Marketing Essentials Report

This report analyzes the marketing essentials of IKEA, a global furniture and home goods retailer. It examines the roles and responsibilities of the marketing division, its interrelation with other departments, and the application of the marketing mix. The report also includes a detailed marketing plan for IKEA, encompassing SWOT analysis, financial projections, and evaluation strategies.

Marketing Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1: Roles and duties of marketing division.................................................................................1
P2: Interrelation of marketing division with other organisational departments along with its
roles and responsibilities.............................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
P3: Application of marketing mix...............................................................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
P4: Marketing plan of IKEA.......................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is defined as the activities performed by company related with buying and
selling of products and services which consists of advertising, selling and delivering products to
final customers. It assist company in maintaining healthy relation with the targeted people
through identify market needs and requirements and fulfilling them within shorter period of time.
The present assignment is based on IKEA which is engaged in providing wide range of products
including kitchen appliances, furniture and home appliances throughout the world. It is
multinational retail organisation which came into existence in the year 1943. The project
describes the functions of marketing along with the interrelation of marketing department with
others divisions. The project also explaining the marketing mix of two organisations which is
engaged in similar sector. Along with this, marketing plan of IKEA is also prepared under this
report in order to assist employees to give their best efforts for the betterment of an organisation.
TASK 1
P1: Roles and duties of marketing division
Overview of IKEA:
IKEA was first settled in 1943 in Sweden as a small-sized retail association and at
present it moves toward becoming one of the perceived retailer associations which is engaged in
giving wide variety of products; for example, furniture, and home frill and kitchen usage
products all over the world. Because of selling innovative furniture and home products which are
eco-friendly, IKEA can effectively create tremendous range of items. In the year 2016, it has
been generated over €35.074 billion as income of company. In order to exist in rivalry market for
longer time-frame, the organization has executed numerous activities, for example, controlling of
their costs, making operations more successfully to build up their items according to the
requirements and needs of clients. This will drives them in growing its business to a huge scale
and win greatest revenue consistently (Arguello, 2013).
Marketing
It refers to an activity which are basically needed to be executed by marketing division in
order to bring products of an organisation into market for selling it to the targeted people. The
primary elements of marketing division is to recognize and investigate the existing market
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patterns and conditions as indicated by which needs and requirements of clients are identified. It
will guide the association to roll out improvements in their current items.
Marketing concept
Production concept – It is related with operations and activities of the organisation.
Proper evaluation should be done over the operation division in an organisation due to this
overall cost will be controlled. It is important because customer wants value to their money so
increase in cost will be affect the value of products.
Product concept- Through this concept, it is proved that customer buying behvaiour is
very much based on the quality products offered to them. So that, in food industry it is essential
for maintaining the standard of product in order to achieving competitive advantage in market
place.
Selling concept- this is another concept By which enterprise can gave more focus on the
sales. There are various alternatives which are available in the organisation that increases the
revenue such as analyse the nature and type of customers due to this, the capability of the firm
will increased and enables it to cover greater market share.
Consumer concept – under this part of marketing, the priority is given to customers. It is
believed that on using of a particular service the satisfaction level of consumer is maximised as it
helps in holding better relations with the customers.
Roles and responsibilities of marketing department
There are various roles and duties which are performed by marketing manager in order to
accomplish pre-determined objectives and goals of an association inside pre-decided timeframe.
Such roles and obligations are quickly depicted as underneath:
Product: It incorporates the offerings which are given by organization in market, for
example, home products, furniture and so on. In such manner, there are a few obligations of
organization to give quality products in-building unique features to their clients which make
them unique in relation to their rivals in industry. To deal with opponents it is essential for
marketing administrator to identify the market trends, rivals competitive strategies, preferences
and needs of customers etc. This will give an opportunity to make new thoughts and implement
it into practical manner so as to achieve competitive advantage in market (Cleverley, 2017).
Selling: It is an imperative part which ought to be executed by marketing manager of
IKEA in which they have to market their product in market in order to create immense incomes
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and continue in market for longer time-frame. To roll out improvements in offering procedure of
various items, the marketing manager of IKEA required to implement advanced technologies so
as to reach company's products to maximum number of customers. This will help in meeting the
requirements of customers which makes easy for them to achieve their loyalty for longer period
of time. Another element which helps organization in attaining huge customer base is
formulation of marketing strategies including implementation of print media, digitalisation etc.
due to which he buying pattern of targeted people gets easily influences in favourable of
company which directly makes positive impact on their overall sales (Dudu and Agwu, 2014).
