Roles and Responsibilities of Marketing Function at Wilkinson

This report delves into the crucial roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within an organization, using Wilkinson as a case study. It explores key aspects such as market planning, market research, advertising and promotion, product distribution, identifying target markets, customer support, social media management, management information systems, and pricing strategies. The report further examines the interrelation of the marketing department with other crucial departments such as finance, human resources, and sales. Additionally, it analyzes the marketing mix strategies employed by Wilkinson and Next PLC, highlighting the importance of product, price, place, and promotion in achieving a competitive advantage. The report concludes with an overview of the formation and evaluation of a basic marketing plan for a company, providing a comprehensive understanding of marketing principles and their practical application in the business world.

Business Management

Table of Contents
INTRODCUTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK1 ..........................................................................................................................................1
P1. Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function...........................................................1
P2 Roles and responsibilities of marketing in wider context .....................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P3 Marketing mix strategy of Wilkinson and Next PLC............................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P4 Marketing plan of Wilkinson company.................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
.......................................................................................................................................................13

INTRODCUTION
In old time, companies were not giving much attention on the customers. When this
concept of marketing get popular, every organisation made a separate department for this work.
Marketing is considered as one of the most important functions performed in organisation as it
plays significant role in the success of business. It assist and an enterprise in expanding their
business. It starts from identifying the needs of customers and ends with earning their loyalty
(Al-Ekam and et .al., 2012). Wilkinson is one of the oldest companies that operates in the retail
sector. They are running their stores in more than 387 locations. This report will discuss about
the roles and responsibilities of marketing along with discussing the interrelation of this function
with other departments of organisation. Marketing mix adopted by different organisations will
also become the part of this file. At the end, it will cover formation and evaluation of basic
marketing plan for enterprise.
TASK1
P1. Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function
The main reason of existence of this department is to grow the business of organisation.
They perform various activities so that they can achieve company's short and long term goals
which have either direct or indirect connection with their mission and vision. An enterprise
makes different divisions so that they can get specialised knowledge about a function and
minimise the risk of confusion. Following are some main roles and responsibilities:
Market planning – They play a significant role in planning future strategies of growing
business. They make plans for launching of new products or services (Wirtz, 2012). They
ascertain details relating to finance and other resources that will be needed at the time of
implementation of program. An organisation cannot start new things without having proper
discussion with
Market research – Wilkinson is working in the retail sector. They have many competitors
who are trying to capture industry by adopting various types of strategies. Marketing function is
responsible for recording and then analysing their tactics so that they can offer their products
accordingly. It is their role to understand the daily needs of society and then sell suitable items in
their stores. Research provides necessary information and assistance to other departments like
finance, human resource, etc. (Mihart, 2012)
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Advertising and promotion – Nowadays, there are various options for promoting a brand
and its product in the market. Marketing function play a crucial role in selecting an appropriate
method of advertisement so that they can get connected with more number of customers. They
are responsible for promoting a positive image of company in industry and deliver more
information about the items which they are selling in their stores (Raj, Walter and Rashid, 2012).
Normally, people forget about a brand or their commodities when they do not see or hear its
name for a long time. Marketing function is accountable to keep the name of organisation in
market so that they can buy a place in the minds of customers. Wilkinson has a unique identity in
the market. They can spend more money on television and internet advertisement.
Product distribution – Some commodities have high demand in some areas while others
have low demand in the same regions. Marketing function is responsible for sending right
products at the right place so that company can increase their sale and reduce wastage of
resources. They organise facility for proper transportation and so, in order to assure proper
transition of goods. They have stores in around 360 locations which receive goods through
various modes of transportation (Mihart, 2012).
Identify target markets – This division of an organisation plays an important role in
selecting appropriate market where they can launch their products or open their store. They have
to determine basic factors like income and culture of customers so that they can earn maximum
amount of revenue within short period of time. In general case, managers of various departments
including marketing faces confusion for this issue. But this function helps them to ascertain
specific goals which have to be attained within fixed time period. Instead of opening more stores,
Wilkinson is getting more attention to their existing targets.
Customer support – It is the responsibility of marketing function to solve problems of
customers by interacting with them in regular interval of time. This will also help company in
finding their future needs which can make a positive impact on the business of organisation.
