BA Business Management: Marketing Fundamentals Report - Mercedes-Benz

This report examines marketing fundamentals, focusing on the creation of customer value and the impact of stakeholder engagement within Mercedes-Benz. It explores how marketing activities, including advertising and promotions, contribute to customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty. The report delves into the roles of internal and external stakeholders, analyzing their influence on marketing strategies and brand establishment. Furthermore, it discusses the STP marketing model, covering segmentation, targeting, and positioning. The report highlights the importance of understanding market trends, customer needs, and preferences to effectively engage stakeholders and achieve marketing objectives. The analysis underscores the significance of stakeholder engagement in enhancing customer loyalty, managing public perception, and driving sales, ultimately contributing to Mercedes-Benz's competitive advantage and sustainable development.

Marketing
Fundamentals

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
The role of marketing in creating value for customers................................................................3
Stakeholder engagement and their impact on the marketing activities of an organisation..........5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is referred as the activity which is undertaken by the companies in order to
promote the organisational buying and selling of respective products and services as well.
marketing is the aggregation of different activities and process of creating, delivering, creating as
well as exchanging offers which as valuable for customers, partners, clients and partners at large.
Marketing is the primary activity of business management and commerce. Fundamentally,
marketing is the procedure of understanding customers and maintaining better relationship with
them in order to satisfy their needs and demands and organisational goals effectively. There are
various types of marketing such as digital, traditional, social media marketing, promotions,
personal selling and word to mouth is used to reach potential customers and persuade them to
attain organisation goals and objective through targeting wide customer area. In this report the
chosen organisation is Mercedes-Benz which is producer of luxury vehicles as well as
commercial vehicle founded in 28 June, 1926 by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. Headquarter
of respective organisation is in the Stuttgart, Germany and serves its product across the world.
Mercedes-Benz produces automobile and light commercial vehicles. In this report different roles
of marketing that creating values for customers is being covered. Apart from that customer
engagement and their impacts on marketing activities of respective organisation in being
discussed in this project report.
TASK
The role of marketing in creating value for customers
Role of marketing:
The marketing department plays important role in promoting business activities and
operations in order to attain all organisational goals and objectives in efficient and effective
manner. Marketing facilitates Mercedes-Benz to reach prospect customers, community and
investors in order to create awareness and building positive image of respective organisation
among customers as well as converting prospect customers into potential customers through
producing number of attractive advertisement and promotional activities (Burford and Chan,
2017). There are various activities are conducted within marketing activities such as conducting
campaign and manage them effectively in order to initiate marketing in organisation, producing
and promoting organisational products and services, create effective content on social media,

enhancing internal communication, conducting market and customer research and monitoring as
well as managing social media platforms in order to attract potential customers to enhance
productivity and profitability of Mercedes-Benz through enhancing sales.
Marketing value for customers:
Marketing is determined as the process of creating, communicating as well as providing
valuable information to the customers regarding products and service that have value for them. It
brings value for customers by identifying their needs, demands and preferences, satisfy them
with better quality products and services and retain them with organisation for long run (Du
Plessis, 2017). Mercedes-Benz conducts marketing activities for finding and keeping customers
with respective organisation in order to accomplish defined objectives with efficiency. The role
of marketing is beyond the activities of advertising, selling products and collecting profits.
Marketing generates value for customers by connecting them with respective companies,
products and services. Marketing department of Mercedes-Benz perform various roles for
creating value for customers are discussed below:
Identify Customers: Marketing department of respective organisation conduct proper
research of market and potential customers in order to identify current market trends, needs,
demand as well as preferences of customers. Identification of customer needs, solicit feedbacks
form customers is the important step in marketing process. By conducting focus group
programmes, listening customers through social media channels and by keyboard research. All
these methods of marketing facilitate Mercedes-Benz to analyse and evaluate customers needs
and demands, distributing relevant information to stakeholder, create quality products according
to requirement of customers and collect customers feedbacks to identify that organisational
efforts meet customer expectations (Hisrich and Ramadani, 2017). Marketing activities facilitates
organisation to target potential customers and provide them wide information about products and
services by advertisement, promotion and personal selling that plays vital role in creating value
for customers.
Satisfy customers: Customer satisfaction is defined as the feeling of an individual when
offered organisational products and services meet their expectations. Mercedes-Benz conduct
appropriate marketing activities to identify customers needs and demands in order to deliver
better quality products and services to fulfil their requirements on time. Customer satisfaction
ensure the organisation that their potential customers feel satisfied with organisational products

