Role of Marketing in Marks and Spencer: PESTEL and SWOT Analysis

This report discusses the role of marketing in Marks and Spencer, along with PESTEL and SWOT analysis. It also covers the marketing mix and reflection on sales and negotiation skills in the chosen organization.

Individual Report

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
PESTEL Analysis........................................................................................................................3
SWOT analysis............................................................................................................................7
Marketing Mix of Marks and Spencer.........................................................................................8
Reflection on Sales and Negotiation skills..................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Marketing plays an important role in making aware audience about their product and services.
There are various tools and tactics that many companies opt in order to take competitive
advantage. It is needed to conduct market research so that company can frame effective
marketing strategies to target its audience. In addition to that, with marketing, companies can
promote or showcase its products and services in front of their targeted audience (Baines, Fill
and Rosengren, 2017). The importance of marketing lies in identification of consumer’s needs
and wants and based on that produces products that can meet expectation of customers. This
project report is based on Marks and Spencer, a British multinational clothing, accessories and
home products retailer with headquartered in Paddington, England. This report will depict role of
marketing in context to chosen organisation along with SWOT and PESTEL analysis. Further, it
will cover marketing mix and reflection on sales and negotiation skills in chosen organisation.
TASK
Marketing is important in every business as it allows in delivering message to its target audience
along with influencing them to opt for product. Marketers of Marks and Spencer formulates
effective strategies regarding promotion of products and services. There are various marketing
platforms which allows company to display their commercials on it so that they can capture
attention of larger audience (Ferrell, Hartline and Hochstein, 2021). There are various external
factors which are needed to be analysed or it may negatively affect performance of company. In
order to analyse external environment, PESTEL framework can be used. In context to Marks and
Spencer, PESTEL analysis is discussed below.
PESTEL Analysis
Basis Factors Impact on organisation
Political Political stability is a much
needed factor for better
business environment. Marks
and Spencer is trading in
different countries and every
country have their own
political issues and problems.
High tax rate and trade
restriction makes it harder for
an organisation to make better
profit. They can expend their
business in markets with
taxation benefits to make
maximum profit. Trade

Different governments have
different priorities towards the
development hence any
change in local or
international government
bring changes in policies
which effects the business.
restrictions reduces trade with
foreign traders eventually
harming foreign trade
relations.
Economic Factors  Company is operating
in an efficient financial
market and easy
availability of liquidity
can help them to
expend their business
and to enter in new
markets.
Fluctuation in exchange rates
can cause lose in international
market and can affect
company's investment plans
(Groucutt and Hopkins, 2017).
Depreciation on local currency
make cost of importing goods
higher which increases the
production cost and influence
the overall sales.
Social factors  Demographics plays an
important role in
making future
marketing strategies.
Demographic study
can help Mark and
Spencer to understand
their customer base
better and to decide
their target customers.
It can also help them to
know from where
potential customers
may come in future.
Different country has unique
tradition and custom and it
may be difficult for company
to operate effectively.
Company may face difficulty
in understanding beliefs and
value of different customers.

 Each society have
different norms and
values that makes
distinctive behaviour
among customers.
They can develop local
team for developing
local relationships to
understand societal
norms. Better
understanding of
societal norms can
help them tailoring
better marketing
strategies for different
cultures.
Technological factors  Online Marketing-
Company can practice
online marketing for
reaching their potential
customers via digital
strategies. Use of
social media can
diversify Marks and
Spencer potential and
help to make new
brands.
 Technological
Innovations: -
Technology is
changing the way how
Upgradation of technology
can positively impact on
company’s performance and it
makes it easier for company to
attain organisational goals.

supermarket operates
Marks and Spencer
should keep an eye on
ongoing innovation to
stay ahead of
competition they can
adopt new tech which
can help then deliver
better outcomes.
Legal factors  Consumer Protection
Law: - To ensure
compliance with
consumer protection
law they have to make
sure they are
maintaining quality
standards and acting
fair towards their
customers. At present
data protection has
also become an
important issue. They
have to make a strong
mechanism against
data breach to avoid
any lawsuit.
In case of non compliance of
consumer protection law,
government may impose
penalties and it will affect on
profitability of company.
Environmental  Weather and Climatic
Condition: - Weather
can influence the
Natural calamities such as
floods, earthquakes and
tornados can impact on supply

efficiency of an
organisation. Extreme
climate condition can
cause increase in
operation cost and it
can also change the
spending pattern of
their customers which
will push them to
change their marketing
strategies.
chain of company.
SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis of Marks and Spencer
Strength
Global Presence: - Marks and Spencer has
a global presence which creates a big
and more diverse customer base.
Customer Service: - M&S always focuses
on their customer service to be best in
class they always try to make their
consumers comfortable. They also
provide training to their managers and
staff which enhance their customer
handling skills.
Weaknesses
 Relies on Manual Processes: - It is a
major weakness of Marks and Spencer.
They failed to adopt new technology
and still prefer manual processes that
consume more time and money and
effects adversely on the final cost of
their finished goods.
 Unsuccessful in foreign market: -
They failed to make their mark in
various countries. Because of their
western products they found it hard to
penetrate market where ethical products
are in demand.
Opportunities Threats

