Marketing Essentials Task 1 Report: IHG's Marketing Functions Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the marketing functions within InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). It begins by outlining the key roles and responsibilities of marketing, including marketing research, identifying opportunities, segmentation (demographic, behavioral), targeting, and positioning. The report then explores the marketing environment, emphasizing the importance of PESTEL analysis and understanding the internal environment. Furthermore, it examines how marketing functions relate to the wider organizational context, highlighting the crucial interrelationships with human resources, operations, and finance departments. The report emphasizes the significance of these interdepartmental connections for achieving IHG's objectives, increasing revenue and profit by satisfying customer needs, and promoting its services effectively. The report concludes by summarizing the critical role of marketing in driving sales, profitability, and brand image through strategic planning and effective interdepartmental collaboration.

Marketing Essentials Task 1

Table of Contents
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Explain the key roles and responsibilities of marketing functions........................................1
M1 Marketing environment........................................................................................................2
P2 Explain how roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organizational
context.........................................................................................................................................2
M2 Significance of interrelationships.........................................................................................3
D1 ...............................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Marketing plays an important role in every business as it promotes products and services
among potential customers. So that it can increase its sales and revenue of the business. Inter
Continental Hotels Group (IHG) is one of largest British multinational hospitality company
which is serving across 100 countries. It has approximately 5,409 hotels across the world. As
organization deals in various hotels, clubs and resorts it has a wide operational department which
manages its work. This report is consists of key roles and responsibilities of marketing functions
along with its interrelation in different departments of company.
TASK 1
P1 Explain the key roles and responsibilities of marketing functions.
Marketing plays a crucial role to promote the business organization. It establishes a brand
of the company among its targetted market (Dibb and Simkin, 2013). Marketing section also
plays an important role along to aware customers about its products and services. Therefore,
marketing roles and responsibilities are given below -
Marketing research – It is an indispensable part of marketing of organization because
whenever IHG plans to launch a new hotel or club. Research team gathers the information from
the local area. It identifies the needs and wants of the people in local market and then provide
catered information to the organization.
Identifying/ maximising marketing opportunities :
It is primary function of marketing department to collect information about demands of
target customer. So that they can prepare a strategic plan about launching a new hotel or resort in
a geographical location. This will maximise marketing opportunities to promote IHG in an
appropriate marketplace. If it opens a hotel in an easily accessible location where people wanted
to stay then it can gain opportunities to satisfying the customers needs. Through satisfying the
people requirement it will also raise profit and revenue of the firm.
Segmentation – This is used to recognise the requirement of the targetted customer by
dividing marketplace into sections. There are three major types of segmentation that separates
marketplace on the basis of different variables. IHG can use segmentation in various ways such
as -
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Demographic segmentation – It divides target customers according to their age, gender,
family size, income, occupation, religion, race and nationality. For an example, if IHG conducts
a market research to know customer requirements according to their occupation and income.
Then, they can analyse that entrepreneurs and high income people wants luxury services in the
hotel and they can pay premium price for these services. Therefore, the hotel should have lavish
services that can capture attention of targetted customers (Brassington and Pettitt, 2013).
Behavioural segmentation – This kind of segmentation separates market through
identifying their purchasing and decision making behaviour. For an example, if customers
wanted to stay in Crown Plaza (a brand of IHG chain) then they would like high cost against the
amenities. Therefore, the purchasing and decision making depends on their income status and
brand value. If they are getting opulent services then they will be ready to pay high amount for
their services (Perreault, 2010).
Targetting right customer – Targeting consumers refers to a strategy through which an
organisation can select a segment to target the customers by finding the most attractive ones.
This could be done through, looking at profitability of each segment where customer groups
contribute most. After that it is also required for organisation to analyze the size and potential
growth of each segment. It is essential for marketing department to reach towards potential
customer who needs services. Therefore, they should focus on the high income people who can
spend on luxury hotels. In order to enhance business opportunities IHG needs to target right
customers. It offers a splendid services to their customers that belongs to high income group. As
they maintains a high status and can afford its services that's why it is essential to target
potential customers.
Positioning – This can be defined as position of products or services so that targeting can
be done of most valuable customers segments. This could easily be identified with the help of
analysing what exactly consumers are looking for, and then it is required for company to focus
on creating a value proposition through which selected segment can easily fulfil need or
requirement of targeted customers. IHG needs marketing team that can promote its hotel and
resort chain to establish a brand image among its potency customers. Through promoting its
facilities aggressively in the market hotel can develop a strong brand image that can increase its
profitability.
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Hence, marketing has essential roles and responsibilities that assists to reach towards
objectives and goals of the organization.
