Marketing Mix Report: Comparing ASDA and Marks & Spencer Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the marketing mix strategies employed by ASDA and Marks & Spencer. The report examines the application of the 7Ps of marketing – product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence – by both companies, highlighting their approaches to achieve business objectives. It delves into how each company utilizes these elements to gain a competitive advantage in the market, focusing on aspects such as product development, pricing strategies, distribution channels, promotional activities, customer service, operational processes, and physical environments. The report offers a comparative overview, contrasting the strategies of ASDA and Marks & Spencer to illustrate how different approaches can be used to create value and build brand goodwill. It concludes by summarizing the key differences and similarities in their marketing mix strategies and their effectiveness.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................1
P3 Marketing mix to the marketing planning process to achieve business objectives...........1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Marketing mix elements are used by businesses in order to achieve customer satisfaction,
profitability and production goals. The report will present marketing mix with reference to
marketing planning process of Marks and Spencer and ASDA to achieve business objectives.
TASK 2
P3 Marketing mix to the marketing planning process to achieve business objectives
In order to achieve desired goals and objectives, proper and appropriate management is
needed by ASDA. 7Ps are core element of marketing mix which helps in managing value of
business products and services. These are some key factors that helps firm to meet various
requirements and demand of market and consumers. This helps ASDA to determine its strategies
and plans which can be used to attain needs of target consumers in the market. In addition to this,
there are various elements which are considered by firm in order to accomplish market objectives
and goals (Lamey, and et.al., 2018). The benefit of this approach help organisation to gain
competitive advantage and also improve its strengths and competency level. The effective use of
marketing mix elements by ASDA is presented below:
Product: The focus of business is on improving and developing its products and services in
order to meet consumer requirements. It has been determined that, ASDA sells around 30000
products and services through supermarket retail businesses and also offer mobile phone and
funding services to gain extra benefit for firm in order to build its goodwill. In addition, market
research also helps organisation to define exact picture of product. The existing products and
services requires improvement with the help of the latest technologies in order to achieve new
market requirements that helps to satisfy customer needs. This helps company in increasing
customer loyalty and also enhances production and profitability of business.
Price: It can be said that, it is very crucial for the firm to set their prices according to the quality
of products and services in the market and also evaluating customer perception. Pricing strategy
is used by firm to set prices effectively and accordingly. The firm implements the use of low
price strategies to sell high volume of products and services. Several end seasons, festive
discounts are set by firm to grab consumer attention and to increase profitability. There are two
types of customers, first who thinks that low priced products are of low quality and second who
thinks high priced products are too costly according to the quality.
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Place: Place is the platform from where consumers purchase products and services offered by
firm in the market. It can be said that ASDA do not only offer its products at physical locations
such as stores and supermarkets but also offers online services which enables easy access to
buyers. In addition to this, the firm also follows a simple and fresh approach for store setting.
Extensive outlets are also available for the firm in order to provide information regarding range
of products and services to consumers (MacLaren, Farrington and O'Gorman, 2017). Place is
beneficial for the firm as it helps in creating physical awareness among consumers in order to
make them loyal towards brand.
Promotion: The firm is able to sell its products and services easily in the market with the help of
promotional activities. There are a lot of promotional activities available for ASDA such as TV,
magazines, newspaper, radio and banners, etc. This will help to create awareness in the market
towards brand which will also increase production and sales. In order to promote business and
pricing strategies the company focuses on promoting discounts and schemes. This helps to attract
customers in the market which assist in boosting profitability. In addition to this, promoting
business helps in encouraging people to purchase products and services offered by firm.
Promotion is done by the organisation with the motive of providing information to buyers
regarding products. This helps to enhance brand image with the help of which firm is able to
accomplish its market and promotional goals and objectives.
People: It can be said that a happy environment within business helps in increasing value and
effectiveness of operations. Formal and informal relationship of employees with customer will
help in developing better understanding over needs and wants of targeted consumers. Employees
who are happy within firm also focuses on improving business activities in order to achieve time
bounded goals with the motive of earning rewards and incentives. In addition to this, ASDA
needs to organise training and development programmes for employees to enhance their skills
and knowledge to meet needs and wants of buyers. . It is analysed that trained staff leads
improved organisational activities and customer (Dawes, 2016).
