BTEC Level 4 HND Marketing Essentials Report - Unit 2 Analysis

This report, submitted as part of a BTEC Level 4 HND Diploma in Business, Unit 2 Marketing Essentials, provides a comprehensive overview of marketing principles. It begins with a definition of marketing and explores fundamental concepts such as the production, product, selling, marketing, and societal marketing concepts. The report then delves into the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within an organizational context, including its functions within the current marketing environment. Furthermore, the report examines the crucial interrelationship between the marketing department and other units within a company, emphasizing the importance of marketing for the company's success. The report concludes by highlighting the significance of marketing and its impact on the company, arguing against the proposed cuts to the marketing department's budget and resources.

ASSIGNMENT 1 FRONT SHEET
Qualification BTEC Level 4 HND Diploma in Business
Unit number and title Unit 2 Marketing Essentials
Submission date 12/6/2020 Date Received 1st submission
Re-submission Date Date Received 2nd submission
Student Name Tran Hoang Hieu Student ID GBC19015
Class GBC0801 Assessor name Tran Thi B
Student declaration
I certify that the assignment submission is entirely my own work and I fully understand the consequences of p
that making a false declaration is a form of malpractice.
Student’s signature Tran Hoan
Grading grid
P1 P2 M1 M2 D1

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Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION. ........................................................................................................................................................ 6
II. MARKETING’S DEFINITION AND BASIC CONCEPTS. ................................................................................................ 7
2.1 The definition of marketing. ............................................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Basic concepts of marketing ............................................................................................................................... 8
2.2.1 Production Concept. .................................................................................................................................... 8
2.2.2 Product Concept. ......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.2.3 Selling Concept............................................................................................................................................. 9
2.2.4 Marketing Concept. ..................................................................................................................................... 9
2.2.5 Societal Marketing Concept. ...................................................................................................................... 10
III. THE KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MARKETING FUNCTION IN ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT AND IN
THE CONTEXT OF CURRENT MARKETING ENVIRONMENT. ...................................................................................... 11
3.1 The key roles of marketing. .............................................................................................................................. 11
3.2 Functions of Marketing. .................................................................................................................................... 13
IV. THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING DEPARTMENT AND OTHER UNITS. ...................................... 15
V. CONCLUSION. ......................................................................................................................................................... 16
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................................ 17

Executive Summary
This report is written to persuade the board of directors to reconsider the decision to cut the
expenses and human resources of the marketing department. The composition is divided into 5 parts,
starting with a brief introduction about the importance of marketing followed by the definitions and basic
concepts of marketing. The main roles of marketing for the company as well as the functions of marketing
are the next analysis to show the influence of marketing and what marketing brings to the company. Next,
the indispensable part is the connection between the marketing department and other departments, this
section shows that marketing is an integral part of the company because when marketing in coordination
with other departments, it will help the company stay on track and thrive. Finally, the conclusion to
summarize the importance of marketing to the company, what marketing gives to the company and the
lack of marketing is a huge loss for the company, and persuades the board to see back and change the
decision.
I. INTRODUCTION.
Working in Company X as a head of marketing, I realize that the company is facing many financial
difficulties and challenges in many aspects. However, when I heard that the board of directors had decided
to cut down the budgets as well as human resources of the marketing department, I wrote this report to
show the board of directors the important of marketing as well as the association between marketing
department and other units in company. It can be said that Marketing plays a very important role and has
a great influence on the company. Marketing is the bridge between the market and the business and
thereby ensuring the company's activities towards the right target market. In order to understand the
needs, desires and characteristics of the target customers, marketing is vital because through marketing
activities, the company will find out and know what is needed to be able to continue. contact with target
customers. Besides, thanks to the marketing research, the company will know the highlights and
limitations of the business environment that the company is going from which can help the company
overcome and advance further. It also has a big part in analyzing and understanding competitors, helping
the company to offer outstanding methods and projects that are superior to competitors. Moreover,
marketing is also closely linked with other departments because from the results of the marketing
department's activities, proper policies and strategies will be in place. From there, the other divisions will

