Solent University QHO423: Individual Marketing Report on M&S

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Marks and Spencer's (M&S) marketing strategies. It begins with an introduction outlining the role of marketing and its importance in achieving organizational objectives. The main body of the report delves into a PESTLE and SWOT analysis to evaluate factors impacting M&S's business performance, followed by a detailed examination of the company's marketing mix (7Ps). The report also reflects on sales and negotiation skills, linking them to M&S's marketing practices. The report concludes with major findings, recommendations for improving marketing efforts, and a discussion of how M&S can enhance its strategies to achieve its business goals. The report follows the structure as outlined in the assignment brief, including the use of tables for the marketing mix and recommendations.

INDIVIDUAL REPORT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Determine the role of marketing to accomplish organisation objectives for the chosen
organisation..................................................................................................................................3
Evaluate the factors that impacts the business performance for affecting the marketing of the
products ad services by conducting PESTLE and SWOT analysis.............................................4
Determine the marketing mix of the products and services offered by the company.................7
Reflection on sales and negotiation skills of the chosen organisation.........................................9
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is an important tool with the primary objectives for promoting the products
and services an improving the marketing channels d the business to brings efficiencies in the
business activities. Or in simple words, marketing is an activity that helps the business to engage
with the target customer and make profitable relationships with them. Marketing helps to reach
out the targeted customers of the business and pushes the sales of the business. In the context of
Marks and Spencer which is a British multinational organisation delivering its services to
different countries around the globe. Marks and Spencer was found on 1884 by Michael Marks
and Thomas Spencer, it is headquartered in London, UK. It delivers apparels, banking services,
food services, home furnishing and improvements products. In the context of Marks and
Spencer, this report covers role of marketing, factors that impacts the business performance,
marketing mix and reflection on sales and negotiation skills (Baker, and Hart, S. eds., 2016).
MAIN BODY
Determine the role of marketing to accomplish organisation objectives for the chosen
organisation
Marketing is a tool that helps to build profitable relationship with the target customers.
Thus, here are some roles of marketing in the context of Marks and Spencer:
Customer Engagement
The primary role of marketing is to communicate with the end customers and make profitable
relationships with them. Marks and Spencer develops effective marketing campaign to make sure
that it delivers the right marketing message to its customers. Apart from that they ensure smooth
flow of communication via customer services in order to promote effective communication with
the customers and manage customer relationships (Blakeman, 2018).
Analyzing changing market demand
Marketing helps to determine the current market demand, the marketing department of Marks
and Spencer conducts market survey and research by identifying that the market demand which
is preferred by the customers, and thus the company develops the market offering in accordance

to the current trend and latest fashion which helps the company to stay sustainable in the market
for long.
Competition
Marketing helps to gain competitive advantage in the marketplace, the marketing department in
Marks and Spencer analyses the market position of both competitors and the company that
further helps to determine the effectiveness of the market offerings delivered by the company.
Thus, Marks and Spencer brings continuously improvements in the marketing offerings of the
company which helps to satisfy customer needs and gain competitive advantage in the market
place (Classen and Friedli, 2019).
Evaluate the factors that impacts the business performance for affecting the marketing of the
products ad services by conducting PESTLE and SWOT analysis
In order to evaluate the marketing environment, the marketing department in Marks and
Spencer conducts PESTLE and SWOT analysis to evaluate different external environmental
factors that affects the business performances. These are discussed below:
Pestle analysis
Factor Impact
Political Political factors are
determined by the restriction
and boundaries imposed by
the governing bodies of the
country.
BREXIT has negatively impacted
the business activities of Marks and
Spencer with the impose duty on
export and imports rising cost of
raw materials, low profit margin
and others.
Economic Economic factors ae
determined by the economic
stability of any country that
might negatively or
positively impacts the
business performance.
With the good economic stability in
UK, that positively impacts the
business. People living in UK are
more likely to be extravagant
which boost the sales profit goals
of the Marks and Spencer.

