Marketing Essentials: Roles, Responsibilities, and Strategies

This article discusses the key roles and responsibilities of marketing functions, their relation to the organizational context, and how organizations apply marketing mix to achieve objectives. It also provides a marketing plan for Marks and Spencer.

Marketing Essentials

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Key Roles and Responsibilities of the marketing functions........................................................3
Roles and responsibilities of marketing related to organisational context..................................5
Comparing ways in which organisations apply marketing mix to the marketing planning
process to achieve objectives.......................................................................................................7
Marketing plan for the organisation.............................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is the process through which goods and services are sold in the market.
Marketing essentials are publicity, advertising and selling. It includes identifying right customer,
design products or services which are in demand deliver them and make profit. Marks and
Spenser is a multinational retailer in London. It deals in home products, clothing and food
products. It is founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in 1884. Listed on London Stock
Exchange and provide online service for food delivery. This report will discuss about roles and
responsibilities of marketing function. Further it will evaluate that how this will relate to wider
organisational context and will also compare ways in which different organisations apply
marketing mix to the marketing planning process to achieve objectives. This study will also
produce a marketing plan for organisation.
Key Roles and Responsibilities of the marketing functions.
Marketing functions deals with the buying and selling of goods and services for
satisfying customer’s need. Marketing functions are as follows-
Listening to customer needs- It is very important to know that what your clients need. Marks
and Spencer take customer’s feedback, to know that what is customer needed. Company do
surveys and take help from customer support team so that better marketing strategies can be
made. They also use social media to know about current market situations.
Satisfying customer’s needs- To satisfy the needs of the customer is the very important
marketing function. Company should research and come out with such products and services
which satisfy customer’s need and can give value for the money (Sarkum, Pramuka and Suroso,
2017).
Making Profits- Marketing functions suggest that company should come up with new ways to
sell the products in the market. It says that not only provides value added products to the
customer but also increase sales of the organisation. Marks and Spencer also made different
strategies which helps to achieve corporate goals and increase its market share.
Monitor Competition- Focusing on competitors are also required. Company should also learn
from their competitor, what they are doing, why they are doing and find out their mistakes so
that they will not make any mistakes in the future. Sometimes only by observing competitors,

can make you learn many things. Marks and Spenser focus on healthy competition and do not
believe in any unethical marketing practice.
Managing brand values- A brand is the representation of the company. The department of the
marketing is responsible for creating good brand image. Company also conduct marketing
campaign to promote products and services of the company. They should proper maintain
company’s website because website is the reflection of the company, for seeking information
people visits website only. So, it should be timely updated and website should come first when
anyone search for similar business (Gnizy and Shoham, 2018).
New marketing tools- Company should search for helpful marketing tools should be updated
about new strategies, trends or digital tools that coming in the market. Marks and spencer have
digital marketing tools which include content creation, email marketing, landing pages etc. Such
analytical tools are also created, which collect feedback from the customer, track project etc.
Innovation- To bring innovative products in the market company should do research. Company
should have Rn D department which can come up with timely innovation. Innovation can also be
done by changing in packaging, design, colour etc. Company should also try in different segment
so that they can also generate revenue from new business. They should also identify target areas
for new products and with the marketing tactics should increase demand for new product by
telling about the product, its benefit, uses etc.
Communicate with the other departments of company- Proper communication should be there
between all the departments of the company. Lack of communication can lead to confusion
among the organisation and project failure (Martensen and Mouritsen, 2017). If production and
other departments are working good but marketing department are not working up to the mark
than it can lead to entire company fail and the efforts of other departments will also go waste. If
company want to achieve the goal than systematic communication should be there.
Improved customer services- Quality customer service should provide by the company because
it is the good services only which can bring customer back. The departments which are having
direct contact with the customers should work on empathy (Obih and Baiyegunhi, 2018).
Managing marketing budgets- Marketing department should work on marketing budgets.
Planning should be made for next year’s budget. As marketing activities require investment so
management should wisely choose that in which marketing type they should invest money
whether in traditional or in modern marketing method.

