Marketing Essentials: A Comparison of Marketing Mix Strategies of Marks and Spencer and its Competitor

This report compares the different ways in which Marks and Spencer and one of its competitors apply the marketing mix for attaining its desire goal as well as target. Moreover it will also describe about basic plan of marketing for a company.

Marketing Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Covered in PPT.......................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................9
P3............................................................................................................................................9
TASK 3.........................................................................................................................................12
P4 .........................................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is considered as creating an interest among people to buy an organisation's
products through the use of various activities such as advertising, distributing sample products
etc. Marketing can also be referred to as a combination of all those activities that persuade a
buyer to purchase a product (Baker and Magnini, 2016). This aid an organisations in conducting
activities related to promotion and launching of products in potential marketplace. The
organisation chosen for this report is Marks and Spencer which is a leading British clothing and
food brand headquartered in London, United Kingdom. This report compares the different ways
in which Marks and Spencer and one of its competitors apply the marketing mix for attaining its
desire goal as well as target. Moreover it will also describe about basic plan of marketing for a
company.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Covered in PPT
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

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TASK 2
P3
Marketing mix comprises of a group of actions (7Ps) that help the companies in
promoting their goods as well as services at potential marketplace (Baker and Saren, 2016). The
Ps are Products or services, Price of offering, Place to display offering, Promotion activities,
People of company, Physical evidence of store as well as process. With the times changes
packaging, positioning and politics are also counted among the Ps of marketing mix. Marks and
Spencer have strong marketing mix strategy so that the company is able to attain its
predetermined goals as well as target for sustaining at potential marketplace. Zara is the chosen
competitor of Marks and Spencer. The main objective of M&S is to develop business that is
sustainable by profitable as well as consistent growth and make sure that it meets the
accountability of its shareholders responsibly. Whereas, the main objective of Zara is to
safeguard the environment as much as possible by implementing practices like generating less
waste, using environment friendly fabrics, recycling etc. A list of comparison of different
strategies related to marketing mix that are use by for achieving their goals and objectives is
described below-
Marketing Mix Marks and Spencer Zara
Product
M&S is a famous and high end
retail chain providing products in
food and clothing for men, women
and children. The brand also offers
products in home segment like
furniture, gifts, flowers etc
(Brychkov and Domegan, 2017).
Zara is considered as a fast brand
in the fashion industry selling the
latest trends in the market at
affordable prices. The brand is
known for selling products that
match the taste and culture of the
people in a particular region.
Price
Marks and Spencer follows the
strategy of competitive pricing for
its products. The company has it
own in house product brands for
clothing which are priced from
Zara focuses on an average
shopper who is looking for latest
fashion clothes at affordable
prices while pricing its products.
This strategy has helped the brand
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moderate to high categories
because of the high quality of the
products.
in addressing the needs of a large
segment of customers and in
creating a special brand name
(Campbell, Martin and Fabos,
2018).
Place
Marks and Spencer is an
international brand which has
operations worldwide through
approximately 1000 offline stores.
The brand has its presence in
France, Spain etc. and also offers
the option of delivering
internationally for specific
products. Since, Marks and
Spencer is a more giant brand, it is
more diverse in terms of its
presence across the world.
Zara has a wide presence across
markets in different countries with
approximately more than 7000
stores across the globe. Besides
having physical stores, Zara also
sell its products through its
website. The brand is now looking
for expansion online. Zara came
into being much later than M&S
and is still in the expansion phase
with not a very diverse presence.
Promotion Marks and Spencer focuses on
spreading the same message on all
the media where it operates. The
company promotes itself and its
products through various media
and at various platforms like
television advertisements, running
various campaigns, blogs,
magazines, reward points etc.
Zara does not market itself very
aggressively as its competitors.
Instead the brand markets itself
through word of mouth as the
products are priced at affordable
rates and therefore has high
customer loyalty. Zara uses
channels social media to
effectively promote its products
effectively.
