Marketing Essentials Report: Burberry Marketing Strategies & Analysis

This report provides a detailed analysis of Burberry's marketing strategies, focusing on the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function. It examines how Burberry operates within the market environment, including its approach to customer relationships, brand image, and strategic marketing planning. The report explores the significance of the interrelationship between marketing and other organizational functions, evaluating key elements of the marketing function and its connection to other departments. It highlights the use of marketing information systems, social media, and market research in understanding consumer trends and preferences. The report also discusses the challenges faced by Burberry, such as the need for updated software and the cost of market research. Overall, the report assesses Burberry's marketing efforts and their impact on achieving organizational goals, such as enhancing market share and improving customer satisfaction.

MARKETING
ESSENTIALS
BURBERRY

Table of Contents
Activity 1................................................................................................................................3
Key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function...........................3
Roles of responsibilities of marketing in the context of market
environment....................................................................................................................5
...............................................................................................................................................6
Roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider
organizational context................................................................................................6
Significance of interrelationship between marketing and other
organisational functions............................................................................................7
Critical analysis and evaluation of the key elements of the marketing
function and its relationship with other functional units...........................8
References........................................................................................................................9
Marketing in business refers to the process of attracting
potential customers towards the products of an organisation by
using techniques and tools such as advertisements, promotions,
etc. In this modern world, business firms are facing stiff
competition from their rivals due to attractive marketing
techniques. Customers are essential for any business who
purchases the products and services provided by the company.
It is the prime duty of an organisation to retain their customers
from going anywhere else.
This report file is based on Burberry which is a retail
organisation of UK providing huge range of fashionable
products, fragrances, cosmetic items, clothing etc. to the
customers in more than 51 countries. The company was
founded in 1856 in the city of London, UK.

Activity 1
Key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function
Burberry is a multinational company which is having a
large number of operations or stores in more than 52 countries
throughout the world. The company is surviving in the
competitive global environment because of having different
departments which are performing their roles and
responsibilities for achieving the organisational goals and
objectives. Marketing department is also an important
department of Burberry who is contributing their maximum
efforts for accomplishing the organisational goal of largest
market share in the global retail market (Functions of
marketing, 2017). This department look out the marketing
activities of the company for attracting the customers towards
the products and services which are provided by the firm. This
department plays an important role in improving the business
performance and productivity. Through the marketing activities,
this department is working continuously for improving the
sales, profit, revenue and customer relationship etc. so that firm
can survive for a long period of time in the market. There are
various roles and responsibilities which are performed by the
marketing department of Burberry which are discussed below:
Better customer relationship: Marketing department has
the responsibility to maintain the loyalty and trust among the
customers towards the company. The marketing department do
this by using promotional techniques through which they
communicate with customers for influencing their behaviour
towards the products of organisation. The marketing
department of Burberry is also using techniques such as
engaging customers through quizzes and hashtags.
Through this, customers keep in touch with the company which
will strengthen the relationship between the company and its
customers. This also enhances the satisfaction and loyalty
among the customers due to which they keep interested in the
products of the Burberry
Social media handles: The marketing department is also
responsible for managing and monitoring the company’s profile
on the social media handles. Through this, the marketing
department stay connected with their customers for providing
the information regarding the offerings of the company so that
sales and performance of the products can be enhanced. The
marketing department of the Burberry is using various social
media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter etc.
for interacting with the customers regarding the products and
services of the company. The marketing department also takes
feedback and suggestions from the customers regarding the
improvements in products in order to improve the customer
satisfaction.
Determining consumer and market trends: The market
department also analyses the market conditions and information
in order to determine the trends of customers and market. This
is essential for the marketing department in order to convey the
information to production department for producing products
which can fulfil the needs and demand of the customers and
market. It helps the company is achieving sustainability in the
market place for a long period of time. The marketing
department of the Burberry is also using the market research for
determining the on-going changes in the mind-set of the
customers so that the products can be provided accordingly
based on the needs and demands.

