Marketing Essentials: Roles, Mix, and Marketing Plan Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive overview of marketing essentials, beginning with a definition of marketing and its significance. It explores the key roles and responsibilities of marketing functions within an organizational context, emphasizing their impact on branding, promotional activities, and stakeholder communication. The report delves into the marketing environment, categorizing it into internal, micro, and macro environments, and discusses the marketing cycle's stages. It examines the interrelationships between the marketing department and other organizational units, such as engineering, purchasing, finance, R&D, and sales. A comparative analysis of the marketing mix (7Ps) is presented, using Airtel and Vodafone as examples, followed by a discussion of different tactics employed by these organizations. The report concludes with a detailed strategic marketing plan for IKEA, including SWOT analysis, and explores product, price, place, promotion, physical evidence, process, and people strategies. The report highlights how these elements contribute to IKEA's marketing approach. The document is contributed by a student to be published on the website Desklib. Desklib is a platform which provides all the necessary AI based study tools for students.

marketing essentials
[Document subtitle]

Introduction
Marketing is defined as the process through which a product is conceptualized, processed,
delivered and served to the consumer and it can also be defined as the activity, set of institutions,
and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value
for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. Further, according to some researchers,
marketing is also considered as a link or a bridge between the gap of society's materialistic needs
and the demand and Supply chain in the economy. Furthermore, we will be discussing the roles
and the responsibilities of functions of the marketing in organizational context. Also, the key
elements of Marketing and the use of 7 P's of marketing Mix to achieve the overall objectives of
the Organization are elaborated using various examples.
1.1 Key roles and Responsibilities of Marketing Function to the organization
In an organization, marketing plays a vital role as all the branding and promotional activities of
the business, and also the coordinating part are done by marketing executives. In short,
Marketing department is responsible for reaching out to all stakeholders of the Company be it the
investors, Customers, Prospects, Communities, etc. and represent the company In a positive
light. Basic Roles and Responsibilities Include (Baron, D.P., 2003):
Representing and Managing the Brand- Marketing Department of Amazon takes care of its
brand name in media and helps to draw its good image in public
Initiating and Campaigning of Marketing Activities- Hyundai offered an assurance program
campaign in which people could return their vehicle to the company in case they lose out their
jobs or Income within a year of their purchase of the vehicle.
Keeping Web Content Updated- Instagram provides the best user experience. The Massive
Advertising provision in its search section keeps the user updated with all the new features of
Instagram.
Handling and Maintaining Social Media- Samsung is maintaining its twitter as well as a
Facebook page on a daily basis to keep track of followers and new prospects and also to keep
itself updated with the users in the marketing.
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Communicating Company's Values, goals, and priorities to employees
Being a Spokesperson and representing the company in Media- All major brand names have
their Spokesperson who maintains Public relations and maintain their brand image.
Conducting marketing research and finding out opportunities- Phillips do massive research
work in the economy to find out the new demand in Economy and accordingly produce the
customized products.
1.2 Analyzing The Roles and Responsibilities of the Marketing in
Organizational Context
Through marketing, an organization can define actions to generate new sales, leads or contract
for a company. Therefore it is very important to have an alliance with the commercial
department. People working in the marketing department needs access to various important
information- the profit margin of the products, features and benefits of the product, deferred
expenditure for monthly campaigns in order to develop a long-term planning, keeping track of all
the competitors (What all strategies they are planning out) and also how the after sales services
are done to provide an enhanced experience to the customers. Keeping the simplest way to
communicate all the policies and procedures to stakeholders of the company (Swoboda et al.,
2013).
1.3 Analyzing The Roles and Responsibilities of the Marketing in Marketing
Environment Context
The Function, as well as the normal working of an organization, is directly influenced by the
market environment. Market Environment can be broadly classified into three categories:
Internal environment- The internal environment of the organization includes internal customers
who contribute in delivering the final products.
Micro environment- All the internal customers and suppliers etc. combine to form the micro
environment. An organization needs to develop a strong link with vendors and outside agencies.