Social Social factors are the cultural
and social beliefs followed
by the people living in
specific geographical
boundary.
People living in UK highly prefer
to spend a lot of money om
shopping which turn favorable for
the business in UK, wherein the
Marks and Spencer brings new
improved products and services
that attracts customers and thus
impact the business to acquire large
market share
Technological These are the factors that are
defined by the technological
advancement or
improvement that affects the
business performances.
With the high technological
advancement in UK, wherein
Marks and Spencer adopts to new
technical tool like cloud
computing, artificial intelligence,
augmented reality and other which
helps the business to accomplish
efficiencies the business
performance.
Environmental With the rising environment
concerns, business needs to
develops favourable
environmental policies that
helps to save the social cost
of the business.
Marks and Spencer adopts to
ecofriendly ensures in order to
contribute towards environmental
protection causes and save the
social cost of the business. These
eco-friendly measures include
digital payments, recycling of
waste, reducing the use of plastic,
paper bags, bio degradable
components, environment safety
campaigns to aware people about
the rising environmental concerns.

These measures help Marks and
Spencer to develops the strong
cooperate image in the market
place.
Legal These are the factor that
every business has to
comply, these includes the
laws and policies framed by
the governments and
business needs to comply it
these in order to run the
business ethically (Hayati,
Atefi and Ahearne, 2018).
With favorable legal laws in UK,
wherein the governmental bodies
render full support to businesses for
growth and economic development,
wherein government deliver
financial and other business
solution to both small and large
business in UK, thus these
governmental support to business
in UK positively impacts the
business performances of Marks
and Spencer (Katsikea, Theodosiou
and Makri, 2019).
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Marketing offerings
The specialty about Marks and Spencer is its
effective marketing offerings that helps to
business fulfil the market demand and
develop strong market positioning in the
global market. The wide of products and
services offered by the company helps to
satisfy different types customer needs. The
company also adopts new innovative changes
Weaknesses
High prices
High prices of the products and services offered
by Marks and Spencer demotivates the existing
and new customer to purchase the product and
services offered by the company.
Changing customer demand
The changing customer demand often fails to
address and develop the right market offerings,

the market offerings in order to attain the
market growth and continue to achieve of the
position in the global market.
that further leads to inefficiencies of the company
to meet the current market demand.
Opportunities
International business
The international presence of the business
helps to acquire large share of the market and
address to the desires of the global customers.
international business presence also strengths
the business position in the market place and
helps to attain competitive advantage (Key
and Czaplewski, 2017).
Threats
Rising competition
The increasing competition is an emerging threat
to the business that impacts the business
performance of Marks and Spencer in a negative
way, wherein the business loses its market share
as more business captures the same and further
drops the sales and profit goals of the business
(Kotler, 2015).
Determine the marketing mix of the products and services offered by the company
Marketing Mix Current Strategy Your evaluation/argument on the
effectiveness of each marketing tool
Product Marks and Spencer deliver
different ranges of product and
services to the customers ranging
from food services banking
services, apparels, home
improvement products.
Delivering innovative market
offering will prove profitable to the
business.
Price Marks and Spencer adopts to
different pricing strategies that
includes cost based pricing and
market penetration, wherein cost
based pricing includes setting the
prices of the products in
These marketing strategies will helps
the business to cover cost and
achieve profit goals.

accordance to the cost incurred in
manufacturing of the product and
services.
Promotion Marks and Spencer uses social
media marketing in order to
promote the goods and services I
the company. Social media
platform such as Instagram and
Facebook which helps to reach out
large number of customers.
Social media marketing is effective
as it will helps to reach out large
section in low cost.
Place Marks and Spencer operates in
different countries with 1519
physical outlets. It is also
emphasizing on reaching out more
customers by establishing online
stores with 33 in current online
presence current operating.
Global presence strengths the market
position of the company.
People Marks and Spencer deploys highly
skilled and efficient workforce to
increase the productivity at the
workplace.
It is effective strategy it helps to meet
working standards of the business.
Process Marks and Spencer emphasis on
delivering high quality of products
and services by analyzing the
customer needs and market
demand.
It is effective as it helps to fulfils the
market deamnds.
Physical
evidence
Marks and Spencer has a total of
1519 stores around the world and
1038 stores in UK (Lee and Scott,
It is effective as it helps to improves
the customer engagements

