Icon College HND Business Marketing Essentials Report Analysis

This report delves into the core concepts of marketing essentials, using H&M as a case study. It begins by outlining the key roles and responsibilities within the marketing function, including market research, public relations, product promotion, and brand development. The report then examines the application of the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion) in achieving organizational objectives, comparing H&M's strategies with those of ZARA. Furthermore, it evaluates the interrelation of the marketing department with other departments like operations, finance, and human resources, highlighting the importance of marketing in driving sales and building a strong brand reputation. The report analyzes how marketing activities enhance sales figures, create a competitive advantage, and foster customer loyalty. Finally, the report emphasizes the crucial role of the marketing mix in the planning process and overall business success, providing a comprehensive overview of marketing strategies and their impact on organizational performance.

Marketing Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function........................................................3
M1 ..........................................................................................................................................5
D1...........................................................................................................................................5
P2&M2 Roles and responsibilities of marketing related to wider organisational context.....5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
P3 Application of marketing mix to marketing planning process in achievement of
organisational objectives........................................................................................................7
M3 ........................................................................................................................................10
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................11
P4&M4 Evaluation of marketing plan for an organisation..................................................11
D2 ........................................................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is the important function which helps in increase the sales and
profitability of company. This includes the various tools which is adapt by company
regarding advertisement of their products and services to expand their reach in between
customers. H&M is multinational company which deals in fashion clothing for men,
women and children's.
In the present report explain about, roles and responsibilities of marketing
function, application of marketing mix to achieve organisational objectives and
preparation of marketing plan for organisation (Baker And et. al., 2016).
TASK 1
P1 Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function
Marketing: Marketing is the important function which includes the process of
advertisement of their products and services to increase their sales and profitability.
This also called as the process of communicating, delivering and exchange of offerings
which have some values for customers, partners and society. This also includes the
function related to research about the market and understand about preferences of
customers and provides the products according to their needs. To make their marketing
more effective they also have to make their distribution channels more effective which
provides their products directly to their customers.
So, marketing is the important function which is effectively implemented by the
management of H&M to increase their sales and expand their business activities. This
enables the company to achieve competitive advantage and build their image in market
(Desai, 2013).
Marketing process: This includes the preparation of strategies and plans which
are required to follow by the marketing department in deployment of their functions. This
helps in providing the clear direction and objectives to the employees of marketing
department. The main steps which are included in this process are identification of
mission, evaluation of situation, setting up of objectives, development of marketing
strategy and planning for actions. The process which is followed by the management of
H&M is defined below:

 Mission: The main aim of the marketing department of H&M is to make long
term relation with their customers by providing them quality fashion able clothes
at reasonable price. They are working for provide the clothes as per the needs of
their customers and attain competitive advantage. This helps in preparation of
their policies effectively to achieve their desired results.
 Situational analysis: This includes the process of analysis of internal and
external factors which affects the business activities. This helps the marketing
department to determine their strengths and weaknesses and make their policies
to attain maximum results (Desai, 2013).
 Objectives: In this step, marketing department has to make their objectives for
which all the employees of H&M are working to achieve. Clear objectives helps in
effective decision making and assessing their progress.
 Strategies and evaluation: This is the final step of marketing process, in which
marketing manager of H&M has to make the strategies according to the
information which is derived from other steps. After preparation of such
strategies, they have analyse its effectiveness on business operations.
Roles and responsibilities of marketing manager: There are many important
roles and duties are perform by the marketing manager of H&M. Such function enables
the company to achieve their sales targets and increased their profitability. Such
different roles and responsibilities are defined below:
 Research about market: Marketing manager has the duty to make research
about market, competitors, preferences of consumers etc. This helps in
understand the strategies which are adopt by competitors and quality of their
products. This enables the manager to make their plans and provide the products
which satisfies different needs of their customers ( Dibb and Simkin, 2013).
 Public relation: Marketing manager has the responsibility to make good relation
with their customers. This helps the company to retain their customers loyalty
towards their products and services. This enables H&M to attain competitive
advantage and increase their profitability.
 Promotion of company's products: It is the duty of marketing manager is to
promote the products and services of company. For this purpose, manager has