and services. Customer satisfaction depends upon availability of right product and service to
right people at right time which satisfy all their needs and demands. Through social media
channels Mercedes-Benz get customers feedbacks as well as their reviews to understand their
satisfaction level.
Retain customers: Marketing helps organisation to provide data, information about
organisation, products and services and persuade customers to purchase these products by
satisfying all needs and demands of customers. The role of marketing for creating value for
customers is beyond from all those activities as well. Mercedes-Benz gain customers trust and
their loyalty by providing them better quality products and services. Effective marketing creates
various opportunities to retain with organisation for long run (Honea, Castro and Peter, 2017).
Retainment of customers facilitates respective organisation to enhance its productivity,
profitability and performance level as. As the respective organisation deals in manufacturing
auto-mobiles and vehicles so, effective marketing strategies make customers engage with
organisation by fulfilling their all needs and demands according to expectations.
Marketing plays important role that have value for organisation as well as customers in
order to identify their needs and demands, satisfy them with better quality products and services
as well as retain the with organisation for long period of time.
Stakeholder engagement and their impact on the marketing activities of an organisation
Stakeholder: Stakeholders are defined as the individual, group and other companies that have
interest in organisation and either affected by the organisation or affect business activities as
well. There are two type of stakeholders are connected with organisation such as internal as well
as external stakeholders that affect as well as interested in business functions and operations.
Investors, customers, suppliers, employees with enhancing corporate social responsibility
concern communities, trade associations and government also included in stakeholders of
organisation. Stakeholders positively and negatively affect or affected by organisational
decisions. Stakeholders are bound to the respective organisation with some interests for long
period of time (Kim, Hettche and Spiller, 2019). Different type of stakeholders discussed below:
Internal stakeholders: Internal stakeholders are defined as the people who are closely
related to business activities and directly related to Mercedes-Benz organisation such as
employment, investment and ownership.

External stakeholders: External are defined as the people and parties who are not directly
relates with respective organisation but somehow being affected by the organisational actions
and outcomes as well. Suppliers, public groups and creditors are considered as the part of
external stakeholders.
Stakeholder engagement:
Stakeholder engagement is determined as the process that facilitates organisation to involve
people who are getting affected by the decisions that are taken by organisation or influence
effectively implementation of decision in organisation as well. It is the procedure of the help
Mercedes-Benz to communicate with its respective stakeholders. Through stakeholder
engagement respective organisation involves relevant stakeholders in order to achieve acceptable
outcomes (Loebler, 2017). It is the part of corporate social responsibility to accomplish triple
bottom line. Effectively implementation of stakeholder engagement helps organisation to gain
various business opportunities to align all business practices with societal needs as well as
expectations in order to ensure organisational sustainability and shareholder value. Mercedes-
Benz engage respective stakeholders to remain competitive in complex and dynamic competitive
business environment and ensure sustainable development of organisation. Stakeholder
engagement impacts marketing activities of Mercedes-Benz in various manner which are
discussed below:
Enhance customer loyalty: Stakeholder engagement facilitates marketing activities such as
promotion and advertisement that enhance customer loyalty through providing the special prices,
rewards as well as incentives. As the existing customers are the most important target market for
Mercedes-Benz because they have effective relationship with organisation. effective engagement
of stakeholders help organisation to engage customer efficiently. Customers are most important
asset of an organisation as well as loyal customer is the key of success who make brand more
valuable and enhance customer base increase the effectiveness of marketing.
Combatting the competition: Marketing in the essential thing that facilitates Mercedes-Benz
remain competitive environment as well as defence from various competitors. Stakeholder
engagement such as supportive employees who are able to produce better quality products and
services and management team which publishes effective marketing that affect it in various
manner (Pencarelli and Forlani, 2018). As marketing platforms such as advertisement and
promotions help organisation to attract old as well as new customers that ensure the effectiveness

of marketing activities. Contributions of stakeholders help respective organisation to face
competition in effective manner and gain various sustainable competitive advantages.
Brand establishment: Engagement of stakeholders facilitates the Mercedes-Benz to establish
effective and strong brand image in minds of customers through conducting marketing activities
like promotion, personal selling and advertisement. As marketing is the process of enhancing
brand awareness of organisation among targeted audiences (Pop, 2019). If potential customers
are effectively engaged with organisation than they have positive attitude towards its
advertisement, promotions and other marketing activities that ensure the effectiveness of
marketing. Stakeholder engagement plays important role in brand establishment as well as
making strong positioning as compared to its competitors.
Public perception and reputation management: Engagement of stakeholder with
organisation effectively impacts on marketing activities through conducting various marketing
campaigns in order to shape public perception about organisation. By engaging potential
customers, employees, supplier and public help Mercedes-Benz to manage its reputation at
market place in order to differentiated its brand from other competitors. As the stakeholders are
the parties that are getting affected or affects organisational as well as marketing activities.
Benefits of increasing sales: As the marketing helps business to spread awareness as well
as promote products and services to customers in order to enhance productivity and profitability
level of Mercedes-Benz. Effective marketing increase sales of organisation. If stakeholders are
engaged with organisation than it enhances trust among all customer that the respective
organisation follow all rules and regulations regarding stakeholders that enhances loyalty of
customers towards organisation and facilitates to attain all marketing objectives effectively.
Developing trust: Effective engagement of stakeholders help the organisation to enhance trust
among all potential customers (Raffort, 2020). If employees and customers are loyal towards
Mercedes-Benz and know all information about organisational product and services so, they trust
marketing activities such as advertisement and promotions as well.
Stakeholder engagement is essential for organisational growth and development that
impacts marketing activities as well. stakeholders are important part of Mercedes-Benz that
affect its business activities. Marketing managers of organisation evaluate these stakeholders and
create effective strategies and policies in order to gain various sustainable competitive
advantages.