have an action plan and implementation based on the proposed studies and forecasts. This paper aims to
enquire about marketing’s definition and what are the basic concepts of marketing, the key roles of
marketing as well as its functions in organizational context and in the context of marketing environment.
The interrelationships of marketing department and other units in a company is also analyzed to show the
benefits from the association of marketing with other departments.
However, in order to take a closer look at marketing, today's report will provide the necessary things to
be able to see the profound definition of marketing as well as the strong impact of marketing on the
company.
II. MARKETING’S DEFINITION AND BASIC CONCEPTS.
2.1 The definition of marketing.
Nowadays, there is no doubt about the evolution of communications which means there are
several definitions of marketing that can be found out through the Internet, newspaper or books.
However, because of that development, the definition of marketing can be misinterpreted, each person
has different perceptions about marketing and it might be confused to those who are studying about
marketing because they do not know which conveys enough the definition of marketing.
According to Clark, “Marketing consists of those efforts which effect transfers in the ownership of
goods and care for their physical distribution” (Clark, 1922). It was defined that “Marketing is the process
of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and
services to create exchanges that satisfy individual (customer) and organizational objectives” (American
Marketing Association, 1988). Another definition of marketing by Jonson, Marketing is the role that
assesses the needs of customers and then fulfills them by generating an effective demand for and
providing profitable products and services (Johnson, 1982).
Continuing with a definition of marketing in 1996, Marketing is the role that assesses the needs of
customers and then fulfills them by generating an effective demand for and providing profitable products
and services (Kotler and Armstrong, 1996). At the beginning of the 21st century another definition of
marketing was changed, Marketing as a discipline is undergoing a transformation from an art that is
studied to a profession of sound theoretical basis... Marketing is both a directional approach – Some may
say a theory of business-and a feature of business (Michael Baker, 2003). It can be clearly seen that there

are many marketing definitions in both the past and the present but generally all speak of the role and
direction of marketing. Learn about consumers' black boxes and deliver ideas, goods and services that are
appropriate and can satisfy customers.
2.2 Basic concepts of marketing
Marketing concepts are strategic ideas, content and forms of marketing that aim to understand
customer needs, influence customer perceptions and determine how a company can leverage that. The
end result of the marketing concept is direct support, making the sale easier. The marketing concept and
technique is really based on what it takes to determine the right product, the price for those products and
what needs to be communicated to the target customer (through advertising) to ensure sales. successful
goods. One of the key aspects of marketing concepts is building a brand identity for what a company is
selling and this varies from the company itself.
Figure 1: Marketing concepts. (Source: https://www.iedunote.com/marketing-concepts)
2.2.1 Production Concept.
This is a long-standing concept dating back to the 1950s. It speaks to the fact that consumers often
prefer products that are widely available and especially cheap. Availability and low prices are what
consumers are concerned about while their needs may not be fully addressed. Businesses focus on this
concept, focusing on achieving high production efficiency, low cost, and mass distribution.
An example of Production Concept, being a famous phone company from China, Oppo is a cheap
mobile producer that is always available in the market. We can easily find and buy it through the phone
stores, although Oppo products are not really good, it meets the cheap and availability without having to

place an order or wait for a long time, and another thing is that Oppo has a good camera that can take
beautiful and clear pictures, which is also on the list of why people often prefer Oppo to other phones.
2.2.2 Product Concept.
The product concept states that consumers will prioritize products that offer a lot of quality,
performance, or creativity (Cydney Hatch, 2020). Businesses will focus on continuous product investment
and improvement. Trusting potential customers and keeping their brand loyalty tied to its product choices
and quality. However, this concept is also risky because if the quality and benefits that the product gives
consumers less and less when their demand is increasing, they will find and replace with a new product
can better meet their needs.
An example of Product Concept, take an example from the fact that it is Apple. Apple is always
interested in improving its products and constantly bringing benefits to users through its products. Being
satisfied with customers, each year a new innovative design, apple has gained customer loyalty and trust.
Despite competing with many big brands like Samsung, Oppo, Xiaomi…, Apple is still the first brand name
in the list of qualified products.
2.2.3 Selling Concept.
The selling concept for that customers will not buy products if the business does not have
promotions, sales efforts, and large-scale promotion (Cydney Hatch, 2020). They focus on creating sales
transactions rather than building long-term profitable customer relationships. The purpose of the business
is to sell what they do rather than do what the market wants. So, to be able to sell products, marketers
must learn the market demand, target customers, produce products, appropriate fish prices and on top of
that is to advertise and distribute effectively.
An example of Selling Concept: Insurance can prove this. Insurance sellers are often well equipped
with different techniques or strategies to find potential customers and emphasize the benefits of the
product. Besides, they also offer many attractive incentives with many words that can attract customers.
2.2.4 Marketing Concept.
The Marketing Concept is the concept of competition because the success of a business depends
on the forces that marketing brings better value than competitors (Cydney Hatch, 2020). This concept
focuses on the needs and desires of targeted marketing as well as providing better value than competitors.
Through marketing, your goal is to select priorities over competitors. Competitive advantage is the key.

