Marketing Functions and Strategies

The assignment provided is a collection of research papers, case studies, and online resources that cover various topics in marketing, including marketing functions, strategic marketing, marketing mix, PEST analysis, and more. The content includes references from academic journals, books, and online sources, providing a comprehensive understanding of marketing concepts and strategies.

10/17/2018 MARKETING
ZARA

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
REFERENCE...................................................................................................................................3
LO1..................................................................................................................................................3
1. Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function relating to wider organisational
context....................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5
2. Roles and responsibilities of marketing in context of marketing environment..................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
3. Analysing significance of interrelationships of marketing and other functional units of
organisation............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
4. Critical analysis of key elements of marketing function and interrelation with other
functional units.......................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
LO2..................................................................................................................................................8
1. Comparing ways with help of marketing mix to marketing planning process to achieve
business objectives.................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
2. Evaluating different tactics applied by organisations.......................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
LO3................................................................................................................................................11
1. Producing end evaluating basic Marketing Plan for organisation....................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
2. Producing coherent evidence-based marketing plan for organisation..............................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
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INTRODUCTION
The term marketing refers to the activity and set of process of creating, acting, and
delivering by exchanging goods and services that has a worth to customers and societies
(Armstrong and et.al., 2015). Thus, in following report Zara has been taken into consideration. It
is a fast fashion retailer based of cloths and accessories and is a main brand of Inditex Group.
In following report, roles and responsibilities of marketing with marketing environment
has been discussed. Furthermore, comparison between Zara and H&M is done with help of
marketing mix. This reports also highlights on various marketing plans adopted by Zara.
LO1
1. Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function relating to wider organisational context.
The main aim of marketing is to maximize the satisfaction of customers’ needs by way of
exchanging goods and services between producers and consumers (Chan and et.al., 2018). It also
aims in identifying consumer needs and satisfy those requirements. There are various steps
involved in marketing process as are-
1. Analysis of opportunities in market- Zara has to analyse market that is to be targeted.
They should focus on opportunities that would be beneficial for them (Fozer, D. and et.al.,
2017).
2. Selection of target market- In this step, target customers are selected. Zara cannot fulfil
needs and wants of entire market, so they must divide into different segments and choose
profitable segment.
3. Development of marketing mix- After setting a strategy by Tesco, they have to initiate
planning.
4. Marketing efforts management- This is the action period where for target market suitable
marketing mix is set.
Thus, key roles and responsibilities of marketing functions of Zara are discussed as follows-
1. Pricing- Pricing plays a vital role in order to determine success and profitability of Zara.
If the company has products having many competitors then it will have to face strong
price competition (Senguo and Kilango, 2015). If Zara set a higher price it will lack
getting customers so they have to lower price. In order to have a confidence about setting
correct price, the selected company has to go few trial runs.
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2. Marketing Information Management- It involves understanding targeted customer’s
needs, interests and wants. Zara has to collects all detailed information about customers’
requirements which will be helpful for future references. Further, this will help cited
company to produce products as per trends and requirements in market that leads in
achieving high profitability.
Illustration 1: 7 Marketing Functions
(Source: The 7 Functions, 2015)
3. Selling- Function of selling includes retailers, wholesalers, owners of shop, producers,
distributors etc. Selling depends on requirement of a product in market by consumers.
Thus, Zara has to understand various customers and sell its product so that customers
wants has been satisfied that later leads in increasing profitability.
4. Distribution- Planning of distributing goods becomes very difficult task for Zara because
it has to understand target customers well (Fill and Turnbull, 2016). Thus, to attract
customer, quoted company has to distribute products in various areas that includes variety
of customers.
5. Promotion- Promotion helps in increasing awareness of a brand between individuals. Zara
has to involve highly innovative strategies of advertising that might range from print
media to telemarketing (Shabanova and et.al., 2015). Thus, promotions of a particular
brand can be done by billboards and hoardings so that customers get attracted towards the
creativity or products.
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6. Product- This function mainly deals with design, changes, updates and model of a product
depending on customer satisfaction. Zara has to take customers attraction into
consideration and accordingly produce or update products. This helps the company in
achieving targeted goals.
