Marketing Plan for Morrison's: A Focus on Differentiation Strategy

This marketing plan focuses on differentiation strategy for Morrison's, a UK-based grocery retailer. The plan includes a situation analysis, objectives, strategy, tactics, action, and control. The plan aims to increase customer loyalty and attract new customers by offering unique and high-quality products.

Coursework

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The principle of core marketing is regarded to be marketing principles, which centres on four
components: product, pricing, promotion, and location. It may be defined as the examination of
market research with the goal of determining the firm's performance in order to achieve greater
business success. Morrison's, a UK-based shop that deals with a variety of items, was selected as
the company for this project. The method and stages of marketing are studied in this project,
which have an influence on companies and are highly beneficial to the organisation in the
interrelationship of the issues.

Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................4
PART A.........................................................................................................................................................4
Situation analysis of the business............................................................................................................4
Objective of the business........................................................................................................................8
Strategy...................................................................................................................................................9
Tactics....................................................................................................................................................10
Action....................................................................................................................................................12
Control...................................................................................................................................................13
Recommendations.................................................................................................................................13
Personal Reflection................................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
A solid marketing plan is stage process guidance to implementing Thier Company’s
marketing strategy and is a template for selling their goods and services. It's a pragmatic,
thorough document that outlines forth distinct, attainable, and quantifiable goals. Marketing
techniques are circular and never-ending (Ramos, 2018). The procedure of formulating and
managing their marketing strategy should be integrated into their daily operations. Morrison’s is
the chosen organisation for this assignment. Morrison’s is a grocery retailer that is ranked as the
4th biggest grocery store chain in the United Kingdom. Its offices are in Bradford, and its stores
provide a wide range of merchandise. The present strategic position of the company has been
demonstrated in this research, taking into account both internally and externally considerations.
This report based on the SOSTAC framework in which consists of situation analysis, objectives,
strategy, tactics, action and control in detailed manner.
PART A
Situation analysis of the business
Macro Analysis:
PESTLE Analysis: PESTEL analysis is a strategic coordination and execution methodology that
is frequently utilized. This is an abbreviation for the macroeconomic business environment's
political, economic, social, technical, environmental, and legal concerns. Morrison Wm
Supermarkets Plc. works in a complicated and diverse climate marked by legislative changes,
rising environmental activism, social realities, technology advancements, and a changing judicial
framework.
Political: There really are external variables that have an affect on Morrison, namely political
issues that are the underlying factors of government systems and regulations. Brexit is one of the
big occurrences that has created a high level of uncertainty and has changed the organization's
policies and rules. The effects of government laws on this organisation can be defined as
powerful effects on the activities and actions of the company (Merritt and Zhao, 2021).
Morrisons' political variables are the limitations of advantages that the company receives as a
result of government legislation.

Economical: Economic issues are often seen as having a significant effect on organisational
conduct and profitability. Due to the Covid-19 epidemic and Brexit being a major deciding
factor, this corporation has been able to dramatically affect currency fluctuations, putting price
pressure on the organisation. Morrisons' supply chain costs have grown as a result of the rise in
oil prices, affecting the budgets it has prepared for affected families, resulting in stricter
repercussions on consumers (Rhee, 2018).
Social: A considerable increase in the populace is said to be one of the elements that has offered
the organisation with a chance. It may be claimed that as the education and health of UK
customers has improved, Morrisons' business will grow, and the company has been able to
expand its employment with talented and skilled personnel. It may also be described as a
characteristic of the organisation that assists the company in developing a new branding strategy
for its goods, hence boosting the costs of goods sold.
Technological: Morrisons has employed artificial intelligence to help stock stores and increase
sales. This is regarded as a technological investment that has aided the firm in reducing wasted
efforts and costs, allowing it to become more effective in serving responding customers. The
firm has been able to evaluate new trends via the use of digital records / knowledge, which has
the potential to increase customer service and create a good functioning for the organisation. The
above organization's concentration on research and development has aided in the improvement of
its applications and hardware.
Legal: This firm's food safety and other regulatory requirements adherence, including such FSA
goals and campylobacter concentrations, have significantly improved. To keep it up to date, this
organisation must undergo over a thousand codes of business conduct audits. It's also been
claimed that the company's policies and legal counsel have aided in complying with various
legislation.
Environmental: There has been a significant drop in the firm's prior carbon emissions, with
Morrisons aiming to lower them by 30%. (Zhao and Dou, 2019). This company is claimed to be
moving away from poly boxes is towards a power system that has introduced refundable "bins"
for fish items. There was no garbage directed in the operation of the company, which was the

