Comprehensive Marketing Report: eBay's Strategies and Plan

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of eBay's marketing strategies, focusing on the roles and responsibilities of the marketing function, its interrelation with other departments, and the application of the marketing mix. The report begins by outlining the key responsibilities of the marketing function within eBay, including promotion, product development, market research, and strategy development. It then examines the interdependencies between the marketing department and other departments such as HR, finance, and production, highlighting how these relationships contribute to eBay's overall success. A comparative analysis of eBay's marketing mix with Amazon's is presented, evaluating product, price, place, promotion, process, physical evidence, and people. The report concludes with the development of a marketing plan for eBay, designed to achieve specific objectives and enhance the company's competitive position. Overall, the report offers insights into eBay's marketing practices and provides a framework for understanding and improving marketing strategies in the e-commerce industry.

Essentials
Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
P1) Roles and Responsibilities of Marketing Function...............................................................4
P2) Interrelation of Marketing with Other Departments.............................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
Marketing Mix............................................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P4) M4) Marketing Plan for eBay...............................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Marketing refers to the process which starts with idea generation related to nay product
and services and ends to the end customer satisfaction and the conversion of idea into reality
such as product or service. The company chosen for the completion of this assignment is eBay.
The following company is headquartered in San Jose, California, U.S. In this assignment, the
discussion will be made about the roles and responsibilities of marketing function and in relation
to the external environment as well. In addition to this, the focus of this report will also be done
on the marketing function along with other functional units of an organisation(Quintonand
Wilson, 2016). The importance of interrelationship in between different departments will also be
provided that helps in the achievements of goals and objectives of an organisation. Further, the
discussion will be provided about comparison of of eBay with other company on the basis of
their marketing mix. Lastly, the formation of marketing plan will be done for the achievements
of desired goals and objectives of the company.
TASK 1
P1) Roles and Responsibilities of Marketing Function
Marketing function is an important function for the growth and development of an
organisation. It is because this departments is assigned with the task to look over the prevailing
needs and demands of their customers so that the company could make development in their
products and services according to the needs and demands of their customers. So in an
organisation such as eBay, there are different roles and responsibilities with which t is provided
with and they are discussed as under:
Promotion: The foremost function in which the company promotion of the products and services
of the company with the help of which improvements in the level of sales and revenues of the
company could be made sure. It refers to the effort which is made by an organisation in order to
make the awareness of their products and services in the market to their customers(Papadas,
Avlonitis,and Carrigan, 2017). The promotional technique used by eBay in order to increase
their sales is with the help of online techniques so as to achieve their goals and objectives.
Product Development: With the help of proper market analysis, it is possible to know about the
needs and demands of customers and also about the ongoing changes according to their tastes
and preferences. So the analysis of tastes and preferences of customers is an important role of

marketing function as this will help in knowing about the needs and demands of their customers
and accordingly will guide to production to department to make production of products
according to the changed demands and needs of customers in the market. So with the help of
identifying and adopting suitable strategies it is possible for this function to ensure effective
running of the organisation.
Market Research: In the functions of marketing department, it is also included about the market
research which is required to be conducted by it on regular basis. It is because in today's world,
the environment is fast changing and also the innovations are also taking place at fast basis. So
this makes it important to analyse market and produce something different for the achieving
competitive advantage over their competitors(Ottman, 2017).
Marketing Strategy: Depending upon the requirements and analysis of the market, it is also a
responsibility of marketing function to develop suitable strategy that could help best to company
in order to make customers aware about their products and services. This is done in order to
make an increment in the sales and revenues of the company.
P2) Interrelation of Marketing with Other Departments
It is not possible for every individual department to work in an efficient and good
manner. For the successful running of an organisation, it is important that every department must
work in a coordinated way as the organisation is also a sum up of all the departments. With the
help of this coordination, it will be possible to make the achievement of their goals and
objectives in an effective and efficient way. So the description of interrelation in between
different departments of eBay with their other departments is being discussed as under:
Marketing and HR Department: The requirements of personnel in every department of an
organisation such as eBay is important for its efficient working. This requirements is fulfilled
with the help of HR Department. So the interrelation in between these two departments could be
defined in the way that the requirement of personnel in Marketing Department is fulfilled with
the help of HR Department(Notta and Vlachvei, 2015). Additionally, incentives are also
provided to Marketing Department from the HR Department in order to make continuous
improvements in the overall performances of their employees. Along with this, marketing
department with the help of its efficient working makes it possible for the HR Department to find
out more talented people for different posts vacant in the organisation. So the interrelation in
between these two departments could be described in the above way.

