Marketing Report: Roles, Mix, and Strategy for John Lewis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the marketing strategies employed by John Lewis, a prominent retail company. It begins by defining the marketing function and outlining its key roles and responsibilities, such as brand management, social media monitoring, and market research. The report then delves into the interrelation of the marketing function with other organizational departments, including production, finance, human resources, research & development, and IT. It examines how these departments collaborate to achieve overall business objectives. The report further explores the marketing mix, encompassing product, price, place, people, promotion, process, and physical evidence, and how John Lewis utilizes this mix to achieve its goals. It also includes a comparative analysis with a competitor, Marks & Spencer, highlighting the tactics used by both companies to achieve their objectives. The report emphasizes the importance of marketing in driving revenue, increasing market share, and contributing to the growth and profitability of the company.

MARKETING
ESSENTIALS

INTRODUCTION
The term can be defined as set of activities which are performed by business organisation
with the objective to promote product or service for buying and selling among customers.
Marketing is management process by which goods and services move from manufacturer to
customer (Akbar, and et. al., 2017). The activities of marketing helps companies to attract and
retain customer for long term by fulfilling their needs, expectations and wants. The marketing
function is interlinked to other functions such as finance, human resource, sales and production
function as their purpose is to foster product as well as brand by developing and producing goods
as per wants and specifications of consumers. The present report is based on John Lewis which
is retail sector company . It was founded in the year 1929 by John Spedan Lewis which is
situated at London, England, UK. The products offered by John Lewis includes watches,
jewellery, giftware, clothing, food, financial services, cosmetics and many more. In the report it
essential roles and responsibilities of marketing function will be discussed and how different
organisational functions are interlinked to each other. Further it will explain about marketing mix
comprising of P's in brief manner. Also, marketing plan will be prepared for purpose of
evaluation of project.
ACTIVITY A
1.1 Key roles and responsibility of marketing as a function and interrelation with organisation
function
ROLE OF MARKETING FUNCTION
The marketing department plays very important role in promotion of business as well as
mission of organisation (Armstrong, and et. al., 2015). The task of this department is to reach
prospective consumers, community and investors as this will help in developing positive image
of company. Therefore, role of marketing function in context of John Lewis is described below:-
 Managing and defining brand- The role of marketing manager of John Lewis company
is to define who you are, what you do, how company acts and what you stand for. This
also helps them to know about customer's expectations and define experience when the

interaction takes place. This role is interlinked with production function as it
is related to developing products and services after proper market survey or research.
 Monitoring and managing social media- Their must be effective management of
activities which are conducted on social media platforms. The role of marketing manager
of John Lewis company is to continuously monitor and manage websites, social media
pages. They are also concerned with management of accounts in effective and efficient
manner.
 Conducting customer and market research- The marketing manager should on regular
basis carry both market and customer research (Baker,and Magnini, 2016). As this helps
John Lewis company to know about changing needs and expectations of consumers,
perception about company and know their satisfaction level. Further this is interlinked to
sales and production department as it concerned with both manufacturing and selling of
goods and services for customer's.
 Producing marketing and promotional tools- The role of marketing manager is to
provide various departments of organisation. Specially this assist sales department with
promotional tools which help to attract and capture market share. Effective tools for
marketing and promotion leads to influence large number of customer's to buy products
of John lewis company.
RESPONSIBILITY OF MARKETING FUNCTION AND INTERACTION WITH
ORGANISATION FUNCTIONS
The marketing department is responsible for increasing revenue, contributing towards
growth and profitability (Campbell, R., 2018). Increasing market share. Therefore some of the
responsibility performed by manager of John Lewis are as follows:
Setting marketing strategy- The senior executive of John lewis is responsible for
developing marketing strategy by considering aims and objectives of company. As the effective
strategy helps to enhance profit, increase market share and growth. The marketing manager may
prepare strategy for specific concern such as to enter new sector, open effective channel of
distribution and to reach wider geographical market area.
Pricing- The price is considered to be monetary value of products and service which
customer's have to pay at time of purchasing. The marketing department of John lewis company