landfill of the production locations. This is why the company has begun to supply plastic-free
wrapping, which has become a CSR impacting practise for the company (Merritt and Zhao, 2021).
SWOT Analysis: SWOT Analysis is a tried-and-true management paradigm that allows a
company like Morrisons to evaluate its operations and results against that of its rivals. Morrisons
is a well-known brand in the leisure and retail industries.
Strength Weakness
Morrisons has a well-oiled robust distribution
system in place.
It provides a diverse range of products to its
clients, including meals, drinks, music, and
clothing.
Morrisons is a major grocery chain in the
United Kingdom.
It has approximately 500 locations in the UK
and employs over 130,000 people.
The firm is listed on the London Stock
Exchange and is part of the FTSE Index.
Morrisons has made a name for itself in past by
making significant purchases.
The company's revenue has risen as a result of
online retailing and purchasing.
In comparison to some other big
manufacturers, Morrisons has a restricted
international footprint.
Past concerns with farmer rights are said to
have harmed the brand's reputation.
Opportunity Threat
The firm can tap into the growing industry for
natural foods.
Morrisons' profitability may be affected if
rivals gain the market share.

Morrisons' international growth has the
potential to enhance the company's total
revenue.
The firm can meet the growing need for private
brands.
Private company acquisitions and strategic
alliances can help a company develop.
Tax hikes and policy shifts by the government
Ecommerce corporations doing more business
might impact physical retail businesses.
Porter’s five forces: Managers at Morrison Supermarkets (United Kingdom) can utilize Porter
Five Forces to do competitive analysis as a strategic management function. It will assist
Morrison Supermarkets' managers in identifying the numerous competitive dynamics that exist
in the Services business, both locally and internationally.
1. Rivalry: The retail market in the United Kingdom is oligopolistic; this business is very
competitive; the "big 4" have already taken over much of the nation's marketplaces,
comprising Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA, Sainsbury's, and Morrisons. Tesco is the leading
company with a 30.7 percent market share, followed by ASDA with 17.6 percent and
Morrisons in fourth place with 11.9 percent. Due to their scale, Tesco and ASDA have
about a 50% customer base; both are transnational firms with operations all over the
world. Rivalries pose a significant concern.
2. Threat of new entrants: Rival companies, such as ASDA, which is controlled by
Americans, have made inroads into the UK retail business. Lidl, the German supermarket
chain, has opened several locations in the United Kingdom. Lidl, on the other hand,
barely has 2% of the market, therefore the danger is currently minimal. External
competition, on the other extreme, exist, with cooperatives such as Waitrose planning to
extend their operation by opening new stores in order to acquire customer base.
Morrisons faces a significant threat from new entrants (Zhao and Dou, 2019).