2015).
Reflection on sales and negotiation skills of the chosen organisation
On the basis of session that I learn, different salesand negotiation skills that in acquired
are as:
Build relationship
Building relationship is an important skill that is achieved by effective communication and
continuous customer engagements. As I want to be a sales executive in future thus, I need to
focus pf effective communication by rightly addressing the marketing message and turn the
interaction with customer to be more productive (Lindström and et.al.,2015)
Good listener
In order to build strong customer relationship, I need to be good listener, wherein I am supposed
to listen all customer opinions that will helps to develop effective marketing offerings that best
fulfill the needs to target customers (Redjeki, Fauzi and Priadana, 2021).
Analyze customer touch points
I need to analyze the customer touchpoints by rightly addressing what customer expects for any
brand or market offerings. These will help me to deliver effective marketing message.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In the nutshell, this can be concluded that marketing is an important activity that
contributes to business success and growth. It performs all the activities right from selecting the
target market, product development, setting marketing objectives to build profitable relationships
with the target customers. the business must evaluate different factors that effects of the
marketing environment that affects the business performances. The business must evaluate these
factors ad develops required, marketing objectives to cope up with the business environment
challenges. Sales and negotiation skills are important as it contributes towards accomplishments
marketing objectives and further boost the sales and profitability of the business.

In order to improves the marketing offerings, the business must adopt these recommendations to
brings efficiencies in the business activities, these are as:
Marketing Mix Recommendations
Product Marks and Spencer should bring innovative changes in the
products the analyzing the customer needs, with the highly
living lifestyles of people in UK, the company should deliver
organic products and vegan food products to its customers.
Price Marks and Spencer should keep the affordable prices in order
to achieve motivate new customer to purchase the offerings of
the company.
Promotion Marks and Spencer should focus in digital marketing like
social media marketing, search engine optimization, email
marketing and others.
Place Marks and Spencer should improve their channels of
distribution in order to avail the products and services to
customer at different location. The company should also
deliver the products at the doorsteps so that customers are able
to acess the services from any location.
People Marks and Spencer should deliver financial and non-financial
incentives to the employees in order to maintain and develop
the workforce of the organisation.
Process Marks and Spencer should deliver quality products and
evaluate the effectiveness of previous market offerings in order
to deliver value to the customers.
Physical evidence Marks and Spencer should increase the online presence in
order to deliver offerings to the customer irrespective to the
any location.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Baker, M. J. and Hart, S. eds., 2016. The marketing book. Routledge.
Blakeman, R., 2018. Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to
implementation. Rowman & Littlefield.
Classen, M. and Friedli, T., 2019. Value-Based Marketing and Sales of Industrial Services: A
systematic literature review in the age of digital technologies. Procedia Cirp. 83. pp.1-7.
Hayati, B., Atefi, Y. and Ahearne, M., 2018. Sales force leadership during strategy
implementation: A social network perspective. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science. 46(4). pp.612-631.
Katsikea, E., Theodosiou, M. and Makri, K., 2019. The interplay between market intelligence
activities and sales strategy as drivers of performance in foreign markets. European
Journal of Marketing.
Key, T. M. and Czaplewski, A. J., 2017. Upstream social marketing strategy: An integrated
marketing communications approach. Business Horizons. 60(3). pp.325-333.
Kotler, P., 2015. Marketing and Sales. Marketing. 1009. p.3V.
Lee, H. W. and Scott, C. J., 2015. Marketing or sales: the executive decision. Journal of
Business Strategy.
Lindström, J. and et.al.,2015. Sustainable management of operation for Functional Products:
Which customer values are of interest for marketing and sales?. Procedia
CIRP. 30.pp.299-304.
Redjeki, F., Fauzi, H. and Priadana, S., 2021. Implementation of Appropriate Marketing and
Sales Strategies in Improving Company Performance and Profits. International Journal
of Science and Society. 3(2). pp.31-38.