Comprehensive Report: Digital Marketing Strategies for Marks & Spencer

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Marks and Spencer's (M&S) digital marketing strategies. It begins with an introduction to digital marketing and its relevance to M&S, a British multinational company specializing in clothing and other retail goods. The report then presents a situational analysis, including a SWOT analysis to assess internal strengths and weaknesses, and a PEST analysis to evaluate external political, economic, social, and technological factors impacting M&S's digital marketing efforts. It then analyzes the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion) in the context of M&S's digital strategy. Furthermore, the report identifies M&S's target market and outlines specific marketing objectives. The report further discusses the impact of digitalization on M&S's business, emphasizing how it has enabled new ways to connect with customers, sell products online, and collect consumer data. The report concludes with recommendations for improving M&S's digital marketing approach and suggests key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of these strategies. The report aims to guide M&S in launching new products and expanding its online sales through social media marketing.

Digital Marketing

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Situational Analysis.........................................................................................................................3
Marketing Mix.................................................................................................................................6
Target Market ..................................................................................................................................7
Objectives........................................................................................................................................7
Action of an organisation towards digital marketing...........................................................10
Recommendations for digital marketing..............................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Digital marketing is the process of delivering the goods and services by using the digital
media or channels. The main purpose of this marketing is that the organisations are promoting
and advertising their products by using the various different forms of digital media. This
marketing is getting extend beyond the internet marketing in order to include the channels which
do not require the use of internet. The present report is based on the Marks and Spencer, which is
a British Multinational company, deal in relating of clothings, and they were founded in 1884 by
Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer (Taken Smith, 2012). This report is mainly directs M&S to
launch their new products by using the social media marketing for online sale as the part of their
digital strategy. This report will mainly emphasizes on the internal and external factors of the
firm along with the objectives and strategies. Along with this, the firm also develop the tactics
which will help the organisation. At last the firm will introduced the KPIs in order to control and
measure the performance of the plan.

Situational Analysis.
This report is going to present an analysis of the internal and external environment for
directing Marks and Spencer to launch their products and reach the huge number of customers by
using the channels of digital marketing. To represent the internal environment, SWOT analysis
has been done of Marks and Spencer in context with digital marketing (Stone and Woodcock,
2014).
SWOT Analysis
Strength – Marks and Spencer is one of the
most popular retail company of UK that has
the power to gain the attention of large number
of customers. By using the different channels
of digital marketing, they are now renowned
the principle of Value for money and that's
why they are selling their high-quality products
to their customers at cheap cost. Along with
this, they are having around 1000 plus outlets
in UK and now the online selling has enhanced
Weaknesses – The weaknesses of Marks and
Spencer are in the market of UK is having the
increment in the number of imitation products
which are sold by their competitors at low rate,
through which more and more customers are
moving towards the other outlets. This has
decline the sales and profit margin for the
company. Along with this, the company has
now reduces to sell the electronic products by
which there sales is getting reduce.

their sale by reaching the maximum customers.
Opportunities – The firm is having the future
opportunity for selling the best and high
quality electronic goods to their customers
which should be available both at outlets and
online in the market of UK, this will help the
firm to regain their customers. The firm is also
having the opportunity of selling the new and
trendy clothes to their targeted customers so
that more and more customers can get attracted
towards their products.
Threats – The major threat which is faced by
the firm M&S is that its rivals such as ALDI,
H&M, TESCO, etc., are selling their products
to the customers by providing them certain
attractive offers just to gain their attention.
Their competitors are providing them the
certain online offers, gift vouchers, discounts
and cashback on doing the online shopping
from their websites and the other major threat
was the child labour by which M
&S has decline their goodwill in the market of
UK and in all over the world.
PEST analysis
In order to describe the external environment, the PEST analysis has been conducted of
the Marks and Spencer in context with digital marketing (Stephen, 2016). The PEST analysis is
the business tool which is used to evaluate, organize and track the factors which are going to
affect the business of the firm in the upcoming future. The Pest analysis has been done below -

1. Political Factor – The change in policy by the government can bring change in the
digital marketing. For example- Marks an Spencer is using the digital tools and channels
and if the policy changes by the government that this much of percentage will be charge
by the organisation who are promoting their business digitally, then they have to make
changes accordingly. Along with this, if the government of other country is not stable
then the firm of that country can't be able to do digital marketing, and the changes in
taxation policies can also affect the digital marketing (Ryan, 2016).
2. Economic Factors – The increasing liberalization can help the firm to invest in those
regions which are very far from the organisation by the help of digital marketing. With
the help of the channels of digital marketing, the firm can expand their business

