Strategic Marketing Management Report: M&S Consumer Behaviour Analysis

This report undertakes a comprehensive analysis of Marks and Spencer's strategic marketing management. It begins by defining strategic marketing management and introducing Marks and Spencer as the chosen organization. The main body delves into consumer behavior and decision-making, exploring how M&S segments its customers and the factors influencing their purchasing habits. A detailed marketing audit is conducted, incorporating PESTLE analysis, Porter's Five Forces, and SWOT analysis to assess the macro-environment, competitive forces, and internal strengths and weaknesses. The report then examines the current marketing strategies, including product, price, place, and promotion, in relation to the company's objectives. Finally, the report outlines future marketing objectives, such as improving customer service and introducing innovative products, emphasizing the critical role of marketing in achieving organizational goals, enhancing profitability, and expanding the customer base. References are provided at the end.

Strategic Marketing
Management
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Consumer Behaviour and decision-making............................................................................3
Marketing Audit.....................................................................................................................4
Situation Analysis...................................................................................................................6
Marketing Objectives.............................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
Strategic marketing management is a concept that is implemented to an organisation's
mission in order to generate the best possible output from its existing marketing plan (Chernev,
2018). It helps the company in identifying different opportunities in the market. In other words, it
is a system which is designed in order to assist the management of a company to create, change
and retain a particular strategy and create a vision. The organisation chosen for this report is
Marks and Spencer which is a British multinational retailer and was founded by Michael Marks
and Thomas Spencer n the year 1884. The company is headquartered in London, United
Kingdom. The products of the company include clothing items for men, women and children. It
also offers food and beverage as well as household products. The report explains the impact of
marketing on an organisation's objectives as well as its position in the market and a critical
evaluation of the current marketing strategy of the chosen company. The primary goal of the
report is to evaluate the current marketing strategies used by the company as well as the role of
marketing within Marks and Spencer. The scope of report is that through it will be able to
identify various opportunities as well as the behaviour of its customers.
MAIN BODY
Consumer Behaviour and decision-making
Consumer behaviour can be defined as the study of how customers select, buy, use and
dispose products and services in order to satisfy their needs. Marks and Spencer has segmented
its customers on different criteria like gender, age, social class, income level etc. The company
primarily targets people who want high quality products and are willing to pay premium for the
same. This helps it in designing clothes that will match their requirements. Marks and Spencer is
among those brands that value their customers and work towards offering them the best quality
products without any compromise. The customers of the respective company show a frequent
purchase behaviour which means that they are satisfied with the products and services and are
loyal to the brand.
Customers consider something valuable when it fulfils their requirements and meets
expectations. Since the customers of Marks and Spencer are loyal to it, they do not switch brands
even if the company makes changes in the prices of its products. This means that the products
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and services of the company hold value to the customers (David, David and David, 2017). It also
shows that the customers are highly satisfied with the brand as well as its products and services.
Marketing Audit
Marketing audit can be defined as a complete review of the market plan of the company,
its strategies, objectives and current tasks that are being carried by Marks and Spencer in the
market. The main purpose behind a marketing audit is to get an idea about practices that are
working in favour of the organisation and the ones that are not. According to the view point of
Thomas Bush, a PESTLE analysis analyses the different macro environment factors which help
in getting a better understanding of a company's current as well as future market (Marks and
Spencer PESTLE Analysis, 2020). Macro environment factors can be defined as factors that are
external to the organisation and may affect its overall functioning. An analysis of the macro
environment can be done by conducting a PEST analysis which is explained below -
 Political Factors – There are various political factors that can impact the operations of
Marks and Spencer either positively or negatively. The factors can include like free trade,
Brexit etc. Brexit has affected the overall operations of the company in the way that it
will have to pay an increased amount of tax in order to ship products out of England
(Whalen and Akaka, 2016). The production costs will also go up and if any other political
instability comes up, the organisation will have to shut down its retail stores overseas or
increase prices which can result in a loss of customers.
 Economic Factors – The current economic condition of United Kingdom is that the
trend is shifting towards smaller retail stores that offer low mark-up price on their
products. Thus Marks and Spencer has the advantage of maintaining its image of a
premium brand in the market.
