Marketing Plan: J D Wetherspoons - Comprehensive Analysis

This report presents a comprehensive marketing plan for J D Wetherspoons, a UK-based pub company. It begins with an introduction highlighting the changing lifestyles and the increasing importance of pubs. The report provides a company overview, detailing Wetherspoons' history, operations, and financial performance. A thorough SWOT analysis identifies the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, followed by a PEST analysis examining the political, economic, social, and technological factors influencing the business. The report then delves into the target audience and demographics, highlighting the segmentation and targeting strategies. The unique selling points of Wetherspoons are discussed, followed by an emphasis on rational marketing approaches. The 7Ps of marketing (Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Physical Evidence, and Process) are analyzed in detail, providing insights into the company's marketing mix. The report also examines the various stakeholders associated with Wetherspoons, including customers, managers, and executives. The AIDA model and SOSTAC analysis are applied to evaluate marketing effectiveness, and a timescale analysis is provided. Finally, the report concludes with a summary of key findings and recommendations, supported by a list of references.

MARKETING
MANAGEMENT

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Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Company’s overview.............................................................................................................................2
SWOT analysis.......................................................................................................................................2
PEST analysis........................................................................................................................................4
Target Audience & Demographics........................................................................................................5
Unique selling point..............................................................................................................................6
Rational marketing................................................................................................................................7
7P’s of marketing..................................................................................................................................7
Stakeholders..........................................................................................................................................9
AIDA Model.......................................................................................................................................10
SOSTAC analysis................................................................................................................................10
Timescale analysis...............................................................................................................................12
Resources............................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................13
References...........................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Lifestyles of the people are changing and pubs are becoming an integral part of the night life.
They are going in the pubs and clubs quite often for enjoyment. It is due to this that numbers
of such places are also increasing (Lee-Ross and Lashley, 2010). Since pubs and hotels come
into the luxury category hence companies also had to ensure that their business model is
highly attractive. From proper utilisation of resources to strategic planning, pub chains have
to make sure that everything is aligned. This report will provide Marketing plan for
weatherspoons where situational analysis and all the other aspects have been discussed.
Company’s overview
J D wetherspoons plc is a firm from UK that operates as a pub company. This company
operates in UK and Ireland which was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin. This company has
more than 900 pubs which also include chian of Lloyds No. 1 bars as well as growing
numbers of Wetherspoons hotels (Wetherspoons, 2019). This firm is listed in the London
Stock Exchange and is a part of FTSE 250 index. The revenue generated by the firm is
around £1,693.8 million. It is having approx. 38,400 employees.
SWOT analysis
Strengths
 In the past they have been successful in developing new products and new markets.
 It is a strong brand name in the pub industry which helps them in their fast expansion
(Hatherly, 2016).
 Their distribution network is highly strong and reliable distribution network which
could help them in reaching to the potential markets.
 They have a strong cash reserves which has helped them in ensuring better cash
flows.
 They have higher level of consumer satisfaction.
Weaknesses
 This firm has higher current asset ratio and liquid asset ratio which illustrates that it
can better utilise its resources when compared with others.

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 They have not been able to integrate its business with the companies that are having
different work culture (Lashley, 2015).
 In the product demand forecasting this company has not been highly successful and
due to this there is higher rate of missed opportunities. Due to this the cost of
inventory is also on the higher side.
 Net contribution percentage and profitability ratio of the firm is lower than industry
average.
Opportunities
 New trends in the consumer behaviour can help the organisation in opening in the
new areas.
 Its resources will help the company in entering into new fields.
 In the marketing and pricing strategy, the use of new technology will help in reaching
to new market segment (Bush, 2016).
 In the emerging nations like India and China where the numbers of big cities are
increasing, they have a good opportunity to expand.
Threats
 Global economic slowdown also has impact on the customer spending which has
impact on the purchasing power of the people and hence it helps in increasing their
market share in the market.
 In the off seasons the numbers of people that come to pub are lesser and it has impact
on the profitability of the firm (Jones, et al 2013).
 Due to its operations at the international levels, the impact of currency fluctuation is
on the higher side.
PEST analysis
PEST analysis of the company is as follows:
 Political: There is continuous decrease in the taxes which will have positive impact on
the revenue of the company. Policies regarding the use of alcohol have also changed
in different parts of the world and due to this it will have negative impact on the
business of pubs (Lincoln and Lashley, 2012).

