Marketing Essentials: Marketing Mix Comparison and Plan Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive overview of marketing essentials, focusing on the application of the marketing mix by different organizations to achieve their business objectives. It begins with an introduction to marketing, highlighting its various functions and uses the example of Marks and Spencer to illustrate key concepts. The report then delves into the 7 Ps of marketing, including product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence, explaining their significance in developing effective marketing strategies. It compares the marketing mixes of Marks and Spencer and Debenhams, analyzing how each company utilizes the 7 Ps. Furthermore, the report outlines the process of creating a basic marketing plan, including market research, setting objectives, SWOT analysis, segmentation, targeting, positioning, and budgeting. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and a list of references.

Marketing Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
P3 Compare the ways in which different organizations apply the marketing mix to the
marketing planning process to achieve business objectives.......................................................4
Produce and evaluate a basic marketing plan for an organization..............................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Marketing performs the various functions like performing advertising, building up the
relationships with customers, educating the audience about the company or organization and so
on. For reference purpose this report has taken an example of a company, Marks and Spencer.
Marks and Spencer is a British multinational company which is specializes in fine clothing,
home products and food products. The company serves worldwide with having 1467 stores
running successfully.
This report includes a basic marketing plan for the organization.
TASK 2
P3 Compare the ways in which different organizations apply the marketing mix to the marketing
planning process to achieve business objectives.
The marketing mix is applied in the marketing arranging methodology to accomplish
hierarchical objectives and target. The business association use different various techniques for
the use of marketing mix among their association. Generally, it is based over the market
socioeconomics, products and administrations of the organization, showcase size and friends'
size. The marketing mix is the apparatus which causes advertisers to understand the product. The
basic uses of marketing mix include 4 P's of marketing which include product, price, place and
promotion (Joshi, 2012). This methodology was later stretched out to 7 P's of marketing with
product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence.
Successful marketing addresses an expansive scope of zones rather than focusing on one
message. Doing so helps contact a more extensive crowd, and by remembering the four Ps,
marketing experts are better ready to keep up center around the things that truly matter.
Concentrating on a marketing mix assists associations with settling on key choices when
propelling new products or reconsidering existing products. The four Ps characterization for
building up a compelling marketing procedure was first presented in 1960 by marketing teacher
and creator E. Jerome McCarthy. Contingent upon the business and the objective of the
marketing plan, marketing directors may adopt different strategies to every one of the four Ps.
Every component can be analyzed autonomously, yet practically speaking, they frequently are
regularly reliant on each other. These 7 P’s are as follows:

Product: This speaks to an item or services intended to fulfill client needs and needs. To
adequately showcase a product or administration, it's critical to distinguish what separates it from
contending products or administrations (Khan and Adil, 2013). It's additionally critical to decide
whether different products or administrations can be advertised related to it.
Price: The deal price of the product reflects what shoppers are happy to pay for it. Marketing
experts need to consider costs identified with innovative work, assembling, marketing, and
appropriation—also called cost-based valuing. Evaluating dependent on purchasers' apparent
quality or worth is known as value based pricings.
Place: The kind of product sold is imperative to consider while deciding territories of dispersion.
Essential buyer products, for example, paper merchandise, frequently are promptly accessible in
numerous stores. Premium customer products, be that as it may, normally are accessible just in
select stores. Another thought is whether to put a product in a physical store, on the web, or both.
Promotions: Joint marketing efforts additionally are known as a promotional mix. Exercises
may incorporate publicizing, deals promotion, individual selling, and advertising. A key thought
ought to be for the financial plan doled out to the marketing mix. Marketing experts cautiously
build a message that regularly joins subtleties from the other three Ps when attempting to arrive
at their intended interest group (Larson and Draper, 2015). Assurance of the best mediums to
convey the message and choices about the recurrence of the correspondence additionally are
significant.
People: People are the most significant component of any help or experience. Administrations
will in general be delivered and devoured at a similar second, and parts of the client experience
are adjusted to meet the individual needs of the individual expending it. A large portion of us can
think about a circumstance where the individual assistance offered by people has made or
polluted a visit, get-away or eatery dinner. Keep in mind, people purchase from people that they
like, so the disposition, aptitudes and presence of all staff should be top notch. People have a
significant job in administration conveyance, they are depended upon to convey and keep up
value-based marketing and people have a significant impact in the client relationship.
Physical evidence: survives as we probably aware are to a great extent and intangible when
marketing. Anyway clients will in general depend on physical signals to assist them with
assessing the product before they get it (Lipsman and et. al.,2012). In this manner advertisers
create what we call physical evidence to supplant these physical signs in assistance. The job of

the advertiser is to plan and actualize such unmistakable evidence. Physical evidence is the
material piece of a help.
Process: Process is another component of the administrations marketing mix or 7Ps.There is
various view of the idea of process inside the business and marketing writing. Some consider
processes to be a way to accomplish a result.
Marks and Spencer is a British multinational company which is specializes in high
quality clothing, home products and food products. It is a retail company which was established
into the year 1884. And the company was founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer.
Debenhams is another British multinational company which is engage in Retail business. The
company has many department stores in UK and Denmark. This company is very old as it was
established into the year 1778 by William Clark (Mitchell, 2012). The company has a total
number of 178 stores and additional stores in partnership and all.
The marketing mix of marks and Spencer and Debenhams is as follows:
P’s Marks and Spencer Debenhams
Product Here the product is the item
and the items for the
companies are clothing, home
products and food products
Here the products are the
clothing, toys, accessories,
cosmetics, electrical, home
and furniture.
Price The price is the cost or the
value of that product. The cost
which is set by the company
can only be afforded by the
people who have the income
of above average.
The price which is been set by
the company can be afford by
average person as it act on
competitive prices and comes
up with frequent discount
offers.
Place The products are available at
both online and offline sites.
In online site at products are
available at official site of the
company and at offline
platform in its stores
The products are available at
the store and as well as at
online platforms
(Papasolomou and
Melanthiou, 2012).
People The workforce of the company
is very much talented and
good at their work.
The work force in this
company is very much
supportive and understandable
which is good of the
organization.
Process The process which has been
adopted by the organization is
very much simple. It sells its
products at online and offline
platforms.
Same with the case of
Debenhams in which the
company sells its products at
both online and offline mode.

