Marketing Essentials: Roles, Mix, and Market Plan for Zara and H&M

This report delves into the core concepts of marketing, using Zara SA as a primary case study. It begins by defining the roles and responsibilities of marketing functions within an organization, illustrating these concepts with examples from Zara's operations. The report then explores the application of the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion) in marketing planning, comparing Zara's strategies with those of H&M to highlight different approaches and outcomes. Finally, the report develops a basic market plan for Zara, outlining key elements and strategies. The analysis covers customer needs identification, product development, pricing, promotion, distribution, and the integration of marketing with other departments like finance, human resources, and operations, emphasizing how these elements contribute to Zara's success in the fashion retail industry.

Marketing
essentials

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Define the Roles and responsibilities of marketing function.......................................................3
Related to the wider organisational context describe the roles and responsibilities of
marketing.....................................................................................................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
Explain the ways in which organisations apply the marketing mix in marketing planing
process in order to achieve the goals of the business with comparison between two
organisations................................................................................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
Develop and apply a market plan, basic for an organisation.......................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Marketing, is defined as the management activity, used to deliver & communicate the
message or information about a product and service & promoting it in front of customers to
create the need or desire. Advertisement, publicity, personal selling, public relations, social
media, mail marketing are major tools of marketing (Introduction to Marketing Essentials, 2020).
Zara SA is a Spanish apparel retailer, founded by Amancio ortega & Rosalia mera in
1974. The product range of company includes clothing, shoe, accessories, swimwear, perfume
and beauty products. Zara is largest clothing retailer in the world with its headquarter in
Municipality of Arteixo, Spain.
In this report roles & responsibilities of marketing functions of Zara and how it is related
to the organisation's environment are introduced. The ways in which organisations applied
marketing mix in order to achieve goals are explained with comparison of Zara to..... Further,
marketing plan for Zara is also included in this report.
TASK 1
Define the Roles and responsibilities of marketing function.
Marketing is an ongoing communications exchange which includes targeting, informing,
relationship building with its customer it is also define as the art of exploring, creating and
fulfilling the needs of the customer. Activities performed by the companies to promote the
buying or selling of the product is also called marketing, these activities performed by the
companies is known as marketing function.
Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function
Marketing function includes all those activities from identifying and understanding the
needs and wants of customers to satisfying its customers with products and services as per their
need. Marketing functions plays important role in the achievement of business objectives.
Marketing functions includes all those responsibilities which are necessary for the growth of the
organisation. There are various activities involve in marketing function as:
 Identifying the needs of the customer: customer is the king of the market and without
identifying the needs and wants of a customer, it is not easy for any business to survive
for long. Identifying the needs, wants & desires of customer is the first step for any
organisation. In terms of Zara constantly introducing new and innovative products for its
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target customers as per the requirement and demand of the customers like fashionable
products at reasonable prices for youth, products with long durability for kids, simple and
sober products for old-age people etc. Zara constantly make modifications in their
existing products in order to match customer’s requirement.
 Planning: The planning for any organisation is done by considering the objectives of the
company. It is the major responsibility of a marketing department to make a plan for the
development of product as per the requirement of the customer. Zara's objective is to
provide high quality product and is profit oriented. So strategy of marketing which Zara
include is to check the quality of the product and to gain profit by cutting the
manufacturing cost
 Product development: Development of products that suits the need of customer is an
important marketing function. Zara needs just one week to develop a new product which
suits the new taste of its customer and is main mode of attracting its customers.
 Packaging and Labelling of Product: The packaging and labelling of product creates an
impression on customers. Zara provides an impressive packaging which displays its
brand name, as packaging is a great marketing tool also.
 Branding: Branding is defined as to create a unique identity for its product, Zara ensures
to stand apart in terms of identification, it has made its own position in market or have a
separate identity.
 Pricing: Pricing is the most important in marketing which is actually the reason behind
success and failure of product. Zara pricing strategy is completely depend on its market,
it priced 22% and 24% higher in France, Italy and Germany.
 Promotion: Promotion includes the tool of advertising, personal selling, sales, promotion
and publicity, Zara never invest on advertising instead set up a new store to reach out the
target customer.
