Marketing Plan: A Comprehensive Analysis of H&M's Marketing Efforts

This marketing plan provides a comprehensive analysis of H&M's marketing strategies, including an executive summary, business mission, and external and internal marketing audits. It delves into macro and micro-environmental factors, operating results, strategic issues, and marketing mix effectiveness. The plan includes a SWOT analysis, marketing objectives, strategic thrust, core strategy, and target market identification. Competitive analysis is undertaken, focusing on competitors like Zara and Uniqlo. The report details marketing mix decisions related to product, promotion, price, and place, alongside discussions on physical evidence, process, people, budget, organization, implementation, and control. The plan concludes with references and appendices, providing a thorough examination of H&M's market positioning and future recommendations for growth.

RUNNING HEAD: MARKETING PLAN 0
2020
Marketing Plan
student’s details-

MARKETING PLAN 1
Executive Summary
Marketing is the most important activity of the company that ensures that the products are
successfully reached and positioned to the target customers. For it, the company makes a
marketing plan that can provide the company significant ways to reach the goal. The purpose
of this marketing plan is to elaborate the marketing efforts, internal and external audits which
are helpful in the strategic execution of H&M business. The research has been conducted
from the website sources and other literature articles in context with the company. The results
of the assignment are helpful in the determination of appropriate pathways and the future
courses of action that the company will undertake in order to meet the marketing objectives.

MARKETING PLAN 2
Contents
Business Mission......................................................................................................................................................4
External Marketing Audit.........................................................................................................................................4
Macro Environment.............................................................................................................................................4
Micro Environment..............................................................................................................................................4
Internal Marketing Audit..........................................................................................................................................5
Operating Results.................................................................................................................................................5
Strategic Issues Analysis.....................................................................................................................................6
Marketing Mix Effectiveness...............................................................................................................................6
Marketing Structures and Systems......................................................................................................................7
SWOT Analysis.......................................................................................................................................................7
Marketing Objectives...............................................................................................................................................7
Strategic Thrust....................................................................................................................................................8
Strategic Objectives.............................................................................................................................................8
Core Strategy............................................................................................................................................................9
Target Market......................................................................................................................................................9
Competitor Target................................................................................................................................................9
Competitive Advantage.......................................................................................................................................9
Marketing Mix Decisions.........................................................................................................................................9
Product...............................................................................................................................................................10
Promotion...........................................................................................................................................................10
Price...................................................................................................................................................................10
Place...................................................................................................................................................................10
Physical Evidence..............................................................................................................................................10
Process...............................................................................................................................................................11
People.................................................................................................................................................................11
Budget....................................................................................................................................................................11
Organization and Implementation..........................................................................................................................11
Control....................................................................................................................................................................12
References..............................................................................................................................................................13
Appendices.............................................................................................................................................................16

MARKETING PLAN 3
Business Mission
H&M is Swedish international company of fashion retailers for me, women and teenagers. It
is on one of the recognized brands of fashion which has worldwide operations. The company
runs their operations in 62 different countries. The business mission of the company is to
invest in the living conditions of communities and bringing a positive change through the
innovative ideas. The mission of the company is to lead the change with the renewable
fashion industry in which the company makes attempts to engage with the customers with the
innovative designs and techniques (H&M Group, 2020).
External Marketing Audit
External marketing audit is the analysis of external factors that may affect the business and its
operations. Following macro-environment factors are included in this:
Macro Environment
It comprises of the environmental issues which are relevant to the business. For this, PEST
analysis can be used. Firstly, there are political factors may have effect on the business
operations of H&M. As the company has operations in different locations, it has created the
urgency for the company to look for political stability in different countries. Particularly, due
to instability of Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon, the company can make contingency plans for
these countries. Further, economic factors are pertaining to the economic policies and the
economic fluctuations that can affect the profits of the business. Particularly, there are
economic fluctuations due to the introduction of Brexit and has dropped the profits of H&M
business which can be seen from the fact that in 2015 the profits dropped from 6.45 billion to
5.36 billion Swedish Kronor ending on May 31 (Trade12, 2016). Further, social factors
include the changing preferences of the customers which affects the business. Due to
changing lifestyle, customers are preferring to go for the fashionable and branded products
which can be the good opportunity for the company (Amatulli, et al., 2016). Further,
technological factors particularly include the changes the automatized methods and
information technology for meeting the diverse needs of the customers. H&M Group has
made mobile applications for customers which has often act as competitive advantage for the
competitors.
Micro Environment
Micro environment consist of the market size and the competitors available into the market.

