ASDA SWOT Analysis, Service Marketing Challenges - MC4061QA

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of ASDA, a British supermarket chain, using a SWOT framework to evaluate its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It identifies key service marketing challenges faced by ASDA over the next three years, including intangibility, hetero...Read More

PRINCIPLES OF
MARKETING
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
1. SWOT analysis of ASDA........................................................................................................3
2. Identifying the organisational key service marketing challenges............................................4
Recommendations for overcoming the threats............................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is the process of advertising and promoting the brand and products from where the
company can be able to increase their sales and also can create an awareness among people. It is
important for an individual business to understand the importance of the marketing from where
they can attract the customers in definite manner. ASDA is a British supermarket chain which is
headquartered at Leeds, England. In this current report, it will illustrate the internal evaluation of
the firm from where they can be able to understand their strengths and weak areas along with
threats and opportunities (Minsky and Aron, 2021). Moreover, it will include the organization
service marketing challenges in the future which is based on secondary analysis. At last,
recommendations has been provided to overcome the challenges within the constrains of
strengths and opportunities as well.
MAIN BODY
1. SWOT analysis of ASDA
SWOT analysis is the basic and effectual approach that helps the company in identifying
what suits their business right now and to develop a successful strategy that can be implemented
in future (Stonehouse, 2018). It comprises of factors like strength, weakness, opportunity and
threat that assists in examining the internal and external factors that have potential impact over
organisation. ASDA is well recognised retail firm in UK market, where they deal with range of
products for which they have potential consumer base. SWOT analysis will help the company in
understanding their business also they will be able to know what their weakness areas are so
strategies can be made accordingly. SWOT analysis of company is as follow:
Strength: This particular section involves what organisation particularly do appropriate and
what distinguishes them from other competitions. In context with ASDA, they have huge skilful
workforce that makes them to meet their consumer demand. Company have extensive range of
goods and services that makes them to stand out from other companies. They have good and
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strong brand name as well as have greater quality in products like they sell fresh foods,
entertaining items, clothing and others, that is why they have large consumer base. Other
efficiency of firm is that they utilise the technology so fast responses can be given to consumer
query also company is committed to sustainability which makes their products unique from
others. Additionally, company also follows CSR, like they are connected with society and do
charity work, also they are working on reducing their carbon footprints so environmental
sustainability can be reached.
Weakness: It shows the factor or area in which the organisation lacks and aim to improvise it for
adequate result. Regarding ASDA, weaknesses show internal strategic aspects that limits
organisation’s business operations (Trojanowski, 2021). Their weakness highlights in terms of
limited international presence, false advertisement, critics. Company has limited presence in
other countries as compared with their rivalries, they are scared of aggressive competition which
can be seen in other nation. Workplace culture is also not up to the mark that will tagged them as
successful retail merchandise, thus company need to cultivate such culture where employees are
encouraged so that they will proceed to enhance their global presence.
Opportunity: These are the potential chances which enables the firm to avail it and enjoy huge
success. Opportunities for every brand covers the improvement areas as well, where chances can
be seen in terms of geographic expansion, innovation, sales opportunity (Krizanova and et.al,
2019). ASDA company have expansion opportunity to launch their services in other nation, they
can proceed with to increase their online presence so that greater audience can be able to view
their products and services.
Threat: It can be emerging in form of high competition for business, changing regulatory
environment, negative media coverage etc. For the ASDA potential threat is stiff competition
within retail sector of UK, there are already big companies are present in market like Sainsbury,
Tesco, Unilever, Morrison, therefore ASDA need to be more specific regarding their products
and services in order to sustain in such competitive environment.
2. Identifying the organisational key service marketing challenges
Service marketing can be understood as development of plan that helps in selling
intangible products to consumer (Islam, 2018). Those products cannot be seen and touched or
kept by user like other object in product marketing, in this organisation is completely