 Social Factors – Since the brand is a very old brand, the youth fails to associate it with
the same. Thus, if the company does not revamp itself, it is most likely to lose majority of
its customers.
 Technological Factors – Today retail stores are implementing the latest technology in
the system and adopting the change. Marks and Spencer has also introduced self-
checkout systems in its various retail stores across different locations (Deepak and
Jeyakumar, 2019). This change can help it in maintaining a strong presence among young
customers.
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The primary factors that are most relevant for the organisation are its strong brand image
as well as implementation of self-checkout systems at various retail outlets across different
locations as they will help the brand in gaining advantage against its competitors in the market as
well as attract a large number of customers. One of the major factors that is most likely to pose
threat to the company is Brexit which is a political factor as it will change the way in which
operations are conducted by Marks and Spencer. Whereas small retail stores providing low
markup value on their products can be an opportunity for the brand to maintain its premium
brand image in the market.
Porter's Five Forces Model
 Threat of New Entrants – This power of this force is high as new entrants can pose
pressure on the respective company by offering products at low prices (Felix,
Rauschnabel and Hinsch, 2017). Thus, Marks and Spencer has to manage all these
challenges and thus adopt strategies that safeguard its position in the market which can be
done by innovating its products and services.
 Bargaining Power of Suppliers – The power of this force is also high as suppliers who
have a dominant position in the market can decrease overall margins that the respective
company earns in the market by selling its products. Marks and Spencer can reduce this
force by building an efficient supply chain with its suppliers.
 Bargaining Power of Buyers – The power of this force high as buyers have the power to
demand products that are of high quality at minimum prices. This can be crucial for the
brand and affect its overall profitability in the market. Therefore, the company should
focus more on increasing its overall customer segment which will not only minimise this
force but also enhance sales.
 Threat of Substitutes – The threat of other competitors providing substitute products to
the customers is high which makes this a strong force because if a new entrant does so, it
will impact the overall sales of Marks and Spencer. This force can be reduced by the
company by focusing not just on its products but services as well. The company should
understand the primary need of the customers and then manufacture products rather than
just pay attention to what customers are buying.
 Rivalry among Competitors – The power of this force is high because if the rivalry
among competitors is intense, it will lead to an overall decline in the profitability if the
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company (Kumar, Lahiri and Dogan, 2018). Also, the company operates in a very
competitive industry which means that it should build a sustainable differentiation of its
products and also collaborate with competitors in order to increase its size as well as
share in the market.
SWOT Analysis
 Strengths – The respective company has a strong brand image and is recognised by
people across the world. It is known for offering high quality products at affordable and
pocket friendly prices (Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez, 2018). Also, the company has a
large number of retail outlets in different locations across the globe.
 Weaknesses – The workload on the employees of the company is high due to which the
costs of the products are high. Also, the company has not adopted the recent technology
which in turn reduces the efficiency of the workers.
 Opportunities – The company has an opportunity to increase its online presence by
being active on various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The
company should also plan on expanding its operations in other countries to increase its
overall sales and profitability.
 Threats – One of the major threats faced by the company is increased competition from
other key players in the market like Zara, Tommy Hilfger, Gap, Uniqlo etc.
Situation Analysis
The primary objective of the respective company is to build a business that is sustainable
through constant profitable growth and thus ensure that it meets the responsibility of its
stakeholders and shareholders. There are different tools and techniques that can be used to
produce a situation analysis like PESTEL and SWOT analysis, Porter's five force model etc. The
current marketing strategy of the company in relation to the objectives is as follows -
 Product – Marks and Spencer is a popular retail brand that has operations across the
world and offers products that are of high quality at low and affordable prices. The
products are sold in different categories that are set up keeping in mind the different
segments of customers.
 Price – The company follows the strategy of competitive pricing as the customers have a
variety of options to choose from since competition in the industry has increased (Mu and
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et. al., 2017). Marks and Spencer also follows dynamic pricing strategy as various
discounts and offers are offered to the customers during seasonal sales.
 Place – The company has a wide presence worldwide in the form of offline retail stores.
It also sells its products online through various social media channels and other online
platforms like e-retailers like Amazon and Flipkart. The products are also sold on its
official website.
