Coursework 2: Analysis of Marketing Function for Drive Smart Product

This assignment analyzes the marketing function's role in the success of Sabre Insurance's Drive Smart product, a telematics-based car insurance offering. The analysis begins with a brief context of Sabre Insurance, its market position, and the Drive Smart product. The core of the assignment explores how the marketing function contributes to understanding the product's future opportunities and threats. It emphasizes the importance of environmental analysis, SWOT, and PESTLE analysis in identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The assignment also highlights the role of marketing in building brand awareness, increasing sales, and fostering customer trust. Finally, the assignment concludes with recommendations for improving the marketing of Drive Smart, ensuring its long-term viability and competitiveness within the insurance market.

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Brief Context:
The company which has been chosen for the research and analysis can be stated to
be the Sabre insurance. The firm is one of the most popular insurance companies as present
around the United Kingdom and has various offerings present which can cater to all kinds of
audiences. However, the company choses to specialize in the car insurance market. In line
of this, it can be mentioned that the firm, is listed on the London Stock exchange and also
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forms a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The company has been found by Angus Ball
and Keith Morris back in the year 1982 (Sabre.co.uk ,2019). The company underwent
various transformations and in line of this, it could also be understood that it was in the year
December 2017, that the company decided to undergo the Initial Public offering which will
help the firm in becoming public. Moreover, the firm comprises of various brands as well like
the GoGirl, Insure2Drive and the Drive Smart which will assist in ensuring that the firm will
successfully be able to cater to all the targeted audiences. Additionally, the company has
also registered to have earned an income of £49.6 million back in the year 2018.
Introduction
The function of marketing holds utmost important in any business and any firm which
wants to ensure success in the long run would be required to ensure that they engage in the
functioning of marketing through which they will be able to create awareness in the eyes of
the customers and in a similar manner be able to increase the overall sales and operations
of the firm (Chonko & Hunt, 2018). Hence, in the particular section, the importance of
marketing as a function will be analyzed and the usefulness of the marketing as a function in
understanding the overall validity of a product or a service will also be examined. Hence,
first, the particular section will undertake the analysis of a product or a service and then in
addition to this, it will be understanding how the function of marketing helps in understanding
the overall future of a product and is validity in the long run. This will then be followed by the
application of the theoretical aspect to the chosen product. Certain recommendations will
then be provided in order to enable the firm to improve its overall operations and to ensure
that marketing can be used in a better manner to improve the product life cycle and the
overall validity.
Analysis
Identification of the product
The product which has been chosen for the purpose of the analysis is the Drive
Smart. Through this particular product, the firm tends to install mobile sized telematics
gadget in the car and measure the different aspects like speed and breaking. In case the
firm observes that the driver is a safe driver, then in such a scenario, they will be rewarded
for it and in lieu of this, at Drive Smart the different drivers will be provided with greater value
car insurance. Hence, this product can be stated to be highly comprehensive in nature
whereby the safe drivers often get a better deal for themselves. The company not only
measures the length of the trip, but also measures the timing of the night time driving, the
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congestion capacity, the number of brakes which a particular customer makes use of, it also
comprises of speeding and the most common roads which are used by the firm. The gadget
sends the particular data to the firm and in line of this, the score against road safety is
provided. Additionally, the Drive Smart Box also acts as a free theft tracker. The benefits of
scoring high on this is that, the device helps in understanding how safe is one driving and
then lowering the premium accordingly (Sabre.co.uk ,2019)..
Contribution of the marketing function in understanding the future opportunities and
threats for this product
According to Gummesson (2017), the reason why the marketing function improves
an overall success outcome of the product and leads to better analysis of the threats as well
as the opportunities is because, it can be stated to be a comprehensive function which not
only assists in understanding which strategies to apply in a workplace which will go a long
way in helping the firm to come up with better product and to promote the product in the
market but also goes a long way strategically planning for the overall success of the product
in the long run. When a product is planned to be launched in the market then, it becomes
considerably important for the firm to ensure that it is successfully able to study and focus
into every aspect of the product as it will help in ensuring that the firm is able to find
considerable success in the long run. Hence, marketing ensures that along with the exterior
aspect of promotion, the overall sustainability of the product and its validity will also be
understood effectively.