is responsible for deciding effective and attractive prices by adopting different
pricing strategies. In today's competitive environment, John Lewis is leading retail sector
company as their prices of products and services are affordable as compared to competitors.
Market research- The most important responsibility of marketing department is proper
analysis and survey of market. As research help managers of John Lewis to identify market
opportunities and get to know about needs of customer's. As there are many competitors for John
Lewis so market research help them to analyse about strength and weaknesses which will help to
increase customer base (Cavusgil, and et. al., 2014). Also, the research conducted by marketing
department is helpful for finance and sales department to take necessary decisions in effective
manner.
Selling- The main function of marketing department is to create and develop products
and services as per customer's needs and wants. Effective marketing strategy helps to develop
good brand image of product among customer's and increase level of awareness in market for
customer's by attractive promotional tools such as personal selling, offers, discounts and many
more. Also John lewis emphasis on maintaining availability of products with suppliers and
retailers so that customer's don't switch over to another brand.
1.2 The key elements of the marketing function and their interrelationship with other functions of
an organisation.
The term marketing is not only confined to selling of product, also it is concerned with
management of business operations from customer's perspective in effective manner (Cohen,
2005). It is essential element for organisations as this assist managers in getting ample of
information regarding, customer's, suppliers, product and competitors. Also, marketing function
is interrelated with each other functional aspects of organisation. The various functions are
finance, research & development, human resource management and production department.
These functions of John Lewis Company are interrelated to marketing function which are
discussed below:-
Marketing and Production Department: The marketing department of every
organisation assists in collection of information for customer's expectation and requirements.
Along with this it also helps company to have understanding about market situation, consumer
perception regarding existing product and quality which is further transmitted to production

department. In context of John Lewis company marketing management assist
production by providing necessary information as this will help in making required changes in
improving quality of products and services. Also, with the help of marketing department analyse
can be done as to know where and whom to sell their products (Dioko, 2016).
Marketing and Finance Department: Finance is important aspect for every business
organisation success and growth by effective utilisation of resources. The crucial role of finance
manager is to control and allocate financial activities of organisation in effective manner. Also
provides funds on time to other departments to carry their roles and responsibilities. To develop
and effective leadership firstly, leader can make improvement and development in their own
competencies which is beneficial to them. Finance and marketing department are considered as
most essential pillars as this helps in overall growth and profitability. With reference to John
Lewis, marketing department gets adequate funds from finance department for carrying out
promotional and marketing activities in efficient manner. On the other hand, marketing manager
helps finance department to set prices of their various product lines which will be inclusive of
profit margin.
Marketing and Human Resource Department: The human resource department main
function is to select and place right person on right job as per their experience and education. The
role of human resource manager is to fill vacant position in company by hiring highly talented
and skilled candidate. Whereas marketing department helps human resource manager in
attracting prospective candidates towards John Lewis company as they will help in achieving
objectives effectively and efficiently (Duffett, 2017). In context of John Lewis, human resource
manager is concerned with framing effective and attractive incentive packages for employees
according to their work and productivity. As John Lewis company is leading retail sector
company so human resource managers must install various software and application to monitor
performance of employees and provide bonus accordingly. Also human resource department
helps marketing department in increasing their volume of sales by selection of most efficient
candidate. Along with this different promotional tools of marketing can be utilised for suitable
candidate for vacant position.
Marketing and Research & Development Department: Customer is considered as
king of market so it is necessary to fulfil needs and expectation in effective way. The research
and development department provide managers with insights and ideas for development of