Promotion: It is considered as a valuable function which has to be performed by
marketing manager of IKEA with a clear motive of attracting targeted people towards company’s
offerings. There are various promotional tools such as social media, advertisement on TV,
Newspapers etc. which makes easy for company to reach their wide range of products to
maximum number of people.
Financing: Funds are an essential requirement of marketing department on the basis of
which marketing budget has been formed. For this, the marketing manager of IKEA is held
responsible to assess the needs of funds so that it can be further invested in adoption of various
marketing tools. In addition with this, giving guidance to employees regarding maximum
utilisation of funds are another important role of marketing manager.
Distribution: IKEA is operating its business in multiple number of nations due to which
it required marketing manager to chose suppliers from different regions in order to ensure about
the accessibility of products at their various stores. This will reduces the chances of shortage of
products at any store due to which it makes easy for customers to buy company’s products at the
stores located nearby to them (Eslinger, 2014).
P2: Interrelation of marketing division with other organisational departments along with its roles
and responsibilities
Marketing is a valuable part of an organisation which provides maximum support in
increasing sales figure and revenue of company through performing various marketing functions
with the help of different other departments of an organisation. Therefore, it requires to make
proper coordination among departments so as to reduce the chances of mistake as well as
duplication of efforts. It can be further explained as under:
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Marketing with operation department: IKEA is well established retail organisation
which has attained huge customer strength all over the world. It gets adequate support from the
marketing department in form of identifying market needs and requirements through conducting
research or survey on regular basis. Furthermore, marketing department provide adequate details
to operation department about the changes in designs which are more in trend among the people
so that demanded products are produced accordingly.
Marketing with HR department: Marketing department advertises job vacancies of an
organisation in the market with a hope of receiving numerous applications from qualified
applicants. Thus, it makes easy for HR department to recruit and select best candidates among
various alternatives which are suitable for vacant job position. This will help organisation in
attaining skilled workforce due to which maximum efforts can be gained towards achievement of
organisational goals and objectives (Jeffery, 2010).
Marketing with finance department: Marketing department performs several important
functions such as promoting goods and services of an organisation by using various promotional
tools and techniques such as TV advertisement. Hiring celebrities etc. It requires huge amount of
funds to invest due to which it approaches to finance department to allot funds according to the
requirements so that marketing budget can be made. It will help IKEA in achieving strong brand
image and huge customer base through getting mutual support from marketing as well as finance
department.
TASK 2
P3: Application of marketing mix
It is defined as an appropriate technique of marketing management which is used by
marketing team of an organisation. These techniques are made by seven factors they are product,
price, place, promotion, process, people and physical evidence. By using of these factors
marketing manager can easily make decisions and supportive plans for execute marketing
activities in a proper way. The difference of marketing mix between two competitors such as
IKEA and Walmart are briefly described as under:
Marketing mix of IKEA firm
Product – It is defined as a goods or services which are offered to the customers by an
organisation. IKEA is offering furniture, home accessories and home appliance to the customers.
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Furthermore, the marketing manager of IKEA have to find out the needs and wants of customers
and accordingly offered quality products in the result of increasing satisfaction level of the
customers (The Marketing Mix 4P’s and 7P’s Explained, 2017).
Price- This is the part which refers to pricing strategy of product and services of the firm
in order to grabbing targeted customers. IKEA is a MNC which deals in retail sector they are
facing various competitions from their rivals of same segments, so they are charging affordable
price and gave their customers a quality products as well as services for increasing their profit
margin. Ikea has follows differentiation pricing strategy due to providing different products as
compared with their rivals.
Place- It is the part of marketing mix where the products and services of manufacturer
are seen, sold and distributed. IKEA has over 25 distribution centres and are operating its
business in more than 50 countries.
Promotion – These are the activities which are helpful in increasing number of
customers. By using this, organisation can build relations with new customers. It includes
promotional activities, advertisements, newspapers etc. IKEA has launched its promotional
campaigns names as 'Make Everyday Brighter' for grabbing attention of maximum number of
customers and increases their sales as well.
Process- It refers to the procedure which is used by an organisation for delivering their
products and services to the customers. In IKEA, the buyers come in their stores select the
products and purchase it without any inference of their staff members. In furniture segment
IKEA provides vehicle facility to transfer purchased furniture at the customer's location.
Physical evidence- It refers to the environment which is provided by a manufacture of
goods and services to its customers it may be physical environment, packaging, labelling etc.