3. Bargaining Power of suppliers: Morrisons has its own production facilities and fields,
which can assist to mitigate supplier power. By cultivating good relationship with
suppliers, you can keep expenses low. This danger, though, is minimal.
4. Bargaining power of customers: Consumers will check prices with other grocery chains,
making it easier for them to move. Consumers are constantly looking for the best deal.
Morrisons has a pricing strategy to keep prices low and delight consumers. Hundreds of
items are available with excellent bargains, including such special offers, buy one get one
complimentary, half price, and reduced to clear. Buyer power is moderate in this
scenario.
5. Threat of substitute: Independent and licensed grocers, including Londis and budgens, are
becoming potential adversaries; it is convenient for local shoppers. Because of the lower
price, several of the firm's own brand items may be used to replace other names of things;
however, because of the lower price, many of the products are of poor quality. For
example, Morrisons has substituted hot sausage sandwiches from its own manufacturers,
but the quantity has shrunk and the quality has disappointed customers, despite the reality
that the sale value has remained same as. The substitute level is moderate (Triono,
Dalimunthe and Arif, 2018).
Objective of the business
Rationale of the business: They have reasonable pricing and sell a lot of fruit and vegetables to
make nutritious eating cheaper and more accessible to all. They provide healthy alternatives by
lowering the amount of salt, sugar, fat, and calories in our goods. They also ensure that the food
they provide is safe since it is one of our top priorities.
Mission: The objective is to use our knowledge and creative creativity to give the industries with
flexible and adaptive products. Morrison's goal is to set the industry practice by creating an
extraordinary work framework that facilitates us to focus on meeting our clients' objectives via
Function Built In®.
Vision: Company mission is to "be innovators in the creation of a comprehensive society," with
quality, compassion, honesty and cooperation as our key principles. Our vision highlights our
goals by outlining who we want to be and how we want to get there.

Goals: Company has reasonable pricing and sells a lot of fruit and vegetables to make nutritious
eating affordable and available to everybody. The firm gives healthier choices by lowering the
amount of salt, sugar, fat and calories in their goods. We also ensure that the food we sell is safe
because it is one of our top priorities.
Objectives:
Specific Morrison's explicit goal is to grow its customer base and maintain its
leadership role by growing its monthly total revenue.
Measurable Morrison wishes to expand its market position by 5%.
Achievable Before to devising any approach to grow its business, Morrison must
assess several market choices to assure the feasibility of the chosen
approach.
Reliable Morrison's money and expenditure will be utilized to enhance its market
share up to 5% within a specific timeframe by selecting a market choice
that is favorable for all participants.
Timeliness In a year's time, the maximum amount of time to fulfill intended goals is
12 months.
Strategy
Porter's generic strategies may be utilized to provide this corporation with a perspective of
how it might grow its company in the market. The tactics described in Porter's generic theory are
listed below.
Cost leadership: It may be claimed that the company has sought to begin gaining market
segmentation is a consumer or budget-conscious clients or clients. The firm's goal might
alternatively be described as being a very low-cost manufacturer in the retail market. Morrisons,
for example, can sell products at a lower price than the market average in order to entice people
to its stores, allowing the company to grow its customer base. This method requires the company
to guarantee that they are not simply creating low-cost items, which makes them vulnerable to
discounting from competitors. Rather than requiring the company to improve its qualities, this
plan requires them to assure the employee's work performance (Gecheo, 2020).

Differentiation: This is a process in which a firm differentiates and improves its own goods in
order to get a competitive edge. This company may produce a design for its products utilizing
this technique, which aids the organisation in concentrating on numerous factors that are
believed to be extremely significant in the market.
Cost focus: A cost-focused strategy is one in which a company aims to build a reduced cost
advantage that benefits the tiny market segment. These cost-focused items are widely thought to
be the foundation of a relatively comparable strategy in which the median market-leading items
or those that are believed to be more popular products are billed at higher costs. It is a technique
that, according on how the company knows its goods and the marketplace need for them, may be
quite effective. The problem with this method is that demand for items might fluctuate based on
available replacements.
Differentiation focus: In this approach, the firm concentrates on a specific segment of the
market in order to provide a distinct product for that segment. This assists the firm in gaining a
competitive advantage in that segment with a specific product. This strategy is also highly useful
in the administration of organizational services and goods, as it offers the corporation with a
shared involvement of different kinds of products, allowing the firm to become an expert in
research and technology in contrast to other organizations (Karyani and Rossieta, 2018).
Justification: Based on the analysis of all of the above strategies, it can be concluded that the
organisation should concentrate on its differentiation strategy. This approach was chosen for the
goal of increasing Morrisons' company since it is a very successful strategy for developing
competitive advantage in the organisation. This method might also be argued to offer the
company with excellent operations management.
Tactics
Marketing mix: Morrisons' marketing strategy examines the brand using the marketing mix
methodology, which includes the four Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). Product
development, price strategy, promotion planning, and so on are all examples of marketing
tactics. According on Morrisons' marketing mix, those procedures to determine aid the brand's
success.