The marketing function forms a crucial function of an organization and in line of this,
it becomes important for the firm to undertake an external analysis as a part of the marketing
function in order to be able to ensure that they are able to form a right strategy for the firm.
The Marketing function often makes use of tools as well as techniques of the Strategic
Management like the SWOT analysis which helps it in gaining a comprehensive idea about
the overall standing of the firm currently, its strengths and weaknesses along with the overall
opportunities as well as weaknesses which lie in the realm of the firm (Weinstein & Pohlman,
2015). Through the SWOT analysis and similar tools of PESTLE analysis, any firm under the
marketing function will be able to undergo the following activities.
It includes brainstorming, strategic planning and decision making. These steps go a
long way in ensuring that an overall analysis of the product which is in focus takes place and
that the product is strategically planned for. This then goes a long way in responding to the
latest trends, implement the new technology and deal with the different operations of the
competitors.
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Moreover, marketing also goes a long way in assisting a firm to build on the strengths
of the product which is being advertised and in addition to this, help the firm in gaining a
sustained competitive advantage (Heding, Knudtzen & Bjerre, 2015). Moreover, the
marketing function can also be stated to minimizing the overall weaknesses of the product
as well by helping the firm to identify the different shortcomings which the firm might be
facing and then assist in prior identification and then minimization of the particular weakness
which will help the product to survive better in the long run.
In addition to this, the most important aspect of the Marketing function is to seize the
opportunities which exist. By getting into the different brainstorming and related decision
making sessions, a firm would be successful in ensuring that they are successfully able to
identify which aspects of the product will assist in better identification. Moreover, while
conducting SWOT Analysis under the marketing function, the new opportunity as per the
company standards are identified. Moreover, as a designated procedure the Marketing
function also outlines the counteracting threats which may be faced by a business and helps
in the formation of a plan which will cater to these opportunities and will counteract the
threats which exist in the workplace (Baker, 2016).
In addition to this, the marketing function helps in increasing the overall awareness in
regard to a particular product which also goes a long way in improving the overall popularity
of a particular product in the long run. By raising the awareness of a particular product, one
can increase their target audience and in line of this, they will be able to make the product
sustainably competitive which tends to improve the opportunities as faced by the product in
the long run. Additionally, it also assists in increasing the sales of the product (Wagner &
Eggert, 2016). When the marketing is carried out effectively, the sales of a particular product
in the market tends to increase and in line of this, it becomes better for the firm to face its
overall consequences easily and thereby overcome the different types of competitors which
exist in the workplace.
Another important function of marketing, which assists a firm can be stated to be the
fact that, marketing helps to build the trust amongst the different customers (Dickson, 2016).
This means that, as the business environment is very competitive in nature, the marketing
function assists the firm in ensuring that, the customer trust in the organization increases
considerably and that, in case the firm faces any problem in the future or there exists a
product failure, then the different customers do not get panicked and instead have faith in
the overall operations of the company effectively. Hence, as marketing is assisting the firm
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in creating an overall trust amongst its different products as well as the services, this goes a
long way in ensuring that the firm will be successfully able to deal with any barriers or
opportunities which lie in the face of the firm in the long run.
Hence, in line of the product which has been chosen, it can be understood that the
function of marketing will go a long way in ensuring that, the firm is successfully able to
spread the awareness of the product and help in building a better future of it (Bowie et al.,
2016). The manner in which the marketing function goes a long way in ensuring that the
opportunities and weaknesses can be identified can be stated to be as follows:
1. By conducting an environmental analysis: When the environmental analysis is
conducted under the marketing function, it became relatively easier for the
Sabre Insurance to be able to identify any opportunities of threats which lie in
the scope of the firm and might thereby lead to an alarm for the firm which will
assist in mitigating these threats or opportunities easily and may also be able
to ensure that the firm is able to attain success in the long run. Additionally,
the environmental analysis function also goes a long way in ensuring that the
product is successful in the market in the long run (Johnsen, 2018).