Therefore in order to maintain continuous harmony, it needs to look at ever-changing the micro
environment.
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Macro Environment- It consists of a global condition, political stability, and government
policies. An organization does not have direct control over it.
The Marketing Cycle
The Marketing cycle is directly related to the product Life Cycle. Like PLC, It also has 5 stages-
Development, Introduction Growth, Maturity and Decline Stage.
Companies use these stages with different stages of marketing Cycle which produce revenue in
return.
Marketing Information System
Marketing Information is defined as a process through which the marketing information is
captured, stored, analyzed and distributed to facilitate the decision-making process. This market
information can be sourced through internal (Day to day production data and Product sales data)
as well as external data records(Competitor's market performance, Industry analysis, new trends,
supply, and demand).
1.4 Interrelationships of marketing department with other departments in an
organization
Engineering- Marketing executives ask engineering to develop several models often with product
features requiring custom components.
Purchasing- Marketing executives want the purchasing department to buy several models in a
product line, which requires purchasing small quantities of many items. Marketing executives
also forecast about materials and inventories required in an organization.
Finance- While taking any Investment decision, marketing can become a good mean. A
marketing plan generally includes financial information about all the existing as well as new
prospective products. While making promotional campaigns for a new product, finance
department can suggest about the actual or estimated response to a product/Service.
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R&D- In framing all the ideas of a new product/Services to its implementation marketing
research provides immense knowledge and guidance. Through Marketing, R&D can assess
easily what all products and services are most marketable and which all are not.
Sales- Sales department maintains relationships with all the clients and it becomes more
profitable because of inputs by the marketing Executives (Warnaby, G., Medway, D. and
Bennison, D., 2010).
1.5 Key Elements of marketing function and their relationship with other
functional units
For an organization to grow progressively, it is very important for all business departments to
interact harmoniously to pursue the overall objectives. But it is very often seen that some kind of
rivalry and distrust is always there in interdepartmental relations. However, marketing
department regulates the atmosphere inside an organization. Under its concept, all the
departments of an organization need to think only about customer’s satisfaction and
expectations.
1.6 Comparative Analysis of Marketing Mix
In this section, we will discuss the Comparative analysis of marketing mix between two leaders
of telecom Industry- Airtel and Vodafone. IKEA can follow these principals to have an
efficiency of its work (Steiner, G., and Steiner, J., 2005).
Airtel Vodafone
Product
value Added Services,Prepaid, Postpaid,
Services for business enterprises,
International facilities through calling
cards and prepaid world SIMs, etc
Vodafone gives buyers features such
asinformative services ,pictures, games,
ringtones, bills and even video
Place
Flow of Information in Channel
members, Availability of promotional
items to the channel Price
Vodafone operates in 300 stores and also
sells via other outlets. It has the expert
staffing to help buyers.
Price Flexible Pricing mechanism, customers Vodafone offers and spreads a number of
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based pricing
price plans to suit all of its target groups.
It mainly bestows SECTOR reward
points for every $1 spent.
Promotion
Large scale print and video, SRK &
Sachin are roped in to endorse the
product. In 2002, Airtel got its signature
tune from A.R. Rehman. Provides
innovations such as good movie premiers
and music service
Advertising in a number of different ways
such as TV and Posters helps to promote
the brand. Vodafone work with icon like
Devid Beckham to communicate its brand
value.
Airtel and Vodafone are the leading players of Global telecom market. Today Airtel is the largest
telecom service provider in India and the third largest in the world. The main aim of Airtel is to
meet the global standards in the telecom industry that delight customers through Customer
service focus, Empowered employee, innovative services, and Cost efficiency. Vodafone's
mission is to be the communications leader in an increasingly connected world by enriching
customers live, helping individuals, business, and communities and delivering total
communication needs.
1.7 Different Tactics applied by the organizations
Both the players have broadened their objectives and goals into undertaking transformational
projects that have a positive impact on the society and contribute to the nation building process.
