Seven Elements of the Marketing Mix and Strategic Marketing Decisions: A Case Study of Pret a Manager

This coursework report discusses the seven elements of the marketing mix and strategic marketing decisions made by Pret a Manager, a UK-based international sandwich shop franchise chain. The report evaluates the effectiveness of marketing efforts and the impact of product, price, place, promotion, physical evidence, people, and process on the company's success. The report also includes a table of contents and references.

WRITTEN COURSEWORK
TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Seven elements of the marketing mix-.........................................................................................3
Strategic marketing decisions and theories in marketing efforts-................................................7
Evaluation of the marketing effectiveness by marketing efforts-................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is term which refers to as the activities undertaken by the companies for promoting
the produced product or service for buying and selling in the market to attract the customers and
for the growth of the company. This process involves advertising, buying, selling and delivering
the products to the customers or the other companies. Sometimes, the affiliates do the marketing
on behalf of the company. Pret a Manager is the UK based company international sandwich shop
franchise chain. Pret a Manager is the retailer which offers high quality sandwiches, salads and
drinks to its customers. This company has around 460 shops in the UK and 324 shops alone in
the London (Davis and et.al., 2018). This coursework report will discuss the seven elements of
the marketing mix which helped this company to make position in the market within the last
three years such as product, price, place, promotion, physical evidence and many more. Along
with this, it will also discuss the strategic decisions which are taken by the company while using
these marketing theories for increasing the performance of the company such as setting right
price and right target market as well as the indicators used to evaluate the effectiveness of the
marketing efforts.
MAIN BODY
Seven elements of the marketing mix-
Marketing mix focuses on the multiple areas of the marketing plan and it is the
foundation model for the every business. The marketing mix has been referred to as the set of the
marketing tools which is used by the companies to achieve its objectives and goals in the target
market. Effective marketing helps the company to reach wider range of audience by using the
four Ps of the marketing mix. In services marketing, they are comprised of 7 Ps of the marketing
mix including the performance (Išoraitė, 2020). It is very important for the organizations as it
helps in developing the strengths and eliminate the weaknesses and provides competitive edge to
the companies. The different elements of the market mix usually work with the conjunction to
one another. Pret a Manager used the four elements of the marketing mix which helped in
making position in the market. The elements are as follows-
Product- This element of the marketing mix is considered as the fundamental element. It is
anything the company wants or trying to sell to its customers or any other business in the market.
This is something by which the companies attract the customers, boosts their brand image and

reputation, growth of the business and it helps in satisfying the needs and wants of the customers.
The product can be such as goods, services, places and properties, informations, events and many
more. The choices of the product by the customers is made on the uniqueness such as quality,
design, packaging, sizes, warranty, benefits and many more.
Product are usually categorized into three types tangible product, intangible product and
services. Tangible products are those which has physical presence whereas intangible products
are those which has no physical appearance (Jermsittiparsert, 2019). This element is key
component because through this only the consumers are connected and helps the companies to
generate the revenues. Pret a Manager company has effectively used the product element of the
marketing mix as it helped them to attract the customers by providing quality food and different
types of food to the customers which increased the sales of the company and this contributed in
positioning of this company.
Price- Price is considered as the crucial element of the marketing mix because it is directly
linked with the company's profit and survival. This element of the marketing mix refers to as
value the customers pay in exchange for buying the goods and services of the company.
Deciding the price of the product plays a vital role for the success and growth of the company
(Kareh, 2018). The factors like list price, discount, competitor's price, terms of sale and many
more are taken into account while determining the price of the products or services.
A little change in the price can heavily affect the company's profit and position in the
market because deciding higher prices will lead to loosing of the customers and if nominal prices
are set then the company can attract more customers. The prices of the products and services are
also determined by taking into consideration the demand of them. Pret a Manager used this
element very effectively that it helped them in increasing their positioning in the market. The
prices they set were according the demand and by evaluating the competitors price so that more
customers could be attracted.
Place- Place element of the marketing mix refers to as the geographical location at which the
companies sell its products and services that is having the stores as that locations. This element
of marketing mix is also one of the key part of effective marketing strategy. It is very important
to understand the place where the product will be selling for having the target market because
selling the products where the people are not interested in them will not help in growing and

