Marketing Essentials: Roles, Responsibilities, Plan & Case Analysis

This report provides an overview of marketing essentials, focusing on the roles and responsibilities of marketing functions within an organization, using 'Your Destination' as a case study. It details the responsibilities of marketing officers in expanding the business, emphasizing the importance of understanding customer needs and market trends. The report also compares how different organizations apply the marketing mix to achieve their business objectives, using 'Your Destination' and 'National Express' as examples. Furthermore, it includes the development of a basic, evidence-based marketing plan for 'Your Destination', outlining strategies and tactics to achieve the organization's objectives, highlighting the significance of marketing in achieving overall business goals.

MARKETING ESSENTIALS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................2
LO1.............................................................................................................................................3
P1, M1- ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE VARIOUS MARKETING FUNCTIONS.............3
P2, M2- ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF MARKETING IN WIDER ORGANIZATIONAL
CONTEXT................................................................................................................................5
L02..............................................................................................................................................8
P3, M3- COMPARISON OF WAYS BY WHICH MARKETING MIX CAN BE APPLIED BY THE
DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS TO ACHIEVE THE OVERALL BUSINESS OBJECTIVES.................8
LO3.......................................................................................................................................12
P4, M4- DEVELOPMENT OF BASIC AND EVIDENCE-BASED MARKETING PLAN....................12
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................19
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................20
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INTRODUCTION
The people misconceive marketing as advertising or promotion but it is far more than that
and covers various broader subjects inside it. There are various factors involved in the
marketing like understanding the market scenario to bring down the services and products
in the market by developing new markets. It is very important to understand the essentials
of marketing by seeing the intense competition in the industry so that the companies can
deal with different competitive companies offering a proposal which are quite different and
are not easy to oppose (Cohan, 2017).
The awareness of the marketing essentials according to the current situation of the world is
reflected in this assignment. A case study of an organization named “Your Destination”
providing nationwide transport facilities with its operation in London and Essex having the
aim of expanding their business across the world is depicted in this report. The roles and
responsibilities of marketing officers in expanding a business of an organization are
described by focusing the various marketing mix elements (Harmon, 2015). A basic
marketing plan is developed in this report along with the ways to achieve the objectives of
the organization. Various tactics of marketing which help an organization to achieve their
business goals are also defined.
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LO1
P1, M1- ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE VARIOUS MARKETING
FUNCTIONS
MEMO
To: The Senior Manager
From: ABC (Marketing Manager)
Date: 22-04-2018
Re: Marketing officer roles and responsibilities
MARKETING OFFICERS ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The company “Your Destination” provides its successful operations in the London and Essex
from the last three years with a higher growth rate. So, the company wants to expand its
operations nationwide by expanding their business and opening new branches in
Manchester, Newcastle, Aberdeen and Glasgow etc. The key responsibilities and duties of a
marketing department are performed by the marketing officers who are recruited by the
company and which is the main purpose of this memo. The management of the operations
of the company and practical execution must be focused by the marketing officers of the
organization (Mishra and Modi, 2016). Marketing officers should possess excellent
communication and logical skills and must perform their task e efficiently and effectively.
The needs and wants of the customers should be understood by the marketing officer by
conducting various surveys or research. These surveys and research help them to analyse
the new market prospects for their company and will also help them to create niche
markets for their services and products. Marketing strategies of the company should be
developed by the marketing officer so that their business can be expanded in other
countries as well (Johnson, et al. 2017). A particular market should be targeted for the
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promotion of various products and services with the goal of entering inside a market with a
market share and attain a competitive advantage which must be outlined in the business
strategy.
A customer need survey will be performed by the marketing officer to collect various
information related to the market and must share that information by ensuring that the
service which is provided to their customers is outstanding. The market trend should be
recognized by the marketing officer to analyse the new targeted markets by opening their
different branches in the Manchester, Newcastle, Aberdeen and Glasgow etc. Analysing the
use of logistics services by the customers and identifying the off-peak and peak demand
stages of the services must be done by the marketing officers which is their key role
(Gummesson, et al. 2014). There are various strategies that need to be developed before
entering a new market which must be analysed and forecasted by the marketing officers.
