Marketing Mix Comparison and Marketing Plan for H&M Report

This report provides a comprehensive comparison of the marketing strategies employed by H&M and Zara, two prominent players in the fast-fashion industry. The analysis begins with an introduction to the concept of marketing and its significance within an organization, using H&M as a case study. The report then delves into a detailed examination of the marketing mix (7Ps) as applied by both H&M and Zara, comparing their approaches to product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence. The study further explores the marketing plan for H&M, including an executive summary, SWOT and PEST analyses, and strategic recommendations for segmentation, targeting, and positioning, along with an action plan based on the 4Ps. The report concludes by highlighting the importance of a well-defined marketing plan in achieving organizational objectives, particularly in the context of H&M's expansion into new markets.

Marketing Essentials
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
LO 1 ................................................................................................................................................3
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................3
P3 Comparison of the ways in which different organisations apply the marketing mix to their
planning process to achieve business objectives.........................................................................3
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................6
Marketing Plan for the organisation............................................................................................6
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Marketing is an essential function within an organisation and can be defined as the
process of developing interest among individuals to purchase a particular product or service by
undertaking various promotional activities (Akbar, Omar and Wadood, 2017). It can include
promoting, advertising, branding, selling etc. All these activities help organisations in building
their brand in the market and creating awareness. The organisation chosen for this report is H&M
which is a multinational clothing brand, founded in 1947 and known for selling fast fashion
products and accessories for men, women and children. The organisation aims at providing
affordable yet trending fashion products to its customers which has led the company in being
recognised globally and today offers products in nearly across 8 brands in various markets. The
report compares the ways in which different organisations use the 7Ps of marketing to achieve
their overall objectives and a marketing plan for the respective organisation.
MAIN BODY
LO 1
(Covered in PPT)
LO 2
P3 Comparison of the ways in which different organisations apply the marketing mix to their
planning process to achieve business objectives
The marketing mix can be defined as a set of actions that is used by organisations to
promote themselves and their products in the market. It also helps them in achieving goals and
objectives in an effective manner. The marketing mix consists of four basic elements namely-
product, price, place and promotion. All these elements help organisations to achieve their goals
and objectives in their specified target market. H&M should have a strong marketing mix so that
it is able to sustain in a highly dynamic and competitive market. The primary objective of H&M
is to build a business that is sustainable and fulfils the needs of both the present as well as future
(Baker and Saren, 2016). On the other hand, Zara aims at safeguarding the environment by
adopting various eco friendly practices which includes recycling, generating as much less waste
as possible etc. A comparison of the various elements of marketing mix for them is explained
below -
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Marketing Mix H&M ZARA
Product
H&M is a global brand that
offers its products in 5
different categories that serve
as product lines individually
but all the products are sold
under one brand name
(Campbell, Martin and Fabos,
2018). The products are
perceived as high quality as
compared to its competitors.
Zara can be regarded as one of
the most fast growing fashion
brands in the market. The
brand is famous for offering
products that are in sync with
the preference of the
customers. Also, the respective
brand sells products that are
trendy as well as not heavy on
the pockets of the customers.
Price
H&M currently follows the
strategy of competitive pricing
as competitors' data is
available easily since there are
a lot of them in the industry.
Although, the brand is known
for selling its products at
affordable prices, it still sells
them at a higher price against
competitors.
The brand primarily focuses
on average shoppers who seek
stylish clothes at reasonable
prices. This has helped the
brand attract customers from
all over the world and fulfil
their overall needs based on
the segment as well as region
they belong to.
Place
The respective company is
known for selling its products
primarily through two
channels, i.e., online through
its website as well as offline
through a large number of
retailers. The company also
sells its products in partnership
with many other brands which
Zara has a wide presence
across the globe with nearly
7000 stores. Zara came into
existence much before H&M
and is thus more stable and
diversified (Caragher, 2016).
Although, the brand as a lot of
offline stores, it also sells
products through its website
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helps it in reaching out to
increased customer segments
worldwide.
and other online merchants.
Promotion
The company advertises its
products on various social
media channels including
Facebook and Instagram. The
company promotes its products
through various social media
platforms like Youtube,
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
etc. as people are more
engaged on these sites
(Karnaukhova and
Polyanskaya, 2016). Thus,
they have their own pages that
individually have millions of
followers.
Zara is a brand that does not
market itself very much as
compared to its competitors
but depends on the word-of-
mouth promotion as it has
loyal customers. Thus, they
speak about the brand and its
products with other people
which in turn attracts them to
the brand's retail stores that are
widely present across the
world.
People
H&M considers its employees
to be the most valuable
resource for its success and
thus provides them with
various benefits and rewards
from time to time. Also, it has
different people working in
various departments.