MARKETING PLAN 4
 Market: The market size of H&M company has been growing rapidly and is
estimated that the company has 4739 stores in 2017 around the world. The company
has existence in 69 markets and has spread the online business in 43 countries. The
growth trends include that the company has made the annual sales of 28 billion dollars
and out of which 1.2 billion US dollars were generated in Sweden (Ridder, 2018). The
company’s customers are segmented on the basis of income level, age and the
lifestyle of the customers that will determine the customers and their attitudes.
Moreover, the market needs to analyse the physical distribution that can help the
company to reach the targeted customers.
 Competition: Uniqlo is the top competitor of H&M brand as it has been giving a stiff
competition to the brand in terms of store’s experiences. Uniqlo has the marketing
objective to give superior experiences in terms of quality and effective return policies
that can make the customers satisfied (Zorn, 2017). The company has been taking the
market share and giving the stiff competitors. There are entry barriers as well as the
company has made a huge brand recognition which has created a barrier for the
competitors.
Internal Marketing Audit
Operating Results
The operating results will be evaluated in terms of product, customer and geographic region.
The product of the company is fashion clothes that fits for the teenagers and adults. For H&M
business, the growth trends of the company have increased from a great pace in which the
profits of 26% as the operating profit (Ridder, 2018). The geographic regions are concerned
to be the international presence of the brand in which the company is estimated to have 4968
stores at the end of 2018.
Strategic Issues Analysis
Strategic issues are related with the company’s current approaches in terms of marketing. The
marketing objective of H&M business has been to be the most recognizable brand into the
fashion retailing market through investing into innovation and making experiments with the
materials. The company have an established brand name which is proved to be the
competitive advantage. The strength of the brand portfolio of the company is that the

MARKETING PLAN 5
company strives to meet the fashionable trends which is proved to be the core competency of
the company.
Marketing Mix Effectiveness
Marketing mix effectiveness is evaluated in terms of the product, price, place and promotion
which are effective in meeting the strategic issues such as core competency, competitive
advantage and competitive positioning. H&M business focuses on the fashion products to be
available for the men, women and children. The company offers a premium price and targets
the trendy customers. Place is determined by the fact that the company has different stores in
different cities and also has online stores that can deliver the products to the doorsteps of the
customers (Anthony, 2016). Promotion strategy is used by the company in terms of multi-
channel technique in which TV advertisements and digital marketing for reaching the target
customers. This relates to the strategic issues of the company in which it strives to maintain
competitive advantage over the competitors.
Marketing Structures and Systems
Marketing structures and systems include the marketing efforts of the company and the way
company manages the marketing operations, control and planning system. Moreover, H&M
business has own advertising agency which regulates the marketing operations through multi-
channel campaigns (H&M, 2020). The company attempts to make likeability in front of the
customers that can make the business recognizable through the advertising materials.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis will consist of the strength, weakness, opportunity and threats of the
company. Strength of the company is that the company has strong international global
networks and international brand awareness which has resulted in increased customer
satisfaction. Weakness of the company includes that the company has higher dependence on
the clothing factories. Further, H&M business have the opportunity of increasing the market
share due to the increasing popularity of online stores and global market presence. Also, the
company faces major threats due to the stiff competition against the competitors which can be
seen from the fact that the company faces competition from Zara in terms of making profits
and making brand presence (Tyler, 2018). Due to global presence, the company faces
problems in dealing with the economic fluctuations in different countries.