In managing the operations of the department the marketing officer’s role is to support the
marketing manager. In order to generate and spread awareness regarding the various
services that are provided to the customers, the role of the marketing officers is to attend
and organize the different events and activities of the marketing. A marketing plan should
be developed by the officers for advertising and promotional campaigns on different sources
like print media, electronic media in different cities to promote their services and introduce
new brands in the market (Jugenheimer, et al. 2015). They also need to contact various
stakeholders and vendors for promoting the activities of the company and making their
presence in the different parts of the country.
It is the responsibility of the marketing officers to monitor and evaluate the activities related
to the business expansion and make the necessary changes with the assistance of marketing
managers. The content required for publishing the marketing materials like videos,
advertisements and promos along with their distribution should be prepared and managed
by the marketing officers. The current marketing situation and the compatibility for the
expansion of business in the market must be analysed by the surveys and research. Another
important responsibility of the marketing officers is to collaborate with marketing managers
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for analysing the budget and observe the marketing expenses of the organization (Tuten,
and Solomon, 2017). The marketing principles and techniques must be known by the
marketing officers along with the report preparation of the budget, resources and
techniques required for the business expansion.
PROPOSED MARKETING STRUCTURE
There are two types of marketing involved in the marketing structure namely traditional
marketing and digital marketing. The digital marketing comprises of social media and search
engine optimization. The people of the UK are more focused toward the social media
technology as it helps in creating awareness about the market of the UK. Whenever the user
searches the details of transport companies over the websites, the search engine
optimization or SEO helps to give preferences to the sites. Public relations and offline
advertising can be done with the help of traditional marketing which helps an organization
to meet their potential clients and customers, make the customers aware about the
products and services of the company by the distribution of leaflets and pamphlets of the
company, surveys and face to face interactions (Lee, et al. 2015).
P2, M2- ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF MARKETING IN WIDER
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
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The responsibility for understanding the current marketing trend is very important, as the
responsibilities and roles of the organizational objectives are broad which helps to attain the
business objectives of the company. The organization must be well aware of the customer
needs for fulfilling their requirements and achieving the objectives of the organization.
Financial aids for the budget preparation and resources required must the analysed in the
report for expanding the business in the different parts of the country and achieving the
proposed objectives of the organization (Kumar and Shah, 2013).
Efficient funding can be made for the business by the marketing tactics of the marketing
officers. For creating the awareness among the people related to the company and services
in the market various campaigns and events are organized by the marketing officers. The
errands are collaborating with the other functions of the company by the marketing officers
in order to contribute to the objectives of the organizations. Various services are developed
by the creative team with the help of the market research done by the marketing officers for
satisfying the needs of the customers as well as incrementing the organization sales which in
turn fulfils the organization's objectives (Law and Cobanoglu, 2014).
The marketing functions of the company are directly interrelated with the other functioning
departments of the organizations like finance department, human resources, sales
department etc. The objectives of the organization can be easily achieved by the combined
efforts of all the departments of a company. The different work is performed by the
different department like the role of the finance department is to analyse the budget and
make investments, marketing department take care of the requirements of the customers,
creating different specific services for the customers is done by the creative department
whereas managing the human resources and employees of the company is done by the
human resource department. Thus, there is a great significance of all the functional units of
an organization in achieving the business objectives.
The proposed structure by the marketing officer should be vertical so that the
communication to the employees could be done vertically which helps in better
relationships among the employees and good working environment of the company. The
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marketing initiatives must be managed by the by the marketing team by defining and
managing the brand through various campaigns. All the materials required for the purpose
of marketing and promotions are created by the marketing department along with the
content creation for the website and applications of the company. One of the important
functions of the marketing team is to manage and monitor the digital and print media. The
targeted markets, as well as the perception of the customers regarding the products and
services of the company, are defined by the customer and the market research.