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 Economic: The economic growth of UK is not so good and hence it has impact on the
growth plans of the organisation. Economic policies made by the government will
also have impact on the way an organisation is investing in its new projects. It is also
the fact that this company has stable cash flow which will ensure that they do not face
challenges in new investments (Watson, 2012).
 Social: With the increase in the people’s demand for such pubs, there is boost in the
business of pubs. Now pubs are not just the part of the big metropolitan cities rather it
has reached to the smaller cities as well This has increased the target market for the
companies (Brotherton, 2012). On the other side it has been seen that in the recent
years the violence at the pubs have increased and this increase in the violence has
negative impact on the business of pubs.
 Technology: Use of technology is not only necessary for improving the scale of the
business but allow in bringing efficiency in the business process. From promotions to
sales everything can be managed with the help of technology. The use of data
management system will provide them with better mechanism to understand the needs
of the customers and hence they can change their business process accordingly
(Holden, Hawkins and McCambridge, 2012). Social media technologies act as a
source to interact with their potential customers.
Target Audience & Demographics
The demographics that they are actually target are the youth. College students and the
bachelors should be their major demographics on which they have targeted and they have
focused upon (Storry and Childs, 2016). The Segmentation and targeting for this company is
as follows:
Types of Segmentation Segmentation Criteria McDonalds target segment
Geographic Region International and Domestic
Density Urban especially
metropolitan cities
Demographic Age 19-45
Gender Male and female
Life-cycle Stage Newly married and young
bachelors
Income High and Middle

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Occupation Students and employees
Behavioural Benefits sought Maximum value for money
Degree of loyalty Hard core loyal and
switchers
User Status Regular and potential fast
food eaters
Personality Easygoing and careless
people
Psychographic Lifestyle Mainstream people who want
to enjoy luxury life.
Social Class Higher and middle class
people.
Unique selling point
There unique selling point is that they can convert unconventional premises into an attractive
pub that is capable of attracting larger numbers of people. They have world class music
system and the way they convert their normal looking premises into an attractive attracts
people (James, 2011). In the hotel segment their USP include providing people with taste of
all kinds of food from different parts of the world. The services that are offered attract more
numbers of people towards their hotels.
Rational marketing
This company needs to concentrates on the rational marketing as this company understands
that for the long term sustainability of the business, it is critical that firm concentrates on the
logics and sense when it comes to marketing. If the company illustrates their strengths to their
customer and plan accordingly then they will be able to attract people more easily. As it is
seen that there is tight restriction on the products that are offered by the company hence it is
critical that this firm promotes sensible purchase (Kingsbury and Pile, 2016). It is also seen
that in this kind of business “word of mouth” is an effective marketing technique hence they
need to ensure that the services that they are providing is of higher quality and customers gets
world class experience.