IKEA has multiple numbers of stores which can be easily identified by the customers (Malhotra,
Birks and Wills, 2013).
People – It is connected with staff members or employees who are working for a firm in
providing services to the customers. The workers of IKEA always connected with the customers
and collect feedbacks of their satisfaction level after using their commodity. This will be helpful
in maintaining healthy relationships with customers.
Marketing mix of Wal-Mart
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Product – It is also deals in retail sectors which offers wide range of quality products
such as groceries, health and wellness products, home furnishings, hardware products etc. in
order to achieving satisfaction level of customers.
Price- The pricing strategies are affordable of Walmart due to which they have attained
high number of loyal customers which rely on their products only. Thus, to retain with company
for longer duration the company charging effective prices. Walmart has adopted competitive
pricing strategy in order to achieve huge customer base.
Place- Walmart has 11500 stores in the world with 150 centres which are established for
reach their products to maximum number of customers. It helps company in generating huge
revenues every year.
Promotion – Walmart uses both platforms to promote their products such as offline and
online for increasing their revenue. Their website is also designed in an effective way which will
helps in grabbing targeted customers at various locations.
Process- Walmart uses convenient services which is helpful to customers in identifying
the products which they want. Different payment modes, segmentation of products according to
the customers makes easy for customers to do shopping in their stores without facing any
problems.
People- Company acquired Flip kart company due to this, they are providing wide
variety of products through online as well. They are also collecting feedback and taking reviews
from their customers it increases the satisfaction level of customers. According to the walmart's
official website, they have more than 2 million of staff members across the world.
Physical evidence- company has more than 11000 stores with multiple category of
products in the world which helps to increase its brand image. Hence, they are providing best
quality products to their customers which makes their strong presence in marketplace. By
recognising the needs of the products they increases the numbers of loyal customers (Martin,
Campbell and Harmsen, 2014).
TASK 3
P4: Marketing plan of IKEA
Marketing Plan is a documentation which specified the marketing strategies and tactics of
an organisation. It is usually prepared on annual basis with an objective of giving guidance and
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direction to employees to perform their best in order to achieve aims, objectives and vision of
company mentioned under the marketing plan. It covers important aspects which marketing mix,
SWOT Analysis, financial projection etc. This will ensure company in achieving goals and
objectives within limited time frame.
Company Background:
IKEA is multinational organisation in retailing sector which is primarily located in
Swedish engaging in providing wide range of products such as kitchen appliances, furniture
products etc. at an effective prices. From the year 2008, the company is more popular for its
furniture designs, interiors designs and appliances which are eco-friendly surroundings. Along
with this, IKEA is also popular for expenditure control and continuous improvement of its
products which can easily attracts maximum number of people (Nguyen and Simkin, 2012).
Vision: IKEA has a vision “to develop better every day for several people”.
Mission: IKEA has a mission “to achieve growth and expansion of business by making
continuing innovative changes in furniture and other products”.
Objectives: Specific: IKEA has a specific goal i.e. enhancing sales figure upto 10%. Measurable: Such gaol has targeted to achieve within 6 months of formulation of
objectives, Achievable:m It is achieved through bringing motivation among employees to work hard
and perform their roles and responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner. Relevant: Achievement of objectives makes positive impact on the brand image of
company. Time bound: Such objective can be achieved within 6 months. SWOT Analysis of IKEA
Strengths Weaknesses
 Research and development team
always tries to provide way of cutting
down the prices of products in order
to assist company in achieving huge
customer base.
 IKEA products are cost effective and
 Engaging in corruption activities due
to expanding business to other nation
which build negative image in market.
 It is operated in different nations due
to which same standard could not be
followed everywhere. Their product
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are value for money. The customer
gets high ROI in their investment
made in buying furniture.
 Good financial position in market.
For example, in the year 2015 IKEA
has generated over 32.7 billion pound
which is the highest of that year for
any retail organisation.
portfolio is not wholly replicable in
all the location which can creates
problem to company. It increases their
cost as well.
 Quality of products are not up to the
standards.
Opportunities Threats
 Required to use online platform to
reach their products to maximum
number of people within minimum
time and cost.
 Should expand its business in
developed nations such as China and
India.
 Should focus more on utilising eco-
friendly products which supports in
building their brand image.
 High competition
 Increment in income of customers.
 Fluctuations in legal system bring
changes in taxation policies which
may have negative impact on the
prices of company’s products.