Product: Morrisons is a supermarket that focuses on fresh food and offers great pricing.
Morrisons' performance is dependent on delivering superior, healthy produce. Morrisons Cellar,
M Kitchen, NuMe, Just for Kids, and M Signature are some of their brands. Because they
possess their own manufacture production plants, the firm produces and distributes fresh food
goods. The brand also considers the meal items' reliability, characteristics, look, and marketing.
Morrisons manufactures and sells fresh, high-quality items at their facilities and stores. This is a
summary of Morrisons' marketing mix product portfolio.
Price: Morrisons is always improving its consumer offering by cutting pricing and delivering
higher-quality items and services. They make certain that pricing is never a factor in a customer's
decision to purchase otherwise. Penetration pricing, sales promotions and product bundle pricing
are all used by Morrison's. They also provide a pricing comparison tool called match and
additional cards. Morrisons also emphasizes characteristics such as variety, quality, simplicity of
shopping, and service in order to encourage people to pick Morrison's establishments over all
others (Karyani and Rossieta, 2018).
Place: Morrisons has a physical presence in the UK, with 660+ outlets, 150+ of which are
grocery stores, and roughly 117,000 workers. Morrisons' location and delivery marketing mix
approach aims to have a wide geographical impact. The corporation is also the UK's 2 fresh food
producer. The corporation owns and controls a large section of the global food system, with the
majority of the food being sold online and in shops. They have 7 distribution centers and one
nationwide fulfillment center. The firm has 545 tractors and 1606 trailers on hand to aid with
delivery efficiency.
Promotion: Morrisons' Morrison agricultural programme collaborates with its contractors to help
that British agriculture stays viable and successful. Clients benefit from cheaper costs on a
consistent basis, as well as better quality and a wider selection of items. The corporation intends
to make their business a nice place to visit, therefore they have a client incentive programme
called match& more vouchers. Morrisons prefers facts over opinions. Morrison's succeeds by
providing customers with low-cost, high-quality items, and the draw is produced via promotions
and special offers both physical and virtual.

People: Morrisons attempts to provide locals with career opportunities so that they may
contribute to the environment. Morrisons offers qualified butchers, bakers, fish markets, and
prevalent in many countries on staff, allowing customers to customise amounts according to their
preferences. Every week, over 12 million people visit retailers.
Process: Morrisons' convenient and retail retailers provide a multi-channel encounter. Morrisons
chooses to give the cheapest cost on a regular basis and to make shopping in their locations
easier and more enjoyable. Long - term customer interaction also contributes to active targeting
in a unique buying experience by exhibiting a diverse choice of fresh foods and allowing
consumers should choose the appropriate high - quality product.
Physical evidence: Morrisons has around 600 shops. Morrisons has a national distribution
network and seven regional distribution facilities. Through their stores, Morrison's M local,
internet service, fulfillment center, and industrial plants, the business has a footprint throughout
the United Kingdom. The firm's website displays the whole product line it has to provide.
Morrisons' marketing mix is covered in this section.
Action
Market segmentation will aid in the targeting of consumers location - based, behaviour, and
psychological variables. This sector assists in catching customers based on their requirements.
The market segmentation tool may be used to carry out growth of the company and development
initiatives. So far, Morrisons' sales, growth, diversity, and sales channel have been successful. It
just wants to expand its overseas storefronts, which are in desperate need of variety and
segmentation. Because this is a new business, development and market diversity are critical.
Our corporate social responsibility service members that we function in a manner that is
beneficial to our consumers, employees, customers, and investors even while contributing
positively to community and protecting the environment. The next major thing for grocery
corporations to focus on is zero waste. Morrisons is establishing a programme to assist decrease
material waste, with the goal of having zero waste activities by 2025, encompassing its shops
and consumers.

