Marketing Essentials Report: Marketing Plan for H&M - Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of marketing essentials, using H&M as a case study. It begins with an introduction to the importance of marketing in creating value and achieving customer satisfaction, followed by an overview of H&M as a fast-fashion brand. The report then delves into the roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within H&M, including marketing and promotion, market analysis, identifying market opportunities, and facilitating innovation. It also explores how the marketing department interrelates with other organizational departments such as research and development, production, finance, human resources, and IT. The report then discusses the concept of the marketing mix and its application to H&M. Finally, it concludes with a marketing plan for H&M, analyzing its various aspects. The report highlights the importance of a well-defined marketing strategy for achieving organizational goals and maintaining a competitive advantage in the market.

Marketing Essentials
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO1 .................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Roles and responsibilities of marketing function..............................................................3
P2 Roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to wider organisational context................5
LO2..................................................................................................................................................7
P3 Concept of marketing mix.................................................................................................7
LO3..................................................................................................................................................9
P4 Marketing plan for H&M..................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15
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INTRODUCTION
Market is an important place where exchange of goods and services take place in order to
create value. The essentials of the marketing involve products and services that are available and
are in the latest trend. With the help of marketing essential concept, the demand and competitor
analysis of market is done which helps in delivering the desired results for the enterprise (Babin
and Zikmund, 2015). This way the anticipated level of standards is achieved and the satisfaction
of customers is achieved. H&M is a fast fashion organization which is known for producing the
latest trend clothing for different age group people of the market (Griffin and Ebert, 2010). The
following report will discuss the roles and responsibilities of marketing manager which will help
in understanding how it interrelates with other departments of the organization too. Thereafter
the concept of marketing mix will also be discussed which will aid in knowing how the referred
enterprise is taking its decision regarding the distinct important areas.
LO1
P1 Roles and responsibilities of marketing function
H&M is a big brand which has its stores in different parts of the world. It is a Sweden
based enterprise which was founded in 1947 by Erling Persson with a view of capturing
maximum market share. There are a number of departments which are formulated under this
brand among which the marketing division is the most crucial one (Rossi, Allenby and
McCulloch, 2012). The roles and duties which are performed by the marketing function is crucial
and helps the enterprise in achieving its targets. The prime responsibility of this section is to
ensure that effective services are delivered in the market so that the maximum returns are
achieved and profit margins are maintained. In order to understand how the marketing
department is important for H&M the roles and responsibilities of same are discussed below:
Marketing and promotion – In order to sell goods and services properly in the market it
is of great importance that the same are promoted in the most effective manner. The mode of
advertisement has to be one which is capable of capturing maximum share of market as this way
the growth of H&M can be ensured. The advertising department does proper evaluation of
organization and selects the best way to reach different customers. With the help of this function
the marketing department communicate all the aspects of its products and prove its products
better than the other in the same field (Brassington and Pettitt, 2013). H&M is also using this
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department in order to interact with its potential buyers so that the sales volume can be increased.
Variety of techniques are used to reach at clients which has direct impact on the business done in
a particular financial year.
Market analysis – As H&M is dealing in sector which has a number of competitors and
therefore it is important for this enterprise do proper marketing research so that appropriate
decision is taken (Joshi, 2012). The marketing department helps in identifying the key
challengers of the brand as this way the production department bring changes in its current
production so that better products are manufactured. Apart from this the marketing department
also provide all the information that is associated with the organization like the optimum price
that should be maintained and the latest trends in the market so that according changes in own
product is made.
Identifying market opportunities and new segments – In order to grow on a continuous
basis, it is important for the enterprise to maintain innovation in the existing products. This can
be done by deep analyzing the possible positive chances which are available for H&M so that the
same are adopted and growth is experienced. With the help of marketing department, it is
identified that which new areas can be covered in order to reach at more customers and increase
in revenue is done. H&M promotion team work continuously in identifying new segments for
which production can be done so that the sales are increased.
Improvement in the quality – With the help of marketing function the products and
services of H&M are compared with that of other brands which helps in reaching at top quality
output. When clothes are produced after setting the quality standards they are more effective and
are capable of raising the customer satisfaction level (Caragher, 2016).
Facilitates innovation – Be it H&M or any other organization ensuring changes on a
continuous basis is of great importance. It helps in maintaining the interest of customers which
has its direct impact on the goodwill of the firm. Those enterprises which maintain changes in
the offerings on regular basis are found to be more effective and responsible in the eyes of
customers. Marketing department of the referred organization facilitates change by providing the
required information on time so that no chance of attracting more clients is missed out.
Act as a medium to communicate – It is important to ensure the required level of
interaction between customers and the organization as their suggestions helps in making
improvements in the current system (Brady, 2014). When feedback are received from the clients
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it acts as a guideline for the enterprises towards identifying the key areas that need to be
developed. This way the errors are reduced which is important to develop long term connection
with the clients.