economically and they can be able to know their financial condition and profit margin to
further enhance the business globally.
3. Social Factors – The social factors in context with digital marketing is that some of the
organisation are promoting their products by advertising but the ads are not ethical and by
this the customers are not truly satisfied by that product, as because that product is not
satisfying the needs of the buyers along with this the ads are must those which not harm
the emotions of the peoples.
4. Technological Factor – The digital marketing has enhanced the use of technology and
the with the use of advanced technology the firm can trained their employees to learn
how to do production with the modern technology which helps the firm to save the cost
and gain the satisfaction of the customers.
Marketing Mix
This is the combination of the factors which can be controlled by the organisation in
order to influence the customers to buy their products. Marks and Spencer want to influence their
customers in order to gain their attention on their online selling websites to that more customers
can do online shopping (Royle and Laing, 2014).
Products
The firm M&S is having the variety o0f
products to sell with the help of the channels of
the digital media. The different types of
products sold by the firm marks and spencer by
using digital marketing are clothes, home
products, electronic products, food products,
etc.
Price
The Price of the M&S has been decided by the
management team that the products prices
should be competitive, in order to gain
attention of more customers. The prices must
be low and the firm is also decided to provide
the online discounts and cashback, etc.
The management of M&S has to maintain their

Place
pricing strategy sop in order to keep this
continue, the firm need to sell their products
online by using the channels and media of
digital marketing so that the customers can
easily access their all products by visiting the
online websites of M&S such as Instagram,
Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
Promotion
The firm M&S is promoting their all products
by using the digital marketing channels, they
have chosen the most suitable channel of social
media to promote their products more. The
company is also sending the emails to their
customers and along with this, they are also
circulating their advertisement continuously on
the social media sites of Marks and Spencer, so
that they can keep their customers updated
about their all products.
Target Market
The target market of the Marks and Spencer can be grouped into multiple classes. The
market which is targeted by M&S are the customers which are having the moderate and high
income. Along with the customers, they have also targeted the employees or workers of every
firm and the professionals along with females and males with the age group of 20-55 years. The
main target market of the firm Marks and Spencer is UK so the high society peoples, technology
lovers peoples and the price sensitive people who are very fond of the clothes and home products
are targeted by M&S (Leeflang and et. al., 2014).
Objectives
The management team of M&S would required to create their social media campaign by
ensuring that the customers of the UK market must be aware of the products sold by the firm
Marks and Spencer using the different channels of the digital marketing. The content of the

campaign should look to announce the return of the one of the oldest product line which was
once an integral part of the organisation. If the strategy and tactics made by the Marks and
Spencer if properly applied by the business in their social media campaign and this will ceratilny
help the firm to raise the consumer awareness and to gain the satisfaction of customers. The
successful implementation of the strategy will also create the demand of their product in the
market, by this the firm Marks and Spencer will able to enhance their business growth and can
also attain their goals and objectives along with their business targets (Lamberton and Stephen,
2016).
Digital analysis of an organisation
In present scenario the digital marketing is expanding widely in all sectors. The major
area that is covered by the digitalisation is the way doing business. Under this chapter points will
be included that impact on the business in a digital way. To understand the importance of
digitalisation in the business. Some of the various factors that came under the digitalisation to
improve market is as follow:
Impact of digitalisation on Marks & Spencer
The purpose of developing digital marketing plan is to launch new line of product to
increase more way to connect with their customer. Marks & Spencer products are available in
different stores. So the management of Marks & Spencer decided to execute its goods through
the medium of social media. For this case company choose the digital platform to sell their goods
in various market which help company to achieve several objective such as:
 Sell- By introduce a new channel to sell the product in the market company apply various
tools which help the company to make their products available across all the world. So int
 Serve- Existing customer of company get more benefits by online platform such as
discount, home delivery etc. As this services are included in online platform through
value addition in company existing products (Karjaluoto and Ulkuniemi, 2015).
 Speak- Marks & Spencer collect the data through online platform. In this case company
also communicate with customer by survey and asking them about company products.
 Save- As the social media is a tool by which company promote their products in all globe
with a cost effective way. These cost saving is execute by the company to make new
offers like discounts and attract more number of customer to develop their product.

 Sizzle- It is the technique that satisfy customer with the executive returns. Most of the
online platform are using sizzle technique to sale their products. So in this case of Marks
& Spencer company introduce wallet option on their application which provide certain
benefits to its customer like cash back, discount etc.
Consumer experience
After analysing the customer experience with the development of new technology further
new option are needed that help company to introduce its technology with customer. So the end
consumer which apply orders through online platform has not gone through a complex process
(Kannan, 2017). Therefore company introduce website or application which has been easily
optimize through smart devices. For this case some principle are applied which help company to
access company website easily which are as follow:
 Perceivable- The information that is collected by the Marks & Spencer is need to be
realized in all departments of the company. So the department convert their efforts
towards right direction.
 Operable- The permission is applied to the customer in the website that they easily
access Marks & Spencer application without so many restriction.
 Understandable- Marks & Spencer adjust their product preference according to
customer needs. So company gather the information as per the needs of their customer.
In the case of Marks & Spencer this principle helps the company to introduce company
products according to the need of its customer. Company develop a website which is simple and
it is easily understand to provide relevant information to its customers. In this case the company
need to develop a sitemap it help company to make product more reliable and stable on its
website. Like for the existing customer company known their preference so Marks & Spencer
link them to its second page directly. While digitalisation help company to introduce its whole
products to new customers at the place of customer (Jobber and Ellis, 2012).
Social media and digital marketing:
Marks and Spencer help the company to introduce their product through the offline store
while more the population is going to purchase more products with E-commerce platform. So the
top management also provide access of their products in online platforms. Like Marks & Spencer
introduce focus on social media celebrities to promote its products in the market.

