Marketing Essentials: Analysis of Google's Marketing Strategies Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Google's marketing strategies. It begins with an introduction to marketing essentials, defining key concepts like marketing strategy, message, mix, and customer relationships, and then presents Google as a case study. The report delves into the roles and responsibilities of the marketing function, including communication, planning, and finance, and analyzes these roles within the context of the marketing environment. It examines the significance of inter-relationships within an organization, such as between marketing, finance, and production, highlighting how these relationships contribute to achieving business objectives. Furthermore, the report compares Google's marketing mix elements—product, price, place, and promotion—with those of VISA, illustrating different approaches to pricing and distribution. The report also details various tactics applied by Google to achieve its business objectives, such as performance measurement systems and a strong focus on quality. Finally, the report develops and evaluates a basic marketing plan for Google, including executive summary, mission, vision, objectives, segmentation, targeting, positioning, and a marketing audit, offering insights into Google's strategic approach.

Marketing essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................1
Part A..........................................................................................................................................1
a) roles and responsibilities of marketing function.....................................................................1
c) analysis of roles and responsibilities of the marketing in the context of marketing
environment.................................................................................................................................2
d) analysis of significance of inter-relationships in an organisation...........................................3
e) analysis and evaluation of key elements of inter-relationship in an organisation...................3
Part B...........................................................................................................................................3
1) comparison of marketing mix elements of a company...........................................................3
2) Different tactics applied by business organizations in order to achieve business objectives. 5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
Development and evaluation of basic marketing plan................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Marketing may be defined as an activity which is concerned with the buying and selling
of a product or service of a company. Essentials of marketing include marketing strategy,
marketing message, marketing mix and customer relationship. Google, a technology company,
has been founded 21 years ago in the year 1998 and is currently one of the largest companies of
the world. The CEO of the company is Sundar Pichai and the company is known for providing
best working conditions to their employees. The report will include roles and responsibilities of
marketing and marketing functions. Furthermore, a marketing plan would be developed and
evaluated.
TASK 1
Part A
a) roles and responsibilities of marketing function
Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function are:
 Communication – it is one of the most important role of marketing function. In order to
carry out marketing it is very essential to communicate with the customers of target
market. Communication is not only restricted to customers but it also include effective
communication within the employees so that they can formulate effective strategy in
order to carry out marketing of their company(Moorman and Day, 2016). For example:
Google company has established an effective organisational structure which fosters
healthy communication between the employees which in turn has contributed towards
effective marketing and efficient attainment of the objectives of the company.
 Planning – planning is a very important responsibility of a marketing function. In order
to carry out marketing function effectively it is essential to plan each and every aspect of
marketing before carrying out actual marketing function. For example: Google company
carrier out effective planning towards deciding which media should be used in order to
carry out marketing, in which area marketing should be carried out, what would be the
appropriate marketing mix, which marketing strategy should be adopted.
 Finance – finance is concerned with acquiring funds. It is an important marketing
function because in order to carry out marketing efficiently it is necessary to have
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adequate funds to advertise. For example: Google company makes sure that they they
have right amount of funds at the right time so as to carry out smooth marketing.
b) roles and responsibilities of marketing
key roles and responsibilities of marketing are as follows:
 Innovation – the key role of marketing is to carry out effective innovation in a timely
manner. Innovation in marketing helps in identifying actual market segment. No
company can survive in the market if it fails to carry out innovation. Innovation means
generation of new ideas and methods(Agrawal and Rahman, 2015). For example: google
company has made lot of investment in its research and development department which
has helped the company in gaining the competitive advantage over the other company so
as to beat its competitors.
 Identification of customer needs – the major responsibility in marketing is to correctly
identify the needs of the customers. For example: google company has established
effective internal channels in order to carry out surveys so as to capture the information
of the sales team that in turn will contribute in formulation of marketing strategy. Apart
from that, company has also established channels outside the company so as to identify
the needs and wants of the customers and then act on it to attract more customers.
c) analysis of roles and responsibilities of the marketing in the context of marketing environment
The key role of marketing in the marketing environment is to formulate the marketing
strategy. Marketing strategy would be formulated in such a way that it would contribute towards
the attainment of organizational by taking into consideration various factors that are affecting the
marketing environment. It is very essential in order to identify the needs and wants of the
potential customers.
