Marketing Audit: Analyzing Morrison's Market Position and Strategies

This report presents a comprehensive marketing audit of Morrison's, a major UK supermarket chain. It begins with an executive summary outlining the company's background, market share, and objectives, followed by a table of contents for easy navigation. The introduction emphasizes the importance of marketing audits in understanding market dynamics and identifying opportunities. The report then delves into a detailed analysis of Morrison's, including its company background, macro environment (PESTLE analysis), micro environment, competitive analysis, and SWOT analysis. It also discusses strategic priorities for the company. The PESTLE analysis examines political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors impacting Morrison's. The micro-environment analysis looks at internal factors and the competitive landscape. The report concludes with strategic recommendations and a conclusion summarizing the key findings and implications for Morrison's future marketing efforts. The report provides a thorough evaluation of Morrison's current market position and offers insights into potential strategies for improvement and growth.

PRINCIPLE OF MARKETING
MANAGEMENT

Executive summary
The Morrison's is well known recognised company by everyone. It is engaged with
operation of retail supermarket. The company offers various kind of commodities such are as
fish, bakery, fruit and veg items. The company has large varied group it serves customers across
the united kingdom at almost 500 stores and they provide service in relation to online home
delivery service. The company is having at least seven regional distribution centres across the
world. They also trained their workers on professional manner so that they can work in manner
to satisfy their customer. They also Work in manner to provide food products to their customer
and the main motive of this enterprise is to value their consumer. In this assignment the firm is
taking market audit function with various techniques, strategies so that function of organisation
can run in effective manner.
The major focus of this study is on present status of firm. The market share was of
organisation is on 12% in 2015 which is declining by 0.3% in current. On this basis company is
trying to implement those strategies which is helpful in order to increment in sale volume of
company. In this report there in inclusion of micro, Macro, PESTLE, SWOT analysis so that
with the help of this activities company can perform in more effective and efficient manner.
The operation can be improvised in manner to make various strategies priorities so that
improvement can be taken effectively. The service in relation to outbound logistic or checking
out facility of this firm is not so impressive. It is necessary for members to have sustainable
values in terms of strategic formation so that long term opportunities can be advanced. However,
Key competitive factor for the Morrison’s is pricing of its products and services. Customers are
more concern about pricing increases the business values and lead business to development With
an improvement in products and services the firm can easily attain better outcome.

Table of Contents
Audit................................................................................................................................................1
Company background.................................................................................................................1
Macro analysis (PESTLE) of Morrison’s- .................................................................................2
Micro environment......................................................................................................................5
Competitive analysis...................................................................................................................6
Swot analysis...............................................................................................................................7
Strategic priorities.....................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
The term marketing is vital process through which commodities can be moved directly
customer. It is inclusive of combination of 4p's of marketing such are as- properly identification
of product, selection and developing the product in unique form, price should be determined
correctly, selection and distribution of channel, by developing and implementation of
promotional process (Armstrong and et. al., 2014). The term marketing concept is totally differed
from selling activity. The main object of this technique is to satisfy the need of customer
expectation. In addition to this marketing auditor is very wide concept which refereed as
comprehensive, systematic analysis which work in manner to make proper evaluation and
interpretation of environment of business market from both manner internal and external. The
main object behind conducting this process is to find out areas of problem and opportunities so
that one proper recommendation can be given, with the help of this marketing performance can
be enhance in large manner. In present report the total focused in given on 'Morrison’s' which is
multinational supermarket works as a retail store. In this project the marketing of audit of this
firm has been undertaken (Armstrong and et. al., 2014.). This should be elaborate with both
external and internal analysis to bring competitive advantage to firm.
Marketing Audit
Marketing audit is very significant aspect in the business environment by which
organisation can analyse the marketing condition in the business environment. With help of
marketing audit, organisation can analyse the actual condition and trend in the market. The
marketing audit is very essential in order to get the better understanding of business operation
with the help of this organisation can earn maximum amount of profitability. This is very helpful
in manner to have wide knowledge about product and service available in market. Market audit
is presented on the activities of company that were performed within UK. In this, the function of
marketing audit is carried out by Morrison which is well reputed and established a retail
company. The entire analysis of marketing audit helps in opportunists and threat. The Morrison's
is work in a manner to reflecting evaluation at a point from both terms internal as well external
analysis (Chan., He and Wang, 2012). It is very helpful in a manner to develop marketing plan of
a firm. Through consideration of auditing the diverse activities of business can be analysed in
desired manner. Company is having continuous improvement in its market share which indicates
that opportunities for firm are impressive. Also, through reference of customer satisfaction and
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product development the business firm is having a better outcome. On the basis of valuation of
activities the issues can be identified so that better norms can be framed in order to have
sustainable development. This term is very useful in terms to find out a business operation in
well and effective way with better understanding. This is a very crucial element as it’s helpful in
introducing new product and service in a market so that customers can know about new offering
in the market. It also guides in a manner to prepare an effective budget plan so a company does
no not have to face any kind of financial issue (Grönroos, C. and Gummerus, J., 2014). It is also
significant for business firm to focus on operational audit as well so that better functioning can
be framed on the basis of identification. All activities of a firm can work in smooth functioning.