Following are the main roles and responsibilities of marketing functions: -
 Marketing research – Promoting research is required to perceive the prerequisites, needs
and demands of the clients and after that separating the recognized information to get in
contact at various decisions for the productive publicizing of an affiliation's items and
organizations is a champion among the most basic components of advertising.
 Buying and selling – The purchasing capacity guarantee that accessibility of item
contributions in enough amounts with the end goal to address issues and needs of target
gatherings of people. IHG additionally buy materials from its providers which are
displayed over the world in order to make appealing items and offer its items through
direct offering and by outsider offering.
 Transporting – Another function responsibility of marketing is to identified with create
the accessibility of services in different areas (emergency). Transporting is utilized with
the end goal to deliver services from their purposes of creation to area helpful for
patients. In spite of the fact that, IHG’s transportation is key from the obtaining of
services material to delivering its services to clients.
 Standardising and Grading – With a plan to give more included and esteem featured
based services with quality, advertisers institutionalize items. It would guarantee that
service which is being provided by IHG majorly contributes total address of issues which
is being faced by clients.
M1 Marketing environment.
While identifying the opportunities in the external marketplace, IHG should analyse
market environment so that it can identify potential of target market. It can recognise impact of
external environment on business through PESTEL factors. Organization should also analyse its
internal environment that can support it to attain its goals. Company should conduct a research to
identify needs and requirements of people and economy of the country that can support people
to enhance their purchasing power. So that, it provide facilities according to their income level.
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This is the prior goal of marketing to gather information about targetted market through
segmentation and strategies that can aware customers. If economy is low then local people
cannot afford the luxury and it needs to provide services on low price.
P2 Explain how roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organizational context.
There are various functions of marketing department that needs to be supported by other
department of organization. This support is required to attain the objectives and goals of IHG.
Marketing department needs to establish a connection with other sections so that they can work
in coordination and achieve the target in an effective way (Jones and Rowley, 2011). The
relation between marketing and other departments are given below -
Human resources management – HR plays a crucial role in recruitment and staffing
that are required to carry out the organizational activities in an appropriate way. Marketing team
needs to establish a communication with HR because they needs to hire some staff to promote
IHG in potential marketplace. In order to do so, marketing department needs an efficient and
qualified employees that can effectively carry out the marketing operations and activities. When
marketing team needs workers for promotional activities, it will send information to HR manager
so that they can hire appropriate candidate (Dibb and Simkin, 2013).
Operational department – This is crucial department of IHG that manages entire
operations within organization. It has several operations such managing front desk, security,
inventory, research and development. For example, if IHG wants to launch a new hotel then they
needs to conduct a research to analyse the needs and requirement of the people that can enhance
opportunities for it. So that it can accomplish task and objectives to increase revenue of the
company. Marketing team needs to connect with operational departments because they can
analyse present trends and requirements of people. Then, it will convey this information to the
operational department that will prepare strategies to fulfil customer requirements such as hotel
amenities like internet, laundry, etc.
Finance department – As marketing team promotes IHG among target marketplace
through developing strategies. In order to promote hotel, marketing team needs funds to invest
and that money will be provided by finance department. So marketing team needs to connect
with finance department to get money to spend on marketing activities that can pull the
customers towards the hotel (Brassington and Pettitt, 2013).
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M2 Significance of interrelationships
Marketing team develops relationship with other departments to promote products and
services of organization. This is beneficial for customers and firm as well because marketing
department promotes the new services among potential customers through which they get aware
about new products and services. It is also profitable for organization because marketing team
observe present marketing trends and informs company to provide the services that can satisfy
customer needs.
D1
According to Ian Linton, marketing team assists company's to increase revenue and profit
by satisfying customers needs. The marketing team conduct market research to identify the needs
and requirements of target customers and after that they prepares strategical planning that consist
of segmentation, targetting and positioning to promote and establish a brand in the targetted
market. Marketing is also interrelated with other departments and works in collaboration so that
they can achieve the organizational target in an effective way. It is essential for organizations to
stay in contact with other sections to transfer correct information that can be beneficial for firm
to increase profit and revenue.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that marketing plays a vital role to promote
products and services that aid to assist in increase in sales and raise profitability. Therefore,
marketing has different roles and responsibilities to promote products through conducting
marketing research by using segmentation techniques. It is also interrelated with other
departments that are also essential in an organization.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Dibb, S. and Simkin, L., 2013. Marketing essentials. Cengage Learning.
Brassington, F. and Pettitt, S., 2013. Essential of marketing.
Perreault, W.D., 2010. Essentials of marketing: A marketing strategy planning approach.
Jones, R. and Rowley, J., 2011. Entrepreneurial marketing in small businesses: A conceptual
exploration. International Small Business Journal. 29(1). pp.25-36.
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