Marks and Spencer has a strong
employee strength of
approximately 83000. The
Being a widespread brand, Zara
also has a large strength of
employees. The brand conducts
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People
company offers various benefits to
its employees based on their
performance in order to increase
productivity (Perreault, 2018).
Also, the employees of the
company are given special
benefits like discounts on M&S
products purchased online or in
stores.
various learning and development
programs for new hires and
already existing employees to
boost their performance and the
overall productivity of the
company.
Process
Marks and Spencer lays special
attention on making the buying
process of the customers easier at
its stores. Therefore, the stores are
organized in a simple yet beautiful
manner as compared to other
clothing brands' stores. Although
Marks and Spencer has big stores,
the products are observed to be
displayed in various sections.
Zara usually has stores that are
spread over a large area and are
mostly found within malls. The
brand has sections for men,
women as well as children that are
easy to locate. The store design is
very minimalistic and the main
attention is given to the clothes
making the customers' shopping
process simple yet classic
(Rowley, 2016). Also, the stores
are big and it can be observed that
the products are mostly organised
based on their colours.
Physical Evidence Marks and Spencer has a wide
presence globally with more than
1000 physical stores in
approximately 50 countries. The
company has its major operations
in the UK and the products of the
company ranging in different
Zara uses its stores as a physical
evidence since the customers can
provide feedback based on their
overall experience at the store.
Zara has been able to create a nice
ambience through the use of
colours, layout and background
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sections can also be accounted for
physical evidence.
music.
TASK 3
P4
A marketing plan is considered as a document that describes how will the organization
attain its overall goals and objectives through the set objectives (Uncles, 2018). A marketing plan
comprises of a situation analysis, a forecast of the sales, the budget, different activities of
promotions, programs and so on. Thus, a marketing plan helps a company by guiding it to
improve its performance and achieve desire goals as well as targets in an effective as well as
efficient manner.
Executive Summary
Having a marketing plan is necessary for Marks and Spencer as firm management is
planning to introduced its products in Monaco market in next 6 months. In order to this,
respective organization will have to opt several promotional strategies for increasing its reach
among the people in Monaco (Baker and Magnini, 2016). The marketing plan for respective
company is described below -
Objectives
 To introduce its existing products and services in Monaco in 6 months in order to
upgrade its current market share by 20%.
 To implement various promotional strategies within 3 months in order to increase its
customer base as well as overall sales by 35%.
Situation (SWOT)
The situation of Marks and Spencer is mentioned below -
 Strengths – Marks and Spencer is a globally recognized brand with high quality
products. This will help the customers in associating themselves with the brand.
 Weaknesses – The company has been facing serious competition and new brands
imitating its designs. Hence, the company should work on its weaknesses by adopting
various strategies.
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 Opportunities – The brand is widely known and has people who are willing to be its
customers. Therefore, the company has an opportunity to expand itself in the untapped
markets.
 Threats – The company has a threat of its personal information and data being getting
stolen. Therefore, rules and regulations set by the government must be adopted (Baker
and Saren, 2016).
PEST Analysis
An analysis of the macro environment factors for Marks and Spencer is described below -
 Political – Monaco is among the most political stable regions in the world which can
prove to be a positive aspect for Marks and Spenser as it is considering to expand its
business there.
 Economic – One of the most important factors of the retail industry is price, but several
small retailers who offer products similar to the respective company have come up who
are playing a major role in stealing the market. Thus, although Monaco is considered to
be the most economically stable and expensive place worldwide, M&S may still face
some tough competition.
 Social – Since Marks and Spencer also sells its products in the food segment in the UK, it
can also manage to build a name in Monaco.
 Technological – The company can set up stores in Monaco that offer the facility of self
check-out as well as online shopping. Thus, the company should offer these facilities in
order to increase its overall customer base and attract new potential customers in
Monaco.
