Marketing Assessment Report: M&S Marketing Strategy Evaluation

This report presents a comprehensive marketing assessment of Marks & Spencer (M&S), a major UK-based retail company. It begins with an introduction outlining the purpose of the assessment and the significance of marketing analysis for business success. The main body includes a detailed marketing audit, utilizing PESTEL and SWOT analyses to evaluate M&S's external and internal environments, respectively. The PESTEL analysis examines political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors, while the SWOT analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Furthermore, the report analyzes M&S's current marketing strategy, evaluating the product, place, price, and promotion aspects of its marketing mix. Finally, the report proposes two market segmentation strategies to help M&S target specific customer groups and enhance its market performance and profitability. The report concludes with a summary of key findings and recommendations for future marketing initiatives.

Marketing Assessment

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Marketing audit for the identification of current business performances...............................1
Current marketing strategy.....................................................................................................4
Proposal for two set of market segment which helps in targeting business...........................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Marketing assessment is the detail evaluation of different types of products & services and
analysing different aspects of business for the competitive advancement. It is the analysis of
market which includes the internal as well as external factors. It further helps the business to
achieve their goals & objectives. Here, organization analyse the market trends, risk, competition,
entry barrier, opportunities and other resources. Marketing department and top management have
responsibility to develop effective strategy which can help to create product awareness among
the customers and market (Anda and Temmen, 2014). Marks & Spencer selected for the better
understanding of this concepts. It is UK based Retail Company situated in Westminster, London,
United Kingdom. Marks & Spencer founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer.
This report includes various topics such as marketing audit for the analysis of current
marketing strategy of the organization. in addition, it includes the proposal of market
segmentation criteria which can successfully target the customers to increase their demand as
well as profitability.
MAIN BODY
Marketing audit for the identification of current business performances
Organizational Overview:
Marks & Spencer (M&S) is the major British multinational retail company which is
established in Westminster, London. Company majorly deals in cloths, home & food products
and listed in London stock exchange. M&S founded by Michael Marks & Thomas Spencer in the
1884 and they serve across the world.
Marketing Audit: It is a kind of examination which can be done systematic,
independently, comprehensive and periodically. It includes the various aspects such as
company’s objective, strategies and other related activities. With the help of marketing audit,
organization analyse the actual performance of the business. In the Marks & Spencer, manager
conduct marketing audit to identify employees as well as business performance. With the help of
internal or external analysis they identify the actual performance. So they use PESTEL and
SWOT analysis for this and it will be discussed below:
External Environment: It includes those factors which affect the organization from
outside sources and they can impact positive as well as negative. Marks & Spencer use the
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PESTEL analysis for the analysis of external factors which affect the organization in terms of
productivity and profitability (PESTLE analysis, 2016). These factors include the political,
economical, social, technological, environmental & legal and all are discussed below:
Political: This factor includes political stability, taxation, foreign trade policies, exchange
rates etc. It can negatively affect the organization which further impact upon productivity or
profitability. Marks & Spencer follow all the rules and regulations imposed by UK government
which helps the organization to conduct business activity in appropriate manner. If company not
follow the regulations then it will legally affect the business and government take strict action
against the company. It will further affect the operational performances which impact the
profitability.
Economical: It includes the various factors such as inflation, interest rate, exchange rate
etc. These factors would be considered by the organization in order to maximise their
performance and profitability. Manager of Marks & Spencer will analyse these factors and then
take further decision as per the findings. It helps in building price strategy which is affordable for
the customers (Burns, Bush and Sinha, 2014). After analysing economical factors, manager able
to understand the customer's requirements which further helps in increasing their demand. Due to
market fluctuation, it will affect the customer’s purchasing power which automatically impacts
the production or profit margin of the Marks & Spencer.
Social: This factor includes the Customer's belief, attitude, value or buying behaviour of
the population. Along with this, age distribution, population growth, culture, lifestyle, age,
gender, income level etc. Which affect the organization and their decision making process.
