Marketing Essentials 1 Report: Top Shop's Marketing Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the marketing function within the context of Top Shop, a UK-based fashion retailer. It begins with an introduction to the importance of marketing and its role in generating revenue and building customer relationships. The report then delves into the key roles and responsibilities of a marketing department, including product development, distribution, and promotion, and examines the marketing environment, including internal, micro, and macro factors. It also analyzes the interrelationships between the marketing department and other functional units like HR, finance, and operations. The report further explores the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion) and compares how Top Shop and H&M apply the marketing mix to achieve their business objectives, highlighting the significance of each element in the marketing planning process. The report concludes by emphasizing the interconnectedness of marketing functions and their impact on achieving organizational goals.

Marketing Essentials
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INTRODUCTION
Marketing of goods and services are essential part of the organization because it
generates revenue for the organization growth and development. It also builds relation and
communication with the customers. The main role and responsibilities of an organization is that
to adopt and applied different marketing approaches and theories which contribute to achieve a
long-term sustainability in the market. Marketing activities have a direct impact upon the profit
and sales of organization and these activities are performed by the marketing department of the
organization. This project report will discuss about the role and responsibilities of marketing
department in the organization in the context of Top Shop which is UK based company. Top
Shop is a British Multinational fashion retailer of shoes, make-up, clothing and accessories.
Top Shop has 500 shops all around world and approx. 300 shops in the UK. Its recent CEO is
Ian Grabiner. It is a type of private company. This report will also discuss about the marketing
mix of this organization and also formulate the marketing plans which helps the marketing
department and employees to accomplish the goals and objectives in an efficiently manner.
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LO 1: Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional units of
an organization by:
a) Explain how the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function relate to the
wider organizational context.
Marketing
Marketing refers to the organization activities which
is associated with selling and buying a goods or service. Marketing includes advertising,
delivering and selling products to customers of an organization. The marketing department of
the organization always try to get attention of target audiences by using packaging design,
general media exposure, slogans and endorsements with the help of celebrities (Wirtz, 2012).
With the help of four P’s of marketing the Top Shop can generate more sales and profits for
their company which are discussed as below:
Four P’s of marketing Descriptions
Product
Products refers to as an item a business
proposes to sell. Top Shop should produce
products according to the customers needs
and wants. The clothes and accessories are
produced according to the latest fashion and it
should not old .
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Price
Price refers to that how much the organization
will sell the product for. Top Shop can adopt
most suitable price for their product to attract
more and more customers. Price plays an
important role for the marketing department
of an organization.
Place
Place refers to product distribution by the
organization. It includes whether the company
will sell the product through online, physical
storefront and through both distribution
channels. In the case of Top Shop, the
company operates it business through online
or offline (Papasolomou and Melanthiou,
2012).
Promotion
Promotion refers to the combination of
marketing communications campaign. It
includes personal selling, public relations,
guerrilla marketing, advertising and direct
marketing. In the case of Top Shop, the
company offers various offers to their
customers which enhances their sales and
profits (Ottman, 2011).
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Following there are roles and responsibilities of marketing department which are
discussed as below:
It is observed that there are so many roles and responsibilities are posses by the marketing
manager and its department. The marketing manager has to perform various roles and
responsibilities to complete the goals within stipulated time period. Such various roles and
responsibilities are defined as below:
Product: Product is the core part of an organization which provides place and goodwill to the
organization in the market. But in this regard, the marketing department have a many
responsibility is to offer the best products or services to their customers which is not offer by
their competitors. In the case of Top Shop, the company provides shoes, make-up, clothing and
accessories to their customers in the market (Nguyen and Simkin, 2012).
Distribution: Distribution includes the process of suppliers’ identification which assists the
organization to supply their products in an efficiently manner to the various stores. Top Shop is
the multinational company need to appoint the suppliers in different countries to make
availability of their shoes, make-up, clothing and accessories (Mihart, 2012).
Promotion: Promotion includes the activities regarding products or services advertisement
which enhances the sales and goodwill of an organization. The main reason to adopt this
technique to provide information about the features of products to their customers. Top Shop
company uses various promotional techniques to attract more and more customers to their
products (Jones, and Rowley, 2011).
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b) Analyse the roles and responsibilities of marketing in the context of the marketing
environment.
Marketing environment
The marketing environment is the environment which includes the external and internal factors
that surrounds the business and influence its marketing operations.
Figure: Marketing environment
By Author, 2018.
The marketing environment of the organization is classified into three parts which are
discussed as below:
Internal environment: This includes all the factors that are within the organization and
impacts the overall business operations. it includes inventory, labor, logistics, budget, capital
assets, etc. which are the part of the organization and impacts the marketing decisions (Baker
and Saren, 2016).
Micro environment: The micro environment of marketing includes all those factors that are
closely associated with the business operations and influences its functioning. It includes
employees, customers, distributors and retailers, government and competitors (Dibb and
Simkin, 2013).
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Macro environment: The macro environment of marketing includes all those factors that exist
outside the organization and cannot be controlled by the management. It includes economic,
social, political, legal, etc. (Berkowitz, 2016).
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c) Analyse the significance of interrelationships between marketing and other functional
units of an organisation.
Marketing is vital function which helps to the other department of organization is to perform
their function with effectiveness. Marketing is also helping to introduce coordination in
different departmental activities which minimizes the duplication of efforts and chance of
mistakes. Marketing functions helps to the various departments in preparation of various
policies and procedures for respective departments.