 Online Sales: - Marks and Spencer
should create a strong e-commerce
infrastructure because e-commerce
retail is growing with a rapid speed
and being an old and experienced
company their position in online
market is not good enough .
 Alliance with Other Companies :-
Alliance with other foreign companies
can help them to make their presence in
foreign markets (Solimun and
Fernandes, 2018).
 High Competition in Market: - Retail
market around the world is very
competitive and market leaders like
Tesco and Amazon can be a threat for
Mark and Spencer.
 Different Policies in Different
Countries :- Marks and Spencer has a
global presence and hence they can face
lawsuits if they do not follow product
standards according to those markets
they have to work according to various
different governments and policies.
Marketing Mix of Marks and Spencer
Marketing mix may be referred as a model which is used by marketers to frame strategies so as
to attain organisational tools. In context to Marks and Spencer, Marketing Mix is discussed
below.
 Product: - The product or service a company is offering should be the at the centre of
every element of the marketing mix (Batat, 2022). Only the positioning of the brand is
not enough because ultimately customer care about what the get, that is the product or
service. If the quality of product is good and it solve customers’ problems, the product
will perform good in the market. Marks and Spencer offers trendy and fashionable
clothing products to its customers.
 Price- Price of a product influences customer’s expectation and a company needs to
make sure that they meet those expectations. The pricing strategy should be based on
your target customers and what they are willing to pay. Company opt low pricing strategy
in which it offers quality product on lesser price. This attracts lots of customer towards
company and this contributes in fulfilment of objectives.
 Place-It refers to those place at which products is displayed and sold. Every company
must make a right choice about the place where customer will receive the essential

information about the product and service. Marks and Spencer displays its products on
both e-commerce websites and on its exclusive stores.
 Promotion- Promotion means raising awareness about the brand and product within a
market. There are many competitors who offer similar products and services in the
market, so using promotional activities and campaign can help businesses to distinguish
themselves (Kostynets and Kostynets, 2016). Marks and Spencer opts digital marketing
in order to promote its products worldwide. It becomes easier for company to reach wider
range of audience in short span of time.
 People- This refers to anyone who is directly or indirectly involved in the business. A
company should provide training to their employees so that they can solve customers’
problems and provide them the best customer service. Marks and Spencer have high
skilled employees and professionals who contributes in making company successful.
 Process- Series of action involved in delivering of product or service to the customer
should be seamless and personalised (Shokrani and et al.,2019). Customers can feel
frustrated by many reasons like late shipping, additional cost and lack of support to
minimise these complains a seamless process is required. Company have high tech
software that allows it to solve queries of customer.
 Physical evidence- Customers generally judge the business on the physical aspects.
These aspects include business premises, websites, packaging of product etc. These
elements provide consumers physical evidence which they need to be certain that a
business is liable and legitimate. Marks and Spencer is active on both online and offline
stores and serves seamless experience to its customers.
Reflection on Sales and Negotiation skills
From the sales and negotiation skills, I have learnt some skills such as communication
skills, interpersonal skills and problem resolving skills. Communication skill helps in
handling and influencing customer to but company’s product. It also facilitates in
effective communication and mitigate risk of miscommunication. In addition to that,
interpersonal skill can help company in maintaining healthy relationship with its
customers and this lead customer to be loyal towards company. With conflict resolving,
company can take feedback from its customers and can take immediate action to resolve
query. Without attentive to customer’s query, company may lose its precious customer.

All the above skills play an important role in marketing products of Marks and Spencer.
With effective communication, company may communicate and deliver its message to
targeted audience. Along with this, by maintaining interpersonal relations to its
customers, company can easily understand needs and expectation and based on that
frames strategies to meet expectation. By understanding needs of customers, company
can get to know about what customers are demanding and which product can meet fulfil
their expectation. It has been analysed that better negotiation skills result in increased
revenue and higher profit.
CONCLUSION
From the above project report it was analysed that marketing is crucial when it comes to
attainment of goals. It is imperative for company to frame effective marketing strategies that
leads company towards fulfilment of objectives. It was recommended for company to opt latest
technology so that it makes work easier and reduces chance of human error. With updated
technology, company can gain competitive advantage in dynamic business environment. In
addition to that, company have to seek customer’s needs and wants and based on that produces
product which have potential to meet customer’s expectation. Company have to utilise marketing
mix in an effective manner that yields positive outcomes. It will help company in
accomplishment of both short term and long term objectives. The policies of company should be
flexible so that alteration can be made, if needed. At last, it was recommended that company
have to seek market opportunities so as to remain competitive in cut-throat market.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Baines, P., Fill, C. and Rosengren, S., 2017. Marketing. Oxford University Press.
Batat, W., 2022. The death of the traditional marketing mix (7Ps) and the rise of the experiential
marketing mix (7Es). In Strategies for the Digital Customer Experience (pp. 178-194). Edward
Elgar Publishing.
Ferrell, O.C., Hartline, M. and Hochstein, B.W., 2021. Marketing strategy. Cengage Learning.
Groucutt, J. and Hopkins, C., 2017. Marketing. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Kostynets, V.V. and Kostynets, I.V., 2016. Alternative swot strategies as a tool in territorial
marketing. Aktual'ni Problemy Ekonomiky= Actual Problems in Economics, (186), p.199.
Madsen, D.Ø. and Grønseth, B.O., 2022. PESTEL Analysis. In Encyclopedia of Tourism
Management and Marketing. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Shokrani and et al.,2019. A comparison of statistical and decision-making techniques in
marketing mix evaluation. Journal of Management Development.
Solimun, S. and Fernandes, A.A.R., 2018. The mediation effect of customer satisfaction in the
relationship between service quality, service orientation, and marketing mix strategy to customer
loyalty. Journal of Management Development.