With the help of this kind of activity, a firm can have a competitive advantage in the market.
This also helps in a manner to come up with the factors like quality, service, product, and
pricing. It is necessary for management of Morrison’s to have evolution of diverse internal and
external factors that are associated with the operational activities. It will assist in ensure that
work standards are properly maintained so that better outcome can be attained. The term audit
means to analyse the things in well effective way. They also take initiative steps in relation to
prepare budget so that business enterprise do not have to face any financial issue in future
market. The several strategies is to be prepared by company that kind of working is very
beneficial in order to cope up with the market at the time of any crises and effective steps can be
taken at that time to give competition to their various competitors as per the terms like quality,
service, products and pricing.
Company background
The operation of Morrison's entity is in effective manner. This firm is well reputed and
settled company. This entity is having many rivals and they are working in a manner to give
tough competition to its competitors so that they can maintain a strong image of their firm. It is
the world famous and largest retail store (Grönroos, C. and Gummerus, J., 2014). It is situated in
the very wide area. The turnover of the company is rapidly increasing but from the sometimes
present market situation of this firm is not so attractive and it’s adversely affecting the operation
of the firm. Cited venture have major objective is to enhance the market share and profitability
by which large customer can attract. It has another objective is to enhance the product quality
and efficiency. While company enhance the quality of product and services then automatically
customer will attract toward the organisation. The company is located in major part of areas are
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as in last some year it has earned $325 millions profits after paying all the taxes. The revenue
scale of company is improving day by day. It has covered almost maximum percent of market
share. The market share was of organisation is on 12% in 2015. In addition to this, it can be said
that by having an application of diverse techniques the customer base is also advancing in great
context. On this basis company is trying to implement those strategies which is helpful in order
to increment in sale volume of company. The firm like Morrison has its toughest competition
with Tesco and Sainsbury they are also working as the largest retail industry d dealing in the
same variety of good and services. They deal in the services like grocery, utensils, clothes and
many more items. The market service of this firm is satisfied and they work in a manner to
provide good service of delivery to their customer so they retain to one firm for a longer period
(Dann, 2010). As per the present scenario, the holding position of a company is on 12% market
share. The Morrison's is taking various effective steps in order to provide good quality product
and services to customer. They are selling their commodities within the affordable cost this is
very attractive measure in order to get heigh selling in market. With the help of this large number
of customers wants to buy goods of Morrison's.
Macro analysis (PESTLE) of Morrison’s-
This is a very helpful tool and one of the basic technique in order to analyse macro factor
of an environment. It is very essential to examine this because with the help of this kind of
activity the market demand and supply factor can easily know. Macro analysis is one of the most
essential aspect in the business environment by which organisation can analyse it external factors
such as political, economical, social , culture, environmental and technological etc. Otherwise,
this can impact on the functioning of a company in large manner. This can be done in the
following manner are as- Political environment- Morrison's firm is finding very difficulties to establish and
operate this function effectively. This is an essential factor because change implements
by a government of UK very instantly (Grönroos. and Gummerus, 2014). Government is
not stable due to Brics and other external factors which creates an issues in terms of trade
permission. This kind of political aspect adversely affects the condition of the market. If
company do no accept political changed than there can be worse impact on the marketing
conditions. In this some factors are to be considered like legal authority is taking a
various initiative in order to frame laws and legislation so that there can be effective
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utilization of resources without any wastage (Hair, Ringle, and Sarstedt, 2011).
Government is also having diverse changes in legal values to advance the political
relation with other nations. It means the Morrison’s also need to ensure that their trade
purchase is also offering support to such policies so that better outcome can be attained.