2. By undergoing test marketing: The marketing function also assists in ensuring
that, the firm can undergo a test marketing for the product which will go a long
way in assisting the organization to identify the different threats and
opportunities which lie in the path of the firm. In addition to this, once the
product undergoes a test marketing, it will be able to ensure that, all the
parameters of the particular product are tested successfully and that, the
organization is able to meet with the needs of the firm in the long run and are
able to check that the organization does not face any issue in the long run
(Morschett, Schramm-Klein & Zentes, 2015).
3. By testing the demographics of the target market: When the organization will
be successfully able to understand the response of the target market with
respect to the specific product then it is in this case that they will be able to
ensure that the firm is able to attain long term success and that, any
opportunity if lies within the scope of the firm should be undertaken
successfully.
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4. By surveys: Moreover, through the function of marketing, for Sabre, the
different surveys can be conducted which will go a long way in ensuring that
the firm will be successfully able to identify whether the product matches with
the needs of the different customers. In addition to this, surveys also assist in
gaining considerable feedback on the kind of product which may be there for
the customers in the long run.
Hence, the function of marketing can be understood to be a rather comprehensive
function which not only assists in the promotion of the product but also helps in the
identification of the threats as well as the opportunities for the organization.
Analyse how the marketing function improves this product or service, to maximize
future opportunities and minimize future threats.
As understood from the previous section, that the function of marketing is a
comprehensive function which goes a long way in assisting an organization to achieve their
overall objectives. The section analyzed how a firm usually benefits from the function of
marketing and the manner in which it is able to ensure that any opportunity or threat lying in
the business environment, is easily identified by the function of marketing. However,
according to Lovelock and Patterson (2015), the marketing function not only assists in
improving the overall function of the identification of opportunities as well as the threats but
also help in maximizing the opportunities and minimizing the different threats as available.
The Sabre insurance can make considerable use of the particular marketing function in order
to determine the different threats as well as the opportunities which lie within the realm of a
particular product. However, as per Bagozzi et al. (2018), it will also assist in understanding
the overall ways in which the firm will easily be able to maximize the opportunities which
exist and minimize the threats as well.
The manner in which the firm has been able to use the marketing function for its
overall benefit can be stated to be as follows:
The marketing as a function can be used by the Sabre insurance to be able to
identify the overall validity of the different products and to identify whether these products will
be successful in the future or nor. In addition to this, the marketing as a function can also be
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used to understand the manner in which a particular product or a service has been able to
perform in the past and then, based on this, its performance in the future can be easily
estimated.
Moreover, the marketing function also assists in identifying the strengths of the product
through the procedure of feedback, this means that when the customer will provide a
feedback regarding a particular product, then this data provides the strengths as well as the
weaknesses of the product and then, these can be either harnessed or mitigated or they can
be used to ensure that the overall strength of the firm is worked upon.
Lastly, the marketing as a function can also be made use of to, promote the product
and build the trust of the different customers towards the brand (Baker & Saren, 2016).
Through this initiative, the organization will be successfully able to see to it that, in case
there is a potential threat in the business environment, then the brand will be able to
overcome this threat due to the trust which has been built upon by the marketers in the
product. Hence, it can be understood that, in any firm the role of marketing can be stated to
be very crucial and in line of this, it can be rightfully be understood that, any firm which aims
to attain success needs to see to it that they make use of the function of marketing in all the
aspects of the firm so as to be able to ensure that it is able to not only identify the different
threats or opportunities which are being faced by the firm but also ensure that, it is being
able to plan accordingly and work towards ensuring that all the opportunities of the firm are
worked upon and harnessed as per the capabilities of the firm but all the weaknesses of the
firm are mitigated (Bagozzi et al., 2018).
Recommendations to improve the function of marketing in an organization.