Making strategic marketing plans- Long term strategies should be planned which are cost
effective also. While making strategy every aspect should be considered like company’s profile,
competition, target market etc.
Product management: it is the very important marketing function. It is to be done in the proper
way because on this success of the organization is dependent.
Roles and responsibilities of marketing related to organisational context
The focus of Marks and Spenser is to come with good marketing strategy so that they can
achieve goals and control over the market. Interrelationship between other functional units of an
organisation can contribute towards development, which are-
Marketing and Finance department: Marketing department should work along with the finance
department so that marketing department should have information about the budget available
with the department for research, distribution, promotion and advertisement. Company’s finance
department have all idea that how much budget is allotted to which department and ensure that
every department working with the budget allotted to them. Cost related information should also
be provided by the finance department to the marketing department through which marketing
activities can be carried. Marketing department focus on sales and building on company’s market
share whereas finance department focus on cash flow, costs, debts, investments, balance sheets
etc. Current financial position of the company should be known by marketing department so that
they can make their budget accordingly.
Marketing and operation/ production department: Production department and marketing
department should also work together to achieve the objectives. Both departments work together
to know about the fashion or trends running in the market. Research and development should be
done to know about the customer needs which include current or future needs, so that it can be
satisfied. Production department make new products and do related operations (Harmeling and
et.al., 2017). Production and manufacture should be done regarding demand of the customer
about the quality and specifications. Orders which arise through marketing should be met with
the scheduled time. Marketing department work with the deadline, which can increase pressure
on production department. Company wishes that products should earliest reach to the market so
that competitive advantage can be taken. Production department want to develop such products
where there will be no chances for repair or replacement for defective items from the market by
meeting all safety and health requirements (Iványi and Bíró-Szigeti 2019).

Marketing and Human Resource Management: It is the work of HRM to make sure that
appropriate staffing is appointed by them, which help to achieve company’s objective and to
appoint the right person for the right job. Such employees should be appointed which can help in
research and development to develop new products, which can achieve targets given by the
company and employees who create ambitious sales teams. Man power is the blood for any
company, which can lead to the growth or failure of the company. Effective employees are
required in every department of the company for the smooth functioning. Human Resource also
work for employee welfare. Marks and Spencer’s HR team ensures that all the vacancies are
filled timely and right person should join the marketing team. HR also ensures that proper
training and development should be provided to every employee so that they can deal with the
current market situations. HR department also provide feedback for employee’s performance by
evaluating their performance and by target achieved by them.
Marketing and IT department: Clear communication should be there between marketing and IT
department. IT is very important department of the organisation. Advancement in the new
technology and the pressure of the digitalisation is forcing company to invest more money into
IT and development. Some company even have IT departments separate for every other
department. For digital marketing IT plays a vital role such as developing websites and
ecommerce, data analysis, enhancing products, data development etc. Marks and Spencer also
taking advantage of current market and actively working on digital marketing to attain the
objective (Roach and et.al., 2018).
Marketing and customer service department: Marketing and customer service is inter-related
with each other. Both work together to check that customers are satisfied or not. Customer
service department provide feedback to the marketing department so that new products can be
developed. Both the departments build positive customer relationship. Customer service
department also help marketing department to increase sales and retain customers.
Marketing and research and development department: Marketing department tells research and
development department about customer’s preferences, market trends, opportunities and threats
and marketing departments are dependent on R&D for new products and innovation, from which
profit can be made. Innovation is required by company for long time survival and to increase
sales and revenue. Innovative products are highly demanded by the customers.

