Ben Sherman's Marketing Strategies: A Comprehensive Analysis

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MARKETING ESSENTIALS
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO1:.................................................................................................................................................4
P1:................................................................................................................................................4
P2:................................................................................................................................................6
M1:...............................................................................................................................................9
M2:.............................................................................................................................................11
LO2:...............................................................................................................................................13
P3:..............................................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14
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INTRODUCTION
Marketing refers to actions undertaken by an organization to promote its product or service. The
activities involved in promoting the product are advertising, sales promotion, personal selling
etc. But the marketing activities are not limited to promoting the product, the marketing activities
start from the consumer purchasing the product and ends even after supplying it to the consumers
(De Mooij, 2018). It can also be said that marketing is the activities involved in attracting and
retaining the customers and also to maintain a long-term relationship with them. In order to
increase its profitability, the company develops the goods and services as per the needs of the
customers. The marketing mix is the combination of activities and action used by the company to
promote the brand or product. The elements of the marketing mix include product, price, place,
promotion, people, process and physical evidence (Stead and Hastings, 2018). Ben Sherman is a
British brand known for its clothing, shoes and other accessories related to men. Arthur
Benjamin Sugarman founded the company in the year 1963. Its headquarter is located in
England. The company expands its business in 35 countries around the world. The target
customers of Ben Sherman are the young man. The company believes that a man is “always
embracing the different and new things”. He did not like regularity and always search for
different things.
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LO1:
P1:
Marketing can be defined as actions or the activities used by the company to promote and sell the
products or services. The marketing function is all about producing and selling the products as
per the needs of the customers (Baker, 2016). The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)
defines the term marketing as the process of managing, identifying, satisfying and anticipating
the customer needs and satisfying these needs profitably. The marketing function of Ben
Sherman includes different activities such as brand, pricing, design, market research, place,
promotion and many more.
The marketing plays a very important role in Ben Sherman as it helps the company in increasing
brand awareness, increase sales as well as crates trust among the customers. The marketing
function of Ben Sherman also helps in reaching the target audience. The promotional strategy
also facilitates in making a unique position in the minds of the customers. It also helps in
maintaining and retaining the existing relationship with the potential as well as existing
customers.
Marketing function means that a role used by the company for identifying and assessing the
successful products for the particular market and then uses it to differentiate the products from its
substitutes. The marketing function of the Ben Sherman includes market research, creating a
marketing plan, product development as well as distribution, advertising, promotion, public
relation and customer service. The activities of marketing function start from the development of
the concept of the product until it reaches to the final customers (Hill, 2017). The company uses
marketing function to satisfy the needs and expectations of the customers. Following are the key
marketing function of Ben Sherman:
 Market analysis
One of the most important steps in the marketing function is to analyse the market and the needs
of the customers. The market analysis will be required by Ben Sherman when the company
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wants to manufacture the product as per the needs of the customers. Therefore, the company
collects and analyzes the information to meet the expectations of the customers.
 Market segmentation
A market segment is defined as the group of homogenous people having similar needs and
demand and it can be on the basis of age, lifestyle, attitude or gender. Ben Sherman chooses the
young man as target customers.
 Pricing
The Ben Sherman charges higher prices for its premium products because it believes that the
lower priced product is easily copied by the local market. Additionally, the main aim of charging
the higher price is to indicate the value for money and they also do not expect that customers
show loyalty towards their brands (Ma et al., 2017).
 Distribution
Three distribution channels were used by Ben Sherman. The company sells its product through
the company’s stores and partnership with the departmental stores. Each of these has the
strengths and weaknesses such as the brand image is strong in the company's stores but it
requires a huge investment in holding property, people or stock. In the case of departmental
stores, the cost of processing is less as compared to its own stores.
 After sales service
Ben Sherman provides different types of services to its customers such as pre-sales services,
post-sales service as well as at the time when a customer interacts with the company’s personnel.
