Marketing Essentials for Aldi

This report analyzes the marketing essentials of Aldi, a leading supermarket chain in the UK. It discusses the role of marketing, its interrelation with other functional units, and the application of the marketing mix to achieve business objectives. The report emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs, developing effective marketing strategies, and maintaining strong brand awareness in a competitive marketplace. Through detailed analysis, it highlights how Aldi can enhance its marketing efforts to drive growth and customer satisfaction.

UNIT 2. MARKETING ESSENTIALS
Table of Contents
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Introduction
Marketing can be considered as the effective business process that is used for
promoting the products and services in an effective manner. It is essential for every business
organizations to know how to develop proper plans for ensuring the success of an
organization. In this era of modernization, it has become crucial for the organizations to make
proper plans for expanding the business successfully. To sustain in this competitive
marketplace, the organizations must focus on proper marketing that is effective for attracting
the potential customers to buy their products and services.
For attaining the success, it is very important for the organization to satisfy the needs
of their customers. Planning is one of the most effective tools that have a huge impact on
growth of the organization. Through this assignment, the learner has tried to highlight the
marketing essentials of Aldi, which is known as one of the leading supermarket chains of
UK. In addition to this, this assignment has also focused on explaining the role of marketing
and tried to interrelate it with the other functional units of Aldi.
Task 1:
LO 1: Explaining the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional
units of Aldi
P1 Explaining the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function for Aldi
The profitability of a business mainly depends on the marketing department of an
organization. As mentioned by Wilson and Woodbum (2014, p.363), the marketing
department has the overall responsibility for increasing the market share and growing the
revenue for the organization.
By effective marketing plan it is possible for the organizations to satisfy the
relationship with their customers that are very effective for the customers as well as the
organization also. Marketing department of Aldi, must play a vital role for attaining the goals
and objectives of the organization. The first and foremost duty of a marketing team is to
listen to the needs of the customers.
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For establishing an effective marketing strategy, it is necessary for the organization to
get closer to their clients. By making a healthy relationship with the customers, Aldi can
understand the changing demands of their customers. To design an efficient marketing plan,
the marketing department needs to receive customer feedback at a regular basis. The
marketing department of Aldi has taken an effective initiative by conducting survey that
helps them in capturing proper information from the sales team and the customers for making
effective business strategies for future.
As mentioned by Simmons and Becker-Olsen (2006, p.169), marketing function
refers to the activities that are conducted by the organizations for carrying out a well-
designed marketing plan which is necessary for gaining competitive advantage from the
marketplace. The marketing manager is responsible for finding out the factors that are needed
for conducting effective strategies for marketing.
As the business sphere is not directly related to the customers, it is one of the major
responsibilities for the manager to plan strategies for attracting this consumer market. Prime
aim of these marketing functions is to analyze the target market for strategies plan as per the
need. By analyzing the market, it is possible for Aldi to know the changing taste of the
customers and design the products as per the market demands.
It is essential for the markets to design their strategies keeping in mind that can
influence the minds of the customers. Tanner and Raymond (2011, p.49) stated that, a proper
market research should be conducted by the manager or having a clear idea of what the
customers want from the company. This research is also effective for gathering a clear
understanding about the market opportunities.
In this way, Aldi can create a market niche for promoting their products effectively. It
is also able to provide a perception about the market competitors how to outrun them. For
making a clear outline, it is essential for them to develop a marketing strategy. On the other
hand, it can be stated that by making a clear outline, an organization can measure the
improvements. Customer relationship is also an important part of this procedure.
With the assistance of available customer data Aldi can make a customer satisfaction
survey that is very effective for future market planning. Through sharing this information
with marketing experts and customer, care executives Aldi can ensure an excellent customer
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service that is essential for building strong bond with their customers. Apart from this,
Semenik (2002, p.96) opined that, employee management is also vital because it is one of the
most important duties of a marketing manager is to recruit efficient staffs who are best suited
for their organization. It is one of the essential responsibilities of a manager is to ensure that
all the individuals are working together towards a common organizational goal. By
motivating the employees, the managers can encourage them to perform better for attaining
the business objectives.