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They need to do rationale marketing with the help of data that they have. Posting the pictures
and videos from the events and also of the infrastructure that they have will help them to
show their customers about their offerings (Spicer, et al 2012).
This pub chain has positioned it as an organisation that offers the best experiences at the
reasonable cost but they need to improve their positioning and let themselves be an
organisation that is offering innovative experience.
7P’s of marketing
Marketing mix for the Wetherspoon is as follows:
 Products: They are having different kinds of unconventional premises which give
totally different kinds of atmosphere but they need to add more technology to their
infrastructure that will ensure that they are getting the innovative experience. They
need to take security measures at the premises especially the girls safety is ensured by
them. Their hotels need to give cultural assistance to people along with all the
services that they are offering now (Paton, 2011).
 Price: Not only the entry fees is on the lower side but the cost of the products that is
sold inside the pubs such as beer is also on the lower side. This will help the
organisation in competing with the challenges that are generated due to economy and
will enhance their sales. Prices are so less that it is difficult for other pubs to compete
with them. However they need to use fluctuating price strategy where the prices on
the weekends can be lower than other days (Roberts, 2015). Whenever they enter into
new areas it is seen that they are using “classic capitalist tactics” as it is the tactic that
allows an organisation to rule out every other pubs out of the competition. They need
to continue with it in the other markets as well.
 Place: They convert any premises into pubs that will be liked by most of the people.
They have more than 900 pubs which ensure that their reach in the market is huge and
they need to continue expanding the numbers of stores in future. They need to keep on
changing the pub design and interiors to ensure that they are able to accommodate
larger numbers of people and provide them with the experience that is best in the
town.
 Promotions: For extending their reach to maximum numbers of consumers. However
in the coming time they need to reduce the expenses on marketing by investing more

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on digital marketing. For promotions they need to offer free entry passes at the time of
events so as to ensure that people remains attracted towards their business. They need
to regularly organise different kinds of events (Pratten and Maréchal, 2012).
 People: They have highly trained staffs and they ensure it by the company by
providing them with regular training. From the chefs to the technicians they hire best
talents which ensure that they are providing best services to their employees and they
need to continue with it in the future also. This will also ensure that they have a plan
for the management of people. This will ensure that their attrition rate is on the lower
side.
 Physical evidence: Thee pubs and hotels offers things that they have promised to their
customers. Since people value for quality hence they need to offer their customers
with quality that is of world standard. Their products and services are real and are
giving maximum value for the money that their customer’s pays.
 Process: With so many years of experience in the pub business, they have understood
the demands and requirements of the people and on the basis of this they need to
design their process accordingly in the future also (Filimonau and Krivcova, 2017).
The processes such as supply chain management and marketing can be improved with
the help of technology. Since they have done poor in forecasting of the business hence
the use of advanced technologies can be very effective in the future.
Stakeholders
There are different types of stakeholders that are associated with the company directly or
indirectly. Some of them are:
 Customers: They need to adopt customer centric approach that will allow the
company to manage the customer relation in a better manner. Customer has the major
role in the designing of the strategies as most of the decisions are made keeping them
in mind.
 Managers: They have managers at every pub whose responsibility is to manage the
operations at the individual units. The roles and responsibilities of managers are to
make strategies at the local levels.
 Executives: Executives are responsible for making decisions and at the same time
they are also responsible for showing the direction to the company (Spicer, et al
2011).

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 Government: Since the type of business that this company is doing has many ifs and
buts hence they need to make sure that they are following all the policies and laws
made by the government. Both state and national government’s rules have to be
followed by the company.
 Collaboration: They have made collaborations with companies from different parts of
the world and in different fields. Some of the companies with which they have made
collaboration are CLIC Sargent, Herron House, Job Centre Plus and Mencap.
AIDA Model
The AIDA model for Wetherspoons is as follows:
 Attraction: For this they need to regularly organise events and promote their events on
the digital media platforms such as social media and others. Both pictures and videos
can be used by the firm to ensure that they are able to attract people in a better
manner. You-tube clips and other modern channels can be used by the company for
ensuring that they attract larger numbers of people towards their business (Andrews
and Turner, 2012).
 Maintain interest: Their daily pricing strategy along with the events on the daily basis
will be able to maintain interest of the people. They also need to regularly change
their products and services so as to ensure that interest of the people remains on the
higher side.
 Create desire: Once the interest is created, it is critical for the management to ensure
that they create desire and in this regards the plan for promotions have to be made.
They need to regularly show up in front of the target customers with their offers. This
will allow them to generate desire in the minds of people.
 Take action: When the desire of the services and products increases, actions needs to
be taken such as events where the customers will be attracted with the help of
discounts and weekend offers. In order to convert potential customers into the actual
customers, they need to enhance the product and service quality to ensure that
customer satisfaction is on the higher side (Shaw, 2017).
SOSTAC analysis
Situational analysis: Situational analysis shows that this firm is doing well in the market and
they have higher amount of resources to invest in new projects. However due to increasing

