Marketing Essentials Report: Zara's Marketing Strategies, Mix and Plan

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Zara's marketing essentials. It begins with an introduction to the role of marketing, discussing its key responsibilities within the organizational context and the marketing environment. The report then delves into the marketing mix, comparing Zara with H&M across product, price, place, and promotion. It examines the tactics Zara employs to achieve its objectives. Furthermore, the report explores the interrelationships between marketing and other functional units within the firm, such as HR and finance. Finally, it develops and evaluates a marketing plan, offering insights into how Zara can optimize its strategies for future success. The report concludes with a summary of findings and a list of references.

Marketing essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO1. Role of marketing...................................................................................................................1
1 Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function related with wider organisational
context.........................................................................................................................................1
2) Analysis the roles and responsibilities of marketing in context to marketing environment...2
3) Study the significance of interrelationships between marketing and other functional units of
an firm. .......................................................................................................................................2
4) Key elements of marketing function.......................................................................................3
LO2. MARKETING MIX...............................................................................................................4
1). Marketing mix........................................................................................................................4
2.) Tactics applied by organisation to demonstrate how objectives can be achieved. ..............6
LO 3 Develop and evaluate marketing plan...................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is considered as a continuous action or activity of promoting the business and
its services. These activities generally involves conducting market research, knowing the
preferences of customers and advertising the product. Marketing function is considered as one of
the most important function. This is because marketing directly helps the business to grow. One
of the major aspect of marketing function is forming adequate relationship with its potential
customers so that their preferences can be known. Plans and strategies formulation for marketing
is generally done after analysing the market situation and competitors action plan. But there are
various factors which affects the working of marketing. Those factors are present with in the
organisation as well as outside the organisation. Company chosen for this report is ZARA which
is one of the top fashion retailer. Its headquartered is located in Spain .This report will talks
about responsibilities of marketing function, marketing mix of a new introduced market and the
relationship between various various factors of marketing.
LO1. Role of marketing.
1 Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function related with wider organisational context
Marketing department directly helps in improving and enhancing the business. This is
because the sale and profitability of ZARA will directly depend upon the market in plans and
strategies. The major objective or responsibility of marketing department is to know the actual
need and demand of its potential for the formulation of strategies. The major roles are mentioned
below-
Promotion- This activity helps the customers to know more and more about the existing
product in the market. This activity not only provides benefits to the customers but will also help
ZARA in building positive image in the mind of its potential customers. Promotional activities
can be made keeping mind the current scenario of the market. This can be done analysing
various factors in a effective and efficient manner (Anderson, Sweeney and Williams, 2011).
Proper promotional activities might also lead to giving tough competition to the competitors of
ZARA.
Market information- This is concerned with gathering proper information from the
market to decide the future plans and actions. The manager of the ZARA must focus on
collecting relevant information from market and from organisation also. Employees of ZARA
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will also help in performing this task in proper order. Market information of ZARA can include
preferences of its customers, change in technology, latest fashion trends etc.
Pricing- Price of the newly introduced product can be decided by the management of
ZARA by knowing the paying capacity of the customers. This is because if the price of the
product is reasonable than product will be able to attract more and more sale. Proper pricing of
the product will also lead to repeated sale of new product introduced by ZARA. With the help of
this function ZARA will also be able to achieve the targeted goals and the competitive advantage
(Baker,and Saren, 2016).
2) Analysis the roles and responsibilities of marketing in context to marketing environment.
Meet consumers needs and wants: To survive in the market organization need to fulfil
the emerging needs of the customers. In the dynamic environment frequently taste , demand and
preferences are changing so, in order to satisfy the customers demand firm does continuous
research and development in the market. When customers needs are meet it indirectly helps to
builds healthy relation in the market environment (Kahn, 2014).
Widens market: If the emerging needs of the customers are satisfying it helps the firm to
capture huge market share in the market environment. This leads to huge profit, maximization
which leads to growth and development in the market. To capture market in the global
environment marketers uses mass communication tools like, sales, promotion, event marketing,
and PR to promote it's product or services across the globe. This has indirectly build unseen
relation between buyer and seller which motivate firm to work more efficiently (Baker, 2016).
Adapting the right prices: Pricing strategy plays a vital role in capturing huge
customers towards there product or services. Reasonable prices attract consumers to purchase the
product and it directly increase the sales volume in the market environment. Good quality and
affordable prices attract customers more to taste their product across the globe. Many times
product is out of the market because of the inefficient pricing strategies adopted by the business
associates to sale their product in the market environment (Bar‐Isaac, Caruana and Cuñat, 2010).