The company provides several services to its customers in order to maintain the relationship with
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them. The strategy used by Ben Sherman to contact the customers even after the sales are
through email, feedback form as well as text messages.
Role and responsibilities of the marketing function in Ben Sherman
The roles and responsibilities of the marketing in the Ben Sherman are as follows:
1. Track and monitor the competition
It is very important for the company to know the market position and major player in the
industry. This will help the company to identify their mistakes and to learn from them.
2. Helps in bringing innovation
The fashion industry demands continuous innovation in the products. Further, the trends
in apparel are changing at a very fast rate. In order to meet customer expectation, the
company should invest in the R&D which is a part of the marketing function.
3. Communicate with the stakeholders
It is the responsibility of the marketing function to inform and persuade the customers
about its brand, products, offers or discounts. The marketing function of Ben Sherman
uses different modes to communicate with the customers (Tumbas et al., 2017).
P2:
Importance of marketing in Ben Sherman
The importance of marketing in the Ben Sherman is as follows:
 Increases awareness
The consumers do not purchase the products after watching a product or through
recommendations. With the help of promotional activities, the Ben Sherman can inform
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the potential consumers about the offerings of the company, locations and other details
related to purchase.
 Increases sales
When the customer gets all the related information from the marketing campaign they are
more likely to become the company’s customers. The marketing function helps in
generating the sales of Ben Sherman.
 Creates trust
Customers prefer to buy the products from the well-reputed company. Marketing function
helps in generating trust and reputation among potential customers. Ben Sherman stressed
more on word-of-mouth advertising because in the fashion industry people prefer to
purchase the products after getting recommendations from the friends or colleagues
(Davcik and Sharma, 2016).
Structure and operation of the Ben Sherman
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Figure 1: Structure and operations of Ben Sherman
The interrelation of the marketing unit with another functional unit
The marketing function of the Ben Sherman does not operate in isolation but it requires the
support of the other departments as well such as human resources, finance, production and
others. The interrelation of the marketing unit with another functional unit of the Ben Sherman is
as follows:
Human resources: Human resource department in Ben Sherman is related to recruiting and
selecting the individuals for the organization. The marketing department helps the HR
department in recruiting and selecting the individuals. Along with the product the marketing
department of the Ben Sherman also advertises the job, job description and roles and
responsibilities of the job (McDonald and Wilson, 2016).
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Managing
director
Production
manager
Production
planning
Maintenance
Production
Marketing
manager
Sales
supervisor
Advertising
Sales staff
Market analyst
Public relations
HR manager
Training group
Recruiting
team
Office support
Compensation
benefit
Operation
manager
Non-takers
supervisor
Copiers
supervisor
Finance
manager
Accounts
manager
Commercial
manager
Customer
service

Customer service provision: Customer service department is closely related to the marketing
department. Customer service includes activities like customer satisfaction, exchange process as
well as a marketing concept. The customer service in Ben Sherman is focused on the exchange
process so that the customer gets complete satisfaction even after purchasing the apparel from
the company.
Production/operations: Production and operations include distribution, packaging as well as
warehousing, logistics activities. It is the responsibility of the marketing function to deliver the
goods as required by different distribution channel members. The role of the production
department is to manufacture the apparel but it is of no worth if these apparels are not delivered
at the right position at the right time and at the right person (Mu, 2015).
Finance: The finance department allocates the funds for marketing activities such as advertising
or sales promotion. The annual statement of Ben Sherman helps the marketing department in
preparing the budgets and projections for the future. The finance department is responsible for
allocating the resources to different departments of Ben Sherman.
Research and development: R&D department of Ben Sherman is related to generating new
ideas and innovation in the fashion industry. It is the sole reason for survival in this industry; the
target customers demand trendy and stylish apparel. However to retain its position in the target
market the company has to manufacture the products according to the needs of the customers.