increasing the sales of the company (Marušić, 2019). The stores are only not considered in place
but also the products places inside the stores.
Nowadays, everything is shifting towards the digital platforms so it is very important for
the company to place themselves on the digital platforms. Pret a Manager company has
expanded its stores in many places with ensuring good quality food items This process was
continuously practised by the company form last three years which helped them in increasing
their sales and positioning of the company.
Promotion- Promotion of the marketing mix is the most important element as till the product
and services provided by the company doesn't reach to the public then there is no sense.
Promotion is the process of making the product and services reach to the target customers. The
purpose of the promotion can be building the reputation of the company instead of just focusing
on increasing the sales this is the public relation type of promotion. There are many types of
promotion which can be practised by the companies for the promotion of their products and
services (Sya’idah, Satrio and Sugiarti, 2018). It also helps the company to influence the
customers for buying or choosing their brand.
The activity of spreading awareness about their products and services is the major activity
involved in promotion.
The commonly used tools of the promotion are advertising, public relations, digital
marketing, direct selling, personal selling, event marketing and many more. Pret a Manager
company took help of the promotion tool for making reach the food item products of the
company to the target market. This company used this element for attracting the customers to the
restaurants and through this practice this company was able to make position in the market.
Packaging- This element of the marketing mix equally important to the above Ps as this element
helps in attracting the customers by using unique packaging of the products. The first impression
of every thing becomes image in mind of the people of longer time same as this. Packaging of
the product is the first thing which comes in eyes of the customers so it can be the key marketing
tool of the product. There are multiple purposes of packages of the products such as it provides
protection to the product, gives information about the product, as they are to be transportation,
distributed and stored so it is helps as in convenience of the product and provides security to the
product. An effective packaging can hep the company to add more value to the product.

The companies can use some effective techniques for product packaging are clarity of
brand and product names on the package, designed by keeping in mind the target market and
many more as this will help the companies in effective packaging of the product. Pret a Manager
can use this marketing element as this has also helped them in attracting the customers and
positioning of the company.
People- This element of the marketing mix refers to as the staff and people involved in sales who
are working for the company. Providing excellent services to the customers helps in creating
positive experience and reviews from the customers. The existing customers of the company will
share their experiences and reviews to their relatives and fiends by which more customers will be
attracted towards the company's product (Jermsittiparsert, 2019). The business hiring more
talented and skilled employees will help the company to provide competitive advantage.
The employees must be able to solve the customers' problem so that they are satisfied by
the services provided and helps in positive brand reputation by addressing the customers
properly. Pret a Manager is food serving company, and they also have to provide quality service
to its customers when they visit their restaurants. This element would also have helped the
company in positioning of the company as it increases the brand loyalty in the customers.
Process- Distributing the products to the customers and other business this in between activities
is the process. This involves how business runs, how the service is delivered, packaging of the
product, checkout, shipping, delivery and many more. Effective process helps in customer
satisfaction because customers feel dissatisfied when their late shipping, additional charges, lack
of communication between the company and the customers. Keeping eye on the complaints of
the customers will help the company in minimizing the complaining problems.
The process must be planned in a way such that the cost can be minimized with
maximizing the benefits and value for the customers. Pret a Manager has also gained positioning
in the market by using this element as the customers are satisfied then they become permanent.
Physical evidence- The marketing mix ensures about the experiences that the customers have
after using their products and services. Physical evidence refers to more proof than the purchase.
Website, branding, logo of the company, store's décor, social media, packaging of products all of
these elements provides physical evidence (O’Sullivan and Ngugi, 2022). Nowadays, there are
multiple scams, fake companies and untrusty business are happening online so for the customers
being comfortable to company they need to be given proper proof that the company is legit and

trustworthy. Pret a Manager company used this then it would have provided them positive results
and brand trust among the customers.
Strategic marketing decisions and theories in marketing efforts-
Strategic marketing decisions are the decisions taken for the development of the Strategy of the
organization. The decisions made are very crucial because many factors are to be considered
while taking strategic decisions like what can impact can have while taking these decision on the
organization (Stevens and et.al., 2021).
Taking these strategic marketing decisions helps the company in optimum utilization of the
resources with the maximum output as well as it helps in increasing the sales of the organization.
This has helped Pret a Manager company in positioning of the company and overall growth of
the company. These decisions are taken for making changes in the organization by understanding
the business environment for the advantage of the sustainable competitive edge. The strategic
decisions taken by in the marketing efforts by Pret a Manger companies are-
Right target market- It is very important to evaluate the target market for the success of the
business as it will help the organization to understand the needs and wants of the particular
market and can be served effectively. Selecting the target market is much crucial decision is
taken while marketing of the products and services. As the target market have common
characteristics and interests so it becomes much easier for the company to satisfy the customers
with providing what they need (Clifton and et.al. 2019). This strategic decisions is considered as
so crucial because targeting the customers has direct impact on the entire marketing strategy such
as customer experience, business operations and branding are which can be impacted by the
target marketing. Choosing the right target market is very important because it enables the
company to focus on a particular market that is high potential customers. Pret a Manager has also
faced challenges while taking this strategic marketing decisions.
Setting right price- The prices is the core concept which can heavily affect the customers
choices. The company must set nominal prices or prices according to their quality of the product
because if the prices are high and customers are not satisfies then they can switch to another
company which has better prices. And if the company sets better prices and by which the
customers are satisfies then this will help in brand loyalty and increase in the brand image of the
company (De Giovanni and Zaccour, 2019). The competitors price also has the huge impact on
the prices of the products because if the prices of the products are not set by evaluating the