The company has a large
number of employees working
for it who range from new
hires and go on to a highly
experienced and skilled staff.
Also, various training and
development programs are
conducted for them in order to
develop new skills enhance the
ones that already exist.
H&M has a quite strong
supply chain and distribution
Zara has large stores in various
malls with products being
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Process system (Eng, 2017). The
company always makes sure
that its products are readily
available at all retail stores as
well as online. When there is a
need for upgrading the
inventory, the company gets
notified by the retailers and
therefore more products are
delivered at their stores
(Nirschl and Steinberg, 2018).
organised according to their
colours. The design of the
stores is very simple and
minimalistic. The stores have
separate departments for
women, men and children
which makes the process of
locating specific products easy
which in turn makes the
experience of the shoppers
memorable.
Physical Evidence
The products are available in a
number of different colour
packagings that can be
identified and located easily by
the customers. The company
also has a user friendly website
that is easy to browse and
allows customers to view high
quality product images
individually that are clicked
from different angles.
The retail stores of the brand
act as its physical evidence
wherein it is easier for the
customers to provide
suggestions and feedbacks.
The stores have an excellent
ambience including the layout,
choice of colours and music
that gives customers a sense of
a luxury brand.
LO 3
Marketing Plan for the organisation
A marketing plan is a document that explains how can an organisation achieve its overall
goals and objectives. It consists of a situation analysis, sales forecast, various promotional
activities, budget etc. A marketing plan helps a organisation to improve its overall performance
and achieve goals as well as objectives by guiding it in an effective and efficient way (Folinas
and Fotiadis, 2017).
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Executive Summary
A marketing plan is essential for H&M is important as the company is planning to launch
a salon in a new market of the United Kingdom in the coming year. For this, the company will
have to adopt various techniques and strategies of promotion to increase its reach among the
people of that specific market. The marketing plan for the respective company is described
below -
Objective
 To introduce salon services in the market of UK within a year in order to enhance profit
share by 20%.
SWOT analysis
Here are the internal situation of the new product is elaborated:
 Strength - In context of M&S there major strength in the regards of their new product
which is salon services as they are global brand name in the market and expansion in new
services proved very much beneficial for them to enhance market share. So they with
help of proper planning and implementation can be able to gain desirable outcomes.
 Weaknesses - To come into new product required through research and development as
consumers always demands something new and exciting from the H&M, so it is very
much potential for them to adopt some new styles in regards of hairs in order to improve
the consumer experiences positively (Okumus and Cetin, 2018)
 Opportunities - The major opportunity in front of H&M that they are one of well known
brand in the market so by using the same they can enlarge into the untapped market. As
presently they expand in the market of UK, after that they can expand in other market too
. so they can enlarge business opportunities in the positive manner.
 Threats - The major threat in front of H&M that they expand in the new market so they
bear the risk of failure. As market and trends changes rapidly so it is very important for
them to plan properly in order to gain desirable outcomes.
PEST analysis
For an organisation it is very much important to analyse the environment and market
opportunities before expanding into the new marketplace (Pappas, 2017). In context of H&M
they expand in the market of UK with the new services which is Salon. In that regards it is very
much important for them to evaluate the political, economic, social and technological factors.
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 Political - In political factors consist of the government policies, rules and regulations
and many more. In context of the H&M they already operated in the market of UK by
recording strong brand presence in market. By proper planning and implementation they
can easily eliminate the negative impacts of changes in the environment.
 Economic - In economic factors consist of the taxes, interest rates and many more. With
the advent of Brexit that raises the rate of products and services into the market. So by
offering the quality services with the help of experts they gain higher level of profitability
in respective factor.
 Social - In social factor consist of the change in taste and preferences of the consumers,
in context of the H&M before opening the Salon in market of UK so it is very important
for them to understand the segment of market and preferences in regards of make up and
hairs.
 Technological factors - To serve the consumers in best way it is very much potential for
an organisation to use advance tools and techniques in positive manner (Perreault, 2018).
In regards of H&M by using the advance tools such as virtual imaging, physical and
concoction advancements, online networking promoting helps respective organisation in
enhancing the experience of consumers positively.
Strategy
Various strategies that can be implemented by the respective company in order to achieve
the objectives which are explained below -
 Segmentation – Segmentation can be defined as the process of dividing a large market
into small segments based on the needs, requirements and expectations of different
people, their behaviour and purchasing power. The respective company has segmented
the market geographically like constructing salons that are easy to locate and are not
very far away from the residential areas.
 Targetting – H&M has planned to focus primarily on youngsters who are conscious
about their looks as well as appearance. Also, the target is to enable the customers to not
be very far from the place where the salons are established.