Both aim to diversify their business into agriculture, financial services and retail business with
world-class partners, and to stay as leading brands of the nation.
Airtel and Vodafone get themselves involved in product innovation, heavy advertising, effective
sales promotion, customer care, etc. Vodafone's effective marketing strategy includes
Rebranding. One of the most successful ads includes their innovative and wacky character "zoo
zoo". Also, 24 hours customer support and online services make them superior to and different
from other Telecom brands.
Vodafone has more than 2, 38,000 base stations sites transmitting wireless signals. Vodafone
launched its own software application store. It has very strong and high competitive market to
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face. Similarly, Airtel has a group of strong Network transportation. It has a strong presence in
rising market like India. And their ability to manage change and acquisition is also very strong.
1.8 Marketing Plan for IKEA
IKEA is a world best interior furniture supplier. It was founded by Kamprad in 1943, initially
sold pens, wallets, picture frames, and tables. Only four years later, it started designing its own
furniture. And now its operations are present in international markets as well.IKEA’s Vision is
to create a better everyday life for the many people.
SWOT Analysis of IKEA
Strengths Weaknesses
Increasing use of
renewable materials
The size and scale of its
global business
"Smarter use of raw
materials.
The need for low-cost
products
Economies of scale
IKEA needs to keep good
communication with its
consumers
Using new technologies
Opportunities Threats
A growing demand for
greener and low priced
products Social Trends
Demand for reduced water
usage and lower carbon
footprints Market forces
Sustainable use of
resources Economic Factors
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1.9 Strategic Marketing Plan
Product-
IKEA has a wide variety of products which include Textiles and rugs, tools and hardware,
Decoration, Cloth storage, Kitchen cabinets appliances, Desks, Mirrors, and Chairs. Each
product line is having further product extensions and product varieties (IKEA.com 2016).
Price-
IKEA is working on “High Quality with low Price. Value is the basis of pricing for IKEA. It
surveys the market and the competitor’s price and then sets its own price approx. 30-50 percent
is lesser than its rivals.
Place-
IKEA has approx. 31 distribution centers in total 16 countries. While choosing franchises, IKEA
evaluates and considers corporate culture, Experience, Ability to carry through the investment
penetrating a country and its financial Strengths.
Promotion-
The main strategy of IKEA involves launching of about 2.5 million catalogs every year.
However, only the sales promotion and Trade promotions bring the best result for IKEA due to
its popular brand name and its pricing structure. Thus IKEA concentrates on this the
most.Physical evidence is present in almost every service. For example, the Hairspa services
provided in a Saloon and an insurance company giving their customers some printed material is
also a service.
Process-
Your Service delivery depends on the presence of customers. So delivering a service is a part of
what customer is paying for.
People-
IKEA is reliant on the people who are running that company from front line Sales staff to the
MD. Having right people is essential as they form an essential part of the business offering
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Conclusion
IKEA concept is standardized, but strategies and activities of marketing need to be standardized
and may be adjusted to local conditions of marketing. Further, the report helps in understanding
the various roles and the responsibilities of the functions of marketing in the context of the
organization and the internal and the external environment along with the marketing plan of the
company IKEA.
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REFERENCES
Baron, D.P., 2003. Business and its Environment (p. 2). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
IKEA.com - International homepage. (2016). IKEA. Retrieved 5 January 2017, from
http://www.ikea.com/
Steiner, G. and Steiner, J., 2005. Business, government, and society: A managerial perspective.
McGraw-Hill Professional.
Swoboda, B., Berg, B., Schramm-Klein, H. and Foscht, T., 2013. The importance of retail brand
equity and store accessibility for store loyalty in a local competition. Journal of Retailing and
Consumer Services, 20(3), pp.251-262.
Warnaby, G., Medway, D. and Bennison, D., 2010. Notions of materiality and linearity: the
challenges of marketing the Hadrian's Wall place ‘product.' Environment and Planning A, 42(6),
pp.1365-1382.
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