The management operation through with goods and services change from idea to the
consumer is marketing. It exist products development,identification,cost etc. Most small
businesses sale to other businesses or to consumers and the form B2B and B2C stand for
these connection in short form. In B2B, the products and services of the business are
marketed to the another businesses. In B2C, the last consumer is the consumer with a B2C
business like housecleaning services,restaurants and retail stores.
P2 Explaining how roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider
organizational context for Aldi
The recent buying behavior of the customer and their preference to buy products is
changing continuously. They like to buy branded products rather than relying on the local
commodities. Per Mylonakis (2003, p.814), for making an identity in this global marketplace,
it is essential for the organizations to create strong brand awareness for attracting more
customers and convincing them to buy their products.
It is also effective for the organization that helps them in maintain their individual
stand in this competitive market. The marketing department of Aldi must take an effective
part in formation of proper marketing for lining with the overall organizational strategy and
objectives (Aldi.co.uk. 2016).
As opined by Grieves, (2003, p.58), the formation of an organization necessitates the
execution of the activities of the marketing department of the company because it helps in the
basic stage that is essential for promoting their products and services in an efficient manner.
The major responsibility of a marketing department is to formulate the marketing essentials
that are very effective for determining the activities of the marketing team, which is
necessary for achieving the ultimate goals of the organization. Kendreick (2006, p.85)
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observes that the marketing processes are the basics on which the future actions can be
performed for carrying on the business functions effectively.
On the other hand, the functions of marketing help Aldi in determining the various
factors which are extremely important for making effective design for the business activities
which needed to be conveyed to the other department that play a significant role in enhancing
the performance of the organization and making it a distinct brand name in this competitive
business market. Development of new product is another important work of the marketing
department. It is crucial for the marketing team to work together for the innovating new ideas
for promotions. Moreover, the marketing department is also responsible for providing
valuable information and advises regarding the new products and the rectification of the old
products.
Gordon (2012, p.126) mentioned that, the marketing department of an organization is
also must have the knowledge about the effectiveness of proper communication. The
marketing team of Aldi should maintain an appropriate chain of communication with the
other departments for planning effective strategies of marketing. As per the annual report of
Aldi, it has been identified that they communicate with the external level too for making their
marketing effective. For successful marketing, it is essential for the team to communicate
properly with their customers because it helps in understanding market demands.
By product campaigning, content development, press release and distributing
brochures, newsletters, leaflets Aldi can reach their potential customers. The sales and
marketing team must work together for achieving the most possible outcome for the
development of Aldi. Various techniques are there, which must be included for effective
marketing; Aldi has introduced a new strategy for their marketing where the customers sign
up for a periodical newsletter for free and in return they must share their personal details like
email id, mobile number and address for improving the organization’s customer database.
The marketing department can also arrange promotional conferences for promoting
their products and sharing the news widely for ensuring customer attendance. It can be stated
that The HR department must play a vital role in this context. By recruiting efficient
marketing managers and sales executives, they can enhance the level of their marketing that
may influence their growth by increasing sales. On the other hand, the conduction of market
plans itself needs monetary aids for that reason they need to maintain a healthy relationship
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with the finance of the organization, which helps to chart out the expenditure as per the
needs.
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Task 2:
LO 2: Comparing ways in which organizations use elements of the marketing mix (7Ps)
to achieve overall business objectives
P3 Comparing the ways in which Aldi applies marketing mix to the marketing planning
process to achieve business objectives and explaining how does it differ from other
organizations or could do better compared to other organizations
In this era of modernization, every organization must apply the essential marketing
mix to their marketing planning processes for achieving the business objectives successfully.
As commented by Cartwright (2002, p.59), the total functioning of an organization depends
on the marketing plan, so it needed to be built before planning further actions. Based on the
previous study, it can be stated that the proficiency of a marketing plan helps to perform the
activities efficiently.
For making an effective marketing strategy the marketing management must build an
efficient marketing strategy which is essential for forming objectives for an organization.
Solnet et al. (2015, p.292) stated that, the objectives are the reflection of the actual purpose of
the organization. It helps to provide a clear understanding about their service what they want
to serve their customers.
Objectives:
As Aldi is a retail organization, they need to design their products as per the demands
of their customers. The primary objective of this company is to set goals that need to be
decided before planning marketing strategy; because when an organization is trying to
promote their products they need to improve their marketing scenario by rectifying their
strategies.