Process: Process is related to offline and online delivery of products and services to the
consumers. Fast delivery and billing process reflects the effectiveness in process of Asda. The
firm should manage and control its process in various department and stages in order to operate
business operational activities effectively. The process of making products should be verified as
it is a very crucial stage of operational activities. This will help to decide quality and
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effectiveness of products and services manufactured within firm that helps to create loyal
customers. The firm also allows consumers to check the process of manufacturing, which helps
in developing trust of buyers on products and services of organisation.
Physical evidence: Physical evidence is important for every business in order to provide its
services to customers in the market. The firm should try to focus on hygiene and clean interiors
of their stores and supermarkets effectively. It is usually seen that customers are attracted with
good looking interiors and pay attention towards brand that helps to enhance business goodwill.
This will help to increase promotion of business and also enhance profitability and production
(Dawes and Nenycz-Thiel, 2014). The decorum should be managed by business attractively.
It can be said that there are many competitors and other firms that are presenting
themselves in the market with similar strategy, but in different ways to attract customers so that
they can also enhance their profitability and production. Marks and Spencer is one of them and
it also follows strategies of marketing mix elements but in different ways.
Product: M&S also make their products and services competitive so that they can stand in the
market effectively. The firm provides clothing services to customers, which is an extra facility
for them. This will help to make their products more sensible towards Asda efficiently.
Price: It can be said that market is full of competitors that pricing strategies are managed
differently by organisations in order to attract customers and to increase profitability and
production. M&S reduce their prices to attract customers while maintaining quality and
effectiveness of products and services.
Place: M&S establish operations in various part of business and in global market as well. The
firm try to manage its activities in different nation in order to compete with firms such as Asda in
various market segmentations effectively (Dalton, 2015). Place is also a platform for consumers
where business sell their products.
Promotion: M&S also uses promotional activities in order to create awareness in the market so
that the customers can easily get information regarding their products and services. This will also
help them to make a tough competition for other businesses such as ASDA. This is the main
reason why firms spend money on advertisement and promotion.
Process: Process is an important part of operational activities that the firm focuses on procedures
in order to manage and control their quality of products and services. There are a lot of students
who visit business and see the process of making products and also try to concentrate on
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strategies followed by firm (Kwarteng, 2015). Process that is visible to customers helps in
enhancing customer loyalty and satisfaction.
People: Employees are the main strength of every business that is why their health and safety is
priority for firm which helps the managing safe working environment. This will help to provide
different benefits to customers in terms of better assistance and effective relationship which will
provide significant benefits to firm as well. In addition to this, similar as ASDA, M&S also
provide training and development programs to their employees in order to enhance their skills
and knowledge.
Physical evidence: The firm is making a lot of investment in order to create physical evidence in
the market so that customers can easily reach them. In addition, stores and markets are also
treated with different facilities in order to attract existing and new consumers in the market. This
will help to enhance profitability and production so that firm can easily achieve goals and
objectives (Stimpson and Smith, 2015).
Thus, it can be said that the marketing mix element is used by both businesses but in
different ways, to create their own values and goodwill in the market towards customers
effectively.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above report that both ASDA and Marks and Spencer use
7ps of marketing mix elements in order to achieve desired goals and objectives but in different
ways. In addition, strategies, policies, tactics and elements are also used in various ways to
compete with each other in the market effectively.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Dalton, C., 2015. The Every Day MBA: How to turn world-class business thinking into everyday
business brilliance. Pearson UK.
Dawes, J. and Nenycz-Thiel, M., 2014. Comparing retailer purchase patterns and brand metrics
for in-store and online grocery purchasing. Journal of Marketing Management 30(3-4)
pp.364-382.
Dawes, J.G., 2016. Brand growth in packaged goods markets: Ten cases with common
patterns. Journal of Consumer Behaviour 15(5) pp.475-489.
Kwarteng, M.A., 2015. Projekt e-marketingové strategie pro firmu Unilever Ghana.
Lamey, L., and et.al.,2018. New product success in the consumer packaged goods industry: A
shopper marketing approach. International Journal of Research in Marketing.
MacLaren, A., Farrington, T. and O'Gorman, K. eds., 2017. Marketing Perspectives. Goodfellow
Publishers Ltd.
Stimpson, P. and Smith, A., 2015. Business Management for the IB Diploma Coursebook.
Cambridge University Press.
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