STP marketing theory:
STP stands for segmentation, targeting and positioning is defined as the fundamental concept
that facilitates organisation to understand marketing as well as strategies in effective manner
(Sadollah, Nasir and Geem, 2020). It is broad framework which is used to summarised and
simplifies whole marketing segmentation process. The respective marketing theory includes
various aspects that are described below:
Segmentation: Segmentation is the first step of STP marketing model in which
Mercedes-Benz divided whole market area in small sub markets or segments that facilitate
respective organisation to reach potential customers and enhance target audience. The process
dividing market into various smaller groups and segments that have similar characteristics in
order to select appropriate target markets. The main objective of segmentation is to create
various segments od huge market on the bases of specific characteristics and traits which make
easy to target audiences. Market is divided on various segmentations such as:
Geographic segmentation: In this segment Mercedes-Benz divide its customers on the
bases of their country, region, nationality and state.
Demographic segmentation: In demographic segmentation audiences are segregate by
their age, education, gender and occupational level etc.
Behavioural segmentation: In this segmentation respective organisation divides whole
market audiences on the bases that how they interact with business, their buying behaviour and
how they understand things etc.
Psychographic segmentation: Mercedes-Benz divides its perspective customer on the
bases of their lifestyle, activities, hobbies and opinions etc.
Targeting: After segmenting whole market into smaller groups, Mercedes-Benz select
appropriate target among whole segments in order to get most potential customers. Respective
organisation evaluates all segments through conducting marketing campaigns than select suitable
one that generate desirable conversions. The ideal segment has various qualities such as keep
growing, having high profitability ratio and low cost of acquisition (Terech, 2018). The factors
that are considered by the Mercedes-Benz to select appropriate target audience are discussed
below:
Size of targeted market: In order to targeting a market, size of potential market is
considered by the respective organisation as well as its future growth potential.

Profitability: Profitability is the factor which plays important role in targeting potential
market segment. Value of each segment is being evaluated as compared to other segments than
take appropriate decision.
Reachability: Before targeting any segment of marketing, it is evaluated by organisation
that how easy or difficult for organisation to reach each market segment with respective
marketing efforts. Consider all customers acquisition costs that provide information about
profitability of particular segment as compared to others.
Positioning: Positioning is the final stage of STP process which is related to setting
specific positioning of products and services apart from various competitors in minds of targeted
audiences. Effective and strong positioning provide sustainable competitive advantages to the
respective organisation as well as ensure customer retention for long period of time (Woodsid,
2017). There are various factors that plays important role in establishing effective positioning
such as symbolic positioning, functional positioning, experiential positioning in market place.
Mercedes-Benz organisation deals in manufacturing automobiles and other vehicles use
segmentation, targeting as well as positioning marketing strategy in order to target potential
customers and provide them better quality product and services to create effective and strong
brand positioning in their minds (Yoshida Yagi and Garrod, 2020). Strong positioning within
market help organisation to enhance customer base as well as productively and profitability of
organisation.
CONCLUSION
As per above report, it can be concluded that marketing plays important role in organisational
success and development. Marketing is the process of attractive customers by advertisement and
promotions and persuade them to engage with organisation effectively. Marketing plays
important role to crate value for customers in order to identify their needs, demands and
preferences, satisfy them with providing quality products and services as well as retain them with
organisation for long period of time. Stakeholders are persons who are interested in business
functions and activities either they are affected by organisation or effect its activities in effective
manner. There are internal as well external stakeholders that are related with organisation as well
as impacts marketing activities efficiently. Organisations use different marketing theories and
concepts in order to cover area of target audiences and gain sustainable competitive advantages
in business environment than competitors.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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contribution of academic research.
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competencies and workplace readiness: A practitioner perspective. Journal of
Marketing Education. 39(3). pp.145-161.
Kim, D. H., Hettche, M. and Spiller, L., 2019. Incorporating third-party online certifications into
a marketing course: The effect of learning style on student responses. Marketing
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Loebler, H., 2017. Humans’ relationship to nature–framing sustainable marketing. Journal of
Services Marketing.
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for Marketing Management (pp. 43-67). Springer, Cham.
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Academic Marketing in Favor of Increasing the Performance of the Organization.
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Raffort, J., and et. al.,2020. Fundamentals in artificial intelligence for vascular surgeons. Annals
of vascular surgery. 65. pp.254-260.
Sadollah, A., Nasir, M. and Geem, Z. W., 2020. Sustainability and optimization: from conceptual
fundamentals to applications. Sustainability. 12(5). p.2027.
Terech, A., 2018. An introduction to marketing and branding. Generations. 42(1). pp.45-49.
Woodside, A. G. ed., 2017. The complexity turn: Cultural, management, and marketing
applications. Springer.

Yoshida, S., Yagi, H. and Garrod, G., 2020. Determinants of farm diversification:
entrepreneurship, marketing capability and family management. Journal of Small
Business & Entrepreneurship. 32(6). pp.607-633.