical evidences, both the establishments were found to be effective
depending upon their business size.
Evaluating different strategies opted by Vodafone (M3).
There are some particular tactics which have to attained for achieving different business
objectives. Some very important elements of the objectives of Vodafone are split among senior
managers. It is all based on the functions and practices or in regarding with the products and its
services (Jain and Goswami, 2013). There are individual business objectives also which
generally comes along with the strategic business objectives. Some specialised teams like
General business and project management are formulated for proper evaluation of the business
objectives. Both employees and their individual teams have their different performance
objectives which when combined results in the achievement of the targeted goal.
Strategic marketing plan by applying 7P's (D2).
Vodafone applies 7P's of marketing to achieve the business objectives. These include
place, price, promotion, people, processes, physical environment and the product. Every feature
follows a different strategy. Price should be user friendly so that the customer may be willing to
purchase it (Fill and Hughes, 2013). Place should be accurate. Different products in different
markets does not make any sense. Employees and the management should be efficient enough to
deal with the barriers that come along while achieving objectives.
Produce a basic plan with clear objectives for Vodafone (P4).
Marketing plan is the blueprint of the activities that are to be performed for the marketing
process. This planing helps in providing the direction to the company (Coffie and Owusu‐
10

Frimpong, 2014). There are many benefits associated with this for example- rallying point,
operational instructions, captured thinking, top-level reflection, etc. This planning is done on the
basis of the objectives of the entity. In case of Vodafone, the main objectives are profitability,
productivity, effective marketing, organisational growth and customer satisfaction. In order to
achieve these objectives, Vodafone needs to implement an effective marketing plan. An
impelling plan is prepared below for the entity-
 Executive summary- This is the first step taken in planning. It contains the overview of
the plan that is going to processed. This section drumhead each division of the marketing
design. Further, with the help of executive summary employees, advisors, etc. can be
benefited.
 Company Overview- This is the most important step included in the marketing planning.
Under this phase, complete evaluation of the company is done to measure the
effectiveness. With the help of this summary, the performance of each division can be
measured.
 Current Marketing Situation analysis- In this step, situation based analysis is done. This
process covers entire data about the market in which the Vodafone is presently working
in (Christopher and et.al, 2013). The assess of situation is done on the basis of the
products, resources, distribution method, market shares, competitors, etc. These analysis
can be done with the help of following methods:
 Internal analysis- In this method, the people working in the organisation took
place. This analysis can be done by checking the past records, sale books, etc.
With the help of the previous records, entity can find the product that is most
liked by the customers and hence, development in that order can be done.
 External Analysis- Customers and competitors are the major elements that plays
role in this type of analysis. With the help of feedback and questionnaire the
needs of consumers can be evaluated. Further, the competitors with best policies
helps in benchmarking.
 SWOT analysis- This is the most effective tool to evaluate the situation of market.
This method involves both, the internal and the external analysis. In this method,
the strengths and the weaknesses of the internal environment are evaluated to deal
with the external opportunities and threats to the organisation.
11

 Objectives- All the business objectives that are to be attained by the entity are listed
down in this step so that they can get a direction to move on. After listing down the
goals, further strategies and tactics are prepared to achieve them (Babin and Zikmund,
2015). In present context, the objectives of Vodafone involves profitability, productivity,
effective marketing, organisational growth and customer satisfaction.
 Strategy- Marketing and promotion policies are prepared in this measure. These strategies
involves advertising and direct marketing to attain profitability, training programs for
employees to gain organisational growth, websites and shows for accession of customers
to develop their satisfaction.
 Segmentation, targetting and positioning- The customers are divided and are further
arranged for targetting. In targetting process, customised campaigns took place to appeal
each segment. After targetting, alignment of products is done in the target market.
 Tactics & Action- After carrying out the STP process, techniques are prepared to meet
the expectations of the different target markets. Depending upon the wide range of
customers, various techniques should be implemented by Vodafone to cover the needs of
each consumer (Arnett and Wittmann, 2014). The strategies are designed on the basis of
the elements of the marketing mix. Action plan is a detailed implementation plan that
covers the application of every strategy that is designed.
12

