Arnold Clark Marketing Strategy and Application Report - HNC/HND

This report presents a comprehensive marketing analysis of Arnold Clark, a major player in the automotive industry. The report begins with an introduction outlining the purpose and scope of the analysis. Task 1 involves a situational analysis, including a PESTLE framework and SWOT analysis to assess the external and internal environments of Arnold Clark. A comparative analysis of a key competitor, Perrys Motor Sales, using the 7Ps of the marketing mix (Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process, and Physical Evidence) is also conducted to highlight the competitive landscape. Task 2 focuses on developing a marketing plan for Arnold Clark, setting goals and objectives based on the findings from the situational and comparative analyses. The marketing plan details the application of the 7Ps of the marketing mix to achieve the business objectives of Arnold Clark, offering recommendations for future marketing strategies. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and recommendations, along with a list of references using the Harvard referencing system.

Running head: MARKETING
Marketing Strategy and Application
MARCH 27, 2020

MARKETING 1
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................2
Arnold Clark...........................................................................................................................2
7Ps of Marketing Mix – Comparative Analysis.....................................................................3
Product................................................................................................................................3
Price....................................................................................................................................3
Place....................................................................................................................................3
Promotion............................................................................................................................4
People..................................................................................................................................4
Process................................................................................................................................4
Physical Evidence...............................................................................................................5
Situation analysis....................................................................................................................5
PESTLE Framework...........................................................................................................5
SWOT Analysis..................................................................................................................7
Goals and Objective...............................................................................................................8
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................8
Marketing Strategy.................................................................................................................8
Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning..........................................................................8
Marketing Mix (7Ps)............................................................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................13

MARKETING 2
Introduction
Marketing strategy support in exploring the areas that influence the growth of the business
and accordingly preparing an organizational plan for catering to the needs of the customer.
Marketing strategy is also considered to be a comprehensive plan that is created specifically
for attaining the objective of the market of the business. It helps in providing a blueprint for
achieving these marketing objectives (Varadarajan, 2015). This report is being presented by
the new Marketing Manager of Arnold Clark in order to produce a briefing paper highlighting
the situational analysis of the company and the comparative analysis of a competitor. In
addition to this, as per the analysis, this report is presenting a marketing plan for Arnold
Clark by highlighting its goals and objectives as a solution to overcome the issues identified
through situational analysis and comparative analysis. Besides this, the paper is also
explaining the way marketing mix and marketing process can be used for attaining the
objective of the business, by relating two companies.
Task 1
Arnold Clark
Arnold Clark is said to be the largest independently owned motor dealer in Europe with
exiting history and the future. The first branch of the business was opened in Glasgow which
is around 64 years ago. The company is involved in selling around 280,000 cars on a yearly
basis and it does not only include the efforts of its sales team. Every employee of the
company performs an essential role in its sustained success, and the company places its
customer experience at the centre of everything they do. Besides this, the company is not just
involved in selling the cars, they also provide business fleet services, high-quality training,
and rental vehicles along with servicing. In addition to this, the company is also involved in
providing MOT tests and accident repairs. The company is also involved in supporting the

MARKETING 3
local initiatives, for the development and betterment of the communities in which they work
or operate their business (Arnold Clark Automobiles Limited, 2020).
7Ps of Marketing Mix – Comparative Analysis
The marketing mix is a set of tactics and strategies that are adopted by the business to operate
in the competitive market. It is comprised of different elements such as product, price, place,
promotion, process, people, physical evidence (Leonidou, Katsikeas and Morgan, 2013).
Product
Product is the item or service that a business sells to its target market. Arnold Clark is
involved in selling new and used cars in the market. Along with this, it also offers business
fleet services, high-quality training, and rental vehicles along with servicing. Besides this, it
also offers MOT tests and accident repairs. On the other hand, Perrys Motor Sales is the key
competitor of Arnold Clark is only involved in the selling of new and used cars in the market
(Zoom Info., 2020). It includes 13 brands in its portfolio that are Citroen, Renault, Dacia &
Ford, Vauxhall, Seat, Kia, Abarth, Hyundai, Peugeot, Fiat, Nissan, and Mazda (Perrys, 2020).
Price
Price is the amount that is charged by the business in exchange for the service and product it
provides to its target market. Arnold Clark is involved in offering the best deal to its clients
by charging the reasonable amount due to which it is the biggest auto dealer in Scotland.
Here, it has adopted the competitive pricing strategy under which the price of the product is
set as per the market trend. Similarly, Perrys Motor Sales also sell its products in the market
in order to be competitive.
Place
The place is the appropriate location where the target market can easily reach to purchase the
products and services a business sell. It is also considered to the distribution network that
company designs to provide its services and products to the client. Arnold Clark is offering