In line of this, it can be rightfully stated that, Sabre Insurance would be required to
ensure that they are successfully able to undertake the following steps which will assist them
in attaining success in the long run:
 Place marketing as the core function of all the operations: The marketing needs to be
kept at the core function of all the different operations through which an organization
undergoes so that all the operations are carried out strategically and are able to
provide considerable benefits to the firm in the long run (Moutinho & Vargas-
Sanchez, 2018).
 Ensure that adequate traditional as well as modern techniques of marketing are
chosen: Although undertaking the modern techniques of marketing can be
considered to be relevant for the firm, however, it is to be noted that, the organization
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will be required to adopt the traditional methods of marketing as well so as to ensure
that it can include a comprehensive traditional marketing mix as well which will go a
long way in ensuring that the firm will be able to meet the needs of the individuals
conveniently (Chernev, 2018).
 Continue the activity of marketing even after the sales has taken place: After the
sales procedure is done, the firm needs to ensure that it continues to market its
goods effectively as this will help in ensuring that the firm is able to ensure success.
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Referencing must be completed before submission
All sources must be referenced in the body of your answer as well as in your reference list. See
the 945 Specimen coursework assignment and answer for examples of how to reference
correctly in text and in your reference list.
References
Books
Bagozzi, R. P., Rosa, J. A., Celly, K. S., & Coronel, F. (2018). Marketing-Management. Walter
de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
Baker, M. J., & Saren, M. (Eds.). (2016). Marketing theory: a student text. Sage.
Bowie, D., Buttle, F., Brookes, M., & Mariussen, A. (2016). Hospitality marketing. Routledge.
Chernev, A. (2018). Strategic marketing management. Cerebellum Press.
Dickson, D. C. (2016). Insurance risk and ruin. Cambridge University Press.
Heding, T., Knudtzen, C. F., & Bjerre, M. (2015). Brand management: Research, theory and
practice. Routledge.
Lovelock, C., & Patterson, P. (2015). Services marketing. Pearson Australia.
Morschett, D., Schramm-Klein, H., & Zentes, J. (2015). Strategic international management (pp.
978-3658078836). Springer.
Moutinho, L., & Vargas-Sanchez, A. (Eds.). (2018). Strategic Management in Tourism, CABI
Tourism Texts. Cabi.
Journals
Baker, M. J. (2016). What is marketing?. In The Marketing Book (pp. 25-42). Routledge.
Chonko, L. B., & Hunt, S. D. (2018). Reflections on ethical issues in marketing management:
An empirical examination. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, 28(1), 86-95.
Gummesson, E. (2017). From relationship marketing to total relationship marketing and
beyond. Journal of Services Marketing, 31(1), 16-19.
Johnsen, T. E. (2018). Purchasing and supply management in an industrial marketing
perspective. Industrial Marketing Management, 69, 91-97.
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Wagner, S. M., & Eggert, A. (2016). Co-management of purchasing and marketing: Why, when
and how?. Industrial Marketing Management, 52, 27-36.
Weinstein, A., & Pohlman, R. A. (2015). Customer value: a new paradigm for marketing
management. In Proceedings of the 1997 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual
Conference (pp. 132-133). Springer, Cham.
Internet Websites
Sabre.co.uk (2019). Sabre Insurance UK. [online]. Available at: https://sabre.co.uk/ (Retrieved
on: 26 April. 2019).
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Glossary of key words
Analyse
Find the relevant facts and examine these in depth. Examine the relationship between
various facts and make conclusions or recommendations.
Construct
To build or make something; construct a table.
Describe
Give an account in words (someone or something) including all relevant characteristics,
qualities or events.
Devise
To plan or create a method, procedure or system.
Discuss
To consider something in detail; examining the different ideas and opinions about
something, for example to weigh up alternative views.
Explain
To make something clear and easy to understand with reasoning and/or justification.
Identify
Recognise and name.
Justify
Support an argument or conclusion. Prove or show grounds for a decision.
Outline
Give a general description briefly showing the essential features.
Recommend with reasons
Provide reasons in favour.
State
Express main points in brief, clear form.
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