BMP4004 Contemporary Issues: Analyzing the Marketing Mix in Marketing

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the marketing mix and its importance in the marketing process, focusing on the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) and applying these concepts to Marks & Spencer (M&S). It begins by defining marketing and the marketing mix, differentiating between online and offline marketing strategies, and highlighting the role of the marketing mix in new product development, cost reduction, resource allocation, and competitive advantage. The essay then delves into a theoretical explanation of the 4Ps, followed by a practical application of these elements to M&S, discussing their product portfolio, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and promotional activities, including digital marketing and collaborations. The analysis emphasizes M&S's customer-centric approach and its efforts to maintain a strong market position through strategic marketing practices.

BSc (Hons) Business Management
BMP4004
Contemporary Issues in Marketing
The nature and importance of the
marketing mix within the marketing
process
Submitted by:
Name:
ID:
1

Contents
Introduction p
An explanation of marketing p
An explanation of marketing mix p
A brief theoretical explanation of 4Ps marketing mix
p
Introduction of product/service
p
Application of 4Ps marketing mix to the selected product/service
p-p
Product p
Price p
Place p
Promotion p
Conclusion p
References p
2

Introduction
Marketing refers to the set of activity that takes place for promoting goods and services to the
desired customer It also refers to position a product and sell it at a right price, at right place
and at right time. Some of the examples of marketing are Television, magazine and
newspaper commercials, discount offers, etc(Balducci and Marinova 2018). There are four
P's of marketing i.e. Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Marketing are mainly of two types
Online marketing and Offline Marketing. Marketing plays a vital role in branding of any
product and it also enhances the growth of the business by promoting these goods and
services which help in enhancing the sale of the products. Marks and Spencer commonly
known as M&S is one the premium brand of UK. M&S was formed by Michael Marks and
Thomas Spencer in 1884. Its headquarter is located in London, United Kingdom. The
company has over 1500 stores all around the globe, including approx 1000 stores in UK and
rest in other countries. The company deals in over 6000 products such as clothing, food,
household and beauty products to numerous customers. It has several competitors such as
Asda, Aldi, Tesco, Farm foods etc.It has a revenue of approx 1088.5 crores GBP. This file
will include discussion on Marketing, Sources of marketing, Marketing mix, 4 P's etc.
An explanation of marketing
Marketing refers to the process for promoting products to the consumers. In simple words, we
can say it is the process to reach the potential consumers. There are several processes that are
involved in marketing such as planning, research, promotion, sales and distribution of goods
and services. Marketing is one of the key aspect of every business enterprise(Kumar
and .et.al. 2018). Marketing is a broad concept and it consists of all the strategies that are
required to advertise and promote the products. Generally marketing are of two types namely
Online marketing a as well as Offline Marketing. There are several advantages and
disadvantages of online and offline marketing. Online Marketing refers to the process of
promoting goods and services through internet. Some of the advantages are expenses of
creating a set up is reduced, better communication channel is created, competitive advantage,
better consumer services and increase in sale. Some of the disadvantages are it is a time
consuming process, High- tech is required for research, risk of internet fraudulence etc. This
marketing is also known as web marketing, digital marketing or internet marketing. Offline
Marketing refers to the marketing where promotion of goods and services are done through
offline platforms such as radio, television, newspaper and magazine advertisement etc. Some
of the advantages are it fulfill the exact customer needs, build interpersonal relation with
3