The key responsibility of marketing in the marketing environment is to monitor the
marketing environment deeply in a timely manner. It is very essential to monitor the marketing
environment so as to find out about the new developments in the markets. A keen watch on new
developments is essential in order to find about the recent trends in the market as well as various
forces.
d) analysis of significance of inter-relationships in an organisation
It is very important to have proper inter – relationship between marketing and other
functional departments of the organisation in order to work efficiently towards the attainment of
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the objectives of the company(Cacciolatti and Lee, 2016). For example: if the marketing
department wishes to provide discounts or samples then it has to first consult with the finance
and production department regarding manufacturing of more products in order to implement
marketing strategy smoothly.
Further, the human resource department employs efficient marketing personnel for
carrying out marketing of their organisation. Moreover, if the company wishes to increase its
profitability by the increase in sales, then it has to coordinate with all the functional departments
to achieve the mutual goals. Hence,in order to run the business smoothly, it is essential to have
proper inter-relationship between marketing and other functional departments.
e) analysis and evaluation of key elements of inter-relationship in an organisation
Key elements of inter- relationships in an organisation are research and tactics. Research
is the key element which links the marketing with other functional department. Without research
a company cannot run smoothly such as research gets us the accurate and relevant information
which is necessary for carrying out marketing efficiently. With the help of research the company
can identify the needs of the customers which will be helpful in carrying out marketing. Apart
from marketing, research is helpful for other departments as well.
Another important element that establishes inter-relationship is strategy. Based on the
strategies formulated by different functional departments, marketing department takes
action(Grant, 2016).
Part B
1) comparison of marketing mix elements of a company
Marketing mix elements Google VISA
Product Google deals in diverse
products. Its product line
includes desktop apps, mobile
apps, operating system,
hardware products, web-based
products and services(Baltes,
2016).
VISA deals in wide range of
facilities but is mainly known
for electronic fund transfer. It
is the most secure mode of
fund transfer. Apart from that,
the company deals in 3 other
products and those are debit
cards, credit cards and prepaid
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cards.
Price Google uses premium pricing
strategy at the time of fixing
the prices of its products.
Premium pricing strategy
means selling the products at a
very high price. The company
charges its prices very high so
as to cover the cost and earn
high profits. The cost of
company is high because of
constant innovation and the
added features in the product.
The company uses differential
pricing strategy. Differential
pricing means selling the
products to the customers at
different prices. The company
charges prices on the basis of
regular customers, government
employees or corporate as well
as well as on the basis of type
of card that the customer
carrier with him/her(Wirtz and
Lovelock, 2016).
Place Company mainly operates its
business on digital platform. It
has its online distribution
channel. This is major reason
through which company is
famous worldwide because the
customers of all over the globe
have access to purchase the
products of the company.
VISA operate at global level
and carries out its operations
mainly in Europe, America
and Asia. The company has
adopted direct distribution
channel to reach out its
customers.
Promotion Google carrier out minimum
promotions but if it carrier out
its promotion then they mainly
run campaigns or through
advertisements. For example:
latest advertisement of Google
shows gmail for work(Baker,
2016).
The company promotes its
activities through sponsoring
various international events
such as Olympic, rugby world
cup, cricket world cup, etc.
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2) Different tactics applied by business organizations in order to achieve business objectives.
Tactics applied by google in order to achieve the objectives of the company are by
establishment of systems that measure the performance. This system lays emphasis on measuring
the performance of both individuals and organisations. This helps in accessing the present
performance as well as assist in improving the future performance which in turn would help in
company in achieving its objectives because the company can improve the productivity of its
employees.
Another main tactic applied by the company is that it has a strong control on quality.
Company does not care on providing products or services at cheap prices rather it focus on
delivering products or services of best quality which in turn helps the company in achieving its
objectives as the company can earn profits by providing quality products or services(Pretorius,
2016).
TASK 2
Development and evaluation of basic marketing plan
Marketing plan of google
 Executive summary
Google is an American technology company which is now one of the largest companies
of the entire world. It not only provides services but also provides product. The company is
mainly known for its unbeatable search engine.
The marketing plan of google company is aimed at keeping a keen watch on the activities
of the competitors in order to beat them and to maintain and grow its market share.
 Mission statement
Mission of google is to organise the information of entire world and make it accessible
universally in a very simple manner.
 Vision statement
Vision of google is to have access to the information of entire globe in a single click.
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 Marketing objectives
The main marketing objectives of the company behind creation of marketing plan is to
carry out deep research on its competitors.