7. Financing- Financing is one of most important function of marketing (Gupta, 2016).
Thus, to produce products and to make customers aware of a brand, Zara should have
sufficient finance for advertising and various promotional activities.
2. Roles and responsibilities of marketing in context of marketing environment.
Marketing is defined as collection of activities that has to be undertaken by the firm that
relates in profitable manner to its market (Fill and Turnbull, 2016). It is also referred to as action
performed by business to promote and sell products or services by way of research and
advertising. Thus, various roles and responsibilities of marketing in terms of business
environment has been discussed as per below context-
1. Political factors- Political factors includes several aspects of government policy and laws.
It results to a political element if there is increase or decrease in tax (hasan Bisri,
Sudarmaningtyas and Wulandari, 2018). Thus, consumers and products of Zara are
brought together with help of marketing process in order to exchange a particular product.
It has been influenced by various laws and policies, communication media and advocates
of customers. Therefore, marketing manager acts as a mixer of all factor of marketing and
creates elements and resources used in marketing.
Illustration 2: Pest analysis
(Source: What is PEST Analysis?, 2013)
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2. Economic factor- Marketing is primarily function in case of economic factors that affects
business. It consists of various activities including research, forecasting demand, Product
planning, pricing, distribution and advertising. They have to distribute goods in proper
manner that leads in increasing economic growth.
3. Social factors- Consumers comes from different social, economic and cultural background
so they have different expectations and attitudes (Gupta, 2016). Thus, it becomes
important for marketing manager to learn about consumers and analyse their mindset who
are not attracted yet. Changes as per taste of consumer, behaviour, fashion and liking has
to be done. Therefore, marketer must have complete information about demand of a
potential customer in order to achieve competitive advantage.
4. Technological factor- Marketers of the cited company has to update and advance their
technology in order to meet requirements and demands of customers easily. Thus,
advancement in technology creates new approach of opportunities and poses as a mean of
threat for individual companies.
3. Analysing significance of interrelationships of marketing and other functional units of
organisation.
The function of marketing has been defined as roles of business in order to identify
potentially successful products and helps in promoting those products. Hence, marketing
functions in organisation has to face various challenges including growth of economy (Gupta,
2016). These functions involve high responsibilities of business organisation. Thus, program
between marketing and various business functions takes two major approach which are discussed
in following-
 In a developing business plan, coordinating the component of marketing with other
functions of organisation becomes important. Thus, financial, production, procurement,
personnel, R&D plans and strategies and objectives must be coordinated with it
(Kozlenkova and et.al., 2015). These plans must be in consistent with financial and
accounting view of firm.
 Compounding marketing inputs in other plans becomes essential along with short and
long-term plans.
Thus, these marketing functions has different roles in order to advertise growth in Zara and
there is a close relationship between marketing functions and other organisational units of Zara.
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4. Critical analysis of key elements of marketing function and interrelation with other functional
units.
Marketing functions are part of Zara. Thus, units of other functions and departments are
attached with each other. If Zara wants to implement its marketing plan, he needs help from
various departments of company like sales department, finance department, production
department etc. Furthermore, if Zara wants to offer discounts on clothes and accessories then the
marketing manager has to communicate with production and finance manager. Therefore, main
function of marketing is to increase maximum profit by increasing maximum amount of sales
(Hasan Bisri, Sudarmaningtyas and Wulandari, 2018). Finance department of Zara provides
sufficient budget for planning and implementing various marketing plans. Hence, there is a co
relation between both to bring successful marketing plan and achieve targeted objectives which in
turn leads in high profitability.
LO2
1. Comparing ways with help of marketing mix to marketing planning process to achieve
business objectives.
Marketing mix is a term that refers to as a combination of various factors controlled by a
company in order to purchase products (Kozlenkova and et.al., 2015). Thus, it is a set of actions
used by company to promote the brand of a particular product. Thus, comparison is done between
Zara and H&M with help of marketing mix.