to adopt many promotional and advertisement tools to advertise about their
products and expand their reach. This enables the H&M to expand their business
activities and achieve desired sales targets.
 Brand development: Marketing manager has to perform the function related to
the development of of company as brand in between customers. This can be
done by providing quality products and gaining the loyalty of their customers.
Such function of manager helps H&M to build their image and becomes brand in
market.
M1
Their many roles and responsibilities of marketing department of H&M which are
define below:
 Coordination: This helps in maintenance of coordination among the different
functions of employees and also with other departments in the achievement of
common objectives.
 Smooth production of products: Market research about different points helps
in effectively operate their production activities (Draelos, 2010).
D1
The key elements of marketing which related to other departments functions are
define below:
 Market research is related to department which are preparing strategies for
organisation on the basis of such information.
 Determination of demand helps in optimum utilisation of given resources and
produce products as per needs by production department.
P2&M2 Roles and responsibilities of marketing related to wider organisational context
Interrelation of marketing department with other departments of H&M
Marketing is the important function which helps in increase the sales and
profitability of company. So, it is the duty of the management of company has to
develop effective marketing department which properly manage all the functions. It is
observed that marketing functions are interrelated to different departments of company.
As, it helps in identification of different aspects which are beneficial for other

departments to perform their functions (Hsu, 2011). H&M is multinational company and
its marketing activities activities are effectively managed by marketing departments. It
helps other departments like production department to make clothes according to
preferences of customers and also helps in preparation of different budgets and
strategies. So, the influence of marketing department on other functions and their
interrelation with other functional departments of H&M are define below:
 Operational department: Marketing department functions are interrelated to the
functions of operational department. Marketing department has the duty to make
research about the market. This research helps in identification of demand of
their products and the preferences of customers. Such information is helpful for
operational department to develop the clothes as per such preferences and
demands and cut off unnecessary costs in production activities.
 Finance department: The information provided by marketing department helps
the finance department in identification of the fund required by different
departments in performance of their functions. Such information helps
preparation and allocation of budgets to different departments as per their needs.
 Human resource department: Predetermination of the objectives and functions
by marketing departments helps the HR department to effectively arrange the
workforce according to their needs which helps in achievement of their desired
targets within stipulated time.
Importance of marketing role to H&M
There is huge importance of marketing in achievement of sales targets of H&M.
The major role of marketing department of H&M is to promote their products and
services which are provide by them. For this purpose, they adopt various advertisement
tools like social media, print media, electronic media etc. All these methods have their
own importance and affectivity in advertisement. There are many other importance of
marketing role is define below:
 Higher sales: Marketing activities helps in achievement of higher sales figure.
Such activities helps in popularise the different clothing products of company to
different persons of society. Promote about the attractive features of their

products helps in attraction of attention of individuals. This helps to generate
higher sales and profit.
 Competitive advantage: Marketing department has the major role is to make
research about different aspects of market. This research helps in identification
of the competitors which are working in same field and the strategies adopt by
them. This helps the management of company to make the plans to attain
competitive advantage by providing creative features in their clothing products
(Jones and Rowley, 2011).
 Company reputation: Marketing activities helps in attain the loyalty and
confidence of their customers towards their products. This helps to create their
good image in market. If H&M provides fashionable clothing as per the
preferences of individuals then it helps in improve their value.
Importance of interrelationship of marketing department with other departments
There is large number of benefits to the management of H&M due to interrelation
of marketing functions with other departments which are describe below:
 Reduction of cost: Marketing department has the function of determination of
the demand of their products and make order according to that to production
department. This helps in saves the cost of unnecessary production of the
products and helps in optimum utilisation of their available resources.
 Removal of confusion: Marketing department provides various important
information which helps the management of company to maker plans which
removes the confusion among the different departments regarding their
functions.
TASK 2
P3 Application of marketing mix to marketing planning process in achievement of
organisational objectives
Marketing mix is the important part of marketing planning process (Kennedy and
Parsons, 2014). This helps the organisation to effectively achieve their targets.
Marketing mix includes product, price, place, promotion etc. This helps in making of
different strategies by the management of company regarding different important
aspects. All such marketing mix which is prepared by company helps in expansion of
the business operation of company.