Marketing and purchasing department: marketing department help the purchasing department
in the process of purchasing. Marketing team directly deal with the customers, so they know
their preferences, so they guide purchasing team accordingly that what raw material they should
purchase and what kind of product is in the demand.
Comparing ways in which organisations apply marketing mix to the marketing planning process
to achieve objectives.
TESCO’S marketing mix is compared with Marks and Spencer. Marketing managers use
marketing mix to analyse the current market situation. Using 7 P’s for that-
7 P’s Marks and Spencer Tesco
Product Products and services
available are clothing, home
décor, M&S bank, M&S
energy, food etc
It has wide range of products
which includes clothing,
electronics, food, financial
services etc and is also
available online. It is also
providing home delivery
services.
Price Marks and Spencer focus on
competitive pricing strategy
and on dynamic pricing
strategy (Išoraitė, 2016).
Company give seasonal
discounts on their products to
attract more customers and
also do sale for old stock.
Tesco focus on low pricing
strategy without
compromising on quality or
making loss to the company.
They also introduced club card
from which customer can earn
points and get eligibility for
discounts in future.
Place Being an international brand
having more than 1000 stores
in 50 countries. UK is the
business hub for the company.
Customer can also buy its
Its stores are present
worldwide. Having offline and
online channels of distribution.
It has different types of stores
namely Tesco express, Tesco

products online from its
website, company also provide
international delivery option.
metro, Tesco superstore etc
and in online it operates with
its website.
Promotions This company uses digital
marketing in their promotions.
And also uses Tv ads, print
media, mobile ads and social
media. Own website is used
for promotion of the brand by
writing blogs and providing
fashion tips and attractive
discounts.
For promotion it uses
television for ads, gives
discounts and coupons etc
(Abril and Rodriguez-
Cánovas, 2016). It does
advertisement focusing on its
low price. Also attract
customers by giving different
offers. Company using social
media platforms for the
promotion by posting daily on
these.
People Company is having employee
around 83000. They give
attention to the employees and
provide timely training. To
retain employees company
have the payment policy. Also
appreciate employee’s
performance by giving them
rewards. Company give
insurance benefits to their
employees. They also
introduce new female policies.
Tesco believe that its
employees are the main reason
for its success. They came up
with colleague privilege card,
to give benefit to their
employees. Company having
flexible working hours (Blut,
Teller and Floh, 2018). They
also provide health insurance
to all the employees and
started development program
for new trainees.
Process Marks and Spenser stores can
be found on streets, malls
having separate sections for
furniture, home décor,
Tesco focus on fast billing
services to the customers and
easy to find product offline or
online. Company achieve this

clothing, cosmetics, gifts etc
(Wu and Li, 2018). For men,
women and kids have different
sub sections with separate
checkout counters for that.
by employing productive staff
who give attention on the
customers and also solve their
queries.
Physical Evidence Company do its major
business in UK. Stores and
brand are the physical
evidence of the company
including its products and
services offered by them.
Company have its website
where customer can buy
products.
Its stores are its physical
evidence which are clean and
attractive, where products are
easy to find. Attractive offers
are their which attract
customers to buy more.
Company’s website is also
simple to use.
Both companies have a variety of products and each of them had adopted different pricing
strategy. They are using different process. Their promotional activities are same they both are
using social media for the promotion more because they know the importance of social media
that it is cheap and time saving method. They both provide training to their employees.
Marketing plan for the organisation
Mission- Marks and Spencer Mission are to make inspirational quality accessible to others.
Vision- Marks and Spencer vision is to be the standard against which others are measured-
Benchmarking.
Objectives-
 To increase the market share by 15% in a year.
 To increase the number of customers by 10%. To increase number of sales in 6 months.
Product and service description- Marks and Spenser should add new clothing store in the
Belfast city. Belfast is growing rapidly, by introducing new store in the growing city will
benefit company very much. With the increasing competition in the market company have to
come up with as many stores as possible, so that they will serve more customers and will