The concept is based on four key factors: profitability, coordinated marketing, customer trends and target
market.
An example of Marketing Concept:
-Pepsi: Focuses on winning over the younger generations.
-Coke: Focuses on winning over everyone in a more holistic approach! (Blog, 2019)
They compete with each other by offering different target customers. If Pepsi just stopped at winning the
young generation, Coke struck straight on winning everyone. It can be seen that this competition is the
key for both companies to thrive from the past to the present and possibly in the future.
2.2.5 Societal Marketing Concept.
The concept of social marketing is the most modern and progressive marketing mindset right now.
This concept holds that the mission of the business is to determine the needs, desires, interests of the
target market, and to distribute satisfaction more effectively than competitors in ways that enhance social
welfare or preserve (Cydney Hatch, 2020). The concept of social marketing requires balancing the three
major goals of consumers (satisfaction), society (human welfare) and company (profits) for businesses
because this helps marketing activities be effective and sustainable. In addition, the concept of social
marketing also provides social services that benefit the community such as building schools, sports
facilities, hospitals, clinics, etc., helping to improve the lives of the community. It not only helps businesses
gain acceptance in a given environment, but it also creates great opportunities for businesses to sell their
products.
An example of Societal Marketing Concept: Coca Cola plays a key role in providing corporate social
responsibility (CSR), in India, Coca Cola has consistently received awards as the best company for providing
CSR. More than 500 rainwater harvesting structures can serve more than 1 million people, in Coca Cola
slum areas organized medical camps serving more than 1 million residents and more than 135,000
scholarships for students in 116 military schools (Blog, 2019). This has helped India develop its economy
and thereby Coca Cola's products are widely accepted in the Indian market.

III. THE KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MARKETING FUNCTION IN ORGANIZATIONAL
CONTEXT AND IN THE CONTEXT OF CURRENT MARKETING ENVIRONMENT.
3.1 The key roles of marketing.
Marketing helps growth sales: A good marketing strategy will bring profits and increase sales for
businesses. Not only does it stop at understanding and responding to customer needs, marketing also
broadens the reach and makes the product popular (35express, 2020).
In the third quarter of 2019, through a PepsiCo sales executive conference, it was reported that a
12% increase in advertising and marketing spending helped increase market share for the main brand,
Pepsi and boost sales. on some brands. Specifically, net sales increased to 4.3%, $ 17.2 billion compared
to a year earlier. It can be said that higher investment in advertising and marketing has brought a positive
result for PepsiCo (Robert Williams, 2019). In particular, PepsiCo's Pepsi product, Pepsi is one of the
famous drink brands in the world, Pepsi's marketing strategy is to create a common sense for both the
generation and the main target is the young generation. With this marketing campaign, Pepsi has always
shown the vibrant and youthful spirit through advertisements on social networks, TV posters on the street.
When entering the Vietnamese market, Pepsi has made many contributions to the community to help
bring the brand closer to consumers, connect with the community, attract the media and thereby
strengthen the brand’s identify value, brand image, product development and increase sales.
Building and maintaining relationships between business and customers: In order to develop and
enhance brand awareness, each business must have a proper marketing strategy to maintain and build
relationships between businesses and customers. To do this, the marketing strategy that the business has
to make customers remember and understand more about the business and its products, and this strategy
must create sympathy for consumers, analyzing trends according to human characteristics because the
more they understand the other person, the more they will improve their ability to trust. The image of the
business will be more popular in the hearts of customers and it will help build a long-term relationship
between customers and businesses, and customers will also use the product in the long term.
Realizing that the connection between them and customers is very limited, Nike has found the key
to being able to create a stronger connection with customers that is collecting customer data from that
can uphold and maintain dominance. Customer data is considered to be the backbone for businesses if
they want to exist in the future because when customer data is available, businesses can enhance

