Marketing Essentials Report: Analysis of Marketing Processes and Roles

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of marketing essentials, focusing on EE Limited. It begins with an introduction to marketing concepts, exploring current and future trends like mass marketing, online marketing, and the increasing importance of mobile marketing. The report then delves into different marketing processes, including situation analysis, strategy formulation, marketing mix decisions, and implementation. Key roles and responsibilities of a marketing manager are outlined, along with their interrelation with other functional departments such as operations, finance, and sales. The report emphasizes the importance and value of marketing, highlighting its impact on sales, standard of living, employment, and company reputation. Furthermore, the report analyzes the application of the marketing mix to achieve organizational objectives, providing a detailed marketing plan for EE Limited. The report concludes with a discussion of the significance of effective interrelationships between different functional departments to ensure overall business success.

Marketing
Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Marketing concept and current & future trends....................................................................1
1.2 Different marketing processes...............................................................................................3
1.3 Key roles and responsibilities of marketing manager...........................................................5
1.4 Impact of marketing roles and responsibilities and its interrelation with other functional
department...................................................................................................................................8
1.5 Importance and values of role of marketing.........................................................................9
1.6 Significance of effective interrelationship between different functional departments of an
organisation...............................................................................................................................11
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................13
2(a) ...........................................................................................................................................13
2b) Marketing plan for EE Limited...........................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................21