 Customer Support Services: The companies also offer customer service to solve the
queries of their customer, they giver pre-sale services, customer helpline, maintain
services, in the similar way Zara also provide helpline number to maintain a long
relationship with the customers they solve through live chat process.
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 Distribution: The company needs to take care of its distribution channel which depends
on variety of factor , Zara has maintained a strong distribution channel achieving growth
through diversification with vertical integrations.
The various functions of marketing helps to create a leading position in Market. Zara
with the strategies of marketing of fulfilling customers want, planning for achieving target,
understanding the market environment, development of product , packaging , labelling all these
activities have a different role in maintaining its brand name among the top notch of retail
industry. Zara has a world wide name following the strategies of marketing. As its a profit
oriented company it takes care in pricing its product according to the market demand and
environment, it also focus on its quality of product to maintain its brand.
Related to the wider organisational context describe the roles and responsibilities of marketing.
Marketing involves all action an organisation undertakes to draw in customers and
maintain a good relationship with them, it also includes networking with its past clients.
Marketing function for B2B and B2C business remain same, as for both it includes direct
marketing, events, advertising, internet marketing. The marketing process involves a number of
activities from production of a product, supply of a product, linking of producers with its
customer. There are four marketing of P's which are required for implementing market strategies
Product: The company always design its product considering its customers need and
want , so it can provide maximum satisfaction.
Promotion: The companies also need to decide various modes of promotion to promote
its product and to create its brand awareness.
Place: The company always consider its customer surrounding before setting up at a new
place, as in case of retail industry it sets up at a place where customer can easily access the
product.
Pricing: Pricing of the product is done according to the target customers and with the
objectives of the company, companies before pricing its product also consider its position in the
market and its rivalry companies.
Marketing Process Of Zara
Zara considering the market environment make an effective plan for its industry, its a
profit oriented company with provide a quality product to its customer. As Zara is a world wide
spread company, the company needs to maintain its brand image in the market and for this the
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company always fulfil its customer demand by providing various product, to fulfil its objectives
the companies need to form a interrelationship between marketing and various department.
Marketing with Finance
Marketing of an organisation should be done in a particular budget which includes the
profit and cost margin of a brand. The finance department Of Zara provides a budget in which it
could conduct its marketing campaign within a defined cost. Finance department also sets up a
budget for company within which promotion for the company could be done considering the
profit of the organisation.
Marketing with Human Resource
The main function of the HR department is to maintain the manpower of the organisation
and work for the welfare of the company, and to fulfil the required candidates with in a given
budget. The HR department of Zara always ensure that right candidates are hired for the
vacancies of job and are filled at the right time . Marketing department are co-ordinated with the
department of HR to check if proper training is being provided to the candidate for its job profile.
The department of HR in Zara ensure employees are working in satisfactory environment and are
satisfied with their profile. Proper feedback is taken and the performance of the employees are
checked on the daily basis to achieve the organisation goal.
Marketing with Operation Department
The Operation department of Zara is of prime importance for the company as Zara is
famous for its updated collections of product. As Zara is a retail industry of fashion hub , the
target customers for this product are mainly youngsters whose taste changes rapidly with the
trend. Zara makes a high effort to meet up its customers demand by meeting up its customers
taste on regular basis, the development of new product on frequent demand keep the marketing
and operational department connected. The department works together with the research
department to be aware of the regular fashion , the department makes sure that quality of the
product is satisfying the customer and the raw material from supplier are of good quality as
required for the production.
The above interrelationship of different departments with marketing shows the
importance of Finance, HR and Operation. The roles of marketing plays a prime function in
establishment of an organisation. A proper budget decision is to be take before conducting of
marketing campaign , ensuring of sufficient manpower is needed to meet up the demand of
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organisation for employees. Production and Suppliers are to be checked on regular basis to
ensure a raw material of good quality, Zara takes care of all such things to ensure its position in
market.
TASK 2
Explain the ways in which organisations apply the marketing mix in marketing planing process
in order to achieve the goals of the business with comparison between two organisations.
Marketing mix is the set of tools, used to promoting a product and service in the market.