MARKETING 4
its products to the client by its 200 new and used car shops that sell around 200,000 cars
every year to around 20 manufacturers (Dun & Bradstreet, 2020b). In addition to this, other
distribution centres of the company are 130 service centres, 15 auto parts, and accessories
stores, and 40 repair shops all over in the UK. Whereas, Perrys Motor Sales offer its services
through 52 showrooms that are placed at around 32 locations all over in the UK (Dun &
Bradstreet, 2020a).
Promotion
Promotion is the marketing effort that is exerted by the business in order to increase the
product or brand recognition among the target market. In order to promote the products and
services, Arnold Clark makes use of promotional mix elements that support increasing brand
recognition and improving brand image among the target audience. Some of the elements that
the company uses are advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, digital marketing,
sponsorship, etc. Similarly, Perrys Motor Sales also make use of the above-specified
elements of the promotional mix for selling its products and services.
People
People are those who contact the clients or customers for selling the products and services.
Arnold Clark has 10001+ employees in its business that are involved in targeting and
contacting different customers for selling its services (Linkedin, 2020b). On the other hand,
Perrys has 1001-5000 employees who are dedicated to contact different clients to sell their
services (Linkedin, 2020a).
Process
It is comprised of procedures and systems that are used to deliver the product to the customer.
Arnold Clark is majorly involved in offering the best choice and biggest discounts on its used
cars, nearly new cars, and new cars to grab the attention of the target audience. Whereas,

MARKETING 5
Perrys get involved in finding the best van or can for its client by carefully selecting them.
They provide cars with a complete warranty, detailed safety inspection, and history checks.
Physical Evidence
This is the way to reassure the target audience with a great website, impressive buildings, and
well-trained staff. Arnold Clark is said to be the leader in web commerce. Its digital
development focus on getting positive outcomes and identifying innovative ways of targeting
millions of customers (Arnold Clark, 2020). On the other side, Perrys Motor Sales is
upgrading its dealer management system for the next two years for delivering operational
benefits to the entire group (Kirwan, 2017).
From the above analysis, it has been identified that Arnold Clark is the leader in the selling of
new and used cars by regularly making changes in its system to target the customers. For
instance, it is presently focusing on its digital development for developing new ways.
Whereas, on the other side, Perrys is also one of the top players but presently it is focusing on
updating its dealer management system for operational benefits for the group.
Situation analysis
PESTLE Framework
PESTLE analysis is a macro-environmental framework that is used by the business for the
scanning of the external environment. It helps in identifying the factors that impact the
operations of the business (Ho, 2014). The factors that impact the operation of Arnold Clark
in the market are discussed below:
Political
The automotive industry is controlled by a number of regulations in order to avoid the
accidents and environmental consequences of motor vehicles. Every vehicle operates through
fossil fuel which produces a huge amount of pollution to the environment. The main issue
with this is carbon emission. In order to reduce this, the government has set some standards

MARKETING 6
for carbon emission and violation of these rules can result in huge penalties. In order to
smoothly operate in the market, Arnold Clark employees first check the entire history and
situation of the car before making it run on the roads.
Economic
As per the current trend, the disposable income of people across the world is increasing on a
yearly basis. This reveals that they have more money to invest in luxury items, which is
increasing the demand for motor vehicles. This reveals that the demand for motor vehicles is
increasing which will make the automotive industry more profitable (IBIS World, 2019). This
also reveals that the automotive industry is still growing and Arnold Clark still has huge
scope to grow in the industry.
Social
It is not a new phenomenon that the popularity of owning and driving a motor vehicle is
increasing. It is a common thing in today’s society to own one or more motor vehicles which
has today become a trend in developed countries like UK, US, Canada, etc. (Pollet, Staffell
and Shang, 2012). This reveals that the demand for motor vehicles is increasing and Arnold
Clark can meet this demand by offering different and innovative products and services to its
target market.
Technological
It is a fact that the huge technological shift is majorly impacting the automotive industry. In
the present scenario, there are two major development or trends that are majorly grabbing the
attention of the customer that is self-driving technology and electronic vehicles with
advanced safety and environmentally friendly features (Utermohlen, 2018). Tesla is one of
the famous brands that offer these types of advanced vehicles to its clients. In order to remain
competitive in the automotive industry, Arnold Clark has to focus on dealing with electronic
vehicles and self-driving vehicles.