 Promotion – Marks and Spencer uses various offline as well as online channels to
promote its products. Various print media is also used to promote products and services
like television, radio, magazines etc.
Internal audit assures that an organisation's risk management, internal process and
governance are carried out effectively (Sahaf, 2019). Marks and Spencer can use various tools in
order to carry out an internal audit like assessing the risk involved with a project, use of trial
balance, carrying out SWOT analysis etc. It can also implement Boston Matrix which will help it
in analysing its products and services and thus determine if it is a cash cow, question mark, dog
or a star.
Marketing Objectives
Marketing objectives can be defined as goals that are set by an organisation while
promoting and advertising its products in the market. The vision of Marks and Spencer is to set a
standard against which the performance of the company be measured. And the company aims to
make high quality products accessible to everyone by offering a wide variety of products.
Future marketing objectives for the respective company are as follows -
 To improve the existing customer service within 5 months by implementing new
technology and improve customer satisfaction by 15%.
 To introduce new and innovative products in the market within 7 months in order to
increase overall sales by 20%.
Marketing plays an important role within an organisation and helping it achieve goals and
objectives as it involves branding, advertising and promoting the products and services of the
company. As per the views of Timothy Mahea, marketing is responsible for increasing the
overall profitability of the an organisation (The Role of Marketing in Organizations – By Timothy
Mahea, 2019) and also helps in enhancing its customer base. Thus, the company can adopt the
strategy of marketing its products through various social media platforms like Instagram and
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Facebook and thus increase its customer reach (Whalen, P. and et. al., 2016). Also, appropriate
training can be provided to the employees to ensure that a more refined customer service is
provided and that the customers are satisfied and loyal to the brand.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that organisations should set a target segment
of customers which is helpful in the way that they can produce products accordingly and thus
fulfil the needs of customers and gain their loyalty. Strategic marketing management is
implemented in order to gain the best possible outcomes for an existing marketing plan. Also,
consumers show different behaviour while making a purchase and this should be clearly
understood and analysed by management of a company. In order to review the plan that is set by
the organisation, a marketing audit can be conducted which will help in achieving the objectives
much more effectively. Thus, for this analysis of internal as well as external environment can be
conducted.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Chernev, A., 2018. Strategic marketing management. Cerebellum Press.
David, M. E., David, F. R. and David, F. R., 2017. The quantitative strategic planning matrix: a
new marketing tool. Journal of strategic Marketing. 25(4). pp.342-352.
Deepak, R. K. A. and Jeyakumar, S., 2019. Marketing management. Educreation Publishing.
Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. A. and Hinsch, C., 2017. Elements of strategic social media
marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research. 70. pp.118-126.
Kumar, V., Lahiri, A. and Dogan, O. B., 2018. A strategic framework for a profitable business
model in the sharing economy. Industrial Marketing Management. 69. pp.147-160.
Moutinho, L. and Vargas-Sanchez, A. eds., 2018. Strategic Management in Tourism, CABI
Tourism Texts. Cabi.
Mu, J. and et. al., 2017. Strategic orientation and new product development performance: The
role of networking capability and networking ability. Industrial Marketing Management.
64. pp.187-201.
Sahaf, M. A., 2019. Strategic marketing: making decisions for strategic advantage. PHI
Learning Pvt. Ltd..
Whalen, P. and et. al, 2016. Anatomy of competitive advantage: towards a contingency theory of
entrepreneurial marketing. Journal of Strategic Marketing. 24(1). pp.5-19.
Whalen, P. S. and Akaka, M. A., 2016. A dynamic market conceptualization for entrepreneurial
marketing: the co-creation of opportunities. Journal of Strategic Marketing. 24(1). pp.61-
75.
Online
Marks and Spencer PESTLE Analysis. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://pestleanalysis.com/marks-and-spencer-pestle-analysis/>.
PESTLE Analysis Of Marks And Spencer. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.marketingtutor.net/pestle-analysis-of-marks-and-spencer/>.
The Role of Marketing in Organizations – By Timothy Mahea. 2019. [Online]. Available through
: <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140915080650-84228363-the-role-of-marketing-in-
organizations-by-timothy-mahea>.
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