The interrelationship of the marketing department with others is discussed as below:
Marketing with HR department: The main role of human resource department within Top
Shop is to hire the candidates who are knowledgeable and skillful. The skillful and
knowledgeable candidates do their work in an efficiently and effectively manner which helps
the organization to achieve their goals and objectives in prescribed time. By developing the
effective training programs, it helps in enhancing or improving the skills through which they
can use innovative technique in marketing like digitalization of marketing processes etc. (Baker
and Saren, 2016).
Marketing with finance department: The main function of this in Top Shop, is to maintain
cash flow and liquidity within the organization to perform daily functions in efficiently and
effective manner. In context with the marketing department, they formed budget according to
their activities and properly assign the funds which improves their productivity. This will offer
the opportunity to the Top Shop management to enhance the profit margin via minimizing in the
amount of unnecessary costs. The adequate amount of funds enhances the strength of marketing
department and also to the finance department of the company (Jeffery, 2010).
Marketing with operating: Top Shop is fashion retail organization which likewise designs
their products like shoes, make-up, clothing and accessories. Marketing department of Top
Shop convene research to identify the designs which are in trend in the market. Such kind of
convenient information is further implemented by the operation department is to bring changes
in their old design and cope with the new trends which are present in the competitive market.
The marketing department simultaneously assists in executing of new innovations and tools
inside organization for quicker designing activities of their products or services.
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d) Critically analyze and evaluate the key elements of the marketing function and how
they interrelate with other functional units of an organization.
Marketing functions in the firm are majorly inter connected to other departments. This
could be rightly said that Human Resource is somehow related to marketing department in order
to recruit employees and retain them. In any organization, marketing function needs planning,
research and assessment of diverse marketing strategies. These requires economic resources like
planning, research and assessment of diverse marketing related strategies. Marketing functions
can only work if they are having a sound communication skill. Henceforth, this is assumed that
the marketing functions are inter-connected to each other which are ultimately helps to attain its
pre-set goals and targets.
Link with operational department: Marketing department is required to work closely
with production department in order to ensure that appropriate research and development is
planned for satiating existing and future consumer requirements. These products could be
produced to the quality and design specifications which are laid down by the consumers.
Various volume of orders is produced by the marketing could be met throughout the time
schedule needed for delivery. Marketing division fix deadlines which might stretch capabilities
of manufacturing division.
Link with finance department: Marketing department work with the finance department
in order to ensure that: there is an effective budget which is required to address requirements for
research, promotion and distribution.
Link with Human Resource Management: This would require to work closely with
HRM for ensuring that adequate skills and staffing levels are in place to research and emerge an
advance goods idea, address manufacturing targets and frame a sales team.
As, this is observed that the marketing department plays a crucial role for development of
company’s objectives. This would also have to balance with all other departments within the
organization. These all are integrated for attaining its pre-set targets.
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LO 2: Compare ways in which organizations use elements of the marketing mix to achieve
overall business objectives.
1) Compare the ways in which different organizations apply the marketing mix to the
marketing planning process to achieve business objectives.
The marketing mix is used in the marketing planning procedure to attain the
organizational objectives in an appropriate manner. It is an effective tool which assists the
marketers to know the product. In the marketing mix, there are seven P’s which are product,
price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence (Wirtz, 2012). Under this, there
is a comparison among the Top Shop and H&M organization.
Marketing Mix of Top Shop Marketing Mix of H&M
Product: Top Shop company, firstly
understand the need as well as preference
of customers and then offer different
variety of products which satisfy their
customers.
Product: H&M operates their business
operations all over the world and also
provides products as per the requirement of
the customers. H&M provides tough
competition to the Top Shop in the fashion
segments.
Price: Top Shop company business
operations competed with various different
multinational retail chain and also with
local markets. The company can minimize
its cost to offer better prices to their
customers.
Price: The main focus of H&M is on making
effective strategies of pricing. H&M uses
various strategies of pricing after considering
the buying behavior of the customers.
Place: Top shop company, provides better
place of shopping to their customers. They
provide products on online and also in
physical stores which reduces the time of
the customers.
Place: In all over the world the company
operates stores about 1000 retail stores which
gives tough competition to the Top Shop and
other company.
Promotion: Company main focus is to use
effective promotional tools such as
billboards, print media, social media,
television, etc. to attract the more
customers to their products.
Promotion: The company websites is
working in proper manner when their peak
and also provides various design which are
attractive to their customers.
People: The company’s goodwill and
brands are based on satisfaction of a
customers. Top Shop company provides
various effective discount to their
customers who are regular or loyal to the
company.
People: H&M conduct its business in all over
world and its main focuses in on satisfying the
demand and needs of people by giving quality
products at reasonable prices.
Process: The process of selling of Top shop Process: The process at H&M stores is
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company is both online and also with
physical stores. Under this the buyer can
purchase the products by doing online or
offline shopping as per their requirement.
effective as well as efficient in order to assist
the customers in an appropriate manner.
Physical evidence: Top Shop company has
a large number of shops in overall world
and they generate profits from these stores
which are situated all over the world.
Physical evidence: The physical evidence of
the H&M is seen through more than 1000
stores which are situated all over world. H&M
has many offices which are spread in all over
world and add some value to brand.
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