MARKETING 7
Legal
One of the legal issues that are experienced in the automotive industry is copyright. Some of
the features of the car such as branding, the shape can be protected through copyright, patent
laws, and trademark. There are some cases that have been highlighted in the news for stealing
the designs (Van der Heijden and van Wees, 2019). One of the examples is of a Chinese
manufacturer of the automobile that is Geely that steeled the designs of the Western
counterparts that is Rolls Royce Phantom (Johnson, 2014). This results in huge conflicts
between both the companies and huge penalties for the Chinese manufacturer.
Environmental
Carbon emission is considered to be a major concern in the automotive industry. It performs a
huge role in global climate change due to the release of greenhouse gases. To reduce the
carbon emission from the environment, Arnold Clark can focus on promoting the maximum
use of electronic vehicles by selling them through their distribution network.
SWOT Analysis
Strength
The major strength of Arnold Clark is its experienced and skilled workforce that is working
hard for the success and increased productivity of the business by selling a maximum number
of cars to the customers in the market (Arnold Clark, 2019). Besides this, it's strong financial
positioning in the market has supported it in investing in different innovative products such as
its digital development.
Weakness
The weakness of the company is that there are some clients of the company who have placed
complain regarding the payment of the used car sold by them through Arnold Clark
(Sandwich, 2019). Besides this, one of the clients that are Kirsty Ackroyd who purchased a
used car from the company also experienced some issues in the engine and the employees at
Arnold did not help in resolving the issue (Hester, 2017).

MARKETING 8
Opportunities
As per the external analysis conducted above, it has been identified that the possible
opportunity that is available for Arnold Clark is to get involved in the dealing of the
electronic vehicle. This will not just help it in dealing with the advanced cars but also move
towards an environmentally friendly business.
Threat
The major threat for Arnold Clark in the market is the availability of a number of competitors
who are dealing in similar businesses such as Perrys Motor Sales, Pentagon Ltd., John Clark
Motor Group, the Arval Company, etc. (Zoom Info., 2020).
Goals and Objective
One of the objectives of Arnold Clark is to focus on reducing the carbon emission from the
environment by promoting and selling electronic vehicles. The company can do this by
getting into the dealers of electric vehicles in the United Kingdom market. Besides this, the
company can also invite the owners of electric vehicles who are planning to purchase a new
car to get into the deal with the company to sell their used car. This will not just help the
company in increasing its product portfolio but will also help it in contributing to the
sustainable and environmentally safe community in the market where it operates its business.
Another benefit that can be gained by Arnold Clark by operating in this market is to give
strong competition to its close rivals.
Task 2
Marketing Strategy
Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
Segmentation
Segmentation is the marketing strategy adopted for dividing the market into different
segments according to their similar characteristics and demand (Menzly and Ozbas, 2010). In

MARKETING 9
order to segment the market, Arnold Clark will consider different variables that are discussed
below:
Demographic- Under this type of segmentation, the company will divide the market based on
age, income, family size, and nationality.
Geographic – Under this segmentation, the company will divide the market based on the
geography of the customer because of the demand of the people changes according to their
location.
Behavioural – Under this type of segmentation, the company will divide the market based on
the behaviour, usage, and decision-making pattern.
Psychographic – Under this type of segmentation, the business will divide the market based
on the lifestyle, interest, and viewpoint of the customer.
Target Market
Target market is the strategy that business adopts to identify the specific group of customers
that can purchase the products and services of the company. By doing so, the business targets
its marketing efforts to those specific segments whose demand matches with its products and
services (Aghdaie and Alimardani, 2015). The target market of Arnold Clark for selling its
electric vehicle range are those with the driving license, high income or salary. Besides this,
the company will also target those groups that focus on contributing to the sustainable society
and likes to live a luxury lifestyle.
Positioning
Positioning is the place that a brand or product occupies in the mind of the customer
(Widjaya, 2017). The position that Arnold Clark will desire to occupy in the mind of the
customer through its electric vehicle is the dealer of luxury cars. Along with this, it will also

