Marketing Essentials Report: Analyzing Keells Supermarket Trends

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Keells Supermarket's marketing strategies. It begins with an introduction to marketing, defining the concept and discussing current and future trends, including online performance marketing, digital marketing, personalization marketing, virtual reality, artificial reality, and advanced chatbots. The report then delves into the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function, emphasizing market research, understanding customer needs, and designing customer-driven marketing strategies, including segmentation, targeting, and positioning. Furthermore, it explains the role and responsibilities of a marketing manager, highlighting brand development, competitor analysis, and market research. The report uses Keells Supermarket as a case study, illustrating how the company applies these marketing principles in its operations, including its loyalty programs, own-label products, and sustainability initiatives. The analysis covers both qualitative and quantitative research methods used by Keells to understand its customer base and adapt to the changing market landscape.

Human Resource Management Institute (HRMI)
Pearson BTEC Level 05 HND in Business
HRM / Management / Marketing / Operations Management / Accounting and Finance
Unit No/Title: Unit 2/ Marketing Essentials (REDO)
Assignment No: 1/1
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Date Set: 07th February 2021 Due Date: 09th June 2021
1st Late Submission – 23rd June 2021 2nd Late Submission – 7th July 2021
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Unit No/Title: Unit 2/ Marketing Essentials
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1. Introduction to the concept of marketing, including current
and future trends.
Keells
Keells, also known as Jaykay Marketing Services (Pvt) Ltd, is a Sri Lankan supermarket
chain owned by the John Keells Group, the country's largest publicly traded conglomerate. It
is one of Sri Lanka's three biggest retail chains. Keells first opened its doors in Liberty Plaza
in 1991, promising to offer the freshest items to Sri Lankan shoppers. It operates 106
supermarkets throughout the country as a subsidiary of the John Keells Group. With the
mission of "improving the quality of life for the nation," Keells has received numerous awards
for its efforts to improve the shopping experience for customers.
In 2017, Keells (then Keells Super) introduced a new store with a fresh look and feel, and in
2018 relaunched their brand name as Keells and the store design in line with their ambition
to improve the nation's quality of life by offering creative shopping experiences through
quality food and fresh produce at the right price to their customers.
Keells was the first supermarket in Sri Lanka to introduce an online grocery store model,
enabling consumers to shop online and pick up their groceries or get them delivered to their
homes. Nexus, Keell's own loyalty network, offers consumers discounts on daily necessities.
Keells also has an own-label range of nearly 300 products spanning grocery, home, and
beverage categories, as well as Organic and Free From product lines.
Fresh produce comes from eight collection centers throughout the country, all of which
support local farmers and growers. The dry goods are distributed to the stores through a
central distribution center. Keells also operates a Retail Academy, which educates its 5000+
team members on retail procedures and processes. The academy also has an online
training center with all of the training modules available for easy access by the teams.
And the new face of the Keells have being taken towards the sustainability. Keells makes a
pledge to eliminate single-use plastics in-store, a first in the Sri Lankan retail industry. By
2025, Keells plans to eliminate single-use plastic bags and supermarket single-use
packaging for fresh food by 50%. Keells also encourages consumers to carry their own
containers while buying seafood, poultry, and bakery products, and rewards them by giving
them a Rs.4 discount for doing so. Over 55 stores have solar panels installed to produce
electricity using renewable energy sources.(Keellssuper, 2020)
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Definition of Marketing
“The science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a
target market at a profit,” says Philip Kotler. Unfulfilled goals and desires are identified via
marketing. It defines, measures, and quantifies the size and profit potential of the identified
market. It determines which segments the organization is most suited to serve and designs
and promotes the relevant products and services.
What is Marketing?
Marketing is the process of attracting customers to your company's product or service. This
is accomplished by market research, analysis, and comprehension of your potential
customer's interests. Marketing encompasses all areas of a company's operations, including
product development, distribution techniques, sales, and advertising. (Twin, 2020).
Current and Future trends
 Online performance marketing
Online-performance marketing is a cost-per-action-based marketing strategy that is far
broader in scope than traditional advertisements. Only by evaluating brand awareness and
efficacy can one determine the effectiveness of online advertisements. The market is
changing, with newspaper prints and other resources being displaced by social media, which
they employ for market brand recognition rather than online trends. For example, the use of
the internet and technology is exploding these days, and the surfing network is expanding.
The goal of online-performance marketing is to spread advertising all over the world (Bagul,
2017).
E Marketing Tools Application Keells super
The electronic techniques and materials employed by people engaged in the promotion of
goods and services. Most businesses that need to sell their goods or services to the general
public will employ a variety of marketing strategies.
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 Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is the use of the internet, mobile devices, social media, search engines,
and other platforms to reach clients. In comparison to traditional marketing, some marketing
experts believe that digital marketing is a whole new endeavor that demands a fresh
approach to consumers and a new understanding of how customers behave. Advertisers are
often referred to as digital marketing sources, whilst targeted advertising agents are
commonly referred to as receivers. Sources frequently aim at receivers that are highly
precise and well-defined. Digital marketing channels include website marketing, content
marketing, e-mail marketing, social media marketing, video marketing, and pay-per-click
advertising (Barone, 2020).