Monitoring and managing social media – Social media has the capability to increase or
decrease sale of an enterprise. It is the function of marketing department to promote their brand
and stores on social networking sites and remove complete negative information which is present
on internet. Their role in analysing taste and preferences of customers is significant because
people write their experiences regarding a product (Puddle, 2015). It can also help a firm in
finding and evaluating strategies of other players of this industry which is important in the
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current business scenario. Wilkinson does not pay much attention on social media and they have
decent level of presence on the internet (Mittal, 2014).
Formation of management information system – Marketing function is accountable for
string various kind of data and information which they find from different sources. They need to
update it on continuous basis so that they can deliver updated information to top level
management and other divisions. Normally, other wings of an organisation record data relating
to their own wing but marketing function is responsible for collecting and storing knowledge
than is very general and it has high significance in formation of short as well as long term
strategies.
Pricing – If a product is sold at high price then its sale will go down and if it is offered at
low rate then company will lose significant amount of revenue. It is the role of marketing
function to decide an appropriate price which is competitive as well as suitable for customers.
They have complete knowledge of market and so they have a responsibility to decide correct rate
of an item. It provides great assistance in increasing the sale as well as revenue of company.
Wilkinson offers products at a competitive price (Moini, 2012).
P2 Roles and responsibilities of marketing in wider context
Customers are considered as the main source of revenue for cited organisation. They have
to give them preference by analysing their daily routine so company can will the gap in lifestyle
by offering appropriate products. In retail industry, taste and preferences of buyers changes in
regular interval of time so cited organisation need to interact with customers in regular interval
of time. Marketing department of Wilkinson mainly focus on increasing their business of firm by
doing whatever they like. All of their strategies has some connection with fulfilling vision and
mission of company (Pike, 2015). In current era, this division is responsible for earning loyalty
of customers by providing higher customer satisfaction and offering commodities according to
their need.
This play signifiant role in improving the brand image of organisation so they can attract
more buyers. This move also provide great assistance in increasing goodwill of firm. Marketing
department is basically responsible for fighting with other players of the sector by introducing
new products in regular interval of time and adopting aggressive strategies for marketing. They
have signifiant role in making a proper balance between demand and supply of item, if they do
not understand need of market than company may derail for right path in short period of time.
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Every product has life, after sometime its demand go down and it become a burden on an
enterprise (.Nguyen and Simkin, 2011). Marketing division of Wilkinson is responsible for
taking out an item which people is hating, they have to understand mindset of customers so they
can disappear it before buyers start neglecting it.
Below is the importance of interrelation between marketing and other department:
Relation between marketing and finance division – Finance wing of cited organisation
is basically responsible for two tasks, first is to take crucial decisions like where to invest, and
second is to find appropriate source of revenue. In both activity they require assistance from
marketing team. They provide them information about proper locations where company should
invest their money by opening a store. They provide them data and knowledge about income and
culture which is present in a region. These two factors make a huge impact on revenue of the
organisation because it cited company will open their store at a location where people do not
have much purchasing power tan they may may have to face loss in long run. Their return on
investment will be low which can put firm in various kind of financial problems. Marketing
department contain sound ground knowledge so if finance division take their help than they can
deliver surprising results in short period of time (Ormrod, 2014).
Marketing wing of Wilkinson keep an eye on all the business activities done in their
opponent companies. They find and analyse sources of revenue of their competitive firm. If
finance department contact them than marketing division can reveal them crucial information
and data regarding the sources of loan which other players of industry have. This will help
finance wing in getting more option and they can select a appropriate one according to
organisation's need. This will provide strength to financial health of company which is necessary
for their grow and survival.
Relation between marketing and human resource unit – HR team is responsible for
selecting right candidate at a position an enterprise can achieve their goals in set period of time.
Marketing department of Wilkinson basically need two types of people, first who have good
analytical skills and second who have proper communication skill. They need to tell human
resource division about the characters which they looking in their future employee (Peter and
Donnelly, 2011). If they an organisation recruit right candidates than they can get surprising
results. Human capital is considered as one of the most important resource that a firm can have in
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their company. Managers of marketing wing can sit in the interview panel so they can tell their
demands to the manager of HR team.
Relation between sales and marketing department – People often get confuse between
these two terms, they consider is same but there is a huge different between their work (Ormrod,
2014). Sales division is a small but important part of marketing who mainly focus on convincing
buyers to buy a product. On the other hand, marketing wing of Wilkinson try to find need of
consumers and provide they high customer satisfaction. They try to gain trust of the buyers by
solving all of their queries. They also ask them about their experience at retail store of they can
find shortcoming of salesperson and remove them by proving them proper training. Managers of
marketing department give vital information to the sales teams so they can decide appropriate
way to convince their potential consumers. This help cited organisation in increasing their
overall sales (Peter and Donnelly, 2011).