MARKETING 10
position its brand and business as the major contributor to the environmental sustainability by
focusing on fuel fewer vehicles.
Marketing Mix (7Ps)
Considering the above analysis that is conducted in Task 1, it has been identified that the
company can expand its business and operate in the dealing of the electric vehicles in the
market. In order to do so, here are some of the strategies and tactics that the company will
adopt to meet its objective.
Product – As it is known that Arnold Clark does not just deal in the selling of the new and
used car, but it also offers fleet services, high-quality training, and rental vehicles along with
servicing. In order to meet its objective, the company will also deal with the new and used
electric vehicles which will focus on reducing the carbon emission from the environment.
Price – As per the analysis, the company is involved in offering the best offers and discounts
to its customers in order to allow them to purchase a vehicle for their comfort. Considering
the product that the company is selling that is an electric vehicle, the pricing strategy that the
company will adopt is a competitive pricing strategy. Under this strategy, the business set the
prices of its products according to the market trends and pricing.
Place – The distribution network that the company will use for selling the electric vehicles in
the market are its 130 service centres, 15 auto parts and accessories stores, and 40 repair
shops.
Promotion – In order to promote its new addition in the product portfolio that is an electric
vehicle, the company will make use of television, radio, email, and instant messaging
advertisement. Along with this, the company will use sales promotion, direct marketing, and
digital marketing as the tools of the promotion mix. In its promotion of the service and
product, the company will highlight its motive of selling electric vehicles in the market that is

MARKETING 11
reducing carbon emission from the market that contributes majorly to climate change. This
will help the company in improving its brand image in the market that has been somewhere
impacted by the negative reviews of the clients.
People – Arnold Clark already has a bunch of experienced and skilled workforce that deliver
their best efforts in the selling and repairing of the used and new car in the market. For the
dealing of an electric vehicle, the company will use the same employee group by just
providing them additional training programs in which they can teach about the operations and
features of the electric vehicles.
Process – In order to encourage the target audience to purchase the electric vehicles from the
company, Arnold Clark’s marketing team will design different campaigns and advertisements
in which they can highlight the positive outcomes of using these vehicles. Along with this,
the company can provide benefits and reimbursement to its sales team for meeting the target
of selling maximum cars to the customers.
Physical Evidence – The physical evidence that Arnold Clark Company will provide to its
customers while selling the used and a new electric car are registration papers of the car,
operational condition certificate, bill, etc.
Conclusion
The above report has highlighted in detail the comparative analysis of Arnold Clark and its
competitor Perrys Motor Sales, from which it has been identified that Arnold Clark is the
leader in dealing with new and used cars. This has been achieved by this company by
offering the best deals and discounts to its customers. Besides this, the report has conducted
the situational analysis of the market which release that increasing pollution from the
automotive industry is a major concern nowadays. Furthermore, the industry is becoming
technologically advanced with the introduction of electric vehicles. From the analysis, the

MARKETING 12
objective for Arnold Clark is to focus on environmental sustainability by dealing with the
advanced vehicles that are electric vehicles. The internal analysis of the company has
revealed that it has a strong financial position in the market that can help it in dealing in this
segment. In the second part of the report, the marketing plan has been prepared which has
highlighted that the company can divide the market by the use of segmentation strategy.
Under this, the company will target high-income customer who likes to invest in luxury
products like electric vehicles.