innovative products and services. The role of marketing department is apply
different promotional tools for promotion and advertising of products to grab attention of more
and more consumers. Also, the research and development department provides necessary
information of market which helps company to know about their competitors in market and assist
them in rendering quality of services to customer's (Gillespie, , 2015). In context of John Lewis
Company there is effective coordination among both departments as it is helpful in gathering
information for their products from prospective customer's in market. For both growth and
development research and development department is very essential tool for John Lewis
company. Both marketing and research & development department are working together for
creating a brand of the organisation.
Marketing department and IT department: In present scenario, the business
environment is very complex and dynamic which has direct impact on operations of company
The marketing department of John Lewis company is directly related to IT department. In order
to implement business activities effectively it is important to have proper coordination with IT
department. This department helps marketing team to grab attention of customer's by creating
and developing attractive websites to grab attraction of customer's at marketplace as this helps in
increasing profitability and goodwill of company. Further IT Department assist marketing team
in evaluation of data which is done with the help of various software. Also, this department
make work easy for marketing manager as this help in finding out results in most efficient way.
Marketing department provides information to IT department regarding their competitors
strategies. Further with this, they pass an information to IT department for giving their best on
their task and to adopt new technologies for dealing with adverse situations and cut throat
competition.
ACTIVITY B
2.1 Different tactics used by the businesses to achieve their objectives
Every business organisation has different organisation culture and environment which
apply various tactics to accomplish business objectives. The John Lewis company which is large
scale company with revenue of £10.2 billion utilises 7 P's of marketing mix in their marketing
planning process with the motive to achieve organisational objectives of John Lewis Company.
Another organisation such as Marks & Spencer of UK which is multinational retail sector

company and is competitor of John Lewis Company which utilises Market
segmentation process to attain objectives of both companies (Griffitts, 2016). Their are various
tactics and tools which are applied by managers of John Lewis Company includes developing
plan, monitor plan, motivate stakeholders and measure progress on time to time basis. Further
these tactics leads to overall growth and development of the company in effective manner. In
John Lewis, the management of the company can make improvement in its products and
commodities, pricing strategies, promotional channels and others. With the help of this, they can
effectively attain their business objectives. In this, they can make innovation and improvement in
their existing products and services, use effective pricing strategies and use various channels of
promotion so that they can provide information about their products services to their customers
and target audiences.
2.2 Marketing mix of John Lewis Company and Marks & Spencer
Marketing mix is concerned with placing the right product or various products at
appropriate place at right time and at effective price (Groucutt, 2015). The elements of marketing
mix includes product, price, place, people, promotion, process and physical evidence. Both the
organisation follow marketing mix which comprises of 7 P's which are explained in the table
beneath:-
Basis of marketing
mix
John Lewis Company Marks & Spencer
Promotion The promotional strategies adopted
by John Lewis managers are very
innovative as compared to their
competitors. It has used festivals and
occasions for creating advertisements
that company uses at the year end.
Also they use emotional approach to
appeal and influence customer's. The
well known campaigns of John Lewis
involves The bear, Monty the
Penguin, The bear and the Hare and
M&S selects marketing
strategy properly with the
objective to align their
advertisement campaign with
in-store and digital marketing
strategy. The managers of
M&S focuses on providing
common messages on all
communication channels. The
company uses TV ads, print
media and social media

Buster the Boxer. They have
generated million of views on
YouTube for favourite ad in UK. The
John Lewis is also associated with
Olympic games as it is used to
increase awareness of brand among
large number of customer's (Kladou,
and et. al., 2016). The company also
entice customer's to buy more
products and achieve loyalty status
which will allow them to get certain
amount of free purchase of products.
campaign. For
promotion purpose company
also uses its own website to
promote their brands for kids,
women and men. Special
discounts are given to loyal
customer's for promoting
season sale. M&S have their
own loyalty program “ sparks”
in which points are added on
every purchase and later these
points can be redeemed at
stores of M&S.
Process Their are various processes in place
which ensures smooth functioning of
John Lewis. Some of processes
includes dispatch of products and
services from manufacturing plants to
warehouses of company. After that
products are sent to retail stores so
that customer's can buy them. Also,
the website of John Lewis allows
customer's to browse, select and shop
from online stores or website (Lane,
2015).
The stores of M&S are
available at malls and sub-
urban areas which are
attractive and organised
properly as compared to other
stores pantaloons, Madame,
lifestyle and many more. The
stores of M&S are divided into
floors as they have separate
sub-sections for gifts, flowers,
clothing and other home
accessories. Along with this
customer's can buy stuff from
online purchase by signing into
website of M&S which means
online shopping. Customers
can earn reward points by
loyalty programmes which can