In the case of Aldi, the targets are obviously the potential customers and the main aim
of marketing department is to turn these potential customers into buyers. In addition, this, it
can be stated that these objectives must be formed based on the needs of the market for
fulfilling the demands of the customers which ultimately leads to the growth of the company.
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The marketing objectives must be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic as
well as time specific).
The marketing team of Aldi needs to choose the specific way of marketing for
promoting their products. On the other hand, they must pin point their target areas and plan
per satisfy their needs. By measuring the effectiveness of applied strategies, the marketing
department can modify these strategies as per the needs or plan new techniques for future
marketing. The marketing objectives can be considered as the most effective part of
organizational objectives that must be achieved within a specific period.
As opined by Wilson and Woodburn (2014, p.363), the objectives set by the
organizations must be achievable because they need to set such objective which they can
achieve. The target should not be too high; it needs to be real and must concern about their
capabilities. Otherwise, they failed to achieve that high target. Time specific objectives are
good for the organization like Aldi because it helps them in keeping their strategies moving.
Marketing Plan:
The increased rate of retails in UK has caused high competition in the market where
the people are spending a huge amount of their money on buying branded products. As per
the research record, it has been seen that a person spends 35% of these earnings in buying
that products which have created a strong brand awareness. Owing to this, Aldi needs to be
more particular about their business plans for maintaining proper balance with the coming up
which will perfectly suit their purpose. As mentioned by Tanner and Raymond (2011, p.24),
without having proper marketing potentials it is not possible for the companies to create
awareness about their product or services.
On the other hand, it can be stated that the appropriate marketing plan can act as the
guide who helps the organizations in promoting their products, which can be very effective
for, increase the sales and generating more revenues for the organization.
The marketing planning has the potential to integrate all the aspects of business that
can influence the growth of the company. In addition to this, Semenik (2002, p.48)
commented that a proper marketing plan plays a forecasting role which helps the company to
estimate their sales resulting from the various effort made by the marketers. It helps in create
an accurate production schedule that can be beneficial for finance team of Aldi because it
helps them in making proper budget for their company.
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Environmental Analysis:
Environmental analysis refers to the procedure that helps the organization in
determining the present situation of the market and surfaces the requirements of the time and
the potentiality of conducting the business. Per the marketing manager of Aldi, accurate
knowledge about the current situation helps the organization in preventing themselves from
the serious market threats that can harm the business activities of an organization. Moreover,
it can be stated that with the help of this environment analysis it is possible for Aldi to find
out their competitor market and get idea of the capability of their rivals, which may help them
in designing their marketing plans, uniquely that can attract the consumer market.
As opined by Mylonakis (2003, p.814), PESTLE (political, economic, social,
technological, legal and environmental) analysis can be the best way through which Aldi can
get proper understanding about the most influential factors that can affect their business.
Moreover, few additional factors also have a huge impact on the business growth. On the
other, Kendrick (2006, p.71) argues that SWOT will be the best way for analyzing the
business surfaces which is very effective for providing a clear understanding about the
positive and negative features of the business.
Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning:
Market segmentation can be considered as the most effective marketing tools that help
the organizations in segmenting the markets. The learner has use the STP model for this
purpose. A three-step approach helps the organization in promoting a product in its potential
market. As per the opinion of Gordon (2012, p.125), the segmentation process is very
effective for clearing out the all-potential market segments that can be exploited to do an
effective market campaign. The retail organizations segment their customers by their choices
and their economic condition.
Place and the people are the most important factors that determine the designing of
market plans for Aldi because the taste and the preferences vary depending on their
economical background. By targeting market, it is possible for Aldi to focus on a group of
customers. Market targeting is an effective way of strategizing as per the requirement of the
specific customer group. Through this procedure, the organization can find out the most
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potential customers for their products and goods which can be beneficial for the company to
identify the accurate consumer market and particularly focus on their demands.
In the words of Plan (2016, p.86), marketing plans can bear fruitful results with an
effective positioning of its products in the target market. Proper positioning of a product
provides support to the organizational purpose of selling the helps in sell the produced goods
and services to a selected consumer market or to a specific group of people. Properly
positioned products can attract the customers that are very effective for increasing the sales
and improving the growth of the organization like Aldi.