The legal authorities are framing various standard to meet trade facts. The competition
commission and office of fair trading taking a various initiative in order to work in a fair
manner. The political factor has very wide impact on the performance of company. This
factor can affect the business enterprise because company have to apply and follow all of
the legislation and rules which imposed by the government. Economic force- As per present scenario the rate of the pound has fallen very adversely
against dollar this kind of activity is widely affecting the organization as well as
resources to carry business operation sufficiently. The UK is facing a problem of inflation
due to which there is an increment in prices of products. It is because the Morrison’s is
having high cost purchase of raw materials in context to clothing. They are having their
local suppliers which help in the manner to get complete control over the quality of
material (Mitchell, Wooliscro, and Higham, 2010). Inflation has increased the demand of
suppliers in order to deliver effective raw materials. It creates a financial and economic
crises within organisation. Inflation also impact customer preferences in terms of low
cost products so management must focus on quick delivering their service with a lower
price to satisfy a need of the consumer. In a manner, the market image of a firm can be
maintained for a longer period. This kind of activities is very helpful in a manner to
height economy scale at very low cost. Due to changes in policies the firm is having
larger impact the growth of the organisation is affected in badly manner. This can also
lead to have decline performance of company. Social culture- The performance of the company can be affected with increasing of a
population. To cope up with this factor the Morrison's should avail products and services
to their customers as per their need and expectation (Papasolomou and Melanthiou,
2012). If the population is advancing then it will increase the demand of products so
management need to focus on impressive unit to meet that social need. Also the social
needs changes impressively if they are demanding high quality products then it is
essential for management of Morrison’s to ensure that the production is being
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accomplished with the high quality standards. A negative impact in relation to social
values is the people of UK faces a problem of unemployment. This kind of situation
affects the economy of a nation which result as low productivity and rate of profit also
goes down. The social culture of a nation is challenging, therefore, it is necessary to full
fill the ethical responsibility by a Morrison’s to sustain in the market for the longer
period. The negative effect in this can be seen, in future due to change in social policies
there can be issue in relation to unemployment. This kind of matter can affect the
economy in large manner. Technology factor- This is the main element in a manner to produce an innovative
product in a market. It is possible for a firm to Morrison's who are dealing with food
retailing industry to use modern equipment so production factor of a company cannot get
affected (Kolar and Zabkar, 2010). For example, the new bar code technology has been
introduced to make operations more smoothly then it is necessary for management to
ensure about financial values. It is because the investment on new technology might
create a negative impact on financial terms. They should also focus on technological
development to improve performance. To cope up with kind of issue it is very essential to
have well-trained workforce so each one can do their work in well effective manner. The
firm needs to maintain strong financial condition so that competitive advantage in a
market can be gained quickly and easily (Hsu, Liu, and Lee, 2010). By bringing
innovation in product and service the entity can gather the attraction of various customer.
The negative impact in this relation is that the equipment of technology is changing very
fast due to this entity require high skilled employees but they are having lack knowledge
in relation to handling of equipment’s in effective manner.
 Legal factor- The government bring modification in laws and legislation in very quick
manner. It is very necessary to implementing certain policies so a firm can maintain
profitability and productivity. The firm name Morrison's which is retail store company
having its own policies for saving energy in this way it helps the government in
controlling pollution. The government is making very strict rules and regulations in
relation to maintain a quality of raw materials and prices of product and their economic
scale (Tadajewski and Jones, 2012.). It is also necessary for management of Morrison’s
to make sure that their stores have proper dumbing area as per standards so that legal
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norms can be well maintained. Also the fire and other security measures in store also
need to be considered properly in order to have sustainability. In this legal factor the
negative impact can be seen as the changes in policies and government rules and
regulation can affect the working of organisation in adverse manner.
With the help of this kind of factor, a firm is able to maintain its operation very smoothly
and operation of the business can work inappropriate manner. In this way, an enterprise can able
to maintain a strong image in the market. In this way, the need of customer can be satisfied.
Factors Impact
Positive Negative
Political With the help of this company
can have changes and it can
better increase their
productivity and profitability.
Sometimes it creates negative
outcome as it adversely affect
the working of business
enterprise.
Social The customer can have
different products as per they
taste and preferences and the
market share of company can
be enhance by accepting such
changes.
It is not possible for company
to deal with sudden changes in
market. To making process
effective there should be using
of upgraded technology which
is very time consuming and
cost effective process.
Legal With the help of government
laws and legislation company
can enhance its brand value.
The various laws and
legislation are to be framed in
effectively so that profitability
of company can be enhanced.
Technological By using of Morden
equipment company can
deliver more innovative
produce.