Manager of Marks & Spencer have to analyse these factors and then develop effective strategy
which help the business to meet with their organizational goal & objectives. Marks & Spencer is
a multinational organisation so manager has to focus on their marketing strategies which develop
the customer demand all over the world. It will further increase the productivity or profitability
of the organization which helps in achieving business goals & objectives.
Technological: Change in the technology positively impacts the organization because it
will increase the efficiency as well as effectiveness. With the help of this, business introduces
new products in the market. Company deals in retail sector where customer prefers those
organizations that is flexible with the technology because it helps in performing operational
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activity. Marks & Spencer use latest technology such as online delivery at customer door step,
self swipe machines at cash counters etc. it helps in attracting customers.
Environmental: This factor includes the change in the climate, weather, environment
protection laws etc. It can negatively affect the organizational activity so manager of Marks &
Spencer have to analyse these factors carefully and then develop strategy effectively. They make
sure that, all the products which is going to sell to the customer is environment friendly and not
harm the consumer as well.
Legal: It includes the various rules, regulations and legislation which is mandatory to
follow by the organisations in order to perform their business activities and reduce the
governmental interferes. Manager of Marks & Spencer obey all the policies of government and
regulation such as minimum wage to employees, discrimination at workplace, health and safety
at work, ethical consideration in marketing activities etc. as it helps the organization to perform
their operational activities in effective manner (Ding, Eliashberg and Stremersch, 2016).
Internal Environment: It includes those factors which affect the organization within
internal operations. Manager required information which further helps in taking effective
decision making. So, management use the SWOT analysis to determine the organizational
strength, weakness, opportunity or threats. Marketing department use this tool for the marketing
audit and it will describe below:
Strength Weakness
 Marks & Spencer is well known brand
among the customers which helps in
their marketing strategy and generate
higher profit margin.
 Company have huge product line which
attract the large group of people
because they offer different varieties of
products.
 Due to revenue decreasing problem in
the organization. Marks & Spencer
have to close their various stores which
affect the profit margin of the company.
This problem develops due to lack of
ineffective marketing strategy. It
becomes barrier for the company to
achieve their goals & objectives.
 Supply chain management of the
company is very poor which affect the
business operations and their brand
name.
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Opportunity Threats
 Company plan to expand their business
in other regions but before expanding
they analyse that country’s culture,
values and lifestyle. So manager of
Marks & Spencer have to develop
effective according to it.
 Marks & Spencer plan to introduce new
collection of clothes through targeting
new segment of the market. Along with
this, provide online method for the
promotion which attracts the large
group of people.
 In the retail sector, there is huge
competition in the market which
becomes threats for the organization.
 Marketing trends will change according
to the time. So manager have to update
with market trends which further helps
in developing marketing strategy. If it
is not happen then it will affect the
production as well as profitability.
Current marketing strategy
Marketing Strategy: It is the plan which formulate by the organization in order to
promote their organizational products & services in the market. It further helps in achieving their
business goals & objectives and in future it increase their brand value. For the analysis of
marketing strategy, manager of Marks & Spencer have to evaluate four aspects such as product,
place, price and promotion (Giovanardi and Lucarelli, 2018). Basically, organization have to
analyse their marketing strategy with the help of marketing mix tool and it will be discussed
below:
Product: Marks & Spencer is the largest retail sector organization which operates their
business across the world. Company have huge product line which includes the various products
as per the consumers’ requirement. They offer product for the all categories age group such as
man, woman or children. For the satisfaction of clients, company produce top quality products
which help in increasing their loyalty for the organization. In the UK market, there are various
supermarkets available which offer groceries items and it has fresh and best quality products. so
manager have to make sure that, they supply goods from those suppliers who prove good quality
product (Hall, 2014).
Place: Marks & Spencer is the multinational brand which has worldwide stores and offer
variety of products to their customers. Organization has to ensure that, they choose location as
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per the demand of product and the requirements. Marks & Spencer sell their products with the
help of two modes such as online as well as offline. It will increase the revenue of the company
because customer can purchase through both method. Online mode save the time of visiting
stores, that’s why online shopping is in trends because it saves the time as well as efforts.