3) Study the significance of interrelationships between marketing and other functional units of an
firm.
Marketing function is related with increase in the market share of ZARA and satisfying
the unlimited needs and wants of the potential customer's. Marketing department plays a vital
role in the working of other departments. Each and every department of ZARA is inter-
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connected with one another. For example if marketing department want some investment for
introducing the product in the market than marketing department will directly contact to finance
department of ZARA. This is because the plans and strategies can only be implemented by
marketing department if they have adequate amount of funds. Similarly marketing function is
also dependent on the HR department (Barrett and Weinstein, 2015). This is because if HR
department is not able to provide skilled and talented employee's to marketing department than
department will not function well. The goals and objectives of the organisation will not be able
to achieved and the future plans and objectives of ZARA will not be achieved. So if ZARA
wants to achieve its long term and short goals than company must focus on managing each and
every department in proper manner. By doing this company will be able to achieve situation of
good competitive advantage and the market share of ZARA will be increased (Hoyer, and et. al.,
2010).
4) Key elements of marketing function
There are different types of department in the company like, HR, production, marketing,
finance departments. This various departments are interrelated with each other which are
explained in the following ways:
Interrelation between HR and production department: In every organization both HR
and production departments are interlinked with each other as without the support of each other
effective work can not be performed in an firm. To uplift the business HR and production should
coordinate hand in hand to use the resources effectively and efficiently without no wastages or
less wastage. HR manages all the stock level needed to produce the product and production
department orders the needed amount of raw material for production of goods. So balance need
to maintained to have effective outcomes with less wastage (Brennan, 2014).
Interrelation between Marketing and Finance department: To promote the product
in the global market finance is needed. Funds shows the stability of the business in the market as
how much it can fund for marketing it's product in the market environment. Attractive promotion
activities attract customers towards there product for which huge funds is required. So both work
hand in hand to perform effective working in the business. As loss of funds affect all the
functioning of the business and wrong marketing plan in the market environment leads to end of
the product or service. So, both the departments are interdependent on each other for growth and
expansion as well as to achieve target customers (Brooks,and Simkin, 2011).
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LO2. MARKETING MIX
1). Marketing mix
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Basis Zara H&M
Product It is one of a leading luxuries fashion
labels of the business in an entire
world. In reality, Zara offers a product
for men, women and children, It offers
jeans, trousers, tops and knitwear and
T-shirt. All these products are part of
their product strategy. It believes in the
sustainable development through
product for social benefit.
This brand consists of six special
brand to a market. In response, this
brand provides clothing for kids, male
and female with an approx quality
and price matter. This brand deals in
providing unique of clothing to their
customer's. They are using sustainable
development in enhancing product.
Price Zara products are high in price along
with quality of fashion. This brand
provides latest fashion at the favourable
price matter. It has been noticed that
Zara uses extensive pricing, in which
they focus on current and latest pricing
while offering their products.
In terms of pricing, H&M has chosen
different path from Zara. While, Zara
mainly focuses on an affordable
pricing with focus on quality of
products. They in reality provides
cheap Monday with premium quality
to their customer.
Place Zara has super reach to the products
and services in shorter period of time.
They have almost 6500 hundred outlets
and reach on an online platform. They
are very well known for its distribution
and place strategy. This is part of their
product selling strategy, which is
mainly focus on removing customer
convenience.
H&M has done lots of expansion with
adding minimum of 427 stores into
their business operation. They are in
process of adding new store into the
major cities of the UK such as
London, Cardiff etc. This is part of
their supply chain management.
Promotion Zara spends less on advertising and
focus on words of mouth. With support,
there focus is on quality of products
and services to their customer. They
H&M uses branding as their major
promotion task, as it focuses on
enhancing product visibility and also
led development of products on
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considers word of mouth, as their
biggest promotional technique. They
also uses social media as their
additional technique.
higher basis. Also, it has become
necessary to led promotion on leading
context. They also uses social media
as their major marketing policy to
promote products.
2.) Tactics applied by organisation to demonstrate how objectives can be achieved.
