Marketing Report: Examining Marks and Spencer's Marketing Strategies

This report provides a detailed analysis of Marks and Spencer's marketing strategies. It begins with an introduction to marketing and the 7Ps, explaining how they contribute to customer value. The report then delves into how Marks and Spencer utilizes SWOT analysis to maintain competitiveness, followed by an examination of Ansoff's Growth matrix and its application in achieving business success. Furthermore, the report investigates Marks and Spencer's use of digital marketing to improve its performance and growth, covering various aspects such as online stores and digital platforms. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, emphasizing the importance of marketing in connecting with customers and developing effective strategies. The report also includes a comprehensive list of references.

INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING
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Table of Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................3
2.0 Define marketing and how 7Ps create customer value.....................................................3
3.0 Determine how business use marketing to remain competitive using SWOT analysis...4
4.0 Determine Ansoff's Growth matrix and how businesses use Ansoff’s matrix to become
successful................................................................................................................................5
5.0 Determine how Marks and Spencer use digital marketing to improve its performance and
growth ....................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
Marketing is an important business tool which is helped to perform different business
functions. Marketing is a business activity which is helped to engage with the target customer
and make profitable relations with them. Business uses marketing as a tool in order to promote it
market offerings to the final customers. Marks and Spencer is an UK based retailer dealing in
consumer oriented product and services. The product ranges in Marks and Spencer ranges from
clothings, banking sector, electrical energy conservation plant, food sector industry it captures
large market share of the consumer market.
2.0 Define marketing and how 7Ps create customer value
Marketing is the process to engaging with the target customers and building profitable
relationships. In other words, marketing is defined the business activity which promotes its
goods and services to the target customers. Business uses marketing as an important activity in
order to engage and connect to the final customer. It involves preparing different marketing
strategies to develop an effective marketing campaign (Baines and et.al., 2017). Marketing mix
been determined by the overall marketing value created by the organisation to achieving target
customer satisfaction. Marketing mix used by Marks and Spencer is a follows:
PRODUCT: Marks and Spencer offers clothes, food, and banking services to its customers.
Research and development department of marks and Spencer conduct market researcher
analysing the target market needs and demands. It render products and services in accordance to
customer needs and demand. By meeting customer preferences Marks and Spencer achieves
market share and profit goals of the business.
PLACE: Marks and Spencer is an multinational organisation with more then 57 stores
worldwide. It has established store localities across different regions in order so that customer
can easily avail the services of the organisation (Chaffey and Smith, 2017).
PRICE: Marks and Spencer uses price skimming and customer value prices. Price skimming
pricing policy is used by the company in order by rendering products and services at higher
prices and then reduces the prices of offering for acquiring other customers.
PROMOTION: for promoting the goods and services to the target customers, Marks and
Spencer use different promotional channel. These promotional channels involves use digital
marketing, indoor and outdoor advertising and mail media and print media.
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PHYSICAL EVIDENCE: Marks and Spencer render products and physical outlets which
shows the render the brand value of the product and services. Brand value of the product and
services shows the positions of the market offering in the market (Chernev, 2018).
PEOPLE: marks and Spencer recruit efficient employees in the organisation, who will be able
to complete the assigned task on time. Highly efficient employees helps to chive organisational
task and objectives.
PROCESS: in order to achieve target customer satisfaction, marks and Spencer uses different
channels to communicate to the target customer, the research and development department
analyses the needs And wants of the target customer after the it evaluates the target customers
the effective market offering that will helps to accomplish final prospect satisfaction.
3.0 Determine how business use marketing to remain competitive using SWOT analysis
Marks and Spencer is an multinational organisation, to analyse the business position in
the international environment, it requires evaluating the business environment to formulates
effective market offering. Marks and Spencer uses swot analysis to analyse the business
environment. Swot analysis is defines to evaluate the business environment, it determines
different challenges, opportunities, threats and weakness of the organisation. Moreover it
determines the business position in the competitive environment. To evaluate they internal
environment strength and weakness of the organisation is used and threats and opportunities for
analysing the external business environment (Chernev, 2020).
Strengths:
Competitive advantages
Marks and Spencer acquires large share of target market, it helps in developing competitive
advantage in the market.
Quality products
Marks and Spencer offers quality products and services to its target customers, which determines
strong customer positioning in the minds of customers.
Global business
As marks and Spencer is a multinational retailer, the global business helps to attain strong market
position in the market (Davis, 2017). The company achieve the large profit share through the
global business.
Weaknesses:
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High cost
Marks and Spencer uses labour intensive technique of production which renders huge cost on
the production activities of the business. Due the higher cost of production it further negatively
impact the profitability of the business.