 Increment in disposable income of
people motivates them to buy
standard quality of products instead of
focusing on prices.
Marketing Mix of IKEA
Product: IKEA has offering wide range of products which includes furniture, home and
kitchen appliances etc. The company is more popular for their unique and best furniture designs
which increase their capabilities to achieve huge customer strength.
Price: IKEA promises customers in their portfolio to offer its products at affordable
prices so that all income groups show their willingness to buy their products.
Place: IKEA is performing its operations in Australia, Asia and North America with the
help of having number of stores which makes easy for customers to buy customers to stores
located at nearby to them.
Promotion: IKEA offers various discounting policies, coupons, cashbacks etc. with a
clear objective of grabbing an attention of maximum number of customers. Apart from this, the
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company should adopt various promotional strategies as well such as sponsorship, advertisement
on TV, Hiring celebrities etc. It all increases their sales figure and revenue.
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning of IKEA
Segmentation refers to the division of population on the basis of their common
characteristics and buying behaviour. It is of four types which includes psychographic,
demographic, geographic and behavioural segmentation (Ottman, 2011).
Targeting: IKEA mainly targeted the middle as well as low level income group which
comes under demographic segmentation.
Positioning: IKEA is popular in designing of their furniture which builds stable and
strong position in market.
Marketing strategy:
The mission of IKEA is to expand its business operations in different markets due to
which it requires to adopt various marketing strategies such as promoting products using TV
advertisement, social media, print media etc. It assists company in reaching its offerings to large
number of people living across worldwide.
Financial project of IKEA
Financial Projection of IKEA
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Evaluation:
It is important for marketing manager to evaluate all above mentioned aspects so as to
identify the effectiveness of activities executed in achieving company’s mission, visions and
objectives. It can be done through following methods:
Sales Analysis- It is an estimation of sales that might be done in the future with the help
of offering quality products such as furniture, kitchen appliances etc.
Market-Share Analysis- It an estimation of market share that has been captured by IKA
in near future through making changes in pricing decisions of their products and services.
Efficiency Ratios- It can be calculated by dividing Revenue (Sales) with Net Assets.
Cost-Profitability Analysis- Such analysis is made with the purpose of examining profits
in terms of pricing so that decision regarding changes in pricing policy can be done (Wieser,
2012).
Monitoring and control:
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It is very important for the management of an organisation to monitor all the activities
mentioned under marketing plan so that the problems can be easily identified and enable
manager to resolve as quickly as possible. Along with this, controlling of usage of resources
directly makes positive impact on the business cost and profitability.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the above project report that marketing can bring organisation
ahead than their rivals in market if the marketing department perform its functions in more
effective and efficient manner. It is also important to prepare marketing plan so as to guide
employees to perform in right direction in order to achieve company’s mission, vision and
objectives within limited time period.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Arguello, N., 2013. Secondary marketing research certificate: library collaboration with the
college of business and marketing faculty. Journal of Business & Finance
Librarianship. 18(4). pp.309-329.
Campbell, R. and Martin, C., 2015. Media essentials: A brief introduction. Macmillan Higher
Education.
Cleverley, W. O., 2017. Essentials of health care finance. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Dudu, O. F. and Agwu, M. E., 2014. A review of the effect of pricing strategies on the purchase
of consumer goods. International Journal of Research in Management, Science &
Technology. 2(2). pp.88-102.
Eslinger, T., 2014. Mobile Magic: The Saatchi and Saatchi Guide to Mobile Marketing and
Design. John Wiley & Sons.
Jeffery, M., 2010. Data-driven marketing: the 15 metrics everyone in marketing should know.
John Wiley & Sons.
Malhotra, N.K., Birks, D.F and Wills, P., 2013. Essentials of marketing research. Pearson.
Martin, C., Campbell, R. and Harmsen, S., 2014. Media essentials: A brief introduction.
Bedford/St. Martin's.
Nguyen, B. and Simkin, L., 2012. Fairness quality: the role of fairness in a social and ethically
oriented marketing landscape. The Marketing Review. 12(4). pp.333-344.
Ottman, J., 2011. The new rules of green marketing: Strategies, tools, and inspiration for
sustainable branding. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Wieser, P., 2012. Essentials of Logistics and Management, The Global Supply Chain (No.
EPFL-BOOK-197496). EPFL Press.
Online
The Marketing Mix 4P’s and 7P’s Explained, 2017. [Online]. Available through: <
http://marketingmix.co.uk/>.
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