also satisfy the needs of them. Providing quality products is the main motive of the
company, so company should never sacrifice on quality. For this, company can also use
social media platforms for marketing of the new store.
Situational Analysis- Explained by using SWOT and PESTLE
SWOT
Strengths: Its biggest strength is that, it will satisfy need of the customers of Belfast by covering
all the target audience. Their unique selling strategy which they have will benefit to this
store also. Company’s profitability will increase and their good distribution channels will
also add advantage which will give high sales (Datta, Ailawadi and Van Heerde, 2017).
Weaknesses: It will increase more expenses like rent, salaries etc. Company have to sell product
at break even or loss to attract more customers towards store.
Opportunities: New store will come up with some of the built-in opportunities. Marks and
spencer have easy checkout option which will bring more customers to the new store.
Company can also focus on their online business to meet the competition.
Threats: Shift in the market requirement can be the threat. Opening of new stores by
competitors. Shortage of workers in the store. Changes in the technology and fashion are
another threat. Sometimes drastic change in the market will cause problem in meeting the
challenge.
PESTLE
Political factor: Government around the globe have regulation which should be followed by the
company, which can have for the standards of cleanliness, transporting process etc. Labour
laws are also strict, company have to provide minimum wages which is decided by the
government.
Economic factor: This factor directly affects the business (Chernev, 2020). If the economy will
decrease then income will decrease and also the purchasing power of people. People will
buy less and also eat less outside.
Social factor: Marks and Spencer are the established brand; it is not the new brand for people.
Consumers are health conscious nowadays so company should come up with more healthy
options.
Technological factor: Company should have proper machine and equipment for new product.
This can increase the cost but will also increase the revenue. Marks and Spenser should have

installed self-service checkout system in every store this will decrease manpower. Company
should also start delivering products online (Wood and Jobber, 2016).
Legal Factor: Government ensures that proper safety standards are maintained by the company.
If government rules are not followed properly than they charge high penalties.
Environmental factor: This factor also affects business of Marks and Spencer like tourism,
agriculture etc. It further includes weather, climate changes, and geography.
Marketing Strategy- It is explained by using 7 P’s of marketing mix
Product- The store which is launched by the company is very unique in UK and will add to the
number of stores of the company. It has different interior and designs. Different products are
demanded by the customers, if company fulfils demand than can beat competition.
Price- Adding new store in the store chain will add cost to the company but will give more
revenue also. Company should continue using competitive pricing strategy to achieve
company’s objective. Coupons and discounts should also provide by the company which
will attract customers towards the new store.
Place- Company Introduce new store which have verities of clothing items.
Promotion- Company focus more on traditional method of promotions like print media, TV ads
but with the change in market company should more focus on new methods of promotion
like advertisement on social media platforms by posting ads, writing blogs, mobile ads etc.
People- People are very important for any business. Proper training should be provided to each
and every employee by the company (Tipu, 2019). They also have rewards and insurance
policies for their workers.
Process- To give quality service right process is very important. Company have good process for
the supply chain.
Physical evidence- Physical evidence is related to customer satisfaction. If the surrounding or
the store is clean than customer will buy more.
Financial Plan- It is the process to determine the capital required and also determine the
competition. Its financial plan-
Particulars Costs
Survey 50 Pounds
Rent 800 Pounds
Interior décor 1000 Pounds

Equipment & Technology 550 Pounds
Licencing fees 150 Pounds
Advertisement 200 Pounds
Business Insurance
Inventory
350 Pounds
900 Pounds
Total 4000 Pounds
Return on investment will be achieved in 2 years and objectives of the company will also achieve
very soon because company had made solid financial plan by covering all the aspects.
Proper survey is done which is the biggest strength but rent is more which can be the weakness
as more money will go in that. Innovative technology is used which will help in achieving the
objectives fast. Advertisement is done using the latest advertising method like using social
media.
Success key performance indicator- It depends on company’s goal. It is explained by
considering these parameters which are-
Sales: Estimated sales of the company of new store are 5%which is more sales than from their
older stores because the store is big in size and in the main market of the city. Profit of the
company depends on its sales.
Customer satisfaction: To satisfy the customers is the most important thing. So, the measure of
the success is the customer satisfaction.
Cost efficiency: It can be calculated by applying some financial ratios. This will help company to
reduce the financial risk (Marketing Essentials, 2017).
Goals: The success of the new store can be seen if it is helping to achieve company’s goal or not.
CONCLUSION
Through this report it can be concluded that proper marketing plan is very
essential for Marks and Spencer. It is the largest retailer in UK which attracts customer by
providing quality products and good services. Also discussed about roles and responsibilities of
marketing function and how it is related to other departments of the organisation. Company also
have many strategies through which they will increase share in the market which helps in
achieving company’s goal. Marketing mix are evaluated and a business plan is made.

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Online
Marketing Essentials, 2017 [Online]. Available through:
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