Company provide the door step delivery option which is very popular in the current market
trend. This strategy helps in attracting more customers towards their organization and generates
revenue. Marks & Spencer use the Omni channel distribution system where they linked with
online and offline stores to facilitate customers to access the products (Khojastehpour and Johns,
2014).
Price: Marks & Spencer have to retain existing and attract new customers, so they have
to set affordable or suitable price range for their products. Managers have to make sure that,
product price meet with the customer expectation. Currently manager of Marks & Spencer use
the competitive pricing model to set their product price which meet with the customer objectives.
It will develop a competition and enhance competitive advantage in the market. Few product
prices are higher than their competitors because Marks & Spencer provide unique features and
customers are ready to pay that amount. Company provide online delivery option along with
some additional charges which is called delivery charges. Managers have to ensure that, they set
reasonable price which is suitable for all customers (Smith and Wong, 2016).
Promotion: Organization has to use effective promotional strategy which helps in
increasing their sales. Marketing strategy helps in creative awareness among the customer
regarding their products and its features. Marks & Spencer use various methods to promote their
product which increase the demand. Company use the online as well as offline mode of
promotion such as distributing palpates or advertisement in the T.V, new paper, social media
promotion etc. Organization use various channels such as social media websites including
YouTube, Facebook, Instagram etc. are used to promote products. Other techniques such as
personal selling, sales promotion etc
From the above discussion, manager analyse that marketing strategy helps in determining
the actual performance of the company. Marks & Spencer performing well in the market and
they plan to expand their business in the other location to increase market share. Marks &
Spencer have various competitors such as Macy's Asda, ALDI, Debenhams, John Lewis
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Partnership etc. they all are retail Sector Company so Marks & Spencer wanted to acquire its
share (Lees-Marshment, 2014).
Proposal for two set of market segment which helps in targeting business
Director of the Marks & Spencer ask their marketing department employees to show two
proposals on market segmentation and it is targeted by the organization to attract more customer
and growth in the future.
Marketing Segmentation: This process used by the organisations to select few segment of
the market where they further target to implement various strategy to accomplished their goal &
objectives. It helps the organization to target different types of customers who are willing to buy
products. It is used by the manager of Marks & Spencer and then selects the best segment
through various research which helps in measuring customer demand, needs, requirement and
preferences (Moormanand Day, 2016). There are different types of segments which can be used
by Marks & Spencer in order to achieve market growth and it will be discussed below:
Geographical: Organisations divide the market on the basis of city, state, region, country
etc. Along with this, business segments the market on the basis of rural, urban and sub urban
area. It is beneficial for the Marks & Spencer to launch their products in the new location.
Demographical: When entity divide market on the basis of disposable income, education,
gender, age, religion, family size etc. So it’s comes under the demographic segmentation. It helps
the organization to target their customer in more specific manner (Piercy, 2014).
Psycho-graphic: Organization use this segment on the basis of various traits, attitudes,
lifestyle, similar interest, values and attitude of customers. It will help the business to develop
products as per the market demand and then they focus on building effective strategy for the
implementation.
Behavioural: This market segment used for the similar buying behaviour of customers. It
is used for the division of market on the basis of their knowledge and attitude towards products
& services.
As per the above discussion it has been concluded that, Marks & Spencer have to use
geographic or demographic segment to target the customer. It helps the business to increase their
productivity or profitability and further helps in achieving business goals & objectives (Rowley,
2016).