Thus, the different roles of marketing along with its interrelation with the other functional
units of the company are explained.
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L02
P3, M3- COMPARISON OF WAYS BY WHICH MARKETING MIX CAN BE
APPLIED BY THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS TO ACHIEVE THE OVERALL
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
The placing of the right products at the right place, at the right time with the right price and
right promotion can be referred as “Marketing Mix”. Marketing mix can also be explained by
the different techniques and actions that are performed collectively to promote a company
product or brand in the potential market (Malhotra, et al. 2013). There are 7p's of marketing
mix which can be applied to attain the organizational objectives which are the place, price,
products, physical evidence, people, process and promotion.
Marketing mix can be applied to the two organizations "Your Destination" and "National
Express" in the following ways by which the organizational goals can be achieved-
7P’s YOUR DESTINATION NATIONAL EXPRESS
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE Your Destination is one of
the new organizations in the
market and wants to expand
their business by developing
proper infrastructure for the
customers for a safe, hassle-
free and comfortable travel.
The company should have a
well-built interior, properly
furnished with good
appearance.
The ticket counters and
booking offices of the
National Express are
designed well with proper
space and elegant interior
designs. The seating facilities
of the transport are very
comfortable, especially of
the luxury buses (Jin, et al.
2015). They ensure and
promises safe, timely and
comfortable journey for their
customers.
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PRODUCT The need of the customer
service must be kept in mind
by the transport service
especially of the trams and
trucks for the industrial level
transportation facilities along
with the several Volvo AC
and NON AC buses
Different types of
transportation services are
offered by the National
Express to their passengers
like NON AC buses, AC Volvo
buses, semi-luxurious buses,
cars etc. The products and
services of the company are
made by keeping the
customer requirements in
mind.
PLACE The channel of distribution
of the company needs to be
enhanced. Online booking
services and ticket counters
must be established by the
company to make their
presence across the nation.
The company has wide
distribution channel due to
which it has established an
incredible position around
the world. Online and offline
booking services are the
channels provided to the
customers which are they
can book their tickets.
PRICING The pricing of the products
and services must be kept
low and reasonable for
providing better services and
excel in the market. To
attract the customer's
various discounts and offers
must be given.
National Express has such a
pricing strategy that is easily
affordable by the customers
of the company. Class of
travel, loading factors,
competitors pricing and
profit margins are the factors
that must be included while
making the pricing strategy.
PROMOTION The company needs to
promote their services in
National Express is one of
the recognised companies
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various ways for expanding
their business nationwide
through online websites,
mobile app services, calling,
audios, videos and print
media (Kumar and Shah,
2013). This will help them to
create awareness among the
customers.
and is the market leaders
which have their own
websites with all the
information and services that
are launched recently by the
company, They don't lay
much emphasis on the
promotional strategies.
Various discounts are offered
by the company with
different tour packages for
the different places of UK.
PROCESS There are different
procedures that need to be
formed by the company in
order to deliver the quality
services to the company. The
services should be made
based on the customer
requirements with the aim of
expanding in the areas like
Aberdeen, Manchester,
Newcastle, Glasgow etc.
National Express provides
quality services and provides
reservation facilities for the
initial online and offline
bookings. Every minute
detail is provided on the
website like how to book a
seat, from where to buy and
how to pay the amount
which ultimately enhances
the customer level of
satisfaction.
PEOPLE The company need to
manage all the employees of
the organization since they
are the centre of the
company by providing them
various better facilities like
periodic training for
People are the most
important people in case of
the National Express as they
are the face of the company
so better services are
provided to them. the
company employees are
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increasing their skills, timely
salary credits, bonuses and
must make sure about the
dependability of employees
of the organization.
trained and motivated with
different facilities and
benefits in order to ensure
their reliability which highly
affects their degree of
responsiveness.
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