 Budget- Implementation of every strategy needs associated budget. This step thus check
the effectiveness of the strategy so that appropriate budgeting can be done.
 Control- After applying the strategies, the organisation need to track its way for analysing
their effectiveness. It is necessary to monitor that either the designed tactics are impelling
or not so that they can alter or modify.
 Conclusion- Monitoring the strategies helps in determining which policies can be used
and which should be eliminated. In this step, the conclusion of those strategies took
place.
Thus, above is a marketing plan which Vodafone should implement in their entity to
enhance it's business value and attaining organisational growth.
Detailed and evidence based marketing plan (M4).
The marketing plan for Vodafone is minimised into four parts which includes proper
strategies for product, place, price and promotion (Ansah, 2014). These strategies play an equal
important role in the corporate markets as well. It is considered with developing plans which
includes the basic requirements of a customer. Vodafone keeps track of new modifications,
people want these days. Whether it may be regarding call rates or internet packs, they are much
aware to satisfy the basic requirements of the customer. Further, marketing plan involves crucial
processes such as situation analysis, objective setting, strategy preparation and implementation.
Vodafone should involve all these steps while preparing a marketing plan.
13
Illustration 2: Marketing planning tools
(Source: Lorette, 2011)

CONCLUSIONS
The above study is based on the significance of the marketing processes in enhancing the
business value of an organisation. In this learning the importance of manager in implementing
merchandising process are also discussed. Those responsibilities of manager are how further
influenced by the different departments of the establishment is evaluated in this report. The value
of applying marketing mix elements into planning process is moreover stated in the above study.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of this implementation is evaluated by comparing the chosen
organisation's mix with other entity. Also, an effective marketing plan is also prepared for the
Vodafone based on the results obtained in the report. This plan is designed to attain the
organisational objectives.
14

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Ansah, M. O., 2014. The Influence of Sales Strategies on Customer Purchase Pattern in the
Telecommunication Industry in Ghana. International Journal of Academic Research in
Business and Social Sciences. 4(5). pp.340.
Arnett, D. B. and Wittmann, C.M., 2014. Improving marketing success: The role of tacit
knowledge exchange between sales and marketing. Journal of Business Research. 67(3).
pp.324-331.
Babin, B. J. and Zikmund, W.G., 2015. Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning.
Christopher, M. and et.al, 2013. Relationship marketing. Taylor & Francis.
Coffie, S. and Owusu‐Frimpong, N., 2014. Alternative positioning strategies for services in
Ghana. Thunderbird International Business Review. 56(6). pp.531-546.
Fill, C. and Hughes, G., 2013. CIM Coursebook Marketing Communications 07/08. Routledge.
Jain, D. and Goswami, S., 2013. Role of YouTube in viral video marketing. International
Journal of Management, IT and Engineering. 3(12). pp.65.
Lusch, R. F. and Vargo, S. L., 2014. The service-dominant logic of marketing: Dialog, debate,
and directions. Routledge.
Mohammad Kazemi, R., 2015. Sports marketing and social media. Handbook of research on
integrating social media into strategic marketing. pp.340-358.
Mpuga, P., 2017. Sustainable marketing at Safaricom Limited: The power of a good strategy.
African Journal of Marketing Management. 9(6). pp.70-85.
Neupane, R., 2015. The effects of brand image on customer satisfaction and loyalty intention in
retail super market chain UK. International Journal of Social Sciences and Management.
2(1). pp.9-26.
Oseni, M. O. and Pollitt, M.G., 2017. The prospects for smart energy prices: observations from
50 years of residential pricing for fixed line telecoms and electricity. Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews. 70. pp.150-160.
Shah, K., 2014. Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communicatons. Tata McGraw-Hill
Education.
Simkin, L., 2016. 11 Segmentation. The Marketing Book. pp.271.
Sirkeci, I., 2013. Transnational marketing and transnational consumers (p. 75). New York,
Heidelberg, London: Springer.
Stolyarova, E. and Rialp, J., 2014. Synergies among advertising channels: An efficiency
analysis. Journal of Promotion Management. 20(2). pp.200-218.
Strauss, J., 2016. E-marketing. Routledge.