TASK 2
P3 Marketing mix strategy of Wilkinson and Next PLC
Marketing mix is very vital strategy which provides support to the company in delivering
products or services to its consumers in an effective manner. In today competitive environment,
every company should make it because it will help in achieving competitive advantages over its
rivals as well as will aid in attracting large number of consumers (Hagan, 2011). This strategy
includes various elements like product, price, place and promotion by which company will be
able to serve to its customers according to their requirement that will create positive image in the
market. It includes following things that are given below-
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6
Source 1: The Marketing Mix 4P’s and 7P’s Explained, 2017

 Products- Firm should design their products or services according to the requirement of
customers because it will aid in capturing large market share.
 Price- Organisation should keep that price of their products which can be afford by its
target market. For example- If it is serving to high class people then company can charge
high prices from them and vice versa. Along with, Wilkinson can set value of their goods
as per product situation like at introduction level, it has to keep low price otherwise no
one will purchase it. There are various pricing strategy which can be adopt by a company
according to their requirement such as-
◦ Price bundling- In this, company combines all products and services into one
package by which cost can be kept low. In other terms, it can be said that, in this
goods are provided at discounted rates which will assist in increasing profitability.
◦ Psychological pricing- It can be also be called as Odd pricing which makes
psychological impact on consumers. This tactic is generally used by retail
organisation for getting attention of large number of people. Place- It is very important element where people buy products or services of the
company. Firm can sell their merchandise through online or via physical outlet. Promotion- It is also very crucial element by which company attracts to the large
number of customers towards it. With the help of this, sales, revenue, brand image of the
company can be increased (Judge and Robbins, 2015.). People- It is the most important element for a company because if firm will not have
skilled manpower then it will not be able to serve to the customers effectively. So it is
very necessary for a company to hire skilled workers as well as to provide training to
them so that they can perform their job according to the expectation. Process- Every organisation should adopt transparency in their process so that people can
understand its products or services and will remain in the company for long period of
time.
 Physical evidence- It refers to as a proof which proves that customers have received
services from the company. It may include various things like culture of firm, staff
members, structural maintenance and location of the company. It is also based on several
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aspects such as transparency, speed, cleanliness and quality of offers that are providing
by cited firm (Koontz, 2010).
Basis Wilkinson Next plc
Product Before serving to the consumers, it has
analyse the behaviour of consumers and
design various range of products
accordingly. It has limited width and depth
of products as per demand of consumers.
It provides various range of
goods like electric products,
household etc. Firm makes
modification in their offer
from time to time for meeting
with the expectation of
customers.
Price Wilkinson adopts pricing strategy according
to age groups and class of people. Generally
it follows bundle pricing strategy in which it
sets price of goods collectively.
Generally, it adopts
competitive pricing in which it
keeps value of their products
according to the competitors.
Place This company distributes their goods via
physical outlet and distribution channel.
It has opened their outlet at
every place of world and are
operating their business there
where every consumers can
reach easily.
Promotion Wilkinson promotes their products or
services through sales promotion, direct
marketing, advertising etc. It is very helpful
in attracting large number of customers
towards it.
The strategies for promotion
are on the basis of concept of
revitalizing and reorganizing
brand at specific period.
Process For serving to the consumers, it uses
advanced technology, raw material,
packaging and distribution methods (Lamb,
Hair and McDaniel, 2011).
It adopts process for designing
innovative or unique products
so that it can attract large
number of customers.
People It uses external as well as internal marketing Next PLC concentrates on
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so that they can serve to the customers
according to their requirements. They
provides friendly environment to consumers
so that they will remain in the company for
long period of time.
several sections regarding age
groups, income etc.
Physical
evidence
This company provides transparency, better
quality of services, fast product delivery,
appearance, location maintenance etc. which
may influence the function of business.
It makes good experience of
customers so that they will
again purchase their goods. For
providing information to the
consumers, it uses pamphlets,
brochures etc.