Control
The major goal of employing this strategy is to maintain market leadership through effective
value chain management.
This approach enables Morrisons to grow its customer base by focusing on the middle income,
which accounts for the majority of the customers’ overall marketing mix strategy in most
nations. The pricing issue is often very important to middle-class customers, and cost leadership
is the greatest option for meeting their demands.
Morrisons places a premium on the cost and availability of its products across the world,
resulting in great brand recognition and increased sales, as well as a significant competitive
advantage.
Morrisons routinely gives coupons and discounts to reach sales objectives and deal with price
competition from its nearest opponent, in addition to charging cheap prices through cutting
production costs and maximising delivery performance. Such discounting and marketing
initiatives are meant to raise brand awareness and drive purchase.
Many advantages of Morrisons' cost leadership approach have been discussed, including
generating instant brand awareness, extending the client base, boosting usage, and meeting sales
objectives by stressing product price and availability. Whereas the examination of Morrisons'
strategic competitive strategies emphasises cost leadership as the primary approach, the firm also
employs a differentiation strategy in tandem with cost leadership to provide the groundwork for
long-term strategic edge.
Recommendations
As per the analysis it is recommended that the marketing mix is an effective approach for
placing the appropriate goods and administrations in the appropriate market position at the right
price. Another strategy is market segmentation, which serves to reach the correct clients by
segregating them according to their preferences, styles, and demands. Because of their relevance
in advertising, those two tools are regarded to be excellent and successful marketing tools. Due
to target marketing, both tactics assist in placing items in the appropriate market. For brand
management and optimum sales, find the suitable brand in the market, which may be done
through interaction, which necessitates promotion.

Personal Reflection
I am very happy as well as glad that I got this opportunity to learn many things during this
module. The assignment of marketing planning helped me in gaining the insight about the
organization through various frameworks. There are different concepts and tools which are used
for the situation analysis of the company. At the time of beginning of this module, I found it
difficult on researching on various models altogether but I tried to utilized my research skills so
that I can make proper analysis of the company. There are different models which were studied
by me during this module which included PESTLE, porters 5 forces, SWOT analysis and many
others which helped me in identifying the factors that influence the decision making of an
organization. I also undertake my communication skills to make conversation with my peers and
teachers who helped me in having better understanding of these framework. At times, it was
difficult for me to question about these framework back to back to my teacher but my lecturer
was very supportive and understanding who provided me with better insight about these
framework. Moreover my decision making ability was also utilized by me which helped me in
taking the decision to use the best framework at the time of making the situation analysis of
business. During this module, I undertake Morrison’s company and this help me in gaining the
better understanding of the organization and how it operates in the external environment. The
concept of marketing and planning was also enhanced and improved by me during this
assignment as I was able to understand the importance of making the marketing plan for an
organization.
During this module, I identified that my time management ability is very weak as I was not
able to meet my deadlines on time. I used to miss my lectures due to time issues as I was not able
to manage my working within the specified time limit. I was always late for my lectures which
resulted in missing out the important learning during the class. But then I realized and tried to
improve my time management skill. For this I got involved in preparing the schedule for each of
my activity so that the deadlines are met on time and I become punctual which will help me in
my personal and professional growth. There are many other skills which are also essential in my
professional career which included problem solving and critical thinking. Both of these skills
were utilized by me but due to my inefficiency in these skills, I was not able to bring solution to
my issues or problems. I also lack in creativity which resulted in not making my assignment
more creative and attractive which could help me in gaining the higher grades. But one thing

which was positive during this module was I was able to develop these skills to some extent.
There are many risks which I faced during this module that included firstly the risk of
completing my assignment on time as I lack the time management skill so this was my biggest
fear as it would result in low grades for me which could hamper my overall performance on
annual basis. Another risk was to make the correct research for making this assignment
successful as I lack the good research skills and decision making ability. But this module has
helped me in my personal and professional development by enhancing various set of skills in me
such as critical thinking, research skill and problem solving ability. Hence, I could say that this
module has provided me with great opportunity to expand my knowledge base and enhance my
grade so that I can score good marks in my present semester. Therefore, the experience of
starting this module was very helpful and essential for my overall growth and development.
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