All the elements of marketing mix are important foundations for the growth of the organisation.
Marketing mix is also defined as the discipline in which a new product and service can be
introduced in the market (McKeever, 2016). In terms of Zara 7p's of marketing mix with
compare to H&M are introduced as follows;
Basis of comparison Zara
Product Zara's focuses on narrow
product portfolio for instance
it offers clothing goods for
kinds, men and women
customers. As compared to
H&M products of Zara are
famous for the material, colour
and body shape. In marketing
mix the product strategy of
Zara is to focus on the quality
and suitability of product for
all kind of body shapes and
personality.
While, the product strategy of
H&M in marketing mix is to
focus on the use of art
& culture, music &
technology from all over the
world in their products to
attract men and women, youth
& kids for satisfaction of their
needs.
Price The next element of marketing
mix is price. Zara focuses on
lower pricing strategies as
compared to H&M so as to
enhance customers base. The
On the other hand, H&M
focuses on availability of
quality products at premium
cost in their pricing strategy of
marketing mix. As compared
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brand Zara adopting on low
pricing strategy. Customer can
gets the high fashionable
product at lower prices.
to Zara H&M offers different
varieties in their products at
lower prices.
Place Right choice of
communication channel plays
important role in taking
competitive advantage over
business rivalries. Place or
distribution strategy of Zara
represents high sales in less
time by its stores in 88
countries and online sales store
also.
On the contrary H&M is slow
in generating high sales
through its online stores as
compared to Zara. H&M faces
difficulty in getting attraction
in malls which are already
crowded. Thus place and
distribution strategy used by
respective firm is less effective
as compared to Zara.
Promotion Promotion strategy of Zara in
marketing mix includes online
events for brand
communication, high media
coverage, generating customer
interest in new product line
through its advanced data
infrastructure, which results in
high sales, more profit and
customer satisfaction.
While, promotion strategy of
H&M is non-effective as the
company found less social
media coverage because of the
bad publicity of products and
services. H&M faces the
negative publicity on social
media by its coolest monkey in
the jungle & black young boy
wearing sweatshirt approach of
publicity.
People In terms of people strategy in
marketing mix Zara focuses on
the effectiveness in the
training of its employees and
invested their crucial time and
While, H&M focuses on hiring
the employees with having
special skills and rotations at
every level of the departments,
in its people strategy of
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money in the effective
management of human
resources for the satisfaction
of the customer in terms of
product and service.
marketing mix. H&M
investing less on training as
compared to Zara.
Process Zara focuses on making
shopping easy and quick for
customer as per the process
element of marketing mix.
Zara' shopping process
including selecting of product,
give measurement for fitting,
payment to the cashier & then
get the product in hand.
While H&M focuses on giving
high attention to customers in
order to make good
relationships with customers
and resolving the queries of
customer via telephone as per
the process strategy of
marketing mix, which is less
effective as compared to Zara.
Physical evidence In terms of physical evidence
strategy in marketing mix Zara
focuses on attaining customers
with warm welcome,
availability of variety of
choices in the stores and
making friendly environment
in the stores.
On the other hand H&M
invites celebrities in lunch
time in order to grab attention
of customers or crowd on their
stores. This is more attractive
strategy as compared to Zara.
Although, it is founded that both the companies using different strategies on marketing
mix in their marketing planning process. On the basis of the comparison between Zara and
H&M, it is concluded that Zara investing more & adopting better strategies for marketing of its
products to attract and satisfy customers. H&M should pay more attention on marketing mix.
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TASK 3
Develop and apply a market plan, basic for an organisation.
Marketing plan is defined as the document, which considering all the efforts of marketing
including budget, policies, tools and techniques required for the achievement of business
objectives in a dynamic environment (McDONALD, M.A.L.C.O.L.M., 2016). It is the basic
blueprint or framework for the the execution of the actual objectives.
Objective of marketing plan :-
Marketing objective is defined as the short term goal which helps in the achievement of
long term goals of the business. The objective of Zara's marketing plan is to gaining 40% sale on
new product within the fixed time period of 6 months.