competitors price then it may happen that the customers are not attracted towards the company.
Pret a Manager company has taken this strategic decisions while marketing efforts because it is
very important decisions which should be taken for the successful business in various parts of the
country.
Using right promotion technique- It is very important to promote the product and services of
the company to the customers because until the product will not reach to the customers then their
will be no sense of the business. As by using suitable type of promotion will help the company to
attract the target market. It is very critical decisions to be taken while choosing the promotional
technique which will be suitable for the company's product and services and according to the
promotion budget as well to be considered (Mullin, 2018).
It is very necessary to choose the best promotional technique because it is the unknown
product to the customers and its first impression impacts the customers mind and that technique
must be considered which can help the company to reach their products to the major customers.
Pret a Manager company has used effective and suitable promotional technique which helped
them to achieve good position in the market.
Evaluation of the marketing effectiveness by marketing efforts-
It is very important to evaluate the marketing performance as it helps the organization to
understand how the marketing efforts made affected the performance of the company. If the
efforts does not have positive impact on the results then they can use other marketing theories or
strategies for the business success (Williams, 2019). The marketing efforts made by the Pret a
Manager company's marketing efforts were effective because by using the marketing mix
theories they were able to achieve good position in the market.
Marketing effectiveness can be measured by using many campaigns of the company which
provides comparison of the period before applying the marketing mix and period after applying
the marketing mix will help the company to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of the
marketing efforts made by the company(Jamalzai and Mirabi).
The evaluation of marketing effectiveness can be done by-
Key performance indicators- This indicator will help in evaluating the marketing effectiveness
by the performance of the company. It enables the company to understand the returns on the
money spent on the marketing and making effective decisions. This indicator helps the company
as they are measurable as well as trackable (Vladova and Shek, 2021). It helps the company to

measure the finance results such as by measuring return on the sales and return on the
investments. Pret a Manager company has made the position in the market as they were able to
increase the financial results.
Sales growth- The best way to evaluate the market effectiveness is by measuring the growth of
the sales. Measuring the sales growth will also help us in understanding the future growth of the
company (Nakarmi, 2018). Increase ion sales enables that the marketing efforts were effectively
used by the company and if the sales decreases it means the marketing efforts were not
effectively used. The marketing efforts of Pret a Manager company was found effective as the
sales of the company was increased, and they were able to make position in the market.
Feedbacks and reviews- Reviews are the most important element by which the company can
know their position and with this it also helps the company to improve where the customers are
not satisfied. The company receiving positive feedback can be stated that their marketing efforts
are effective and has positive result on the organization whereas if the feedbacks and reviews are
not good then it means the marketing efforts are not effective and will have negative impact on
the organization (Kulkarni). Pret a Manager company as proved that the marketing efforts of
were effective and has positive impact on the company as the company has made position in the
competitive market.
CONCLUSION
This report has discussed the seven elements of the marketing mix which helped the company in
effectively positioning in the market. The elements such as product, place, promotion and price
were the elements by using this the company was able to achieve the position. The main purpose
of using these elements by the company was to make position of the company in the market by
effectively using them. Along with this, it also involves the strategic decisions related to these
marketing mix which were used by the company such as setting right price and right target
market as these are the most crucial decisions which are to be taken by the company while
applying theories of marketing for successful business. Further, it has discussed the measures

which are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the marketing efforts made by the company such
as sales growth, feedbacks and reviews.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
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Davis, B., and et.al., 2018. Food and beverage management. Routledge.
De Giovanni, P. and Zaccour, G., 2019. Optimal quality improvements and pricing strategies
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Išoraitė, M., 2020. Marketing Mix Features. Ecoforum Journal. 9(1).
Jermsittiparsert, K., 2019, September. Service marketing mix and service value: a way to
increase customer satisfaction. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on
Business and Information Management (pp. 52-58).
Kareh, A., 2018. Evolution of the four Ps: Revisiting the marketing mix.
Marušić, T., 2019. Importance of marketing mix in successful positioning of products and
services on the market. Ekonomska misao i praksa. (1). pp.431-446.
Stevens, R.E., and et.al., 2021. Marketing planning guide. CRC Press.
Sya’idah, E.H., Satrio, O.B. and Sugiarti, N., 2018. Promotion Mix and Investment Decision.
Nakarmi, A., 2018. Effect of Sales Promotion on Consumer Behavior.
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Williams, M.R., 2019. Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Organization. In Sales Management
(pp. 253-279). Routledge.
Jamalzai, M.R. and Mirabi, V.R., Evaluation of the Effect of Sales Force Behavior in Using
Marketing Strategies for New Products.
Kulkarni, S., A Study of Influence of Product Reviews and User Assigned Ratings On the
Consumer’s Trust in a Virtual Marketplace.
Mullin, R., 2018. Promotional marketing. Routledge.
Jermsittiparsert, K., 2019, September. Service marketing mix and service value: a way to
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