 Segmentation, positioning,targeting
Segmentation
Google uses psychographic segmentation in order to segment its customers.
Psychographic segmentation means segmenting the customers based on their value, beliefs,
lifestyles, interest, personality, etc. The company decides which segment to show their ad based
on the activities of the user on various online platform(Kotler and et.al., 2015).
Targeting
Google uses mass marketing targeting in order to target the audience. Under mass
targeting all the people of entire globe are targeted irrespective of the caste, religion, gender, age,
etc. It helps in reaching the large number of people at the same time and appealing the people of
entire globe.
Positioning
Google uses value based positioning strategy in order to position its services in the mind
of customers(McDONALD, 2016). Under this approach the company positions its product and
services by explaining the users that though the company is charging high prices for its product
and services but it is worth to spend money to purchase them.
 Marketing audit
Strengths
Market leader in search engine – the biggest strength of Google company is that it has
the major dominance over the internet searches all over the world. Google has competitive
advantage over other companies, no company is even close to beat google when it comes to
search engines.
High revenue through advertising – the company earns enormous profits through
partnering with other companies to show their ads. Since, this is the major source of earning of
the company which has taken the company to achieve new heights of success.
Innovation in technology – google is known for constant innovation in providing its
products and services. The company has made huge investment in its research and development
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department. Hence, because of the use of advanced technology, company is able to provide
unique and differentiated products and services.
Weaknesses
Fall in the rates of advertisements – since the company is highly dependent on
advertisements, reduce in the rates of the advertisements has drastically impacted the earning of
the company. With the changing time, the ad rates of the company is decreasing which has
hampered the earnings of the company.
Excessive reliance on secrecy – the company is highly concerned about maintaining its
secrecy and hence for this purpose the company doesn't even reveal its algorithm of searches and
this has in turn lead to various controversies against the company(McDonald and Wilson, 2016).
Opportunities
Tap more mobile users – the most exciting opportunity that should be grabbed by the
company is that it should focus on attracting more mobile users. This will in turn help in
company in increasing the brand awareness and generating more profit.
Provide mobile-friendly products – company should focus on developing those products
which as mobile-friendly that is which do not cause any harmful impact on the health of the user
because of the use of mobile.
Threats
Cut- throat competition in the market – there is intense competition in the market
especially from the big companies such as apple and yahoo. This is basic reason behind company
being constantly involved in innovation so as to beat its competitors.
Imitation of products – There is high possibility then the products of the company can be
imitated which will will in turn affect the earnings of the company because the similar kind of
products or services would be provided at a comparative cheaper price.
 Marketing mix elements of Google
There are 7 p's of marketing mix
Product – Google provide wide range of products and services such as Google drive, YouTube,
gmail, android, Google phones, Google watches, etc.
Price – google uses premium pricing strategy in order to fix the prices of its products and
services(Lovelock and Patterson, 2015). It means keeping the price of its products and services
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very high so as to create positive perception in the mind of customers as well as it acts as a status
symbol. Further, it is also a necessity to keep the price high so as to cover the huge cost incurred
in manufacturing the product or providing services and to have an appropriate profit margin.
Place – Google provides its products and services all around the world irrespective of the
country but the major place of distribution is its digital platform. The company sells its products
or provide its services through online distribution channel so as to provide ease of buying to
customers all over the world.
Promotion – in order to promote its products and services, google will do publicity through
various campaigns and advertisements on television in which they will provide the users
complete and accurate informations regarding the features of the products or services provided
by the company so as to attract more and new customers.
Process – google company mostly provide its products or services online through apps or their
website.
People – google company has employs highly trained professional from all over the world and
this is the major reason behind the constant growth of the company.
Physical evidence – physical evidence of the company is very attractive of both online and
offline mode such as website of the company is designed in a very beautiful manner as well as
google doodle are very creative. Further, the offices of google comprises of entire
facilities(Lamb and Crompton, 2017).
 Budget
Elements Estimated cost ( in pounds)
Research and development 2500
Promotion 1800
Online marketing 1200
Website development 1500
Total 7000
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CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been summarised that the key roles and responsibilities of
marketing function are planning, communication and finance. While on the other hand, key roles
and responsibilities of marketing are innovation and identification of customer needs. Apart from
that, comparison of marketing mix elements of two companies were discussed which highlighted
product, price, place and promotion elements. Furthermore, a marketing plan was prepared
which consisted of executive summary, segmentation, targeting, positioning, swot analysis,
marketing mix and budget.
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