Preparing marketing budget: It is the responsibility of
marketing department to prepare budget for carrying out the
marketing activities. This is essential because availability of
funds can prevent the future situations which can impact the
marketing activities. The marketing department of the Burberry
also prepares the budget for their marketing activities in order to
achieve their desired organisational goals and objectives (Shaw,
2016). This budget is prepared on the analysis of past and future
budget and their variation with the estimated results. This
analysis is necessary for forecasting the future requirements of
the marketing department so that they can perform their
functions for improving the productivity of the company.
Preparing strategic marketing plan: This plan is a
document in which the desired strategies, products, strengths of
the company, competitor analysis, etc. are mentioned. Effective
marketing plan is necessary for the organisation in order to
achieve the new heights in business and developing cost
efficient strategies for survive in the long term. This plan is
prepared by Burberry’s marketing department for determining
the target and goals which must be achieved by the company in
a predetermined period of time.
Improving brand image: This is also performed by the
marketing department by creating awareness among the
customers regarding the products and services which are
provided by their organisation to the customers. This is very
important for business firms so that they can improve the brand
image of the firm (Rossi, Allenby and McCulloch, 2012). The
marketing department of Burberry is using the CSR activities,
discounts and offers for enhancing the brand awareness which
will also improve the brand image of the company in the
competitive market place. This will also assist the firm in
improving the growth rate and success for sustaining in the
market place.
The marketing department of the Burberry is efficiently
performing their roles and responsibilities so that they can
provide their contribution in the development and growth of the
organisation in an effective manner. The marketing department
in Burberry is working 24*7 so that they can maintain the trust
and loyalty of their customers towards the offerings of the
company for achieving higher customer satisfaction (Pike,
2015). However, the department fails to use the updated
software and tools in their working due to which they are not
performing well at the workplace. This is highly essential for
the management to provide updated tools and software to the
marketing department so that they efficiency can be improved.

Roles of responsibilities of marketing in the context of
market environment
Marketing environment consist of various elements which
are highly useful for the marketing department of the Burberry
such as pricing, promotion, distribution etc. for planning and
developing strategies (Papasolomou and Melanthiou, 2012). By
using the concept of marketing environment, Burberry can
retain their focused customers for a long period of time as these
elements are considered in decision making for providing the
products. The marketing department plays various roles in the
marketing environment. Some of these roles are as follows:
Developing marketing plans/strategies:The main aim of
marketing department is the development of strategies and plans
for the marketing activities. These strategies are required for
determining the potential trends, needs and demands of the
customers etc. By determining these factors, the company can
provide its products accordingly (Nguyen and Simkin, 2012).
For this, the marketing department of Burberry is using the
social media for understanding their mind-set so that the
products can be provided accordingly. The company is
maintaining the balance between the organisational goals and
market opportunities so that market share can be enhanced. But
social media also has fake profiles due to which they could not
bring effective results to the organisation as their ideas are not
based on the product usage but rather on word of mouth.
Using marketing information system: MIS is a useful
tool for getting the insights regarding the products, strategies,
performance of employees, distribution etc. to the marketing
department based on which the marketing department takes
their decision (Malhotra, Birks and Wills, 2013). The marketing
department of Burberry is also using the Marketing information
system for staying update with the activities of organisation. For
example: Marketing department uses MIS when they have to
track the status of their logistics which is shown in MIS on a
real time basis. However MIS also has several limitations
because it works on GPS location which can sometimes shows
wrong location which can leads to the late execution of assigned
task.
Monitoring of market: The marketing department in an
organisation needs to monitor the market for determining the
trend and changes in marketing environment. This is essential
because it helps marketing department in determining the new
development which can improve the position of the company.
These new development includes market trends, social factors,
political and economic fluctuations etc. Marketing department
of Burberry is keeping an eye on the market so that any possible
opportunity can be grabbed by the company for improving the
sales and profit. But for monitoring the market, company has to
conduct market research which is a cost and time consuming
process and can be proved expensive for the Burberry.
Marketing research: Market research is conducted by the
business organisations in order to determine the trends and
changes which are going on in the market due to the
advancement in technology and standard of living. The market
research is also useful for determining the future performance
based on the past and present performance (Lamb, Hair and
McDaniel, 2011). Marketing department of Burberry is
conducting market research by themselves which is essential for
them as their effectiveness depends upon the trends and
requirements of the market.