Marketing Mix:
Per Lewer (2013, p.656), marketing mix is an effective element of marketing plan
which includes several; factors that can be proved fatal or an opportunity for the marketing
strategy of an organization. The process of market segmentation, targeting and positioning
mainly depends on a certain marketing principles, which are known as the 7P’s of marketing
mix. These factors of marketing are very effective for taking the organizations to the ultimate
heights of success.
The marketing mix of Aldi consists of the product price, place, promotion, people,
process and physical evidence that together contribute to the marketing plan of their
company. As commented by Solnet et al. (2015, p.290), to gain success from the marketplace
price is an important factor that can affect the business. For grabbing the whole market Aldi
should fix their price justifiably that will help them in competing with the other organizations
of same category.
Place is another important factor that can help Aldi in gaining positive results from
this world of competition. On the other hand, it can be stated that product itself is one of the
major elements of marketing. As identified by Henly et al. (2011, p.706), a bad quality
product, even if priced and placed properly against other brands cannot achieve the target.
This may achieve the target in a short run but in a long run, the product will obsolete
from the market. Apart from that, promotion or advertising is the most vital element of
marketing that works as a bridge that can connect the product with their customers. A good
promotional strategy is needed as a part of the marketing mix. It is the prime duty of Aldi to
make their target customers aware about their products and services.
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Controlling and Monitoring Techniques:
As mentioned by Cartwright (2002, p.29), for supervising and monitoring the whole
marketing process marketing control techniques have been used by the marketers that has a
huge impact in the overall business of an organization. These techniques are effective for
identifying the required adjustments as well as for establishing the guidelines that are needed
for achieving the predefined goals.
Five major techniques have been included in this procedure, these are competitor
analysis, customer analysis, testing research, customer feedback and cost analysis. The major
task of competitor analysis is to check out new ways of marketing and the marketing
techniques used by the competitors. Gathered data helps the company to move forward with
new plans. On the other hand, customer analysis is another important element that plays a
significant role in analyzing the needs of the customers and helps in examine their purchasing
behavior.
For sustaining a strong position in this competitive marketplace, it is crucial for all the
companies like Aldi to fulfill the demands of their customers because it is very effective for
identifying the target customer base. In the words of Page (2008, p.75), testing research helps
in determining the potential success for the organization and supports in finding out the new
ways of marketing that plays a very important role in making a strong customer base.
From the customer feedback, it is possible for the company to know the exact reaction
of the customers about their products and services. Cost analysis is also considered as an
effective tool that helps Aldi in aligning their overall costs in different marketing sectors
which is required for reducing the costs for less successful marketing.
For the growth of the company, it is not sufficient to make a full proof plan for
marketing. The plan needs to be strictly followed for aiding the performance of the
organization and accomplishing its purpose. Per Hendry (2012, p.49), the marketing mix can
be considered as the most effective tools that every organization must implement for attaining
its goals and objectives. As Aldi has decided to strategies an effective marketing plan, it is
crucial for them to focus on the marketing techniques of their rival companies.
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Marketing mix of Aldi analyses an enterprise which includes
4Ps( Product,price,place,promotion) and inform the business and marketing strategies of
Aldi: 1) Product : Aldi demand to supply low-cost food products that are of the same quality
as other branded products. 2) Price : Aldi has strong consumer base due to the cheap price
and quality that it offers for its own products which are not available with the competitors.
These price consists unit pricing strategy,market penetration,competitive
pricing,psychological pricing and loss leader pricing. 3) Place: Aldi team has more than 8000
stores and countries and approximately a new stores opens every week in Britain.
4)Promotion : it is comprehensive and demand it to be a cost saving scheme Aldi study
minimal cost for publicity and does not keep a marketing department in Germany. 5)
People :Aldi has lower consumer service that its challengers as workers do not assist
consumers in product selection. 6) Process: Aldi has absolute layout which creates product
finding very easy and hence consumers generally select the products on their own cut down
the number of workers that Aldi requires to assist the consumers. 7) Physical evidence : Aldi
is globally famed for simplest business processes,standardization and global pricing.