 Personalization
Marketing customization, also known as personalized marketing or one-to-one marketing, is
the process of using data to provide brand communications customized to a single prospect.
Traditional marketing, on the other hand, was concerned with casting a wide net in order to
attract a small number of customers (Quick, 2019).
 Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is a computer-generated simulation in which a person interacts with a
simulated three-dimensional world using electrical devices such as special spectacles with
screens or sensors-equipped gloves. The user may have a realistic-feeling experience in this
simulated artificial world. It has a wide range of applications, including entertainment and
gaming, as well as sales, education, and training (Cory, 2020).
 Artificial Reality
Because of the increasing success of artificial reality, organizations will integrate it more than
ever before in 2021. Customers will be able to view things in 3D before selecting whether or
not to purchase them via augmented reality. Because of virtual reality, customers will be able
to shop in-person without having to leave their homes (OBrien, 2020)
 Advance Chatbots
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology advances, chatbots will become more valuable as
customer support and marketing platforms. Chatbots were formerly perceived as intrusive,
inauthentic, and disturbing by many viewers. As AI and machine learning advance, chatbots
become more adept at providing useful solutions suited to the needs of individual users
(Rahal, 2021).
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Key Roles and Responsibilities of the Marketing Function (Marketing Process).
 Understand the Market Place as well as Customer Needs
Market research
Businesses employ market research to examine the viability of a new product or service by
personally interacting with a potential client. Companies can utilize market research to
establish their target market and gain real-time feedback and opinions from customers
(Twin, 2020).
Keells performs market research on a regular basis in order to stay on top of consumer
perceptions and needs. They do two sorts of analysis: qualitative and quantitative study.
Small focus groups of customers are formed to give their ideas and expectations about their
requirements and aspirations for various commodities in qualitative research. Interviewing
groups of professionals about their diets, eating habits, and physical routines could be part
of it. Quantitative research is a type of research that is concerned with numbers. It involves a
considerably bigger number of people than subjective research, which involves a limited
number of people.
To identify the Marketplace Marketplace is a simple way to find, purchase,
and sell things with people in your
neighborhood. It runs 106 supermarkets
around the country as a subsidiary of the John
Keells Group.
To identify the Customer Needs Customers have specific needs and
preferences. Before a corporation begins
advertising their products or services, they
must first understand what their customers
require. Marketing research assists businesses
in identifying their customers' demands.
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To design a proper customer-driven marketing strategy, segmenting, targeting and
positioning are carried out.
Segmenting
Market segmentation is the classification of potential customers into groups or categories
based on their demands and responses to marketing activities. It enables companies to
target different types of clients who value such goods and services. Marketing segmentation
based on geography, demographics, psychology, and behavior.
 Geographic: Keells supermarkets have a nationwide product distribution network,
with a focus on the country region, rural area, and global region. Keells easily
understands geographic differences in demands and desires.
 Demographic: Keells customer segmentation focused on age, gender, and income
and education attainment.
 Psychological: Keells divides its brands into categories based on lifestyle and
personality.
 Behavioral: Keells behavioral segmentation is primarily focused on a consumer’s
experience, perception, and attitude.
Targeting
Targeting is a marketing tactic that assists in differentiating certain markets from a bigger
group of people who fit certain criteria. This helps the campaign's effectiveness. The section
is frequently used as an online marketing target. A target market is a group of people who
are likely to buy items or services. Identifying a target market is a vital step for every
organization that relies on a marketing strategy to thrive.
Positioning
In marketing and commercial strategy, consumer criticism or analysis of competing brands
or products is a market position. Market positioning is the process of creating an image or
identity for a brand or product so that people perceive it in a specific way.
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Capture value from customers create profit and customer equity
Customer value is the amount of money a customer believes a product or service is worth in
contrast to other options. The customer's sense of worth relates to whether he or she
believes he or she obtained more benefits and services for the money spent.
02. Explanation of the role and responsibilities of a marketing
manager in the context of the organization.
Role of Marketing Manager.
Marketing managers are critical in assisting a company in promoting and selling its items to
customers. Marketing managers can direct and influence how a brand appears and feels in
the marketplace, and their responsibilities can span the entire spectrum of how a firm
communicates. Learn how to succeed as a marketing manager and what it takes to advance
your career in this fast-paced field from industry experts. Marketing encompasses a wide
range of responsibilities inside a firm, from product and service marketing to data analysis
and strategic planning for the company's future growth.
 Brand Development
A marketing manager's most crucial task is to grow the brand. A brand is the image that
customers have in mind when they think of a firm. It is made of of graphics, like as a logo,
and sometimes sounds, such as music used in a television or radio commercial. Despite the
fact that each of a company's products and services may be sold separately, there is
typically a corporate brand that encompasses the entire organization. A marketing manager
collaborates with senior management to develop a brand that is consistent with the mission
statement of the firm. The marketing manager is in charge of overseeing the brand's
execution, which includes news releases, adverts, and other promotional materials
distributed by internal or external public relations and advertising specialists.
