Report: Marketing Planning and Orientation Analysis of Wesfarmers

This report analyzes the market orientation and planning processes of Wesfarmers, a major Australian conglomerate. It begins by defining market orientation and its importance, then evaluates Wesfarmers' performance across three key dimensions: intelligence generation, dissemination, and responsiveness. The report uses a checklist to assess these aspects, providing ratings and interpretations. It discusses the company's strengths and weaknesses in each area, highlighting the importance of customer focus and the need for effective information sharing. The report also examines Wesfarmers' market planning process using a checklist, assessing its adherence to best practices. The report provides recommendations for improvement and concludes with implications for Wesfarmers' marketing strategies, emphasizing the need for a customer-centric approach and effective market planning to achieve sustained success. The report also highlights the gaps in the research and its limitations.

Running head: MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT.
MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT

MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT 1
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Research aim....................................................................................................................................2
Interpretation of findings from Market Orientation Checklist........................................................2
Intelligence Generation...................................................................................................................3
Intelligence Dissemination...........................................................................................................4
Intelligence Responsiveness.........................................................................................................5
Interpretation of findings from Market Planning Checklist............................................................9
Discussion of the level of the company regarding marketing orientation.....................................16
Discussion of the level of the company regarding marketing planning process...........................17
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................17
Gaps in the research.......................................................................................................................18
Conclusion/ Implications...............................................................................................................18
References......................................................................................................................................19

MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT 2
Introduction
Business approaches or strategies, which is aimed at identifying and configuring the
hidden requirements or needs of the customers is commonly termed as the market orientation of
an organisation. The purpose of this study is to focus on the Market orientation and the planning
process of a particular organisation, to evaluate the understanding of the relevant concepts
involved in a business. Wesfarmers was chosen as the organisation for the assessment.
Wesfarmers is a conglomerate organisation with its headquarters in Perth, Australia. Wesfarmers
can be considered as one of the largest companies operating in Australia, which is worth $69
billion (Engelen, Gupta, Strenger & Brettel, 2015). Checklists for evaluating the organization's
market orientation as well market-planning process have been filled out, and a critique has been
provided in this regards.
Research aim
The primary goal or objective of this study is to identify the relevant processes involved
in the marketing as well as the market orientation of Wesfarmers. In addition to that, an
understanding is to be developed in this regards to evaluate and critique the activities and
processes involved in the organization’s marketing aspects.
Interpretation of findings from Market Orientation Checklist
The chosen organisation for this assignment is Wesfarmers. The Checklist presented
below depicts certain measures or aspects to be considered for the evaluation of the market

MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT 3
orientation of Wesfarmers. For instance, Intelligence Generation, Intelligence Dissemination,
Intelligence Responsiveness of the organisation have been critically analyzed to provide insight
into the overall market orientation of Wesfarmers.
Intelligence Generation
1. In our organisation, we meet with customers at least once a
year to find out what products or services they will need in the
future.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
2. In our organisation, we do a lot of in-house market
research.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
3. We rapidly detect changes in our customers’ product
preference
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
4. We survey end users at least once a year to assess the
quality of our products and services.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
5. We are quick to detect fundamental shifts in our industry
(e.g., competition, technology, regulation).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
6. We periodically review the likely effect of the changes in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT 4
our business environment (e.g., regulation) on customers
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
Intelligence Dissemination
7. We have interdepartmental meetings at least once a quarter
to discuss market trends and developments.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
8. Marketing personnel in our organisation spend time
discussing customers’ future needs with other functional
departments.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
9. When something important happens to a major customer or
market, the whole of the organisation knows about it in a short
period.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
10. Data on customer satisfaction are disseminated at all levels
in this business unit on a regular basis.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
11. When one department finds out something important about
competitors, it is quick to alert other departments.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly

MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT 5
Intelligence Responsiveness
12. It only takes us a short time to decide how to respond to
our competitors’ price changes.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
13. We hardly ever ignore changes in our customers’ product
or service needs.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
14. We periodically review our product development efforts to
ensure that they are in line with what customers want.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
15. Several departments get together periodically to plan a
response to changes taking place in our business environment.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
16. If a major competitor were to launch an intensive
campaign targeted at our customers, we would implement a
response immediately.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
17. The activities of the different departments in the
organisation are well co-ordinated.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly

MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT 6
18. Customer complaints never fall on deaf ears here. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
19. If we came up with a great marketing plan, we probably
would be able to implement it in a timely fashion.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree
strongly
20. When we find that customers would like us to modify a
service the departments involved make concerted efforts to do
so.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree strongly
21. Overall, we are oriented to the market. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly I agree strongly
Therefore, after performing an overall assessment of Wesfarmers, it may be stated that
the organisation is quite market-oriented. Taking several articles and papers published by
scholars, one may evaluate the marketing capabilities of an organisation for marketing
excellence is a crucial component in the overall marketing performed by an organisation
(Moorman & Day, 2016). Figure 1 illustrates the firm performance concerning the market
organisation. The Marking approach has been depicted as well, which highlights the four
essential elements of marketing organisation (Frösén, Luoma, Jaakkola, Tikkanen & Aspara
2016). Furthermore, the Marking approach leads to the 7As or the Seven Market Activity Levers,
which finally leads to the determination of the performance of the firm (Moorman & Day, 2016).

MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT 7
Figure 1: Firm Performance and marketing organisation
(Source: Moorman & Day, 2016)
According to the studies presented by Kohli & Jaworski (1990), the implementation of
the concept of market orientation has been regarded as weak, considering an analysis of the
market for 35 years. Kohli & Jaworski (1990) had interviewed 62 managers for the research
paper. The customer orientation had been found consistent among all managers, regardless, the
understanding of market intelligence as a broader concept had not been established. Market
intelligence is subject to the exogenous market factors, which includes regulation and
competition among other factors (Wrenn, 2015). In addition to that, market orientation has been
identified as a concept, which is less politically charged, therefore, making the idea of market
orientation to be acceptable by non-marketing departments as well. Furthermore, it also focuses
on highlighting several paradigms in marketing and their respective limitations.
Furthermore, as stated by Kohli & Jaworski (1990), the explication of the market orientation
construct requires the identification and analysis of the essential components of market

MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT 8
orientation, namely intelligence generation, intelligence dissemination as well as the
responsiveness to the factors above. Similar context has been identified with regards to
Wesfarmers as well. The checklist attached in this context provides an insight into the three
aspects of market orientation of Wesfarmers. Ratings from 1 to 7 had been provided for each of
the questions presented in the checklist. For Intelligence generation, they are meeting with the
customers as well as detection of the preferences of the customers in undertaken (Caruana,
Ramaseshan & Ewing, 2015). Furthermore, it has been noted that Wesfarmers focuses on
conducting in-house surveys for detecting customer choices and requirements. Therefore, it may
be mentioned that Intelligence generation is handled carefully, receiving an average rating of 5.5
on the checklist.
In addition to that, the dissemination of intelligence in this regards has received an average score
of 4.6, indicating that though intelligence is gathered, it is often not adequately distributed
among the respective chains for market orientation. The data collected concerning customer
satisfaction is often not spread out to the entire organisation (Hattula, Schmitz, Schmidt &
Reinecke, 2015). Furthermore, it has been observed from the checklist that any relevant data
identified is not timely informed to other departments (Pelham, 2015). Therefore, information
with the marketing department remains with the respective department but reaches the customer
service department later. Therefore, it may be stated that adequate planning is required with
regards to the dissemination of the available information or data.
Lastly, the responsiveness in this regards is considered, which received an average score
of 4.72, thereby inferring that the response generated with regards to the information gathered
and disseminated is comparatively weak (Lee, Kim, Seo & Hight, 2015). An organisation like
Wesfarmers is held in high regards; however, the customer satisfaction rate is to be met with the

MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT 9
appropriate response from the company's behalf. Though an overall market orientation rating for
Wesfarmers has been mentioned as 6 out of 7, the responsiveness in the matter requires attention,
gaining an average of 4, in most of the questions on the checklist. It has been noted until the
intelligence gathered and disseminated is not customer or market-oriented; it cannot be regarded
as an effective measure for enhancing the satisfaction of the customers (Kohli & Jaworski,
1990).
Interpretation of findings from Market Planning Checklist
Market planning is a vital aspect of comprehending the value of marketing for an
organisation. Wesfarmers is the organisation considered in this regards as well. The checklist
highlights the various aspects to be taken into account for analyzing the marketing content of
Wesfarmers (Uslay & Sheth, 2015). It may be mentioned in this context that the evaluation of the
marketing plan undertaken for Wesfarmers involves several aspects such as analyzing the
importance of a written marketing plan produced to the senior management of the organisation.
Furthermore, whether the marketing plan is discussed and input from the managers is encouraged
is integrated into the checklist as well.
Company: Wesfarmers Completed By:
The Part of Marketing Planning on which we are focusing:
Questions About Your Marketing 1 2 3 4 5
Completely Completely
False True

MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT 10
1. We produce a written Marketing Plan
2. Our Marketing Plan is produced annually
3. Marketing Planning activity is part of the
formal planning system in the company
4. Our Marketing Plan starts with written objectives
5. Our Marketing Planning involves an audit of the
company’s strengths and weaknesses
6. Our Marketing Planning involves an audit of the
opportunities and threats we face in the environment
7. Our Marketing Plan covers 3 to 5 years, not just the next
12 months
8. Our Marketing Plan includes the plan for all
elements of marketing, i.e. Products, Prices,
Distribution and Communications; operations
and sourcing; and personnel and financial
requirements
9. Our Marketing Plan includes far more than just sales
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5

MARKETING PLANNING AND ORIENTATION ASSIGNMENT 11
targets and cost budgets
10. Our Marketing Plan includes financial estimates
(revenue, cost, and profits) of the outcomes of our strategies
11. Our Marketing Plan is presented to top management
12. Our Marketing Plan involves substantial inputs from other
functional departments – finance, production, personnel, etc
13. Our Marketing Planning involves all senior managers in our
marketing/sales organisation
14. Our Marketing Planning uses experience and
knowledge from our marketing/sales organisation
15. We give Marketing Planning adequate time & resources
16. Good management performance in Marketing Planning
earns the same rewards as good operational performance
17. Marketing Planning is certainly not seen by managers
as a meaningless ritual
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5