 Positioning – The respective company has positioned itself as a brand that is affordable
and offers products of highest quality possible (Rowley, 2016). Also, since the brand is
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recognised globally, the prices are not as cheap as local players in the market and define
quality of the products.
Action Plan
The action plan of the respective company has been developed based on the 4Ps which is
described below -
 Product – H&M deals with a large product portfolio and has operations in different
segments. The brand will offer similar services that it offers in its other salons across the
world.
 Price – The prices of the services will be affordable and not heavy on the pocket as the
company is opening a new salon and wants to attract as many customers as possible
(Akbar, Omar and Wadood, 2017). This will help them do so.
 Place – The company should open its salon at places that are selected after a conducting a
thorough research on the same. Also, enough staff for delivering the services should be
hired ensuring that there is no shortage in the personnels.
 Promotion – Since the company is going to launch the salon in a new place, it should use
various online as well as offline channels to promote its services in order to attract more
customers and thus increase overall profits. Social media can be a great platform to
conduct promotions. Also, it can develop a separate microsite that is user friendly and
describes the services the company in detail.
Forecast
Forecasting is essential for H&M before it plans to launch the salon in a new place. This
will not only enable it identify various opportunities in the market but also the challenges that
come associated with it like availability or scarcity of resources etc. During this stage, a budget
can be developed which will give a fair idea of how can the available resources be utilised
effectively and efficiently. The budget for the same is shown below -
PARTICULARS Amount(£)
Trainer 200, 000
Equipments 400000
Marketing 50,000
Safety measures 50,000
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Total 700000
Control
Control is the last stage of a marketing plan and involves an evaluation that is undertaken
by a professional in an effective manner (Campbell, Martin and Fabos, 2018). If any faults or
errors are discovered, they are addressed and rectified so that they not come up again in the
future. The respective company, i.e., H&M should set various standards and deadlines for
different tasks to ensure that they are completed on time and are not delayed. Controlling helps
in setting standards for performance which in turn help in measuring the effectiveness of the
marketing process and can include a rise in the overall sales, improved inflow and outflow of
cash, increased size of customers etc. It is easier for the organisations to measure the customer
responses and identify specific elements of the plan that they want to control (The Control Phase
of the Marketing Plan, 2020). Thus, this is the most important and useful stage of the marketing
plan. A part of this stage also involves ensuring the the marketing efforts that are being made, are
producing acceptable results.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that marketing is an essential part for any
organisation and helps it in achieving overall goals and objectives in an effective manner.
Marketing Mix is a tool that most organisations use to formulate and develop appropriate
strategies for them to gain a competitive edge over competitors in the market. Different
organisations make use of this in their own unique way which is how they are able to
differentiate their products from other brands in the market who sell similar products and
services. A marketing plan can be adopted to ensure that all the activities of a big task are
completed in an efficient manner as it has various phases in it. Thus, in order to expand
themselves in various market worldwide, organisations should develop a strong marketing plan
to ensure that the overall output generated is effective.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Akbar, F., Omar, A. and Wadood, F., 2017. The Niche Marketing Strategy Constructs (Elements)
and its Characteristics-A Review of the Relevant Literature. Galore international journal
of applied sciences & humanities. 1(1). pp.73-80.
Baker, M. J. and Saren, M. eds., 2016. Marketing theory: a student text. Sage.
Campbell, R., Martin, C. and Fabos, B., 2018. Media essentials: A brief introduction. Bedford/St.
Martin's.
Caragher, J. M., 2016. 7 Essentials for a CPA Firm Marketing Program. The CPA Journal.
86(12). p.11.
Eng, P., 2017. Erste Schritte im Online-Marketing. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.
Folinas, D. and Fotiadis, T., 2017. Marketing and Supply Chain Management: A Systemic
Approach. Routledge.
Karnaukhova, N. A. and Polyanskaya, E. V., 2016. Communication and reputation as essentials
for the positioning of an organization. AI & society. 31(3). pp.371-379.
Nirschl, M. and Steinberg, L., 2018. Einstieg in das Influencer Marketing. Springer Fachmedien
Wiesbaden.
Okumus, B. and Cetin, G., 2018. Marketing Istanbul as a culinary destination. Journal of
Destination Marketing & Management. 9. pp.340-346.
Pappas, N., 2017. Effect of marketing activities, benefits, risks, confusion due to over-choice,
price, quality and consumer trust on online tourism purchasing. Journal of Marketing
Communications. 23(2). pp.195-218.
Perreault, W. D., 2018. Essentials of marketing. New York: Mc Graw Hill.
Rowley, J., 2016. Information marketing. Routledge.
Online
The Control Phase of the Marketing Plan. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://smallbusiness.chron.com/control-phase-marketing-plan-67483.html>.
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