Marketing and Finance Department: The relationship in between these two departments of
eBay is also important. The finance department of an organisation is associated with managing,
procuring and investing the funds in a proper way that will make their optimum use. So the
requirement of funds is also to the marketing department in order to carry out their different
marketing activities with the help of which the marketing department makes their tasks to be
accomplished in an effective way providing the highest level of output to the company from the
efforts made by them. For example, the money required by the finance department in order to
carry out their business activities such as promotion, advertising and many more so the
requirement of fund or these activities is fulfilled by Finance Department itself.
Marketing and Production Department: With the help of marketing department, it has been
made possible to know about the current needs and demands of people in the market. As the
marketing department is the departments which comes into direct contact with the customers and
due to this reason, the have an estimate about the needs and demands of their customers in
relation to their products and services(Murthy, and Kumar, 2015). With the help of this, it will be
possible to provide the production department with the estimation so that the production of the
products and services of the organisation could also be done according to the estimation of
demand made by the marketing department of eBay.
So with the help of above description provided about the interrelationship in between
different departments, it will be possible for every organisation to make the working of their
organisation in an efficient and effective way so that the accomplishment of their goals and
objectives could be done in an appropriate manner.
TASK 2
Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix refers to the tools which are used by a business organisation with the help
of which the achievement of organisational goals and objectives is made possible. In the
following mix, there are seven factors which are considered and these factors influences the
working of a business and also to their customers for making purchase of their products and
services(Lee, Kozlenkova,. and Palmatier, 2015). The establishment of every organisation have
certain goals and objectives for the achievement of those goals and objectives, an organisation
works.

Ebay: It is an American International Company which provides their customers with different
types of products and services by making use of online platform. The products and services
provided by this company are fashion, electronics, cosmetics, home appliances and many more
for the satisfaction of their customers.
Objectives of eBay: The main objectives of eBay are provided as under:
 To increase the level of customers by improving the brand image and loyalty among
customers.
 To become the leading e commerce website across the globe ahead from its competitors.
So in order to make achievement of the goals and objectives of this company, it is important to
make their focus on the improvements in the level of their products and services and provide
them with better satisfaction(Lacoste, 2016). There are different competitors prevailing in the
market and for this innovation is also important for getting competitive advantage over their
competitors. Here, the comparison in between two e commerce companies has also been made
with Amazon which has also been provided as under:
Marketing Mix eBay Inc Amazon
Product The company provides their
customers with different types
of products and services such
as fashion, electronics,
appliances and many more for
the satisfaction of needs and
wants of their customers.
The products and services in
which Amazon deals in are
fashion, retail, home
appliances, grocery, electrical
and many more for their
customers (Folinas and
Fotiadis, 2017).
Price There are two pricing
strategies which have been
adopted by the company which
are market price and dynamic
pricing scheme which helps
them in keeping their prices
flexible.
On the other hand, the pricing
strategy which have been
adopted by Amazon is
competitive and the focus is on
trying to supply customers
with products at more
competitive prices than other

organisations.
Place This e-commerce company
provides products and services
in an around 30 countries
across the globe. It is possible
to have the services of eBay in
all operating systems and
websites (Horton, 2019).
On the other hand, it does not
have any physical stores and it
deals with 11 global
economies including Canada,
North America, Germany,
Mexico, United Kingdom, and
so on.
Promotion Different modes are used in
order to promote the products
and services such as online
adds, television, print media,
billboards, etc.
The tools for promotion used
by Amazon are social media,
television, and so on.
Process The process involved in the
working of this organisation is
related to uploading of picture
of the product along with their
specifications so that the
customers may make their
choices and make their buying
decisions(Kotoua and Ilkan,
2017).
In the following company's
process, the company makes
their processes by providing
customers with different
products and services and they
have to make their choices
online according to their tastes
and preferences.
Physical Evidence The company is having their
own physical existence as the
stores on the company are
available where the customers
could collect their delivery and
also put grievances in order to
get a proper resolution.
In comparison to eBay, the
company provides their
customers with their products
and services in a different way,
as the packaging has been
made by the company itself
where the name and tag of
Amazon is provided on the

cartoon (Kotoua and Ilkan,
2017).
People The total number of employees
working in the company are
around 12600 and with the
help of effective marketing
team of the company, it is
possible to achieve the goals
and objectives of the company.
The digital selling team assists
this organization in grabbing
big amount of customers by
doing online and social media
promotional material.
Furthermore, they support their
employees updated about
definite discounts and offers.
TASK 3
P4) M4) Marketing Plan for eBay
Marketing Plan refers to the guidance to the business with the goal that it can undoubtedly
distinguish and diagram the promoting procedure and strategies which the firm will use soon.
This is additionally instituted as the procedure where the business tries to accomplish its focused
on objectives by executing publicizing methodology.
Readiness of these advertising plans will help the business to improve their arrangements
and systems so an upper hand can be picked up and presentation of new assistance that is eBay
nourishment conveyance application should be possible in the best way. It is a business record
that is used for delineating business showcasing strategies and procedures. It gives a premise to
detailing of a methodology which is received by an association by utilizing different apparatuses
and systems(Felix, Rauschnabel and Hinsch, 2017).
Executive Summary-eBay Inc is an internet business association that gives a stage to the
two clients and vendors to purchase and sell different scope of items and administrations, for
example, style, beautifiers, engines, hardware, etc. This undertaking is going to dispatch another
versatile application named "eBay Food", that manages giving on the web nourishment
conveyance to its clients. For this reason, advertising plan is created as follow as:
Mission