customer experience, in addition to helping businesses adapt. Be with local culture and product
development. Nike has established a program called Nike Plus, a Nike membership program for loyal
customers, and to become a Nike member, customers must create an account and provide some of their
credentials, it's free. In addition, Nike has a D2C strategy, which adds value to consumers and helps Nike
to collect more information about customers, thereby creating unique shopping experiences for them and
it helps Nike maintain and build long-term relationships with customers.
Marketing helps develop business: In this 4.0 era, it is no stranger to the development, fierce
competition of the market with hundreds of brands and thousands of similar products appearing
increasingly thick. This shows just how important marketing is because it can be said that marketing is a
prop for businesses to decide the growth and prosperity of the business. Most businesses with strong
growth have invested heavily in marketing to be able to sustain their long-term presence in the market. If
the marketing of the business is too weak then it is not surprising that consumers leave them and look to
a new business, have a stronger marketing strategy to find the important factors and above all, gain trust.
of consumers. Therefore, marketing activities will help to effectively balance the competitive advantage
between small and medium enterprises with large enterprises, with an investment marketing strategy that
will bring businesses tremendous growth.
Biti's Hunter made a comeback in 2017 through outstanding events, media campaigns and viral
videos. With AIDA, Biti's sales have exploded unexpectedly, creating a resounding step in the Vietnamese
shoe market. AIDA includes: Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action. Biti's Hunter has successfully
promoted the image, brand and product through 2 mv of 2 famous singers, Son Tung M-TP and Soobin
Hoang Son. This has attracted a large number of young customers, which makes Biti's revenue amazing. In
addition, Biti's also stimulates the love of customers through the promotion by celebrities. Although the
price of Biti's is not too expensive, it also causes some consideration when making purchases for many
people, to deal with this, Biti's has motivated them by reducing the price of products and offering many
promotion codes at certain time frames through social networking sites.
Facilitating interaction and finding potential customers: Along with the development of
technology today is the development of social networking sites. This has a great influence on the marketing
of businesses because it helps increase interaction between businesses and customers. It can also evaluate
the influence as well as the name of the business in society. Moreover, this is the best and fastest way to
convey information about products to customers and create opportunities for customers to express their
thinking and feelings more about the product.

Starbucks is a testament to this, they exploit what customers need through three major social
networking sites, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Starbucks understands and connects the same topic
on various media, shares its campaigns on social networks, exposes and increases interaction with
customers and uses sophisticated images and videos. It is not too strange for Starbucks to be famous for
the delicious drinks that satisfy a lot of customers, which helps Starbucks thrive and has a worldwide
branch. The perfect combination in the marketing strategy has helped Starbucks grow and be popular with
many consumers.
3.2 Functions of Marketing.
Gathering and analyzing market function.
It is very important to collect, evaluate and research deeply into the market to be able to collect
information related to the target customers from which to devise appropriate marketing strategies to
attract and meet customers. It must give an answer to the common question of almost all buyers that is
why they have to buy from you and not another business? Further research and analysis help businesses
understand what customers need, how much they want to spend on that product, etc.
Finding the best distribution channels.
In order to distribute goods or services to consumers, it is also important to choose a distribution
channel. Because if the business does not choose a good distribution channel, it is certain that the product
will not reach the target customer and therefore the sales will decrease. However, choosing a distribution
channel that can promote its full potential is not easy because not having to distribute it anywhere,
distributing it, determining the area of customers. target and bring it to the consumer.
Promotion.
In business, promotion is an indispensable thing because most of the promotional products will
attract a lot of customers to buy not only old customers but also a large number of new customers. With
the strong development of technology today, it is really not difficult to implement promotions because
consumers can buy online or even in stores, businesses can offer many forms of promotion based on the
picture. buy in order to attract customers more easily. This is a marketing strategy that can bring a lot of
benefits, for example, when a business launches a new product they can get a promotion by buying a new
product and giving an old one, which gives them 2 The benefit is that you can sell second-hand goods,