M1:
Roles and responsibilities of the marketing in the context of the marketing environment
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Marketing environment of the Ben Sherman is divided into two categories such as
microenvironment as well as the macro environment. The parties involved in the
microenvironment are suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customers, competitors and society at
large. On the other hand, the macro environment of the Ben Sherman includes:
 The Political and Regulatory Environment
The political and regulatory environment of the Ben Sherman changes several times and
this includes terms of trade, rules, regulation for packaging, labelling, market regulations
etc. The company operates in more than 35 countries, therefore, the company has to obey
all these changes to survive in the market and any violation of these rules and regulations
can impose penalties on the business operation. This environment also includes pressure
groups and agencies which affect the operations of the Ben Sherman.
 The Economic Environment
The business of Ben Sherman is affected by the economic situations of a particular
country. In other words, the economic conditions are affected by different phases such as
the marketing practices adopted by the Ben Sherman in the recession stage would be
totally different as compared to inflation stage. The economic environment of the country
is also influenced by the purchasing power of the target customers, consumer behaviour
and spending pattern etc. The Ben Sherman sells its product at, therefore, it is the most
important element of the macro environment which must be considered before taking any
decisions (Blythe and Martin, 2019).
 The Competitive Environment
It is very important for Ben Sherman to analyze competitive position in the market.
Competitive analysis includes the evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of its
competitors. Various models and theories can be used to analyze the nature of
competition and market in which the company operates such as Porter’s Five Force
models. The competitive analysis also facilitates to analyse opportunities and threats in
the external environment so that modify their marketing practices accordingly.
 The Technological Environment
Technological environment of the Ben Sherman includes R&D, innovation, technological
alternatives as well as technological barriers that boost or slow down the operations of
Ben Sherman. Technology can be an opportunity or threats depending on the resources
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and available with the company. The technological environment is very dynamic and is
changing at a very fast rate. It is very essential for the company to keep themselves
updated so that they can meet the expectations and needs accurately. Technology can
become a threat to the company when it becomes obsolete due to technological
innovation (Tzokas et al., 2015).
 The Social and Cultural Environment
Ben Sherman operates in different societies and it is the responsibility of the company
that its marketing practices should not hurt the sentiments of the people. For building a
positive image it should involve in welfare activities such as sponsoring education,
charities or many other events. Further, it also includes the culture, lifestyle, beliefs etc.
and these differ from region to region and country to country (Armstrong et al., 2018).
M2:
Figure 2: Structure of the Marketing Department
Operations of the marketing department
The marketing department of any organization basically has the task to make marketing effective
so that they can enhance their sales rate and attain better profits. Similarly, for the Ben Sherman,
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the marketing department personnel have the task to enhance their sales and for which they
perform marketing with different ways and platforms in order to reach a wide range of customers
and make them attracted towards the services and products by the company. In addition to this,
some basic tasks that the marketing department at Ben Sherman performs are:
 Setting the marketing strategy
 Market research
 Communication and promotional materials
 Product development
 Sales team support
In addition to the different benefits and roles of the marketing in Ben Sherman, the factor that is
very important is the relationship with the other departments within the business
operations/functions. In terms of the company, the relationship between different organizational
departments is mentioned below:
 Marketing and Sales: the relationship of the marketing and sales department is very
essential for a business and for Ben, this is their heartline as they keep to enhance their
sales with the effective relationship management between these two
 Marketing and Production: similar to the sales and marketing, the relationship between
the marketing and production system of any business unit and hence Ben decides the
strategies in accordance to the results of the marketing and make their production system
more potent and synchronized (Huang and Sarigöllü, 2014)
 Marketing and Finance: every function needs financial resources and so their appropriate
balance is required which Ben tries to keep them both the same
 Marketing and Human Resource: despite the other departments, human talent is still the
major necessity who can make things right and help in attaining better results so that the
whole organisation can stay ahead of others in markets. Ben tries to maintain the people
skilled by facilitating them the special training and skill development sessions
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