INTRODUCTION
The process of management through which products or services move from producer to
ultimate consumer is known as marketing. It can be determined as business or actions by which
goods and services are promoted and sold by the means of advertising or research of market. The
process of marketing includes functions of creation, communication, delivery and exchange of
offering that are valuable for customers or partners or may be society at large. EE Ltd. is telecom
company operating in UK which is a division of BT group. It is a mobile network operator and
Internet service provider (Lane, 2016). It was established in 2010 as joint venture between
Deutsche Telekom and Orange S.A. Marketing mix is the combination of various factors which
company controls to induce customers for purchasing its products. It consists of 7P's that play a
vital role in the marketing which are product, place, price, promotion, process, people and
physical evidence. This report throws light on the concept of marketing and its different
processes. Further, it explains the roles and responsibilities of marketing and its interrelationship
with other functional departments of the organisation like HR, finance, production, etc.
Moreover, the present report provides an understanding of extended marketing mix and its
application to achieve the organisational objectives.
TASK 1
1.1 Marketing concept and current & future trends
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Notes :
The methodology used by an organisation which evaluates customer needs and help to
form such strategies to satisfy their demands better than their competitors to gain a competitive
advantage is known as concept of marketing. According to this concept, customers and
satisfaction of their demands is the most crucial element of business in order to achieve goals of
organisation. EE Ltd. uses following current trends of marketing: Mass marketing: For the survival and growth of business, it is essential that large number
of people purchase its products. EE Ltd. needs to spend a huge amount to understand the
big data which will provide knowledge to company about where its media to be placed to
target potential customers of its products (Bennett, A.G., 2010). The mass marketing
efforts are made thoroughly to give a feeling of warmth and locality to the customers. Online marketing: With the emerging technology, marketing through internet has become
very common. The cited organisation has adopted different methods such as online
banners and pop ups to attract more customers. It is important for business to develop
strategies which aids in online marketing of products and services. Word of mouth marketing: It is an ancient type of marketing practice. In this type of
marketing, information regarding the product is transmitted from one person to another
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through oral communication. The marketing team of cited organisation have knowledge
for creating authentic word of mouth for its products. and
 Direct marketing: Digital media such as mobile phones, computers, tablets and laptops
are used for the promotion and advertisement of EE Ltd.'s products and services. Internet
marketing is the most crucial practice of digital marketing whereby customers can be
reached at their homes effectively.
Following are the future trends which will greatly influence marketing practices in the
coming time:
Notes : Mobiles: Mobile phones are going to become the focal point of marketing. It can be seen
that the dependency on mobiles for small to big works have increased tremendously. The
focus is shifting from large screens to smaller ones (William, 2012). This would ensure
establishing personal relationship with the customers. Transparency: With the change in time, customers will become more demanding and
expect transparency from companies. They would tend to seek more organisation's
engagement to ensure brand value and transparency.
 The next internet would be social: Use of social media will change the shape of
marketing. It will become an integral part of marketing practice. Most of the brands
would be seeking full transition of marketing efforts into social channels.
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1.2 Different marketing processes
Notes :
Marketing concept of the cited organisation tends to identify customer needs that are not
fulfilled and then, bringing such products to the market that would satisfy those needs. This
process involves a sequence of steps which includes – identification of opportunities by
analysing the situation, strategy formulation for value proposition, tactical decisions are formed
and then, implementing the plan and monitoring its results (Durmaz, 2011).
1. Analysis of situation: A situation analysis is conducted to identify unfulfilled needs of
customers where EE Ltd. serves. It includes analysis of macro environmental factors that are
external to an organisation and also, micro environmental factors that are related to specific
situation of the cited organisation.
2. Marketing strategy: A strategic plan is formulated after identifying the best opportunity for
customer satisfaction to pursue that opportunity. Market research helps in the selection of target
market and positioning of products within that market segment that will result in value
proposition. Marketing strategy involves the following:
 Market segmentation
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 Selecting the target market i.e. targeting
 Positioning of the product in target segment
 Value proposition to the target market
3. Decision regarding marketing mix: In this step, tactical decisions are made regarding
marketing mix. Following activities are involved in marketing mix decisions:
 Development of product which involves design, specification and production of units
 Pricing decisions (Ormrod, 2014)
 Determining distribution channels
 Developing campaigns for promotional activities
4. Implementation and monitoring: This is the last step after plan has been developed and
product is launched. The results of marketing efforts are monitored continuously. Marketing mix
is required to be modified and accommodated in tune with the changes in market. To fulfil the
needs of customers, only implementation is not sufficient, regular monitoring and adaptation to
changes is also required.
1.3 Key roles and responsibilities of marketing manager
Notes :
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Marketing manager is the person responsible for overseeing functions of marketing
department. Main responsibility of marketing manager is planning and coordinating activities of
marketing such as identification of potential customers, establishing focus groups and developing
campaigns for marketing (Jaffeux, 2012). His main aim is the development of marketing plans
that are in alignment with the business strategy. Key roles and responsibilities of marketing
manager of EE Ltd. include:
 Establishing a healthy working relationship with managers of sales and agency in order to
ensure that products are developed through sales enablement.
 Marketing manager is responsible for demonstrating marketing management, promotion
and advertisement activities of the cited organisation.
 He is required to provide proper feedback and actively participate in the development of
products. Also, he should launch and track performance of products which are offered in
the market.
 Formulation and implementation of marketing strategies which help in the attainment of
cited organisation's goals and objectives.
 He should conduct research and report on external opportunities.
 Marketing manager is required to gain an understanding of existing and potential
customers(Desselle, Zgarrick and Alston, 2016).
 Execution of online and offline marketing practices and their integration.
 Management of customer relationship is crucial for marketing manager.
 Effective management of marketing mix that consists of employees, cost strategy,
product, selling and means of promoting and advertising.
 He ensures that the goods and services of EE Ltd. are delivered on time.
 It is important for marketing manager to collect and analyse data regarding success of
marketing strategies which can take form of sales figures, customer satisfaction, website
hits or other measures.
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Notes :
The key aspects of role of marketing are mentioned as below:
1. Market research: Complete information of customers should be available with marketing
managers which can be collected through various means such as internet, questionnaires,
buying habits of customers, focus groups, interviews, etc.
2. Developing marketing plans and strategy: A marketing plan is formed to ensure
structural approaches that induce marketing manager to take into account all relevant
elements of process of marketing planning (Campbell and Martin, 2015). This includes –
situation analysis, determination of objectives, strategy formation, implementation and
control of activities.
3. Marketing mix management: Marketing manager is responsible for effective
management of marketing mix which includes all tangible elements of marketing –
facilities, product, cost strategy, employees, ways of advertisement and promotion.
4. Customer relationship management (CRM): CRM is the process in which
communication is maintained with the customers during whole process of purchasing.
This helps in retaining current customers and attracting the new ones.
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1.4 Impact of marketing roles and responsibilities and its interrelation with other functional
department
Notes :
All the functional departments of the cited organisation like sales, production, HR,
finance etc. are interrelated with marketing department. It is important to maintain proper
coordination and communication between all these departments so that the objectives of EE Ltd.
can be achieved effectively and efficiently. Marketing and Operations : There exists an intimate relationship between operational
department and marketing department of the cited organisation. The main function of
marketing is to create customer demand and fulfilment of this demand is the main aim of
operation department (Baack, Harris and Baack, 2013). Any conflicting situation between
these two functions can create a mismatch between demand and supply and lead to
inefficiency in production, as a result, customer satisfaction would not be achieved. To
gain competitive advantage and improved profits, marketing and operation department
should work in sync. Marketing and Finance : For effective execution of marketing plans and strategies,
finance is needed. EE Ltd. should ensure proper communication among these
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departments that provide assistance in keeping budget and allow flexibility to marketing
manager. This would also help in reducing wastage of financial resources.
 Marketing and Sales : Sales and marketing department cannot function in isolation with
each other i.e. functions of these departments are complementary to each other. Increase
in revenue is the core function of both these departments (Zikmund and Babin, 2012).
The main aim of marketing is to develop more and more customers for the products of
EE Ltd. by implementing different marketing strategies to attract customer attention and
inducing them to buy these products. An effective sales team is needed to ensure that
efforts of marketing department are not wasted by closing the deals appropriately. For the
success of an organisation, it is imperative that activities of marketing and sales are
aligned
1.5 Importance and values of role of marketing
Notes :
The heart of EE Ltd.'s success lies in marketing as major aspects of business depend on
successful marketing. It is the key process of research, promotion and selling of products and
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services of cited organisation to the target audience (Jacobs, MacRae and Sladyk, 2014). In the
context of EE Ltd. importance and values of marketing are explained below : Higher sales : Marketing is helpful in transfer and movement of goods from producers to
consumers. It provides information to the producers about the needs and preferences of
customers to ascertain the products that can be offered. Helps to raise and maintain standard of living of community : Paul Mazur defines
marketing as delivering standard of living to the society. The emergence of the latest
marketing techniques have helped to attain living standards of even poor sections of the
society. Creating employment : As marketing is complex process, number of people are involved
in the process in some way or other. The major functions of marketing consists of selling,
transportation, buying, warehousing, financing etc. and these activities are performed by
large number of individuals. The large scale production and industrialisation has widened
the role of marketing that have resulted in creating employment opportunities for many
people. Company's reputation : The success of cited organisation lies on a solid reputation
(Terpstra, Foley and Sarathy, 2012). Marketing helps in building brand name recognition
and as reputation increase, business expands and sales also grows which is essential for
an organisation to be successful. Healthy competition : Marketing helps in fostering healthy competition in the market as
marketing of pricing not only reaches customers but also competitors existing in industry.
Marketing helps to keep pricing competitive pricing for the cited organisation to win over
consumers before its competitors.
 Marketing aids in development of economy : Marketing plays a cardinal role in the
development of an economy. It helps to steer the economy and make it more strong and
stable.
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