promote or sell new ones, or when businesses combine both online and direct purchases, you can offer
different types of discounts based on your needs. customer.
Pricing of products.
To be able to offer a suitable price for the product is also called a challenge because if the product
price is too high, it will be picky about buyers than low-priced or affordable products. However, if the price
is too low, it will not bring profits to the business and thus the business will slip. Businesses need to do
some market research in order to get a suitable price for long-lasting products in the market. So, it is
extremely important to consider the various factors, customer categorization, their income, the company's
goals of the products and the competitors' policies from which to set prices. Consistent with customer
needs about the product.
Customer Services
The key to success is customer satisfaction about the company's products. This involves listening
to customers, meeting their needs and desires by providing after-sales services, shopping with credit cards,
debit cards, and services like membership cards. Accumulating points after every purchase can also help
businesses gain customer information, categorize customers and take outstanding steps. In addition, it
must also handle and respond to customer complaints about the product, thereby improving quality and
strengthening customer trust.
Design and product development.
The shape of the product also somewhat affects whether the product is sold or not. Decisions
related to quality standards used for the shape or design of a product or packaging to attract buyers and
especially when buying products of the same type but different in shape and packaging. Surely consumers
will like the product has a more beautiful appearance. This is not uncommon because if the packaging and
sticker work well, the product will probably be sold more or less and most customers often assess the
quality of the product through its packaging.
Marketing Plan.
Designing a right marketing plan for the plan to increase production, sales, and product promotion
will help businesses gain many benefits and deserve what they spend. Many businesses today choose to

approach the random market but must say that this approach is not really effective and often leads to
costly. Mapping the right marketing plan will make it easier for businesses to achieve their goals. If there
is a good marketing plan to make the product popular, there is a reason for devising a stronger plan to
make the product more popular.
IV. THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING DEPARTMENT AND OTHER UNITS.
The connection between marketing and other parts of a business is extremely important.
Marketing helps businesses research the market, inform and collaborate with other departments to set
specific strategic goals for product development and increase sales of the company. Besides, marketing
also helps businesses to have capable and qualified employees suitable for businesses. After all, marketing
is relevant to all the other parts of the business, working with others to understand the main focus, supply
chain mechanism and business development in the best way.
Accounting and Finance Department.
Marketing has a strong relationship with the finance department because marketing will help the
finance department to price products according to the market and help the company gain profits (Helen
Say, 2018). Both departments will work closely to ensure that businesses will have an appropriate budget
to meet the needs of research, distribution and promotion. The two departments will help each other,
marketing will focus on building market share, the number of goods sold and the finance department will
take care of costs and return on investment.
Human Resources Department
Marketing with the human resources department will ensure that the recruited employees have
the qualifications and capabilities suitable for the business so that they can develop well in researching,
developing new product ideas and meeting production spending with qualified staff.
Operations management/ Product Manufacturing department.
The relationship of marketing with this department is to research and develop plans and strategies
to meet the wants and needs of consumers. Marketing helps this department to operate the product as
best as possible and ensure that the products after launching to meet the goals of the business and the
needs of buyers.

Sales
In order to create high sales, businesses need to get information from customers, the target market
from which to make appropriate sales campaigns is why there is a connection between the sales
department and marketing. However, sometimes there will be inconsistencies between sales and
marketing in businesses because the lack of cohesion between these two parts leads to slow sales, which
can make the business go down quickly. If this is overcome and the link between the two parts becomes
stronger, it will create a stronger business.
IT
Perhaps no one thinks that marketing has a relationship with the IT department. However, in order
to make the most of marketing research, the marketing department needs to be fully equipped with
advanced technologies suitable for the era provided by the IT department. This is extremely important
because if the marketing department will not be able to fully exploit customer information, markets or
other things without technology.
V. CONCLUSION.
Through the analysis of the importance as well as the strong connection between marketing and
other departments, it has been proved that marketing is an integral part of the company. Marketing helps
businesses know customers, target markets, devise strategies for businesses to increase sales as well as
many other things. Therefore, without the marketing department, it is impossible for the company to
develop strongly and comprehensively. With all of the information in above, I would like to demonstrate
with the board of directors about marketing’s roles in the company and all the benefits that marketing
brings to the company. Not stopping there, marketing is also a department that keeping the company and
making the company more and more advance. To sum up, I hope the board of directors can understand
and reconsider about cutting costs and human resources of marketing department.

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