Segmentation:-
Market segmentation is the term, used to convert broad market into smaller groupings of
consumers. If Zara wants to introduce sportswear in its product line then, Zara should
segmenting their product into 2 categories of youth sports wear and kids sports wear.
Targeting:-
Targeting is a term, used to divide customers into subgroups to focus on a particular
group. In order to introduce sportswear Zara, should targeting its customers. Zara should focus
on the high quality for youngsters and nominal quality and lower prices for kids wear.
Positioning:-
Positing is defined as the stage that the brand is absorbed in the mind of consumer and
how it is different from other brands. After targeting of customers, Zara should focus on the
promotional factors for maintaining the better position in the competitive market. Zara should
focus on quality and low prices.
Swot analysis of Zara:-
Swot analysis is defined as a tool, used to identify the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats of internal and external environment of business (Smither, Houston and
McIntire, 2016). Swot analysis of Zara in terms of introducing of sportswear in its product line
can be introduced by following point;
Strengths of Zara
 Zara is already a well known brand
Weaknesses of Zara
 lack of specialisation in the products,
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with having a large customer base
states the strength of company. High quality of products at lower prices
shows the high promotional strengths
of Zara.
all products are available for all reflects
the weakness of Zara.
 Less stores in the fastest growing
countries is also a major weakness of
Zara.
Opportunities of Zara
 Zara's global presence and brand
reputation shows the opportunity for
Zara in order to introduce sportswear.
 Zara expanded its business in e-
commerce sector will also generates the
opportunity for Zara.
Threats of Zara
 Zara has no collaboration with
international designers will create a
weakness for Zara.
 Increasing competition in the industry
will create the threats for the company.
PESTLE analysis of Zara:-
Pestle analysis helps in identifying the macro environmental factors that affects business
of the company in profound way. It is used when a company entering into a foreign market or
starting a new business. Factors that affecting position of Zara are as under :
Political factor :- this factor includes interference of political parties, regulations of
government and more. Zara is affected by these elements. By making strong relations with
government company can take the advantages of free trade agreement which create a huge
impact on company with respect to its performance and growth. It makes it very easy for
company to send merchandise all over the world in low costs.
Economical :- Elements of this factor involved tax rate, policies, unemployment rate etc.
Due to high unemployment rates of UK plays significant role for company in getting raw
materials at low cost. Offering products and services at lower prices also stands for economic
benefits.
Social :- Region, wealth, buying habits, family size, income level all considered under
social factor of pestle analysis. Customer mostly like to purchase the things connected with their
culture. Zara doing the research for new markets and cultures before launching a new product or
entering into a new market. This shows the positive aspect of social factor of company.
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Technological :- The high investment on technological advancement of Zara creates the
huge impact on unique brand image of company. For instance partnership with Toyota in 2014
with respect to applying JIT and Lean facilities in manufacturing and production operations
highlights powerful technology of organisation.
Legal :- This affects the operation and business of the company. In terms of legal factor
company focuses on the considering the ethics and sustainability around its business and supply
chain. This created a ethical brand image of Zara in the industry.
Environmental :- Elements of this factor includes Temperature, light and more that
affects the business of Zara. Stores of the company uses less water and energy resources as
compared to ordinary stores. Investing time and efforts in green business plays a vital role in
preventing the environment from harmful effects.
Thus, pestle analysis of Zara show the huge opportunities for the company in terms of
developing and introducing a new product into market.
Marketing mix of Zara:-
Marketing mix is defined, as the method of promoting a product or service to create the
need and want (Woltjer, 2017). In respect of new product development and introducing in market
the market mix strategy of Zara can be introduced by following points;
1.Product:-
In terms of introducing sportswear in Zara's product category, company should adopt the
strategy of decent designs and good material so as to gain benefit from existing business
awareness.
2.Price:-
Zara should adopt the high quality at nominal prices strategy for increasing rapid sales as
per the objective and it should also focus on discount pricing or bulk offering at little above
prices.
3.Place:-
Zara should keep the new product in its online as well as offline stores in order to gain
customer attention and enhance market share of business. .
4.Promotion:-
Company should use the social media platform for the promotion and also use the
templates in stores, so that the customers can aware about the new product.
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