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Illustration 3: Marketing Mix
(Source: The Marketing Mix 4P’s and 7P’s Explained, 2016)
Marketing Mix Zara H&M
1. Price Some stores of Zara might be
affordable and some might not.
The main concept is to provide
products at reasonable price
(Piercy, 2014). Zara has a
premium pricing strategy and
uses value added pricing
approach. Here, company's
perception of value is focused
more.
H&M adopted pricing strategy
that is low price strategy in
order to suit every types of
buyer (Proctor, 2014).
Company offers discounts on
fresh stocks.
2. Products Zara has very strong quality of
responding quickly to
changing needs of customers
in terms of cloths and
accessories (Bush, 2017).
They focus on quality and
latest trend in market and make
things available at reasonable
price to public.
3. Promotion Zara follows unique This group has wide range of
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promotional policy. They don't
invest in marketing
product so it spends many
efforts on promotion.
4. Place They expanded business to 30
different countries. The
environment experienced in all
stores are equal.
They expanded business in 25
countries. They have increased
at a faster rate on locations that
are accessible easily and at
reasonable price.
5. Process They have innovative
manufacturing process which
helps them in responding
quickly to customers.
Employees of H&M are trained
at higher level in order to
attract highly profitable
customers by giving better and
fast services.
6. Physical evidence They produce around 18,000
different models clothes every
year and has innovative staffs.
H&M consists of great
ambience and humble staffs.
They have excellent quality
merchandise.
7. People Employees are trained in order
to motivate them in performing
best and meet targeted
objectives.
Employees are trained well and
culture involved is very
modern and motivated so that
workers come up with
innovative and creative results.
2. Evaluating different tactics applied by organisations.
Zara has applied various tactics in organisations discussed as below-
Zara, worlds the largest clothing retailers main aim is to pull people in instead of making
product out (Piercy, 2014). Here, shoppers can engage their phones in order to see models that
are wearing selected fashions by clicking on sensor in stores. Thus, creating curiosity in
customers is most powerful pull marketing strategy. In addition to this, for them it’s all about
customers attracting towards stores. Along with this, experiences for customers, exchange with
them are main tactics used by Zara. The company made customer as the king, this helps
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customers in engaging with Zara products with eagerness. They catch the hottest trends at
affordable price which helps in cultivating loyal customers in market.
LO3
1. Producing end evaluating basic Marketing Plan for organisation.
Basic marketing plan can be produced with the following specific tasks.
INTRODUCTION
Zara is enterprise selling cloths and accessories retailer based in Galicia. It was founded in
1975 and it is a world largest apparel retailer (Proctor, 2014). It manages up-to 20 clothing
collections a year.
VISION AND MISSION
The vision and mission statement of Zara is to provide customers by exclusive choice in
fashion and to have a fastest turnover as compared to other competitors available in market place.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of Zara is to aim in contributing towards sustainable development of
the society and the business environment within which they interact (Armstrong and et.al., 2015).
It also aims in achieving loyal customers to buy their product and maintain relationship with them
so that they get engaged with them.
SWOT-ANALYSIS
 Strength- Zara have more than 2000 stores and brand name has established well
worldwide. Their management of supply chain is of low cost as most of the processes are
vertically mixed (Huang and Sarigöllü, 2014).
 Weaknesses- The major weakness is that they have limited promotion in comparison to
other competitors. Thus, competition for Zara means having less market share and high
number of switching in brand.
 Opportunities- Zara has not entered into segments. They can enter and expand those areas
which will lead to high profitability (Fine, 2017). Threats- The major threat for Zara is economic downturn and high-end fashion
merchandisers. Switching of consumers has been taking place in large amount.
TARGET MARKET
Zara mainly target to young generation and price conscious consumers. Thus, they also
target the market having sensitive attitude towards the latest trends.
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MARKETING BUDGET
Zara spend less on marketing. It believes in pulling customers instead of putting products
out. Zara sell trended clothes and accessories that attracts customers without advertising towards
them. They follow strategy of Zero investment in business.
MONITORING & CONTROLLING
Zara monitors and responds to the feedbacks of customers (Lerman and Shefrin, 2015).