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crimes and the slowdown in the economy has impact on the sales of the company. It has also
been seen that there is continuous increase in the competition which has made the situation
tougher for the company. The political decisions such as Brexit and referendum for Ireland’s
independence also have impact on the expansion plans of the pub companies. It is seen that
government is not in a condition to provide economic support to the organisation hence they
will have to raise their funds on its own (Pratten and Maréchal, 2012). Decline in people’s
expenditure power has impact on the profit generation capacity of the individuals. In the time
when technology is playing major role in the success of the firms, it has become critical for
the management of Pubs to ensure that they have also inculcated technology in their business
model.
Objective
 Their objective is to enhance the sales of their services by 20% by the end of 2020.
 Their aim is to increase the profit by 30%.
 They also aim to enhance the visibility of the company by 30% in the overseas
market.
Strategy
 Lower pricing: This is a strategy that can help an organisation to remain ahead of the
competitors especially the ones that are operating in the lower price range. This will
also help the organisation to make their expansion faster.
 Innovation: It is critical that this firm enhances the service quality and the products
that they are offering to its customers. Innovation also allows an organisation to
attract new customers and allows them to target their potential customers in a better
manner.
 New investments: It is critical for the management to have new kinds of investments
in the new areas such as technology especially in the marketing as it will help them in
increasing the visibility of the firm (Lashley, 2011).
 Use of data technology: In the forecasting of future business trends the use of data
technology can be very much attractive. Data technology will allow the organisations
to have control over the utilisation of resources which will help them in gaining
competitive advantage over the rivals.
Tactics

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 Distribution of free passes will help them in attracting more numbers of customers.
 Events with stars will allow them to attract people on daily basis (Filimonau, et al
2017).
Actions
 Use of social media to connect with the people can be helpful and will help in
distributing the passes.
 More collaboration with famous people who will perform on the weekends.
 Selling of the tickets through online mediums along with the identification of the
people (Amos and Sullivan, 2017).
 Increasing the numbers of security personnel at the pubs and should provide
transportation facility to the girls that pay for it before entering into the pubs.
Control
Control can be improved by documenting each and every process. Use of advanced
technologies especially the data management system, and forecasting technology can be used.
There must be specific team that will monitor the marketing.
Timescale analysis
Activity From Till
Research 1/1/2020 1/2/2020
Resource gathering 1/2/2020 1/3/2020
Strategy making and
implementation
1/3/2020 1/4/2020
Control and evaluation 1/4/2020 -
Resources
 Staffs: They have staffs that are highly skilled and trained hence they are able to
deliver their process at world’s standards.
 Infrastructure: They have world class standard infrastructure which allows people to
enjoy as they like. The interior products at the workplace are also of world class
standards.

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 Cash reserves: They have higher amount of cash which will help them in doing
investments in new projects.
Conclusion
From the above based report it is concluded that Wetherspoons has huge scope to expand in
the emerging cities. The external environment is not very supportive especially in terms of
competition that is present in the market and the economic environment is not supporting new
investments. Marketing needs to be done with the help of digital technologies especially the
social media as it is an effective tool for interacting with people and promoting the services.
This pub needs to increase the numbers of events at the pub this will increase the numbers of
customers coming on the daily basis.

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Wetherspoons, 2019. About Us. [Online] Available at: https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/about-
us. [Accessed on 30th December 2019]