This kind of process is very
cost effective and in this
worker need to provide
training so it is time
consuming.
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Economic Inflation has increased the
demand of suppliers in order to
deliver effective raw materials.
It refers to have increment in
financial and economic crises
in business enterprise.
Micro environment
Micro environment consist with the internal resources of the organisation under which company
have to adopt the effective sources and techniques to compete with external factor in the
environment. Micro environment consist with various components such as resources, customer,
technologies, employees, supplier etc.
Value chain analysis: The term value chain analysis is very important tool in order to
understand activities in organisation in effective manner. The Morrison is working as retail store
which has the reputed position, with the help of this value chain analysis firm can have better
approach in relation to achieve objective of organisation. It is very useful to make strategic
decision in organisation. The main behind this approach is to make create value for their
customer. In this the organisation activities are divided into various categories. With the help of
this the organisation can make proper identification in examination of various policies of
business.
It should be conduct in three approaches are as-
Allocating cost with effectiveness- It provides manager the effective value which is helpful in
manner to find out internal capabilities of business enterprise.
Separate organisational function- In initially level primary activities are those which create the
product first and late on deliver such product to customer.
Identify customer satisfaction- it can be determined with the help of three indicators are as
company mission, industry type and value system.
The main objective of value chain analyse is to reduce cost factor in the following manner are as-11 To make effective decision making11 To work in manner to reducing waste.11 It is very helpful in manner to determining price.
Marketing mix1. Product- The Morrison's is taking various effective steps in order to provide effective and
quality product service to their customer so that expectation can be satisfied in large
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manner. The product should have unique feature and it should be in innovative manner so
that wide number of attraction can be gathered.2. Place- The place is the important step which is to be identified in effective manner. To
provide effective service in relation satisfied customer they have to choose that market in
which goods can be sell easily.3. Price- The price is the main factor which is to be decided at the time of packing the
product. This should be as per the quality of commodities available in market. This is to
in affordable manner so that every customer able to pay.4. Promotion- The advertisement activity is to be made effectively so that more number of
customer can get aware of it. The market is taking effective steps in order to have
publicity of their goods so that firm can earn more amount of profitability and
productivity.
Marketing strategies
In current market the company is well focused towards lifestyle segmentation in order to
attract more customers. It means the products and services are being designed according to need
to the segmentation so that long term opportunities can be attained. In this, people are being
targeted as per their lifestyle need. It helps in improving the market performance and lead to
various improvements. Also, promotional tools like advertising, social media, etc are being used
in order to have effective promotion of products and services. Along with this, key measures in
terms of promotional tools. Along with this, differentiation targeting is being adopted in order to
attract more customers. It allows to improve performance and present organisation as specialised
firm.
Competitive analysis
According to the present scenario, there is a wide range of completion. It is very essential
for an organisation to have effective research which can work in a manner to have a better
understanding of pan of actions and tactics used by various companies in order to sustain in the
market for the longer period. Competitive analysis is another one of the most significant aspect
by which organisation can easily compete with rivals. The firm like Morrison has its toughest
competition with Tesco and Sainsbury they are also working as the largest retail industry d
dealing in the same variety of good and services. This helps to the company nin understanding
the competitiveness of the business through which fiorm can develop its effective strategy and
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policioes.This kind of situation can be a threatening in order to have profit survival in business.
In the market, there are various firms who are engaged in retail business to come up with this
kind of situation firm need to have innovative approaches so that profitability of firm can be
enhanced (Mitchell, Wooliscro, and Higham, 2010). With the help of perpetual mapping and
reviewing analysis of company one can have an idea about expense and revenues of companies
(Papasolomou and Melanthiou, 2012). Key competitive factor for the Morrison’s is pricing of its
products and services. Customers are more concern about pricing increases the business values
and lead business to development. The perpetual mapping will be considered as an impressive
method because with the help of this exact position can be identified on the basis of various
goods and services. The sale and expenses of Morrison's and other companies are examined in
proper way. With the help of study, it has been analysed that Morrison's is situated at 4th position
whereas the Tesco is standing as leader level among all retail industry (Tadajewski and Jones,
2012). In addition to this, it can be said that Morrison’s sale has decreased in past years as
compared to other competitors like Tesco, etc. Morrison provided relatively less varieties of
shopping experiences for customers which has also decreased the competitive values in the
market. Also the online shopping services offered by company are also not much impressive
which also affects the development of Morrison’s. This can be known with the help of peer
analysis chart-
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