Porter's 5 Forces Model
Organisations in the retail sector face fierce competition from their rivals. The Porter's 5
Forces model in context to Marks and Spencer is explained below -
 Threat of Substitutes – Overall, there are not many substitutes that can exist for food
and clothes which makes this force less powerful. How ever, there are chances that the
products of Marks and Spencer including clothes and food can be substituted by new
budget retailers in Monaco, which makes this force high in this case.
 Threat of New Entrants – This force is considerably low as if anyone will consider
making an entrance in the market, it will require a huge amount of investment which is
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not easy. Also, the brands that are already set up and have experience the market like
Marks and Spencer can act as a barrier for new entrants.
 Bargaining Power of Buyers – This force is high as the number of buyers in the market
is high which gives them a high power of bargaining for the products. Also, since
Monaco has people who have high incomes, they can shop more.
 Bargaining Power of Suppliers – This force is comparatively low as M&S is a giant
brand and has a number of suppliers from across various regions in the world. Also, the
brand is not dependent on a single supplier as compared to other brands.
Strategy
Various strategies that can be opted by Marks and Spencer are -
 Segmentation – The company is planning to expand its business in Monaco. Therefore,
factors like demographics, behaviour of the people there etc. should be considered.
 Targetting – Once the segmentation is done, the market has to be targetted based on this.
Marks and Spencer will have to target people belonging to high to premium class having
high income.
 Positioning – The company has positioned itself as a brand offering products of high and
finest quality. To position itself in the minds of people in Monaco, the company can use
various channels like TV, magazines etc.
Action Plan
The action plan of the company has been made considering the 4Ps which is as follows -
 Product – M&S deals with a vast product portfolio with products ranging from clothing
items to food. The company has similar products in the stores as well as on its website.
 Price – The pricing strategy will be set as affordable pricing as the company is launching
in Monaco for the first time (Brychkov and Domegan, 2017).
 Place – The company should open stores at places that are selected after a thorough
research on various factors. Also, the delivery time of the products should be less.
 Promotion - Marks and Spencer is going to launch in a new region, therefore it should
make use of various channels like social media and a user friendly website in order to
earn more customers and therefore increase profitability.
Forecasts
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It is necessary for Marks and Spencer to forecast their plans before launching themselves
in Monaco. This will enable them to be aware of different situations like availability of resources
etc. there as well as gather information. During this stage, a budget should be prepared which
will be as follows -
Control
Control is the last stage of a marketing plan where the evaluation has to be performed by
a professional appropriately (Perreault, 2018). If any mistakes are discovered, they should be
addressed and corrected so that they do not rise again in the future. Marks and Spencer should
set a standard as to when a particular task is to be completed.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that, the company needs to work on different
aspects in order to reach the objectives. It has to use different strategies to do so and stand out in
the market against its competitors. Also, a marketing plan needs to be prepared which will
include the situation, action plan, forecast and control strategy of the company. And the company
will have to constantly revise the same in order to sustain in the marketplace. Thus, in order to
expand their business in different regions organisations should have a concrete market plan that
can help and guide them to conduct their operations systematically to ensure that the overall
output is effective.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journal
Baker, M. A. and Magnini, V.P., 2016. The evolution of services marketing, hospitality
marketing and building the constituency model for hospitality marketing. International
Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 28(8). pp.1510-1534.
Baker, M. J. and Saren, M. eds., 2016. Marketing theory: a student text. Sage.
Brychkov, D. and Domegan, C., 2017. Social marketing and systems science: past, present and
future. Journal of Social Marketing. 7(1). pp.74-93.
Campbell, R., Martin, C. and Fabos, B., 2018. Media essentials: A brief introduction.
Bedford/St. Martin's.
Perreault, W. D., 2018. Essentials of marketing. New York: Mc Graw Hill.
Rowley, J., 2016. Information marketing. Routledge.
Uncles, M. D., 2018. Directions in higher education: A marketing perspective. Australasian
Marketing Journal (AMJ). 26(2). pp.187-193.
Online
Marks & Spencer Marketing Mix (4Ps) Strategy. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/services/17122-marks-and-spencer.html>.
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