Declining sales
Due the poor supply chain management, marks and Spencer is continuously loosing the sales
margin of the company. Poor supply chain management further breaks the availability of
products and services to the final customer (Deepak, and Jeyakumar, 2019).
Opportunities:
Online stores
Due to the online stores in Marks and Spencer, it offers online services to the customer which
helps the customer to avail the services from any location which further increases the customer
base of the company.
Threats:
Increasing competition
Due to the increasing competition, Marks and Spencer faces huge loss on the profit margin of the
company. It negatively impact the sales margin and market position of the brand.
4.0 Determine Ansoff's Growth matrix and how businesses use Ansoff’s matrix to become
successful
Ansoff matrix is a marketing technique which was stated by H. Igor Ansoff in the year
1957. This marketing strategy was published in Harvard Business Review as “Strategies for
Diversification”. This marketing strategy is used by Marks and Spencer to identify risk and
threats which are involved in marketplace and can affect business operations and business
growth. The four practices which are focused with the help of Ansoff matrix are market
penetration, product development, market development and diversification. These practices are
explained below:
Market penetration strategy
This strategy of Ansoff Matrix help business increasing sale of their existing products in
the marketplace. Through using market penetration strategy, an organization can increase their
share in market. Marks and Spencer focus on market penetration strategy through development
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of products which are low cost through which business can attract more number of customers
and gain competitive advantage (Kumar, 2017).
Product development
This practice of Ansoff matrix is a growth strategy which is opted by business. Through
practising this strategy an organisation introduces new product by modifying the existing product
to market place which will help in attracting more customers. In context of product development
strategy, Marks and Spencer use advanced technology through which they can introduce
advanced products which are more profitable to business.
Market development
This strategy of Ansoff matrix help business in expanding into a new market with
introducing their new products. Market development strategy help business in expanding in
regional and international areas through targeting numerous customers with their products and
services. This strategy of Ansoff matrix also help in organisational growth. Marks and Spencer
focus on identifying new customer and market through which they can target new market
segments.
Diversification
The diversification strategy of Ansoff Matrix help business to launch a new product to a
new marketplace. To opt for an effective diversification strategy, company must conduct an
effective research through which they can analyse changing market and customer demands and
business can also analyse opportunities for growth and threats which can affect organisation.
Through increasing variety of products, through merging with other brands and collaborations
can help Marks and Spencer in meeting diversification strategy and attracting more customers
(Park, 2020).
5.0 Determine how Marks and Spencer use digital marketing to improve its performance and
growth
Digital marketing is defined by promoting and providing services to the final customers
using digital platforms. Digital market involves everything over internet. In this modern era of
technology where buying and selling of goods and services are happened over internet.
Marketing over digital platforms helps to access to different customer no matter at what location
they are, it the cheapest and easiest way of marketing which reaches the large customer base with
jut a click. Different roles and uses of digital marketing are discussed below:
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Economical
Marks and Spencer uses different digital platforms like social media marketing, search engine
optimisation, email marketing which helps to connect to customer over internet. It requires lw
cost to build digital platform than from physically connecting and engaging to each customer in
the market.
Large customer base
Marks and Spencer uses digital market to increase the customer base of the company. The major
benefit of digital marketing is that it reaches to the large set of customer base with just a click as
visiting physically to each customer requires huge cost, time and effort. With the helps of digital
technology it covers large customer with limited time base
CONCLUSION
Marketing is an business function which covers all the core functions of business.
Marketing is the only activity which is helped to connect final prospects. Business develops
effective marketing strategies in order to influence and attracts the target customers. All other
business functions including human resource, finance, operations, research and development and
other related business functions as marketing starts straight from production to selling the goods
and services to the final customers. Marketing is an important activity as it determines ten exact
market offering which is to be delivered to the final customer. It involves different business
activities like choosing the right supplier, selecting the appropriate process of production and
technique of production. It involves ideas for product and development and lastly to engage to
the target market.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Baines, P.and et.al. , 2017. Fundamentals of marketing. Oxford University Press.
Chaffey, D. and Smith, P.R., 2017. Digital marketing excellence: planning, optimizing and
integrating online marketing. Taylor & Francis.
Chernev, A., 2018. Strategic marketing management. Cerebellum Press.
Chernev, A., 2020. The marketing plan handbook. Cerebellum Press.
Davis, J., 2017. Measuring marketing. De Gruyter.
Deepak, R. K. A. and Jeyakumar, S., 2019. Marketing management. Educreation Publishing.
Kumar, V., 2017. Integrating theory and practice in marketing.
Park, S., 2020. Marketing management (Vol. 3). Seohee Academy.
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