Comparison of marketing mix of two different companies H&M and ZARA is define
below:
Basis H&M ZARA
Product
The main product which is
provide by H&M is
fashionable clothing for
men, women and children's.
This is the strength of
company that they provide
their products for every one
in society. This enables to
capture large market
ZARA is multinational
company which
manufactures various kinds
of products like shoes ,
clothes and home products.
They provide large number
of products to their
customers around 11000
per year. This provides the
opportunity to attract the

(Swenson, Rhoads and
Whitlark, 2014). The main
aim of company is to
produce quality products as
per latest fashion trends.
They also have ability make
the clothes form, the
wastes. This gives them
edge form other companies
and helps in attainment of
competitive advantage.
large number of customer
from different areas and age
groups.
Price H&M follows such pricing
strategy which suits all
kinds of customers in
market. This helps the
company attract the large
number of middle class
individuals towards their
products. They also provide
various benefits like
discounts to increase their
sales.
ZARA decides the high
price of their products as
their main im is to provide
luxury products to their
customers. The
management has price their
different products
individually.
Place H&M is multinational
company which operates
their business activities in
more than 55 countries. The
head office of company is in
Sweden from where large
number of functions of
company are regulated.
H&M has large number of
stores in Europe and have
good distribution channels.
This helps in properly
distribute their ultimate
customers (Papasolomou
and Melanthiou, 2012).
ZARA is also multinational
company which have their
business operatio0ns in
more then 60 countries.
ZARA has more than 600
stores in all over the world
which p4ovies their
products to their customers.
ZARA has large number of
distributors which provides
their products to different
stores in all over the world.
Promotion There are many
promotional tools used by
the management of H&M.
This helps in advertisement
of their products and
services worldwide. The
main aim of company is to
provide the information
The main emphasis given
by the management of
company is to reduce the
promotional cost by using
social media. This helps to
reach out properly to young
generation and understand
their needs. The

regarding quality of their
products at affordable price.
H&M uses digital [platform
to advertise about their
product and makes their
reach expand.
promotional campaign
which is used consists
public relation, fashion
shows etc.
People Employees of H&M have
adequate skills which helps
the company to effectively
perform their functions.
Such adequate skills helps
in development of creativity
and motivation among other
employees. Their workers
are have talent to know
about the latest fashion and
make their clothes
according to that.
ZARA is need to provide
training to their employees
to satisfy different needs of
their customers. This helps
the company to improve the
quality of their products and
retain the loyalty of their
customers towards their
products.
Processes H&M provides their focus
on maintenance of relation
management. For this
purpose, they provide
training to their employees
to change their behaviour.
ZARA provide main
emphasis on unique
features of their products.
This helps to attain the
confidence of customers
and improves their sales
figure.
Physical Evidence Physical stores of H&M are
their main strength which
helps in attraction of their
different customers towards
their products. This makes
easy for the customers to
easily buy their clothes from
their stores.
ZARA has good physical
evidence which helps in
increase their sales and
profitability. Good behaviour
of staff also helps in
attraction of customers.
M3
There are many tactics applied by the management of H&M in achievement of
their business objectives which are define below:
 To increase the sales and profitability they provide unique features in their
clothings. This helps in attraction of young generation (Mihart, 2012).
 To effectively and efficiently achieve their organisational objectives they also
provide training to their employees to improve their performance and reduce
operational cost.