ZARA can achieve its strategies and plans by planning its action plan for the future
course of action. There are some of the major objectives which is formed by the organisation
before introducing the plan in the market. These plans can be for the long as well as short period
of time depending upon the situations in the market and the need and demands of the potential
customer's of ZARA. As the company has a good brand image so it will not be difficult for the
organisation to introduced a new product. It can be seen that company has a wide range of
opportunities available in the market and it adopt innovative technologies which enable them to
capture the market and gain competitive advantage (Christopher and Peck, 2012).
LO 3 Develop and evaluate marketing plan
Marketing Plan- It refers to a process which is used by companies to organise and
define the marketing objectives and aims to gather strategies and tactics to achieve them. In Zara,
the marketing plan is and effective document which can be used by the management department
of the company to reduce the future uncertainty, clarification of objectives, increase efficiency
and consumer satisfaction (Hinchey, Park and Schmid, 2012).
Objective – To raise the total sales of Zara by 20% in the year 2019.
Background of the company- Zara is a Spanish retail based company which was founded in
1975 by Rosalia Mera. This organisation operate its business worldwide in 77 different countries
where it have 10,000 stores across 96 markets of the world. This organisation manufacture
various products such as clothing, home appliances, accessories and others. The fashion group
also owns brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterques.
In 2017, Zara manages up to 20 clothing collections a year (Cronin and et. al., 2011).
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Current market situation- In Zara, the management of the company can use SWOT
analysis to analyse the current position of the company. This analysis help the company to
determine the needs and demands of the customers.
SWOT Analysis- It is a strategic tool which can be used by the company to analyse the internal
business environment of the company. SWOT analysis of Zara is as follows:
Strengths Weaknesses
 This firm offer trendy and fashionable,
well designed products at affordable
pricing.
 The company has good brand image
and have 10000 stores worldwide.
There are 162,450 employees who are
working under it.
 Zara has limited promotional tools and
channels in comparison to its
competitors.
 The target segments is not extremely
consumer loyal and might go for cheap
and newer collections
Opportunities Threats
 By using various modes and channels
such as social media, Facebook,
Instagram etc. of advertisement and
promotion, the company gain various
opportunities.
 Zara can expand its business in those
countries where the demand of this
kind of products is high.
 There are number of competitor in the
market such as Prada, Gucci and
various others whc8ih generate threat of
competition to it.
 The firm also not use internet for in its
promotional strategy which can create
threat for its new products.
Marketing objectives- The marketing objective of Zara is as following:
 To use social media as the primary tool and channel of communications and provide
information about its products and gather data about market and customers needs and
demands.
 To generate brand awareness in the mind of customers proposed to new products which is
going to launch by the company in market.
Marketing strategy- In Zara, the marketing manager of the company can develop
strategy which can be helpful and beneficial for the company to achieve and attain its marketing
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objectives. The aims and objectives of the organisation is to provide trendy, fashionable and
quality products according to the needs and demands of the customers at reasonable pricing
(Czinkota and Ronkainen, 2010). For this the manager of the company can design strategy to
achieve the objectives of the company. In it, they can use STP which is as following:
STP- It is process in which an organisation divided market in to groups or segments
which are based on different characteristics. In Zara, the manager of the company can divide
market on the basis of demographic, psychcographic and behavioural and others. In
segmentation, clothes for people with a combination attitude of work. In targeting the
management department of the company can chose it potential candidates and audience. In it, the
firm can target people with medium to high buying power who prefer trendy clothes (Guffey and
Loewy, 2012). Corporate buyers will be focussed as Zara is known for providing quality formal
and this way it can attract a particular cater of customers. Once the brand image is established in
the market it may become the first choice of the buyers. In positioning, Zara can offer high
quality clothes which are based on trends and provide them to youths, college students,
employees, professional and others.
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INTERPRETATION- In the very first year total money was 7000 than after the investment
total amount was 10000 at the end of the year it total budget was 20000. while in the second year
initial capital was 10000 and after some activities, investment and promotion money at the end of
year was 23000, so it has been observed that money increased from one year to second year.
While in the third year initial money was 12000 and investment done in that year was 25000.
after performing various activities related to promotion and selling of the product total money in
the end of the year was 18000. In fourth year money at the starting was 10000 and investment of
35000 was done during the accounting year. After the conduction of various activities related to
promotion and selling money at the end of the year as 18000. while in the last year total money
in hand was 10000 and after investment done in the business total money was 28000. after the
promotional and direct selling activities budget at the end of the financial year was 16000. so
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