TASK 3
P4 Marketing plan of Wilkinson company
Marketing plan is a written document which contains information regarding market
situation, competitors etc. It can be termed as blueprint which provides direction to the company
regarding efforts and business advertising for future years (Malhotra, Birks and Wills, 2013). It
is made for short period of time which helps in achieving desired result or outcome. Marketing
plan of Wilkinson company is as follow- Executive summary- Wilkinson is a British high street retailer which provides home-
wares and households goods to the people that was founded by JK Wilkinson in the year
of 1930. It is one of the largest retailer in United Kingdom which have 325 stores approx
with a turnover of 1 billion pound approximately. Its first office was started in Hong
Kong and Asia in the year of 2008. Currently, this company is selling more than 25000
products related to health, beauty, garden, office, food and home goods. Marketing mix analysis- In today competitive environment, it is very important to have
marketing mix strategy because it helps in serving to the customers as per their
requirements. This analysis states that which type of products should be designed and at
what prices so that clients will become ready to purchase that easily. Besides this, it also
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help in selecting best promotional tool by which awareness about its existence can be
generated. Mission of the company-Mission statement is that document which provides reason to
the company for its existence. According to the company, it is an action call which
provides answers of various questions like what firm will do etc. that assist in expansion
of business.
 Market analysis- Before implementing any plan, company should analyse the market so
that it can make their strategy according to the environment and will get success in the
market. Wilkinson can evaluate environment by doing PESTLE and SWOT analysis. In
PESTLE survey, firm identifies external or uncontrollable factors which influences
business activities like political, economical, social, technological etc. If enterprise will
know about these components then it can make effective and successful strategy by
which company will be able to achieve its specified result (Mihart, 2012). For knowing
about internal factors, business can conduct SWOT analysis by which it can know its
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. With the help of this, organisation will
be able to utilize its full capacity and can remove its all shortcomings by which it can
attain competitive advantages over its rivals and can satisfy the needs or wants of
consumers. Market analysis of chosen organisation is given hereunder-
Strengths
 Greater amount of revenue and
profitability. Minimum labour cost
Weaknesses
 Less market share due to brand
portfolio
Opportunities It can enter into market for capturing
large customer base.
Threats
 There are continuously increasing in
number of competitors.
 Objective of plan- Every company makes marketing plan for the development and
growth of business because it provides direction how to carry out activities by which firm
can attain its desired result. Objective should be SMART that means specific,
measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound. Target that is set by company should be
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achievable with in specific period of time [Maximum five years]. Its main objective is to
capture large market share by providing better quality of goods or services as per their
requirements. Strategies and tactics- It is made by company according to the marketing objectives
because it is only one which aids in achieving competitive advantages as well as specified
result within stipulated period of time (Raj, Walters and Rashid, 2012). It has adopted
cost leadership in which it has set lower prices of their products so that attention of large
customers can be captured. Marketing budget- It is one of the important things which are necessary for a company
for carrying out activities effectively and smoothly. Nike should decide budget for each
and every activities that is helpful in controlling the expenses and protects the company
from financial crisis in next coming year. If company will not allocate budget then it will
not be able to achieve desired result effectively and efficiently. So it is necessary that,
firm should make budget for each and every activity (Nguyen and Simkin, 2012). For
achieving pre-specified objectives, chosen organisation has decided 0.5 million pound as
a budget which is enough amount to get attention of large market share. Controlling- It is also most important element that aids the company in reaching to its
decided destination. If there will not be proper control on activities then business can not
be done according to the specified standards because everyone will perform as per their
own wish. Its result will be that firm will not obtain their specified result. So management
of Wilkinson should control the activities so that it can attain its desired result.
 Research- Wilkinson company should conduct research on a regular basis so that it can
know about trends that are going to the market. And after knowing about this, it should
change their marketing plan so that it can attain its desired result or outcome. This factor
is very important for a business because it aids in designing products or services
according to the target market by which it can capture large market share or customer
base (Rother, 2010).
Marketing plan provides various benefits to Wilkinson company which are given below-
 It provides direction to the business what activities should be done so that company can
reach to its destination.
 It aids in achieving competitive advantages over its rivals.
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 It also provides support in identifying the best target market which will provide best
return to it.
 It also helps in completing task within budget of the company as well as aids in designing
products or services according to their requirement by which Wilkinson captures large
market share.
CONCLUSION
Marketing is very important element in a business because it helps the company in
achieving desired result or outcome. With the help of this function, business is able to satisfy the
needs or wants of customers because in this, company identifies the requirements of consumers
by which it designs products or services accordingly. From the above report, it is concluded that
marketing manager has to perform various functions for attaining positive result. There are
various strategies which can be adopt by Wilkinson for obtaining competitive advantages like
marketing mix which includes various elements like product, price, place and promotion. It has
also stated about marketing plan which is very important document for a company. While
formulating marketing plan, company should analyse the marketing situation so that it can design
their successful strategy.
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