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Task 3:
LO 3: Developing and evaluating a basic marketing plan
P4 Processing and evaluating a basic marketing plan for Aldi
For every organization, it is essential to adhere to the major business principles for
making an effective marketing plan for Aldi. Per Grieves (2003, p.15), no retail business can
gain success without having proper guidance of an accurate marketing plan. In today’s
competitive world it has become crucial for the organization to plan effectively for increasing
sales and generating more revenues for the organization. In this section of this research, the
learner has tried to process and evaluate a basic marketing plan that may prove beneficial for
the organization.
Before start planning for marketing, it is essential to know the marketing elements
properly, these elements are, target audience, positioning, quantifiable goals, measurability,
accountability, tactical elements, accurate budget, timetable and responsibilities. In this
section of this paper, the learner has mentioned few tricks that may help them in gaining
more success from the marketplace.
 The marketers of Aldi need to provide a valid reason to their customers to go to their
stores. By promoting their offers, it is possible to attract the customers.
 The term positioning refers to the marketing technique that helps in manipulating the
minds of the customers. Proper positioning helps in introducing their offers to its
potential customer, which is needed for their self-recognition.
 In recent days, it has become a necessity for the organizations to define their target
audience first for making their marketing effective. In retail business, customers are
the most important people, which can be considered as the key to success. Aldi needs
to do a proper research on their customers to know about their needs.
 By establishing goals before planning, the marketers can make their investments as
per the requirements. It can be very fruitful for growing sales revenues and
enhancing profitability. On the other hand, it can be stated that this procedure is very
effective for generating leads as well as increasing the number of buyers also.
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 As opined by Davcik and Sharma (2016, p.11), the marketers of an organization
needs to use few tactical elements in their businesses for their marketing more
productive. It cannot be stated that all the marketing activities will make sense for the
business but Aldi needs to have sufficient funds for executing every available tactic
in the marketing. By yellow page advertising, print advertising, promotional events,
in-store merchandise, PR and media coverage can be best way that Aldi needs to use
as their marketing tools.
 By offering discounts on every purchase, Aldi can gain a competitive advantage from
this competitive marketplace of UK.
Becker and Gerhart (1996, p.58) commented that, measurability and accountability can
be one of the biggest issues in retail marketing. The inability or unwillingness to measure is
the main problem of marketing. As the marketers are not able to assess the effectiveness of
their efforts, they cannot set the plans properly.
Aldi needs to motivate their customers to provide their feedback about the
advertisements and ask media to provide a post purchase analysis, which will, help them to
understand about their views and opinions regarding their marketing techniques. Moreover,
Aldi needs to focus on their product development also because by producing products
accurately they can attract more customers to buy products from them.
For earning market reputation, they need to fix a time span and certain budget plan that
will prove beneficial for their organizational growth also. In this context, it can be stated that
various elements of 7P’s can help them in attaining the goals of the company.
Evidence with tabular marketing plan:
Product Aldi demand to supply low-cost food
products that are of the same quality as other
branded products.
Price Aldi has strong consumer base due to the
cheap price and quality that it offers for its
own products which are not available with
the competitors. These price consists unit
pricing strategy , market penetration,
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competitive pricing , psychological pricing
and loss leader pricing.
Place Aldi team has more than 8000 stores and
countries and approximately a new stores
opens every week in Britain.
Promotion it is comprehensive and demand it to be a
cost saving scheme Aldi study minimal cost
for publicity and does not keep a marketing
department in Germany.
People Aldi has lower consumer service that its
challengers as workers do not assist
consumers in product selection.
Process Aldi has absolute layout which creates
product finding very easy and hence
consumers generally select the products on
their own cut down the number of workers
that Aldi requires to assist the consumers.
Physical Evidence Aldi is globally famed for simplest business
processes,standardization and global pricing.
Conclusion
Through this above discussion, the learner has successfully analyzed the roles and
responsibilities of the marketing functions. It has been identified from the above research that
the marketing functions have a great impact on the overall performance of the company that
is very effective for the development of the organization. This assignment is made with
preliminary focus on the core objectives and proposed marketing strategies of Aldi. The
overall discussion has been made for proving a clear understanding about the effectiveness of
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marketing mix techniques used by the organizations and their influence on the growth of the
company.
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