consumer, helps in easy fulfillment of consumer demand. Some of the disadvantages are it is
expensive, time consuming,exact outcomes are not measured, its reach is restricted to some
extent . This marketing is also known as Traditional or Old- school marketing. Marks and
Spencer is a company that has aligned itself with every possible marketing tool. As M&S is a
huge brand it need to diversify itself with different types of marketing strategies. This brand
use different media for marketing such as newspaper, billboards ,radio, television , hoardings
and many more. This brand also collaborate with celebrities to promote its product named
Christine Lampard, Amanda Holden, Myleene Klass, John Sergeant and many more. These
strategies helps the company to cater more targeted audience.
An explanation of marketing mix
Marketing mix refers to strategic actions plans that a company uses to promote its product to
the targeted consumer market and sell it.. This is used by a company to evaluate the issues
that affect the marketing of the companies and helps in formulation of marketing strategies
for the companies. Promotional and Marketing strategies helps in formation of Marketing
Mix(Pedersen,and Williams, 2021) . These strategies includes segmentation of the market,
selection of targets , building different decisions and then marketing mix is designed. There
are several importance of Marketing Mix. Some of them are listed below-
 Marketing mix plays a vital role in development of new products.
 It helps in reduction of cost i.e. cost effective
 It helps in proper allocation of resources
 It helps in effective utilization of companies strength and it also helps in minimizing
the internal and external threats.
 It also provides competitive advantages to the businesses
 It also helps the businesses to understand the need of the customers.
Some important elements of Marketing mix are its 4ps which includes Product, Price, Place
and Promotion. Marks and Spencer has a wide range product diversification such as women,
men and kids clothing, beauty products, home ware, furniture, beverages and food. M&S
mainly sells eco- friendly products. M&S has spread its business worldwide in countries like
Egypt, Canada, India, Bangladesh,Malaysia, China, Germany and many more. M&S sells its
products through both Online and Offline channels. The outlets of this brand has great
ambiance which attract the consumers to visit these stores. This brand has launched its online
store in 1999 and this store helps the customer in fulfilling their demands by sitting at home
4

as the company also provides home delivery services. M&S is a brand that caters the need of
high income groups. Its products are of premium quality ranging between high to low. It has
a revenue of over 1088.5 crores GBP and it also uses different pricing strategies such as it
provide discounts to the customer during festivals, season off etc. M&S uses different
marketing platform to promote its products.
A brief theoretical explanation of 4Ps marketing mix
The Four P's of marketing mix is the main factor that are involved in marketing of a product.
These P's also affect the business plans, strategies and growth. The brand uses various market
strategies such as promotion planning, pricing, innovation of products etc(Baidya, and
Maity2022). These strategies help the brand to succeed in the market. These Four P's are
Product, Price, Place and Promotion. These P's are highlighted below -
 Product – The first P of marketing mix is Product. Its refers to the commodity that is
manufactured or produced for the purpose of sale. In other words it refers to any kind
of goods and services that helps in fulfillment of needs and desires of the customers. It
could be goods whether tangible or intangible,services etc.
 Price – The second P of marketing mix is Price. It refers to the amount for which the
product is sold. In other words,it refers to the expected values for the products. Price
is the factor that decides the market value of firm.
 Place – The third P of marketing mix is Place. It refers to the location from where the
customer can get the goods. In other words, it refers to the channel through which
goods and services are sold. It is the total cost that the consumer needs to pay for
consuming the product. Place for the businesses can either be the retail store or the
online market.
 Promotion – The fourth and last P of marketing mix is Promotion. It refers to the
process of building brand image of a business or product. In other words, it refers to
the technique through which seller tries to convince the buyer to purchase their
product. There are several ways for promoting a product such as commercials, direct
marketing, public relation etc.
Introduction of product/service
Marks & Spencer is a brand that deals in diversified product line . This brand offer different
categories of products such as Clothing, Footwear, Home ware, Food, Beverages etc. Some
of the products that the company offers has been mentioned below -
5