be used in future
for purchase at stores of
company.
People John Lewis company emphasis on
both customer's and their employees.
They make sure that customer's gets
good shopping experience whenever
they visit John Lewis stores. The
company has more than 38000
employees as their part of
organisation (Larson, 2015). Also,
staff members of John Lewis are
well-trained so that queries and
problems are looked into effectively.
The company has 1000 stores
in 50 countries and provides
employment to around 83000
employees. The human
resource manager of M&S
pays special attention to their
employees by following
competitive payment policy
which also helps in retain
employee's for long term. On
the basis of performance
company rewards their
employees so as to boost
performance of them at
individual level. Also, M&S
provides benefits like
insurance, pension, share buy
to its employees. The company
also focuses on diversity at
each outlet by bringing female
friendly policies with the
objective to promote and
encourage women
employee's .
Physical evidence The major and biggest physical
evidence of John Lewis is their retail
brand. The stores have attractive
The physical evidence for
M&S is their physical and
online stores. The outlets have

interior, distinct look, ambience and
environment. Also, they are customer
friendly because their motive is to
make customer comfortable at stores
while shopping. Shopping bags,
loyalty cards and in-house brands can
be considered as physical part of
brand (Malhotra, 2015).
good ambience,
artefacts, and symbols. The
packaging, brochures,
uniforms,business cards and
website are considered to be
important factors for physical
presence of M&S company.
ACTIVITY C
3.1 Detail marketing plan for John Lewis
A marketing plan is a blueprint for operational activities which provides advertising
strategy to be implemented in the organization. It is prepared to raise the awareness about
products or services of an entity to reach target market. It is prepared on the basis of overall
marketing strategy. Generally, it is prepared in a document which may contain plans to be
implemented monthly, quarterly or yearly. It ca be adjusted according to needs of the
management making it flexible. Furthermore, it also states directions and guidance in the form of
actions to be taken (Muller, 2019). Along with this, various methods and techniques through
which decisions can be made are also included in this. It comprises number of elements which
are as follows:
Company overview: John Lewis is a company engaged in retail business which is
situated at London, England, UK. It deals in number of goods ranging from giftware, clothing,
food, financial services, etc. It is one of the preferred brand in UK and is planning to introduce a
new product in market named “Lewis' burger”
Vision: It has a vision of taking the product to new heights by making increase awareness
and provide product of high quality that will provide high perceived value to customers.
Mission: The mission statement of John Lewis “to become global leader”. The company
has been focusing on its products to improve the quality as it believes that this is the only way
through which it can have huge customers from different places around the world.

Objectives: Main objective of John Lewis is to capture increased market
share and survive tough competition by going beyond national boundaries. In order to achieve it
goals, it has opted for SMART objective for the introduction of new product. The market that it
is targetting to capture in coming 5 years is 35% of existing with the application techniques,
digitalisation and strategies .
Product range: It has its considerable presence in many international parts of the world
apart from UK. It provides clothes, food, gifts, etc.
Market analysis and research: John Lewis should conduct a detail market research in
order to obtain information about in which location it can launch its products. This will help in
understanding needs of customers to make goods which will provide high level of satisfaction.
STP approach: It is the abbreviated form of Segmentation, targeting and positioning. It
helps in building a nexus between market and company's strategies (Pappas, 2017). The main
aim of this process is to help the organization in formulating marketing mix which ca be applied.
John Lewis ' STP is as follows:
Segmentation: This involved segregating a whole market in small set or groups who
have demand for a product. John Lewis has done segmentation of new product on following
facts:
 Behavioural segmentation including occasion segmentation.
 Demographic segmentation on the basis of age group: Young generations are
more into junk foods as compared to aged ones.
Targeting: This is about choosing a particular market on which the company wants to
focus or target. Group of people can be chosen by it to whom it wants to sell its products or
services (Pike, 2015). It is based on a detail market research which provides information about
which group people are more interested in the products. John Lewis is targeting people between
the age group of 15 to 35 years.
Positioning: It means the place of a product according to perceptions or opinions of
customers. This helps in differentiating goods of particular brand from the rest. Also, it increases
brand image and recognition. John Lewis will be using new technologies and taste to attract
more customers (Pike, 2016).