Proposal:
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There are two sets of proposal which is asked by the director of Marks & Spencer for the
analysis of their marketing strategy and it will be discussed below:
First proposal: Marks & Spencer target the geographic segment which helps in
expanding their business in new location. It increases the market share which further helps in
increasing productivity or profitability of the business in order to achieve their goals &
objectives. Currently Marks & Spencer is not operating in the Latvia country so it is the biggest
opportunity for the organization to expand their business in the new location. Company provide
all the categories item for the customers of Latvia. To open new store in the new country is not
easy it required lots of research and marketing strategy. With the help of marketing strategy,
Marks & Spencer attract large number of customers towards their brand. Because at the time of
entering new brand in the country, consumers not easily accept them so organization has to win
trust through their products quality (Seetanah. and Sannassee, 2015). Everybody knows that,
Marks & Spencer have good market name so they do not required facing this challenge. If this
proposal selected by the Marks & Spencer, then it can provide the future growth and helps in
leading the market share. So company have to majorly focus on their product quality because
initially its matter a lot. It further helps in attaining competitive advantage with the best price
structure. It helps the Marks & Spencer to expand their business in Latvia country with the help
of good quality of product.
Second Proposal: Another proposal is targeting demographic segment which help the
organization to target their customer on the basis of age, gender, income level, education etc.
Marks & Spencer launch new products such as gym clothes for male or female from the age of
17 to 35 because these categories people will take care of their health (Wedel and Kannan,
2016). Before launching new products, Marks & Spencer have to identify the buying behaviour
of customers which helps in building strategy which increase the sales as well as profit margin.
Demographic segment increase the number of customers because organization focus on specific
age group of people. New product also launched for the existing customer it will provide the
options for the clients as well as increase the market growth. When business earn profit take it
will take them on the path of success. So manager of Marks & Spencer have to increase number
of customer which automatically increase the profit margin of the company (West, Ford and
Ibrahim, 2015). Business has to focus on their marketing strategy which increases the demand of
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product in the new location. Current strategy of Marks & Spencer helps in meeting customer
requirements through selecting demographic segments.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it has been concluded that marketing assessment is the process
which helps in analysing different aspect of the market. It used to measure marketing activity and
its effectiveness. Marketing audit helps the organization to identify those internal as well as
external which affect the business in positive as well as negative way. Company use the PESTEL
or SWOT analysis tool for effective results. Organization formulates the marketing strategy
which includes product, place, price and promotion. Director required analysing different
marketing segment which profit future growth.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Anda, M. and Temmen, J., 2014. Smart metering for residential energy efficiency: The use of
community based social marketing for behavioural change and smart grid
introduction. Renewable energy. 67. pp.119-127.
Burns, A. C., Bush, R. F. and Sinha, N., 2014. Marketing research (Vol. 7). Harlow: Pearson.
Ding, M., Eliashberg, J. and Stremersch, S., 2016. Innovation and marketing in the
pharmaceutical industry. SPRINGER-VERLAG NEW YORK.
Giovanardi, M. and Lucarelli, A., 2018. Sailing through marketing: A critical assessment of
spatiality in marketing literature. Journal of Business Research. 82. pp.149-159.
Hall, C. M., 2014. Tourism and social marketing. Routledge.
Khojastehpour, M. and Johns, R., 2014. Internationalization and relationship marketing: an
introduction. European Business Review. 26(3). pp.238-253.
Lees-Marshment, J., 2014. Political marketing: Principles and applications. Routledge.
Moorman, C. and Day, G. S., 2016. Organizing for marketing excellence. Journal of Marketing.
80(6). pp.6-35.
Piercy, N., 2014. Export Strategy: Markets and Competition (RLE Marketing). Routledge.
Rowley, J., 2016. Information marketing. Routledge.
Seetanah, B. and Sannassee, R. V., 2015. Marketing promotion financing and tourism
development: The case of Mauritius. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management.
24(2). pp.202-215.
Smith, L. C. and Wong, M. A. eds., 2016. Reference and Information Services: An Introduction:
An Introduction. ABC-CLIO.
Wedel, M. and Kannan, P. K., 2016. Marketing analytics for data-rich environments. Journal of
Marketing. 80(6). pp.97-121.
West, D. C., Ford, J. and Ibrahim, E., 2015. Strategic marketing: creating competitive
advantage. Oxford University Press, USA.
Online
PESTLE analysis. 2016. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.business-to-you.com/scanning-the-environment-pestel-analysis/>
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