Setting up of pricing margins for different customers – In market there are a variety of
customers who belong to different segments and it is important that product is made available
according to them. H&M has to take are about its final price as it should be such which is
capable of capturing maximum market share. When the brand is capable of maintaining price
differentiation demand for same raises to a great extent and hence the sales gets improved.
Understanding the goals of an enterprise – In order to achieve the desired results, it is
important that the goals and objectives of the enterprise is clearly communicated to all so that
accordingly uniformity is maintained in the enterprise. This way the marketing department
ensures that all the necessary message is delivered on time so that no risk is faced due to
miscommunication or confusion in what is being expected by the management (Charles,
JOSEPH and CARL, 2011).
P2 Roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to wider organisational context
In an organisation different departments have their own roles and responsibilities and
therefore it is required that there is a direct connection between each section so that collectively
they can contribute in the growth of business. Though the work done by each department is
different but they have strong interrelationships and need to maintain coordination among them
so that accordingly goals are achieved. Marketing is an effective function of an enterprise which
has its impact on overall business and has maximum contribution n taking business to a next
level (Thomas, 2011). The roles and duties of the concern department in relation to the wider
organisation context is discussed below:
Research and development section – In order to maintain changes in the organisation on
a continuous basis this department works continuously in which it does the research for which
marketing department provides great assistance. It ensures that effective information is provided
to the concern department so that it can work on implementing same. The officials of marketing
department do the market study on continuous basis so that the latest trends are identified and are
adopted in own business which helps in attracting more customers.
Production and operational department – In order to avoid the unavailability in market
it is important that continuity in the supply is maintained for which it is required that the
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optimum level of quantity is produced. Marketing department is in direct connection with the
customers and hence does the study about the current demand prevailing in for the products. The
same information is shared with the production department so that it can plan its activities
accordingly and can also do the arrangements if gap is found (Dibb and Simkin, 2013). Apart
from the quantity it is also important that the manufacturing department is provided information
about the quality of products that are already delivered in the market. Marketing sections gathers
the feedback from the customers and deliver the same to the production department and on the
basis of same improvements are made so that the next time when a unit is produced it gives
maximum satisfaction to the user. Gradually this way the errors are reduced in the enterprise and
management reach to the no error system of production. This way the efficiency level of the
enterprise gets improved in the long run and hence it become easy to achieve the targets.
Finance department – In an organisation the financial department is one of the most
important division as it looks after finance which is a crucial response
(Perreault, 2010). It is required that all the required information is delivered to officials concern
with this department so that they can accordingly plan their future activities and can make the
arrangements if required. Marketing department is efficient enough in identifying the future
requirements of the company by conducting investigations on possible change that might take
place in the coming time. It is important that arrangements are done in advance so that the
operations of H&M do not get hamper. When the marketing division study the market it analyses
the areas in which more investment is demanded and provide these statics to the financial
department.
Human resource department – Managing personnel in the referred enterprise is of great
importance as it helps in marinating continuity in daily operations. It is important that the process
of recruitment and selection is carried out in a manner that no vacancy is kept vacant for a long
time as it directly effects the profit margin of the enterprise. With the help of marketing
department H&M conducts is recruitment process and attracts different candidates to apply for
the job. On the basis of job role, the mode of selecting employees is chosen as it is important that
the message of company regarding different job roles reaches to maximum people. if the
company is successful in getting the potential resumes than it is said that that the marketing team
is effective enough in bringing good candidates to apply for different jobs (Durmaz, 2011).
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IT department – To compete with the competitive business world it is important that the
latest technology is used by the enterprise as only then long term position is maintain by the
organisation in the market (William and Jerome, 2012). With the advancement in technology the
pressure on companies also raises to ensure continuous market improvements for which
marketing team takes efforts so that it can update the technology department regarding what
changes need to be made. This helps in giving good competition to the other brands who are
dealing in same industry as when the production is done using latest application it is more cost
effective and better in quality. Apart from this the new software’s developed are also helpful in
maintaining the records and storing them for long run which is of great importance as
promptness of organisation as whole is improved in this way. through marketing research this
software’s are identified so that they can be implemented within business (Hauer, 2011).
The above discussion shows how there are a number of departments are there in the
referred enterprise and are responsible for their distinct roles and responsibilities. Marketing
department is associated in some or the other way with these divisions and help them in
producing their effective outputs so that competitive advantage is received.