By including customers in business, it creates massive brand loyalty.
2. Producing coherent evidence-based marketing plan for organisation.
The coherent marketing plan are as follows-
Product- They must produce a product that is appropriate to needs of consumers (Senguo and
Kilango, 2015). It should be the main objective of Zara.
Place- Product produced should be available easily to consumer. Thus, Zara must have variety of
branches situated all over world.
Price- This becomes crucial stage that represents customers value and competitions with others
with better offer.
Promotion- This includes advertising. Zara should promote its product in creative way to a
greater extent in order to attract customers easily.
Process- Zara must provide attractive services in order to represent a product. This helps in
attracting customers towards selected company.
People- People that are involved plays important role in pulling customers. So, they must be
trained well in order to build relation with targeted customers.
Physical evidence- This involves facilities and comfort that customers feel and enjoy in
organisation (Londhe, 2014). Thus, Zara has to maintain this feature.
CONCLUSION
Thus, from above report it has been concluded that Zara is worlds the largest clothing and
apparel enterprise having many stores in every corners of world. Its main aim is to pull customers
in rather than pushing their products out. Further it has also analysed that marketing and other
functional units interact with each other in order to achieve targeted objectives and high
profitability. In addition to this, report also highlights on comparison between Zara and H&M.
Therefore, with help of this comparison, it has been analysed that Zara runs business at top with
advertising its brand.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Armstrong, G and et.al., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Bush, T., 2017. PESTLE analysis: everything you need to know (2016). Available in:
http://pestleanalysis. Com.
Chan, K.S and et.al., 2018. PEST Analysis of the Development and Challenge of Macau’s 2015
Tobacco Control Law. Journal of Health Science. 6. pp.69-78.
Fill, C. and Turnbull, S.L., 2016. Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation. Pearson.
Fine, S.H., 2017. Introduction to social marketing. In Marketing the Public Sector (pp. 1-12).
Routledge.
Fozer, D. and et.al., 2017. Life cycle, PESTLE and multi-criteria decision analysis of CCS
process alternatives. Journal of Cleaner Production. 147. pp.75-85.
Gupta, D.K., 2016. Everything is Marketing: An Analysis of Functional Relationships of
Marketing and Libraries. DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology. 36(3).
Hasan Bisri, M., Sudarmaningtyas, P. and Wulandari, S.H.E., 2018. The design of digital
marketing strategy with the methods sostac on stratup qtaaruf. Jurnal JSIKA. 7(4).
Huang, R. and Sarigöllü, E., 2014. How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand
equity, and the marketing mix. In Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors (pp. 113-132).
Springer, New York, NY.
Kozlenkova, I.V and et.al., 2015. The role of marketing channels in supply chain
management. Journal of Retailing. 91(4). pp.586-609.
Lerman, D. and Shefrin, H., 2015. Positive marketing: Introduction to the special section. Journal
of business research. 68(12). pp.2443-2445.
Londhe, B.R., 2014. Marketing mix for next generation marketing. Procedia Economics and
Finance. 11. pp.335-340.
Piercy, N., 2014. Marketing Organisation (RLE Marketing). Routledge.
Proctor, T., 2014. Strategic marketing: an introduction. Routledge.
Senguo, R.A. and Kilango, N.C., 2015. Marketing Innovation Strategies for Improving Customer
Satisfaction: Vodacom Tanzania.
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Shabanova, L.B and et.al., 2015. PEST-Analysis and SWOT-Analysis as the most important
tools to strengthen the competitive advantages of commercial enterprises. Mediterranean
Journal of Social Sciences. 6(3). p.705.
Online
The 7 Functions. 2015. [Online]. Available through: <http://lsegaard.wixsite.com/proffesional-
pro/single-post/2015/09/24/The-7-Functions>.
What is PEST Analysis?. 2013. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.visual-
paradigm.com/guide/strategic-analysis/what-is-pest-analysis/>.
The Marketing Mix 4P’s and 7P’s Explained. 2016.[online]. Available
through:<http://marketingmix.co.uk/>.
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