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CUSTOMER VALUE = BENEFITS - COST

 Get to know the competitors and potential markets.
A marketing manager does a range of studies to assist a company remain competitive in the
industry. Consumer research can be conducted by marketing managers using
questionnaires and focus groups. In addition, competitors' advertising techniques and sales
performance might be examined. A marketing manager may also examine the health of the
economy in respect to the company's industry. Following the completion of this investigation,
a marketing manager generates a plethora of reports based on the findings. These
documents are then presented to senior management. When making business-critical
decisions such as launching new product lines or discontinuing existing ones, management
examines reports based on the marketing manager's analysis.
 Assist the public relations department with media questions about products,
services, or brands.
In some cases, a brand manager serves as the company's media spokesman. He conducts
interviews to support new products, programs, or projects. The marketing manager
represents the organization at community events such as charity functions and other
activities. In addition, in times of crisis, a marketing manager might undertake damage
control by courting the press to modify an unfavourable opinion of the company. Although
some communications managers perform this duty alone, others work with an internal or
external public relations professional (Henderson, 2019).
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Unit 2: Marketing Essentials
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03. An explanation of how marketing influences and interrelates with other functional
departments of the organization.
Interrelationship of marketing function with other functions in an organization.
The marketing function is defined as the functions of a firm that aid in the identification,
support, and promotion of market-ready goods. General business functions include
marketing analysis, product design, the manufacturing process, advertising, distribution,
finance, and customer service. Marketing tasks cover a wide range of business activities, all
of which contribute to the growth of the organization. Different marketing functions contribute
differently to business growth. Marketing positions and responsibilities include marketing
research, finance, product development, communication, delivery, planning, promotion, and
sales. Marketing duties are vital to the success of any company. There is a link between
marketing operations and numerous corporate roles in one corporation.
 Research and Development
John Keells Research is committed to creating high-quality food, beverages, and retail
products, as well as programs that encourage consumer nutrition, exercise, wellness, and
overall well-being. Our Group's R&D and Innovation arm, John Keells Research (JKR), was
founded in 2013 with the objective of creating value for our Group and Sri Lanka through
intellectual property. Nanotechnology and advanced materials, Sustainable Energy & Energy
Storage, Biotechnology & Synthetic Biology, Food & Water, and Physics & Internet of Things
(IoT) are the core areas of our laboratory.
 Finance
John Keells group financial services sector provides a comprehensive range of financial
solutions such as commercial banking, life insurance, stock broking, debt trading, fund
management, and leasing, with the goal of becoming market leaders in their respective
segments and providing a total solution to our customers.
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 Human Resources
“Excellence is something beyond perfection or achievement. At Keells Super, all of our
employees work tirelessly to fulfil the goals of our compa- ny and provide the best service
possible to our customers. One such example of this is our ‘Freshness Promise’ where we
ensure that our customers always have the freshest produce from the farm gate to the table.
We greatly appreciate the immense contributions and support from our team of employees
and we will continue to invest in their development and wellbeing. We currently offer 3000
job opportunities to the Sri Lankan youth.”
 Procurement and Supply chain
Keells supermarket network has gradually evolved into a highly successful chain with 106
shops operating under the brand name Keells Super, as well as three franchise operations
operating under the brand name Super K. The company's vegetable and fresh items are
received directly from the farm gate, with two collecting centers in Nuwara Eliya and
Thambuththegama. Following collecting, the products are processed and packed before
being delivered to the Peliyagoda Central Distribution Centre (CDC). On the same day, they
are given in appropriate amounts to the required outlets, who then distribute to clients.
.
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04. Discuss the value and importance of the marketing role in the
context of the organization.
Marketing is an effective tool for interacting with customers.
Engaging clients entails more than just pushing services. It entails giving consumers precise
information about the products and the company. Social media is one of the most successful
ways to engage customers. Some businesses utilize short movies and other funny strategies
to engage their customers.
Marketing raises the productivity and maintenance of a company’s reputation.
The organization's prestige is inextricably linked to its performance and long-term viability.
As a result, it is acceptable to believe that the prestige determines the brand value. When a
corporation successfully serves the needs of its clients, the organization's reputation grows.
These organizations are referred to be responsible members of society. Customers are
delighted to be linked to their items. Marketers utilize excellent communication, branding,
public relations, and CSR strategies to protect a company's reputation.
Marketing helps to Boosts Sales.
Marketing employs a variety of strategies to market goods or services. When a product is
advertised, it has already been brought to the public's attention, which increases the
likelihood of it being sold. Customers that are satisfied with the goods or services become
brand ambassadors. They will spread the word, and business earnings will rise as a result.
Marketing generates revenue opportunities.
As marketing initiatives draw more customers and sales possibilities, organizations will have
more options. Having options will give firms the confidence to enter new markets.
Companies will be free to start getting rid of consumers who are too difficult for their sanity
and well-being (Mansoor, 2019).
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Unit 2: Marketing Essentials
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