Brand coherence
As in social media there are so many alternative which are present in the market to
promote products like television, radio and newspaper. So in this case Marks & Spencer decided
to promote its products with the medium of social media as it is a easy way to reach towards the
end consumer with in a easy approach. Digital marketing not only help business to generate sale
but it is also beneficial for company to promote the brand and goodwill of the company.
Customer compass
After implement the digital strategy for the business company analysis that their product
is easily access to its customer. Like Marks & Spencer found that which of its products is more
sale by the online platform. As the use of social media help individuals is to communicate with
each other but in present scenario most of the companies are using social media to communicate
with its potential customers (Järvinen and Karjaluoto, 2015). The Marks & Spencer found an
appropriate balance between basic and specific media to match with its customer. So writing
team of the company develops various content as the promotion activities is not always same.
Marks & Spencer has a brand recognition in the developed countries. So company promote their
products on Social media sites because company has a large number youth which are brand loyal
towards the company.
Action of an organisation towards digital marketing
Marks & Spencer has a large number of customer which are buying company products
through company website. So in the case of digital marketing management evaluate that its home
décor products are purchased by the customer with its online platform. So in this context Marks
& Spencer has establish a strategy by which they increase clicks on company others products
also. Most of the customer does not see a advertisement while they are watching a video on
online platforms while if an consumer is reading a content at that time the advertisement is not a
barrier for them.
Transformation towards modern business
The main objective of the Marks & Spencer is to convert the viewers of company website
into customer. Based on the objective of the company management develop their digital
marketing strategy in a way which match with company goals (Holliman and Rowley, 2014).
The e-marketing of Marks & Spencer has a aim to grow the business to develop their content in a
way that help company to establish closer relationship with its customers.

Recommendations for digital marketing
After the evaluation and analysis of the digital marketing in terms of company objective
and use of social media it is founded that Marks & Spencer has not so much presence in the
digital marketing platform. But the present scenario of the business is expanding itself on the
online platform. So in this case company has made their brand linked to various platforms of the
company in which they promote their products through use social media. The multiple channel
of the company help management to explore their business in traditional as well as on online
platform also (Cheyne and et. al., 2013).
Readability- The first change that is done by the company to make its business is to change the
accessibility and readability of their website and application. As it is already discussed that
company execute different principle so it help company to implement the digital strategy with
more efficiency and effectiveness. For the improvement of the readability company make their
flexible policy like to resize the page and contrast. In last Marks & Spencer check the layout of
its website and application that the it is attractive and its fonts are placed in a accurate way.
SEO- The search engine optimization is a major tool that is accepted by the company to explore
the information about its products. Like Marks and Spencer change its description so that their
website is shown completely to its customer. As in present scenario Marks & Spencer is running
their store at international level. So with the SEO tool company also customer to find out
company direction at in local area which company store is more near for the customer (Chaffey
and Ellis, 2019).
Social media- The social media is the strong presence established brand in the front of the
customer. With the social media presence Marks & Spencer found out different trends and
consumer behaviour which help company to manufacture its products according to the need and
demand of the customer. In addition social media also company to innovate its products.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that digital marketing is the major tool that help a
company to expand its area from its origin base to other countries also. There are various tool
are present in the digital marketing that help a company to gain more number of buyers for their
products. Like social media, information technology etc. In this report the impact of digital
marketing are discussed that help a company to make its products for change and develop new

strategy by which Marks & Spencer run their business operation in a smooth way with more
effectiveness and efficiency.

REFERENCES
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582.
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perceptions of best practice. Journal of research in interactive marketing. 8(4). pp.269-
293.
Järvinen, J. and Karjaluoto, H., 2015. The use of Web analytics for digital marketing
performance measurement. Industrial Marketing Management. 50. pp.117-127.
Jobber, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F., 2012. Principles and practice of marketing (No. 7th).
McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Kannan, P. K., 2017. Digital marketing: A framework, review and research agenda. International
Journal of Research in Marketing. 34(1). pp.22-45.
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Leeflang, P. S. and et. al., 2014. Challenges and solutions for marketing in a digital
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Ryan, D., 2016. Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital
generation. Kogan Page Publishers.
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behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology. 10. pp.17-21.
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Online
SWOT ANALYSIS OF M&S. 2019. [Online]. Available
through:<https://businessteacher.org.uk/swot/marks-and-spencer.php/>.
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PEST ANALYSIS OF M&S. 2018. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/pestle-analysis-on-marks-
spencer-marketing-essay.php/>.
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