The mission of eBay is, “ To develop a global marketplace which allows people to buy
and sell anything that can be sold.”
Vision
The vision statement of this enterprise is, “ To become number one and most trustworthy
e-commerce organisation and be ahead of its competitors.”
Objectives
The objectives towards which this mobile application eBay Food is launching are-
 To enhance company's market share up to 10% in upcoming one year by motivating its
employees to perform better.
 To increase sales and profitability of company up to 20% in upcoming year by providing
customer satisfaction (Perry and Pyatt, 2015).
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) strategies:
The following is the description of the segmentation, targeting and positioning processes
of the company which have developed their new products and services for the satisfaction of
needs and wants of their customers:
Segmentation: In this, the organisation will make its focus on dividing the complete
market in different parts which are Psycho graphic segmentation where designation about which
area where the services of the company will be utilised is decided and also the customer
segments are also divided into smaller parts (Uncles, 2018).
Targeting : After this, the company divides these segments into more smaller parts such
as classification of customers on the basis of their age, income or status or any other
factor(Bhattacharya, 2016). Here, the company has focused on dividing their customers on the
basis of their income and age which will help in providing customers with their needs and
demands.
Positioning: Here the new application services of the eBay food will be situated in the
mind of the clients by giving the clients a remarkable office to get reward in the wake of
requesting from the application based on how much measure of nourishment they have
requested. With the goal that clients get pulled in towards the services provided more on the
requesting provide through online food services(Baker and Saren, 2016).
SWOT Analysis

It following is the tool with the help of which an organisation is able to know about their
own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the business for the betterment and
achievement of goals and objectives of the organisation. So in order to make the Marketing Plan
of eBay, it is also important to do this analysis. The description of this analysis on the working of
eBay has been provided as under:
Strengths Weaknesses
 The business of the company is well
established so it will not be difficult for
the company to make the market of
their new product in the market so that
it could be possible to provide their
customers with better services and also
provide them with satisfaction.
 The maintenance of good relations with
the customers is also considered as the
strength of the company as this is the
reason of their loyalty towards the
company.
 Sometimes due to technical errors, the
working of the company is not
accomplished in a good way and this
impacted upon the work performance
and on the experiences of customers
also in negative way.
 Because of the online services, the
company is also not providing full
specifications of their products and
services in the description impacting
negatively on customers tastes and
preferences.
Opportunities Threats
 The opportunity for the company is
also related to their business expansion
to different countries such as Japan.
 Additionally, the opportunity is also
related to grabbing the other companies
in the market as well with the help of
process of acquisition.
 Due to competition at the local as well
as international level, it has impacted
negatively on the growth and
performance of the company.
 Due to rapid changes in the technology,
it has also impacted upon the
performances of the organisation
negative way .
MARKETING BUDGET (£)

PARTICULARS Ist Year IInd Year IIIrd Year IVth Year Vth Year
Initial money 2000 6300 12200 14160 19970
Investment 9300 10500 23830 31630 13550
TOTAL 11300 16800 36030 45790 33520
MARKETING OUTLAY
Promotion 4746 1459 4593 1875 1211
Sales publicity 1365 800 2452 1492 1050
Direct selling 2235 1900 4651 1000 4434
TOTAL 8146 4159 11896 4467 6405
Monitoring and Controlling
In order to make the implementation of marketing plan in an appropriate manner, it is
important for the company to make proper monitoring of their activities and the performance of
the business on regular basis so as to find out the deviations and make improvements in the
errors which have been founded in the business. eBay monitors all the marketing activities and
ensures that every one of the tasks are defined appropriately. This business endeavour while
propelling this mobile application, is required to guarantee that legitimate limited time
procedures are used to make clients mindful about the accessibility of the item. The devices
which are used for observing and controlling of this market plan are measurements and by
checking successful progression of correspondence(Ateke and Kalu, 2016).
eBay is propelling another mobile application named eBay Food which will give online
food delivery conveyance to clients. For this reason, a market plan is built up that incorporates
mission, vision and targets towards which this application is launching. A budget is likewise
arranged which is required to figure this market plan in a proper way. For example, SWOT
Analysis and STP model is additionally utilized so as to distinguish the organization's upper
hand.

CONCLUSION
From the above report, it is concluded that marketing is a very important function of
every organisation. Without which it is not possible for them to make their target customers
aware about their products and services which thy are dealing. Additionally, the importance of
interrelation between various functional departments of company is also studies which helps in
smooth running of organisation. Further the importance of marketing mix for Companies to
analyse various aspects of company is also studied. Lastly, a marketing plan is developed which
will help in ensuring that project is completed in a proper way.

REFERENCES
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