LO2
P3 Concept of marketing mix
In order to promote a particular brand and to take effective decisions the concept of
marketing mix is used as through the same judgements associated with the core areas are taken
so that best results can be achieved (Pike, 2015). Ever organisation has their own way of using
the tools of marketing mix and therefore in order to understand how it is used in H&M a
discussion of same is given below in comparison to ZARA which is another leading company in
fashion industry and is known for quality of products. Earlier there were only 4Ps that were
covered in the marketing mix concept but later with the increase in demand of same more
elements were added which further added value to the marketing mix concept. The comparative
study between ZARA and H&M is given below:
Product – It is one of the most effective element of marketing mix. This helps in
identifying the different products in which a company should deal in so that profit margins are
raised to maximum. The referred brand has a minimum of two thousand merchandise under its
portfolio. H&M is producing variety of products for its customers who belong to differ segments.
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The line of products that are offered by H&M are jeans, pants inner wear, accessories etc. if
compared with Zara H&M gives more focus on its female customers as there are more product
variety in women swear (Joshi, 2012). Zara on the other hand gives equal weight to both male
and female which makes it more competent and demanding in the market. As H&M produces
variety for female’s children and males are less friendly this brand in compare to Zara. An
effective attention is given towards maintenance of quality of products by H&M so that it can
capture the maximum market share (Nguyen and Simkin, 2012).
Price – Pricing strategy of Zara and H&M both are different and these are competitive
advantage for company. Although, H&M is offering two thousand more options than Zara but
both are dealing in same kind of products still having distinct pricing which is due to the
variations of production system followed and standards maintain by each brand. It is found that
the prices of H&M are higher than that of Zara which makes it less demanding in the market.
Zara offers more options to the customers at low price making it more famous and demanding in
the market. It shows that H&M is using the strategy of premium pricing and has focused on
attracting high class economy customers (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2011). It is important that
more attention is given to the production team so that it can do more appropriate work which is
supported with less cost.
Place – The selection of location by H&M is done very specifically as it selects the major
cities to open its stores which makes it different from their brands. It also gives the options of
franchising which further raises the total market share for the organisation as this way the
presence of H&M at global level gets increased. Apart from this the referred enterprise also
provide the option of doing online shopping for its customers which has direct impact on the
total market share. This facility of sales makes the brand more demanding. Cheap labour is found
in the online business which reduce the cost for the enterprise hence having a positive impact on
the prices of final output. In order to target its different customers, the brand is focusing on
giving more efforts on developing good supply chain management so that non availability of
product is avoided (LEHTINEN and MÄKINEN, 2012). It is also ensured that the transportation
cost is kept minimum as this has direct impact on the cost of goods reduced on the other hand
ZARA is not doing online business and has its outlets in differ cities which restricts it total sales.
Promotion – In order to capture greater market, share it is important that effective
promotion tools are used. H&M is effective enough in reaching to its various customers as it uses
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variety of marketing tools which are capable of attracting customers. The multi-channel
promotion tools of H&M are helping this brand in reaching to customers and also ensuring
effective communication with them. TV advertisement, you tube, digital marketing is the most
commonly used platforms for H&M through which information regarding the new product is
communicated in the market. On the other hand, Zara do not believe in promoting their products
on social platforms or using advertisements to communicate with its customers. It saves the
promotion cost and use same on other productive purpose like on raising the quality of products.
This way the total prise of commodities is also saved and hence indirectly the market share is
raised. H&M use the tool of sponsorship in order to create brand value in market like taking
assistance from different celebrities to promote brand in a particular region which add cost to the
firm and the same is finally charged against the final products (Marshall and Johnston, 2011).
Process – In order to retain the potential customers of H&M employees are provided with
effective training as they have dirt impact on the company’s profit. The referred organisation is
using the system of customer care services as through this the complains of different clients are
answered and resolved which develop long term connections among the brand and customers.
Apart from this it is also ensured that customers who are visiting the outlet are provided with a
helping hand so that they do not find it difficult to select their products. Zara also give much
emphasis on using the digital media to deal with the customer’s feedbacks and complains so that
the same is resolved in short period of time.
Physical evidence – The stores of H&M are designed in a manner that customers do not
find it difficult to find what they want. Good ambience is maintained with the availably of polite
staff members. Zara is also very much specific with the kind of surroundings they kept in the
stores. The employees are well dressed and theme is maintained so that uniformity is established
and a good impression is given to all those who is visiting to the Zara stores (McDaniel, Lamb
and Hair, 2012).
LO3
P4 Marketing plan for H&M
In order to expand the present scale of operations it is required that a new marketing plan is
constructed so that improvements are made and better market share is captured. In order to beat
the other brand, the following plan can be formulated:
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Mission Statement: This statement of H&M can be described in terms of its tag-line, i.e.
'Fashion & Quality at Best Price'. Therefore, main mission of this retailer company is - “ Believe
in better fashion future, which makes fair and sustainable trendy products at affordable price
rates”.
Vision Statement: “To lead the change towards a fair, equal and circular fashion
industry”, is the main vision statement of H&M.