Clothing  Blazers
 Sport wear
 Work wear
 Shirts
 skirts
 Cardigans etc.
Footwear  Boots
 Shoes
 Sandals
 Heels
 Loafers etc.
Accessories  Curtain
 Mirror
 Jewellery
 Watches
 Handbags
 Sunglasses etc.
Furniture  Sofa
 Bookcases
 Armchair
 Table etc.
Application of 4Ps marketing mix to the selected product/service
Mark & Spencer follows the 4Ps, as it helps the brand to sustain
its market position by marketing its products right. The 4Ps that the
brand focuses on includes; product price, place an promotion. These factors doesn't provide
an easy or low switching cost to the customers which build the trust within the customers as it
is known that Mark & Spenser is one of the top brands in the clothing and fashion industry.
By using these four factors the company is bale to formulae business strategies which helps
the company to market its products in the right way which creates an impact and penetrates
the market.
Product
Mark &Spencer is a global brand which have a wide product portfolio which is completely
customer eccentric. As the brand is dealing with a wide variety of customers of different age
and preference. The marketing strategy for which should be very specific so that it can target
each group of its customers. Along with the clothing section Mark & Spencer has launched
its furniture and house decor range. The company is known for its quality and stylish fast
6

fashion trends, the brand very strategically designs its clothing range so that its able to fulfill
the needs of people with different yet important needs.
Price
The matrix that is being used by the brand for its pricing policy is based on the competitive
pricing trends for its wide and diverse product portfolio. The brand ha s categorized its
collection between the female, male and kids sections because of the availability of the wide
options and quality for each category. But the brands need sto stick with the competitive
pricing policy as there are many big brands working with the same motive provide wide
variety with quality, there is a constant external force from the other big retail companies
both from the online as well as from the offline mediums which the company needs to
strategically handle and process.
Place
Presently the brand is operating in 50different countries along with 1000 stores out of which
850 stores are present in the United Kingdom itself followed by 50+ stores in India and other
countries such as Turkey, Spain,France, Ireland, Hungary,Finland, etc. Along with the
physical stores present in different nations(Parmer and Lin 2021). Mark & Spenser has also
launched its online website through which customers can order and buy clothes online for
which the company has installed an effective and manageable delivery system which is
responsible for reaching to the customers within the expected delivery time while mainlining
the quality standards of the product.
Promotion
In the present era digital marketing is in its full force, many companies have been benefited
from it and are still sustaining on the facilities provided by the digital marketing(Akopova
and et.al. 2020). Mark & Spencer strategically align its advertising motive with digital
marketing which helps the brand to reach to a very large number of customers within
relatively lesser time and expense as compared to the traditional marketing. The brand is
using different social media platforms and different marketing strategies including influence
marketing etc which has boost-en up the profit margins of the company. The brand also
releases special offers for its loyal customers.
7

Conclusion
Mark & Spencer is among the top players of the retail business, the bran dis
constantly developing and producing customer eccentric products which are
aiming towards the needs of the customers. With the wide range of product
portfolio the brand is executing it business in several nations with the presence
of its physical outlets along with it the company has launched its online website
through which the sales of the company. Throughout the years the company is
proving its standards to its customers and has been able to build the trust and
loyalty towards them.
8

References
Akopova, E.S., and et.al. 2020. Marketing of organizations: technologies of public-private
partnership. IAP.
Baidya, M.K. and Maity, B., 2022. Managing marketing mix competition dynamics.
International Journal of Business Forecasting and Marketing Intelligence, 7(3),
pp.277-294.
Balducci, B. and Marinova, D., 2018. Marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 46(4), pp.557-590.
Kumar, V and .et.al. G.S., 2018. Marketing research. John Wiley & Sons.
Magnani, G., 2022. Managing the “4Ps” in Culturally Distant Countries: From Theory to
Business Practice. In Marketing in Culturally Distant Countries (pp. 131-184).
Springer, Cham.
Mintz, O., Gilbride, T.J., Lenk, P. and Currim, I.S., 2021. The right metrics for marketing-
mix decisions. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 38(1), pp.32-49.
Parmer, L.L., Dillard Jr, J.E. and Lin, Y.C., 2021. The 8Ps Marketing Mix and the Buyer
Decision-Making Process. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness,
15(4), pp.32-44.
Pedersen, Z.P. and Williams, A.S., 2021. Marketing mix. In Encyclopedia of Management
(pp. 302-303). Edward Elgar Publishing.
9