MARKETING PLAN 6
Marketing Objectives
After the strategic marketing audit and the SWOT analysis that can be base for setting
marketing objectives. This can be set through the strategic thrust and strategic objectives.
Strategic Thrust
Under strategic thrust, H&M company will determine the significant strategic area by which
the company can make realization of the marketing objectives. Using ANSOF matrix, it can
be determined that there are four strategic options can be used by the company.
Existing Product New Products
Existing Markets
New Markets
Amongst the four options, the company can adopt the market development and product
development strategies. Under the market development strategy, the company can
concentrate on the new markets for serving their fashion product (Mbithi, et al., 2015).
Secondly, the company can go for product development strategy in which the company can
make efforts for the product marketing. In this, the company will choose a different product
line for serving the existing markets and the company can get the greater chances of profits
through the existing the brand recognition.
Strategic Objectives
By developing the strategic objectives, the company can make the marketing objective of
increasing the profits by 10% at the end of the year. As H&M business has the mission of
Market
Penetration
Product
Development
Market
Development Diversification

MARKETING PLAN 7
making the communities more improved through the innovative ideas, the company can make
the strategy of improving the profit margins through the investing more into innovative
product for the target audiences (Nickols, 2016).
Core Strategy
The company’s core strategy will be developed through analysing the target market and
competitors and identification of competitive advantage to be used against the competitors.
Target Market
Target market is determined by the segmentation of the market in which the company can
target the customers. As per geographic segmentation, the company can target the people of
urban areas. Further, under demographic segmentation, the company can target people
between the age group 16-25 years and 26-35 years of men, women and children. Further, in
psychographic segmentation, the company can target the trendy people with enhanced
lifestyle and are of higher income group.
Competitor Target
The competitors of H&M company are Zara and Uniqlo that fashion products. Zara as the
close competitor of H&M gets their profits from the loyal customers and it can be seen that
brand gets 80% of sales from the loyal customers (Danziger, 2018). Thus, loyal customers
can be the attractive market for H&M company. Further, the marketing strategy for Uniqlo is
considered exceptional in which the company strives for the high quality and superior
customer service which is considered to be the strength of the company. Thus, H&M
company need to make the strategy that can be the competitive advantage through reaching
the target customers by increasing the quality of the products.
Competitive Advantage
Competitive advantage is concerned to be adding some special features to get the market
share of the competitors. H&M business can get competitive advantage through making the
superior quality clothing and also making the product’s prices affordable for the customers.
In this way, the company can provide an additional value to the customers. Besides, the
company’s online stores and the facilitation of the quality customer service can provide value
to the customers and also can make them responding to the customer’s needs (Dishman,
2013).

MARKETING PLAN 8
Marketing Mix Decisions
Marketing mix decisions can be undertaken through the effective marketing strategy that can
be helpful in delivering the right product at the right time.
Product
This comprise of the product’s physical features and the quality of the product. Specifically,
H&M can make their apparel in diverse categories through taking care of the quality of the
product and meeting the fashionable needs of the customers. The company must provide
additional services to the customers which might include the discounts and the customer
service which might add to the value given to the customers (Datta, et al., 2017).
Promotion
Promotion is an important part of marketing mix which is concerned with that activity of the
company in making the product recognizable through the appropriate promotional tools.
H&M company can promote their brand through TV advertisements for making their apparel
recognizable into the market. Specifically, the company offers discounts into the products to
attract their customers and also makes efforts for the promotion through the sponsorships that
can spread awareness about the brand.
Price
Price refers to the value of product which is paid by the customer. Price needs to be kept in
such a way that it is appealing, affordable and competitive into the market. Moreover, H&M
business must ensure that the prices for their apparels are not only affordable but also
competitive in order to make greater sales with higher profits (Malviya, 2017). The company
can adopt the medium pricing strategy by keeping the section of discount in which the
products can be provided to the customers through various schemes.
Place
This is an important component of marketing mix that ensure the product delivery by using
the appropriate channel of distribution. H&M company can maintain the appropriate supply
networks in order to maintain the flow of products. Moreover, the company has expanded
their retail outlets in many locations which has later helped the company to get the attention
of maximum customers. Also, the company can adopt for the online stores which is
accessible to every consumer and can be an effective marketing effort to be taken place
(Coopen, 2019).