accountable for their service process. This type of business is different from good based business
therefore there is a huge possibility that ASDA will also face major challenges in service
marketing. Some of the challenges associated with service marketing which the firm face is
discussed below:
Intangibility: Physical product are those which can be touch, felt and seen, in such consumer are
aware of the product as what are they buying and will it worth for their investment, they even
carry those goods with them. Thus ASDA, as a service provider is likely to face challenge when
they prevailing such services as in such case they are not providing the physical products. For the
consumer they always make decision when they see colour, shape and design of product but
absence of such emotional appeal can be loss for company. Therefore, in such ASDA company
will not be able to provide emotional appealing in their products that will surely affects their
business in next 3 years.
Heterogeneity: Services are heterogeneous, it operates within different diverse interactions and
aspects, as in retail sector it involves lot of human interactions, as organisational staff work at
stores to persuade consumer to buy products and services. Therefore, human interaction is more
subjective and also not predictable thus it causes challenges as no two service factors are
identical in results.
Perishability: Other identified quality of services is that these are perishable, it is not like they
will spoil but they are time restricted. As services are only performer in stipulated times and on
suggested dates (Berghäll, 2018). As ASDA also need to provide and sell maximum stock in
order to become successful, they will likely to face situation in balancing demand with supply it
is quite complicated as there are situation when demand of product is high like in holiday season
also there will be time when sales are dip because of low demand.
Interactivity: Service delivery relies on relationship between service providers and consumer as
well as connection between people who are working under service provider. In this customers
are central point and all services are made to satisfy them and to meet their demand. It is
important for the delivery of services that consumer need to coordinate with service provider, for
example if provider is giving the online bill payment service then consumer must have valid
payment method and internet connection. As for ASDA previously there is no such cooperation
required for offering tangible goods, but now it requires a full cooperation of consumer, in such
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if their service provider fails to meet consumer requirement then they will not be able to retain
such consumer.
Recommendations for overcoming the threats
ASDA is a supermarket store who has a great staff and employees within their workplace who
puts their best efforts and hard work in driving their business at successful level. From the above
mentioned swot analysis company's threats and weak areas has been identified which needs to be
overcome in definite manner to approach the opportunities from where the profitable outcome
can be achieved (Phadermrod and et.al., 2019). It has been analysed that due to weak strategies
practices with the organization leads the firm to face the problems in attracting the customers in
definite manner whereas, a threat has been also occurred due to high competition in the market.
Thus, it has been recommended that ASDA have to improve their strategic decision and models
from where they can finely deliver the effective results and outcome and can achieve the set
goals. Along with this, for overcoming the threat of competition in the market ASDA is
suggested to focus on the products and services which they provide where delivering the wider
range of products to the customers will retain them with the firm and increases the sales of the
company.
CONCLUSION
The above mentioned report has concluded the internal analysis of the company from
where they can finely understand the strength and weaknesses of the firm along with threats and
opportunities as well. It is important for the firm to evaluate their internal environment as it
benefits the firms in definite manner. Along with this, the report has included the organization's
key service marketing challenges for the next 3 years which is based on secondary analysis. At
last, appropriate recommendations has been performed to overcome challenges within the
constraints of strength and opportunities.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Berghäll, S., 2018. Service marketing phenomena in the context of private forest owners—A
service dominant logic perspective on scholarly literature. Current Forestry
Reports. 4(3). pp.125-137.
Islam, S., 2018. Understanding health consumer value: service marketing perspective. South
Asian Journal of Business Studies.
Krizanova, A. and et.al, 2019. The effectiveness of marketing communication and importance of
its evaluation in an online environment. Sustainability. 11(24). p.7016.
Minsky, L. and Aron, D., 2021. Are You doing the SWOT Analysis Backwards. Harvard
Business Review, pp.1-6.
Phadermrod, B., and et.al., 2019. Importance-performance analysis based SWOT
analysis. International journal of information management, 44, pp.194-203.
Stonehouse, D., 2018. SWOT: what is it all about and how do you use it?. British Journal of
Healthcare Assistants. 12(12). pp.617-619.
Trojanowski, T.O.M.A.S.Z., 2021. Swot analysis of sustainable marketing mix of food industry
enterprises. WSEAS Trans. Environ. Dev. 17. pp.997-1003.
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