MARKETING 13
References
Aghdaie, M.H. and Alimardani, M. (2015) Target market selection based on market segment
evaluation: a multiple attribute decision making approach. International Journal of
Operational Research, 24(3), pp.262-278.
Arnold Clark (2019) Life at Arnold Clark [online]. Available from
https://www.arnoldclark.com/careers/life-at-arnold-clark [accessed 28 March 2020]
Arnold Clark (2020) Digital Product Development [online]. Available from
https://www.arnoldclark.com/careers/digital-product-development [accessed 28 March 2020]
Arnold Clark Automobiles Limited (2020) About us [online]. Available from
https://www.arnoldclark.com/ [accessed 28 March 2020]
Dun & Bradstreet (2020a) Perrys Motor Sales Limited [online]. Available from
https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-
profiles.perrys_motor_sales_limited.5b4b76ed690019c86ad5ce8d1428a8ae.html [accessed
28 March 2020]
Dun & Bradstreet (2020b) Arnold Clark Automobiles Limited [online]. Available from
https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-
profiles.arnold_clark_automobiles_limited.f5319d3c3095e1dd5ef7f816e5ac6b94.html
[accessed 28 March 2020]
Hester, S.T. (2017) Arnold Clark dealership caught up in row over ‘dangerous’ car [online].
Available from https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/arnold-clark-dealership-caught-row-
dangerous-car/138287 [accessed 28 March 2020]
Ho, J.K.K. (2014) Formulation of a systemic PEST analysis for strategic analysis. European
academic research, 2(5), pp.6478-6492.

MARKETING 14
IBIS World (2019) Used Car & Light Motor Vehicle Dealers in the UK - Market Research
Report [online]. Available from https://www.ibisworld.com/united-kingdom/market-
research-reports/used-car-light-motor-vehicle-dealers-industry/ [accessed 28 March 2020]
Johnson, R. (2014) Geely's Horbury takes his auto design cues from a nation's style [online].
Available from https://www.autonews.com/article/20141028/OEM02/141029860/geely-s-
horbury-takes-his-auto-design-cues-from-a-nation-s-style [accessed 28 March 2020]
Kirwan, J. (2017) Perrys Motor Sales to upgrade DMS for all dealerships [online]. Available
from https://www.motortrader.com/motor-trader-news/automotive-news/perrys-motor-sales-
upgrade-dms-dealerships-25-07-2017 [accessed 28 March 2020]
Leonidou, C.N., Katsikeas, C.S. and Morgan, N.A. (2013) “Greening” the marketing mix: Do
firms do it and does it pay off?. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41(2), pp.151-
170.
Linkedin (2020a) Perrys Motor Sales Ltd [online]. Available from
https://www.linkedin.com/company/perrys-motor-sales [accessed 28 March 2020]
Linkedin (2020b) Arnold Clark [online]. Available from
https://www.linkedin.com/company/arnold-clark [accessed 28 March 2020]
Menzly, L. and Ozbas, O. (2010) Market segmentation and cross‐predictability of returns.
The Journal of Finance, 65(4), pp.1555-1580.
Perrys (2020) Welcome to Perrys [online]. Available from https://www.perrys.co.uk/
[accessed 28 March 2020]
Pollet, B.G., Staffell, I. and Shang, J.L. (2012) Current status of hybrid, battery and fuel cell
electric vehicles: From electrochemistry to market prospects. Electrochimica Acta, 84,
pp.235-249.

MARKETING 15
Sandwich, T. (2019) Issue with Arnold Clark [online]. Available from
https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/comments/9nd4zy/issue_with_arnold_clark/
[accessed 28 March 2020]
Utermohlen, K. (2018) The Future of Technology in the Automotive Industry [online].
Available from https://towardsdatascience.com/the-future-of-technology-in-the-automotive-
industry-11081c8a1999 [accessed 28 March 2020]
Van der Heijden, R. and van Wees, K. (2019) Introducing advanced driver assistance
systems: some legal issues. European journal of transport and infrastructure research, 1(3).
Varadarajan, R. (2015) Strategic marketing, marketing strategy and market strategy. AMS
review, 5(3-4), pp.78-90.
Widjaya, P.G. (2017) Analisis Segmenting, Targeting, Positioning dan Marketing Mix Pada
PT. Murni Jaya. Agora, 5(1).
Zoom Info. (2020) Arnold Clark Automobiles Limited [online]. Available from
https://www.zoominfo.com/c/arnold-clark-automobiles-limited/7998870 [accessed 28 March
2020]