MARKETING PLAN 9
Physical Evidence
Physical evidence will relate to the company’s efforts to be made for the attracting the
customers through the layout of and design of the product. Moreover, H&M company should
take the feedback of the customers for the distinct packaging being used by the company.
Also, the company should make efforts for improving the ambience of the store and
providing the shopper-friendly environment for the customers (Coopen, 2019).
Process
The company must adopt the appropriate way of delivering the services to the customers and
using a method that can automate their business activities. Particularly, the company must
innovate the business process and maintain cost efficiencies which are helpful in the
facilitation of lower priced products to the customers.
People
Under this strategy, the company must make appropriate training of the people in order to
make the people more competent for delivering the valuable services to the customers (H&M,
2020). This should be cooperated with the technique in which the company must be extra
active for motivating their people through the financial incentives and must make efforts for
hiring the people who are loyal to the company in every way.
Budget
The budget of the marketing plan is decided upon the cost associated with the marketing
efforts of the company and also depends upon the marketing objective of the company. The
budget of the marketing plan of the company is set through the simple calculation in which
the total revenues of the company will be multiplied by the percentage of the marketing
expenses (Ndungu, 2016). Moreover, the company must invest 20% into the marketing mix
which would later be multiplied by the revenues of that particular year.
Organization and Implementation
Organization and implementation of marketing plan will take place in form of the
administrative roles that the company will decide upon. H&M business can make sure that
the company the decided marketing plan is properly being communicated to the management
structures and controlling the overall marketing activities. This specifically involves the
brand positioning that might include the efforts of the company towards the organization of

MARKETING PLAN 10
the marketing channels. Further, strategic implementation of the marketing efforts will also
require the set timeline within which the plan would undertake. For H&M business, the
marketing plan can be planned for 2 months within which the company can make the
marketing efforts and can also ensure the success of the plan through effective control (Colla,
et al., 2016).
Control
Control refers to the monitoring of the activities and finding out the loop holes for ensuring
the effectiveness of the goals being initiated. The company can control their marketing
activities by evaluating the effectiveness of the business activities and also identifying the
various areas that need improvement (Al Fahad, et al., 2015). The actual results of the
marketing efforts are compared with the marketing objectives and goals in order to identify
the areas that need the improvement. Also, the action plan is undertaken that can help in the
reducing the errors and the loop holes identified by the company during the process of
monitoring of marketing activities.

MARKETING PLAN 11
References
Al Fahad, A., Al Mahmud, A., Miah, R. & Islam, U., 2015. Marketing audit: A systematic
and comprehensive marketing examination. International journal of scientific & Technology
research, pp. 215-221.
Amatulli, C. et al., 2016. Mix-and-Match” Fashion Trend and Luxury Brand Recognition: An
Empirical Test Using Eye-tracking. Fashion Theory, 20(3), pp. 341-362.
Anthony, J., 2016. H&M fans left wondering where the online shopping option is. [Online]
Available at: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/84865194/hm-fans-left-wondering-
where-the-online-shopping-option-is
[Accessed 22 January 2020].
Colla, C. et al., 2016. Association between Medicare accountable care organization
implementation and spending among clinically vulnerable beneficiaries. JAMA internal
medicine, 176(8), pp. 1167-1175.
Coopen, L., 2019. A more sustainable online shopping experience. [Online]
Available at: https://hmgroup.com/media/news/general-news-2019/a-more-sustainable-
online-shopping-experience.html
[Accessed 24 January 2020].
Danziger, P. N., 2018. Why Zara Succeeds: It Focuses On Pulling People In, Not Pushing
Product Out. [Online]
Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2018/04/23/zaras-difference-pull-
people-in-not-push-product-out/#331d740c23cb
[Accessed 22 January 2020].
Datta, H., Ailawadi, K. & Van Heerde, H., 2017. How well does consumer-based brand
equity align with sales-based brand equity and marketing-mix response?. Journal of
Marketing, 81(3), pp. 1-20.
Dishman, L., 2013. H&M's Competitive Advantage: Expansion in India. [Online]
Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lydiadishman/2013/04/29/hms-competitive-
advantage-expansion-in-india/#735f26643d59
[Accessed 24 January 2020].