Physical evidence The physical evidence can be
the brochures, bills which is
given by the company.
The physical evidence can be
the ads or the campaigns
which the company runs.
Promotions The company promotes its
products through advertising
and promotional activities
which may include ads on TV,
newspapers, holders and so
on.
The promotional activities
may include the events and
campaigns which is organized
by the company. They work as
a promotional activity.
Produce and evaluate a basic marketing plan for an organization
The marketing plan is a record which should cover the entirety of your marketing efforts
and exercises throughout the following year. It ought to be very much idea out and have
contribution from people working in every aspect of your business, from money to staff and HR.
It should prepare towards accomplishing your marketing targets and each part ought to be upheld
up by strong research and thinking (Perreault, 2018). The marketing plan offers marketing work
force the opportunity to legitimize their choices and make everybody in the organization mindful
of their goals with the expectation that the entire organization will mobilize together to get it
going.
For marketing plan formation, first the company needs to make a market research. In that
research program the company has to analyze the past and current trends which are running into
the market. With the help of these the organization then frames its objectives and mission for
itself. After making the objectives and mission, the organization then plans for its marketing plan
accordingly.
The marketing plan of marks and Spencer includes:
Aim: Aim is to increase the sales for Marks and Spencer Company by 20%
Marketing objective: Here the objective of marketing activity should be emphasized clearly.
Here the marketing activities can be through advertisements through televisions, newspapers,
holders, launching of new event or campaign and the so on. For example the company wants to
introduce a new range of clothing lines for men and women and named this clothing line as
Premium. Here at this clothing line the elite people can afford the products because of the prices
it is associates with. Therefore to promote this range or product line the company has to make a
plan accordingly (Pike, 2015).

Mission: The mission of the company is to expand their business so that they can increase their
sales and revenue by 20%.
Vision: The company vision is to satisfy the customers by providing them the sustainable and
reliable products.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
The company has a strong customer base so
through proper marketing customers will
purchase the products.
It will be easier for the company to achieve the
target as it has a wide global expansion.
Weakness
The percentage of sales will totally depend
upon how effectively the marketing plan got
executed.
Opportunities
This will give the company an opportunity to
expand their business in the areas where they
have not set their foot.
Threats
Political factors and increase in competition
can be the major threat for the company.
Segmentation, targeting and positioning
Segmentation: The marks and Spencer Company will segment the market in various groups
according to the behaviour and lifestyle of people.
Targeting: The Company has planned to target the market of whole UK and Asia.
Positioning: All the products will get position on the store and online stores. Apart from that
various marketing activities like advertising, public relations and etc will also get held for
positioning the product and brand in customer’s mind.
For marketing plan the company can includes
Advertisement and promotional activities Costs
Promotional through public event 2500 $
Organizing a campaign in a large scale 7000 $
Television, newspapers, holders marketing 150 $
Total 10650 $

From the above table, the activities which the company would go to undertake for its marketing
plan are stated above with their associated budgets (Pricilla, 2019). Here the company would
have a total expenditure of 10650 $ in performing the advertising and promotional activities.
Monitoring and controlling
The company has planned for various monitoring and controlling measures:
 They have set the standards through which they will regularly measure the actual
performance. And during the comparison of actual performance with standard
performance a gap would found then corrective actions will be taken by the company.
 Also all the actions will be performed under the stated budget so that expenses do not
overtake the budget limit.
CONCLUSION
From the report presented above, the basic marketing plan has been mentioned which
talks about the place, price, promotions, products and so on. A small business marketing plan has
also been proposed here.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Joshi, M., 2012. Essentials of marketing. Bookboon.
Khan, M. N. and Adil, M., 2013. Data analysis techniques in service quality literature: Essentials
and advances. Serbian Journal of Management. 8(1). pp.95-112.
Larson, J. and Draper, S., 2015. Internet marketing essentials: A comprehensive digital
marketing textbook. Stukent, Incorporated.
Lipsman, A., and et. al.,2012. The power of “like”: How brands reach (and influence) fans
through social-media marketing. Journal of Advertising research. 52(1). pp.40-52.
Mitchell, B. L., 2012. Game design essentials. John Wiley & Sons.
Papasolomou, I. and Melanthiou, Y., 2012. Social media: Marketing public relations’ new best
friend. Journal of Promotion Management. 18(3). pp.319-328.
Perreault, W. D., 2018. Essentials of marketing. New York: Mc Graw Hill.
Pike, S., 2015. Destination marketing: essentials. Routledge.
Pricilla, D., 2019. The Marketing Essentials. pdf.
Silver, L.,and et. al., 2012.The essentials of marketing research. Routledge.
Simkin, L. and Dibb, S., 2013. Marketing essentials. Cengage Learning EMEA.
Wirtz, J., 2012. Essentials of services marketing. FT Press.

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