Situational Analysis: This analysis support managers of H&M in building a better
marketing plan which increase the effectiveness of business activities. It also entails information
related to current needs and demand of customers. It includes: Market analysis: Since H&M operates in fashion industry where low product life-cycle
creates a large impact on profitability of business. In this regard, marketplace consists
with various risks due to emergence and changing pattern of fashion. Customer analysis:This company generally targets to all age group including men,
women and kids. But it focuses more on demand pattern of youngsters.
 Competitive analysis: As business model of H&M is mainly depends on physical stores
where footfall of customers determine the effectiveness of brand. Due to efficient supply
of products through online sources, companies like Zara, Morrisons and other, have gain
advantage to retain customers towards their services. So, it assist H&M to adopt new
techniques to attract people.
Marketing objectives
 To make the brand more famous in the market
 To focus on increasing sales through reducing total cost
SWOT analysis of H&M
Strength Weaknesses
 Presence at global level which
improves the total number of sales in a
particular financial year.
 This brand has collaboration with a
number of brands which further helps
in raising total sales as the resources
gets improved when collaboration is
As the company is focusing more on producing
products for women’s the major weakness of
this brand is that it lacks variety for other
segments.
The other weakness of this brand is that its
prices are too high which makes it less
demanding in the market.
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done.
 Keeping the stock updated with the
market helps in building trust in
between brand and its customers.
The referred brand also faces a major drawback
of having limited range of styles.
Opportunities Threats
 As the organisation is lacking behind in
offering different range of styles H&M
can raise its sales by working more on
bringing additional styles.
 It can also use the social media
platforms to reach more costumers and
can use their feedbacks for making
improvements.
 More attention should be given on the
promotion strategies so that the
competitive advantage is achieved and
hence the overall growth is ensured.
The major threat for H&M is from its major
competitors such as Zara and Gap.
Another threat faced by this brand is of
continuous change in the trends which
fluctuates the demand for the products of
H&M.
Changes that take place in the economic
conditions also has a direct impact on the sales
of referred brand and hence stability is
demanded to have a normal business.
Marketing Strategy – In order to capture greater market, share the referred organisation can
take help of targeting its customers so that accordingly the products are produced. This way it is
analysed that what is being most demanded in the market so that accordingly changes are made
in own products. Targeting positions are the various strategies through which the same can be
done.
Segmentation: H&M operates its business in fashionable industry with products like
trendy clothes and accessories. Therefore, it segmented customers in terms of demographic,
psycho-graphic and geographical manner like age, race, income, personality attributes, brand
loyalty and more.
Targeting: Since H&M work with various sub-brand in marketplace, therefore, it uses
targeting strategies. It mainly target college going youngsters and youth who like to acquire
trendy clothes.
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Positioning: In terms of offering a variety of products, at best price, present company has
acquired a good position among other retailers at UK.
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Porter's Growth strategies: Under this stage, H&M use cost differentiation techniques and
offer its products on low cost in order to attract customers.
Marketing mix:
Place: H&M is considered as the second largest retailer in clothing sector in entire world
having distributors in near about 55 countries. People can easily find its retail stores in malls and
shopping area.
Product:H&M is one of the most trust able brand and his core range of products brand of
fashion includes accessories, and clothing like sleeved, basic jumpers, jewelry and shoes. The
company focus on quality as well as latest fashion.
Price: The company offers many discounts and schemes on their fresh and core stock and
most important fact of H&M has been capable for supply quality items at lower price ranges.
Promotion: Its managers use electronic technologies and social media to promote its
products in vast area of marketplace.
Budget:This part entails requirement of funds for completing business operations in desired
manner:-
Marketing budget
Particulars
1st
year
2nd
year
3rd
year 4th year 5th year
Capital 40000 1800 3800 2000 4000
Investments 16500 16100 17000 19500
Total 40000 18300 19900 19000 23500
Marketing
expenditures
Promotion 7000 6000 6000 3000 5000
Sales 6000 1000 5000 4000 1000
Marketing 3000 1300 2100 2300 1100
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Internet
Marketing 2000 1000 4000 3000 3000
Networking 1000 6000 8000 13000 1700
Printing 600 700 600 200 7500
Advertising 4000 9000 6000 1300 2500
Total 23600 25000 31700 26800 21800
Control, evaluation and review: It is the last phase under which different strategies are
evaluated by managers for determining effectiveness of business. In order to control business
activities, managers of H&M make policies and different strategies. It helps in attracting
customers towards products or services as well as get their retention for longer profitability also.
CONCLUSION
From the above report this has been summarised that there are major roles that are
performed by a marketing manager in H&M as it helps the brand in achieving it goals and
objectives. With the help of different tools like marketing mix proper decisions regarding the
important areas like in which product the organisation should deal in etc. Lastly the file
concluded with a new plan for the organisation which can help in doing better business.
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