TASK 3
P4&M4 Evaluation of marketing plan for an organisation
Marketing plans includes the various strategies which is made by the manager of
H&M to provide guidance to their employees regarding their functions which they have
to perform to achieve their desired results. Marketing plan of H&M is define below:
Company overview
H&M is multinational company which have provide fashionable clothing. They
provides clothes for men, women and children's They have more than 55 stores all over
the world and more than 161000 employees are working to effectively operate their
business functions. The main aim of company is to capture large market share by
providing good quality clothes at reasonable price.
Marketing situation analysis
The situation of H&M is good in market as they are able to understand the
different needs of their customers and provide the clothes as per their preferences. This
includes the analysis of external factors which have effects on the marketing functions
of H&M (Nguyen and Simkin, 2012).
SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis of H&M helps in identification of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats which are possess by H&M. This helps to take the befits of
their strengths and remove their weaknesses to increase their profitability. SWOT
analysis is describe below:
 Strengths: The major strength of H&M is already a big brand in market which
have large customer base. They have too many stores in worldwide to satisfy the
different demands of their customers of different regions.
 Weaknesses: Weaknesses of H&M is quality of thei products. As compared to
price of their products, quality is not sufficient. They are largely dependent upon
the functions of their suppliers. They don't have much control on their business
activities which affects their ability to complete their functions within stipulated
time.
 Opportunities: The major opportunities which are present for H&M are to attract
young generation towards their fashionable clothings. They have chance to
capture the emerging markets like China and also start their business operations
online to expand their business activities.
 Threats: There are many threats which are faced by H&M like competitors in
market. The main completion in clothing industry is ZARA. Increased labour cost
in China and India also affects the cost of production of H&M.
PESTLE analysis
This helps the management of company in determination of the external factors
which are present in business environment and affects the function of H&M and reduce
their ability to achieve their objectives within stipulated time. The factors which are
present in micro-environment includes political, economical, social, technological, legal
and environmental. It is the duty of the management of H&M to consider all these
factors and make the strategies and plans according to that to reduce their negative
impact and take their benefits. All these factors are define below:
 Political factor: This includes the factor related to political stability and rules and
regulation provide by them. H&M is multinational company which operates their

business many countries. So, the political condition in every country is different
and it is important for company to follow all these rules in successful running of
the business activities. Different policies affects the ability of company in their
production process.
 Economic factor: This includes the factor related to economic condition, level of
income of individual, situation of recession and inflation, level of cash flow in
country etc. All these factors affects the business of H&M. Different countries
have different economic condition which helps or restricts the business function
of company. This will affects the price of raw materials and labour cost also.
 Social factors: Now days level of transparency is increased and consumers want
to know about that where there is money is invested by company. So, in this
regard, H&M has duty to publish its CSR reports on frequent basis. This helps
the company to improve their brand image. Nowadays, consumer follow
celebrities which helps the company to increase the demand of their fashionable
clothes.
 Technological factors: This includes the factor related to advance technology
which helps the company in increase their sales. For this purpose, H&M decides
to develop their own apps and organise their functions this helps the consumers
to get reward points and easily purchase their products. Use of technology also
helps the company to track the logistics operations and provide the good
services to their suppliers.
 Legal factor: This includes the factors related to infringement of legal rights. From
last years, H&M has faced many disputes regarding infringement of rights of
clothing retailer. Large number of penalties are imposed due to such
infringement.
 Environmental: This includes the factors like pollution, wastes etc. due the
business activities of company. For this purpose, H&M produce the products
which are 100% renewable. It means they prepare new clothes with the help of
old clothes and raw materials. All takes the various measures which helps in
reduction of the pollution and contributes in betterment of society.
Objectives
The main objective of company is to provide activities which helps in
environmental and social development. For this purpose, they have to provide quality
products at affordable price.
Strategy
The main strategies which are followed by H&M helps in determination of current
and future needs to achieve desired results (Nguyen and Simkin, 2012).
STP of H&M
 Segmentation: This includes the divide their customers on the basis of different
aspects. H&M segmented their customers on the basis of class, age, occupation
etc.
 Targeting: The main target of company to focus on the individual whom are
shopping on daily basis and having good source of income. This helps the
company to improve their sales.
 Positioning: H&M has good position in market. It is the second largest fashion
clothing company. H&M have large number of stores in all over the world.