Improving brand image: Marketing department is
mainly performing its operations for building the brand image
of the organisation in the marketplace. The brand image plays a
major role in attracting the customers. Burberry is a global
company having operations in more than 51 countries due to
which company has a good image in the global market.
However, the marketing department of the Burberry is working
hard for improving the brand image of the firm in order to
achieve competitive advantage over the competitors such as
H&M, ZARA, etc. For this, the marketing department is using
advertisement on the social media, internet, etc.
Roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the
wider organizational context
Burberry is a huge multinational firm who is operating
in more than 51 countries. In order to survive in the highly
competitive business environment, various departments of the
Burberry are providing their maximum possible efforts in
performing their work (Kennedy and Parsons, 2014). These
departments are the backbone of the Burberry which is
responsible for the huge success of firm.
These other departments need assistance from the
marketing department in order to effectively provide their
contribution in the success of the firm. These departments
should coordinate with marketing department in proper manner
so that the company can sustain in the market. This interrelation
of marketing department with other departments is discussed
below:
Marketing department and Human Resource
department: Human resource department is the backbone of
company who provides workers to the different organisational
functions. The marketing department publish the job positions
on the different platforms for attracting the candidates
(Katengeza, Okello and Jambo, 2011). The HR department and
Marketing department of Burberry are working together so that
talented and skilled employees can be recruited. These
candidates perform their work with efficiency for achieving the
organisational goals in proper manner.
Marketing department and Sales department: Selling is
the most important activity of an organisation. The
organisations need to do proper planning regarding the sales in
order to achieve high number of sales (Jones and Rowley,
2011). Marketing department analyses the various options in the
marketplace for selling the products and services. Marketing
department of the Burberry is providing the accurate
information regarding the suitable for marketing the products.
The company can cover more market share by using the
updated tools provided by the marketing department. Marketing
department also analyses the market regarding the demand and
supply in order to predict the non-availability of the products.

Marketing department and Production department:
Production department of an organisation is responsible for
manufacturing the products. Marketing department analyses the
market trends and taste of preferences. Whereas by using the
help from marketing department, Production department can
manufacture the products according to the demand and taste of
their customers (Hsu, 2011). These both departments of
Burberry are working together for manufacturing quality based
products which can satisfy the expectations of customers. These
satisfied customers will purchase the products of firm again
which will also improve the relationship and brand image of
company.
Marketing department and Finance department:
Finance department monitor the cash and other monetary
expenses of firm. It is very essential for finance department to
control the expenses of firm as these can directly affect the
profitability of business. These funds can be raised through
various methods. Marketing department determines the suitable
option in order to get the best returns and provide the option to
finance department. Burberry’s both departments are supporting
each other in performing their roles. For example: Marketing
department needs money for purchasing the promotional tools
which is provided by the finance department and finance
department needs funds for ensuring smooth flow of business
operations whose details are provided by marketing department.
The marketing department also estimates the future costs which
can occur to business by using analytical tools such as Google
analytics, surveys etc.
Significance of interrelationship between marketing
and other organisational functions
Marketing department is the major function of an
organisation which provides support to the other departments of
the organisation. These departments such as HR, sales, finance
and marketing should perform the work by coordinating with
each other. By using the coordination they can perform their
business function properly. For example: By using the help
from marketing department, production department can
manufacture the quality based products which can satisfy the
needs of customers (Fırat, 2013). By using the help from
marketing department, finance department can gather the
required amount of funds which can be used for the business
functions. Also HR department can recruit the talented and
skilled candidates from a pool of applicants which are attracted
through the advertisements done by marketing team. These all
other departments of an organisation needs to coordinate with
marketing department in order to deliver the products which can
meet the expectations of the customers. The firm can gain high
sales and profit if customers are satisfied with the provided
products. The company can achieve sustainability in the market
if the customers are happy with the provided products of the
company.

Critical analysis and evaluation of the key elements of the
marketing function and its relationship with other
functional units
Marketing involves various activities such as product design,
pricing, strategies, advertising and others (Desai, 2013).
However these activities are come in between the process of
marketing. There are some elements of marketing function
which are discussed as follows: Research: It is very essential for the marketing
department to gather the important information of
outside environment which is essential for developing
and marketing products (Dibb and Simkin, 2013).
Market research will assist the Burberry in determining
the suitable work practices which can be used by the
company. However, challenge is that the business
environment is dynamic in nature due to which it keeps
on changing. The Burberry can set up an division which
will perform the work of conducting market research.
 Strategy: The data collected from the market research is
evaluated on the basis of strategies as well as
opportunity. After the evaluation, strategies are
developed for the marketing activities. The main
challenge in this is that the new strategies could not be
aligned with the previous strategies which can impact
the business in achieving its goals.
 Planning: After the development of strategies, Burberry
needs to develop a plan for implementing the strategies.
This planning consist of financial planning, sales
forecast, distribution as well as communication (Daniel,
2011). The major challenge is that the long-term
planning in a dynamic environment can be proved risky
and so the Burberry needs to stay focused on
homogeneous aspects during the run.
These 3 elements are very crucial for any marketing
department in order to get effective results and success in their
work. The marketing department needs to consider these
elements while performing the business operations so that
success of the company can be ensured.

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