Marketing Report: Promotional Mix and Communication for M&S

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Marks & Spencer's marketing strategies, focusing on promotional mix policies and marketing theories. Task 1 details the various promotional mix policies employed by M&S, including advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, and personal selling, illustrating how these strategies are crucial for brand promotion and market share. Task 2 explores the communication process, highlighting the AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) and its effectiveness. The report examines the process of communication with its seven stages, and how it affects the company's ability to reach and engage with its target audience. The report emphasizes the importance of adapting strategies to maintain a positive brand image and customer relationships. References are provided to support the analysis.

PRINCIPLES AND
PRACTICES OF
MARKETING
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 .......................................................................................................................................3
Promotional Mix Policies...................................................................................................3
TASK 2........................................................................................................................................7
Marketing Theories............................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Marketing is a critical business function for most for-profit and non-profit businesses
(Alserhan, 2017). Marketing is a broad process that includes research, product design and
development, promotion and customer service. Much of the marketing function centers around
a handful or core principles, strategies and tactics.
Marks and Spencer is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in
Westminster, London that specializes in selling high quality clothing.
This report covers two tasks which helps to describe the promotional mix policies of the
company and how it is necessary for them to use it as it helps the company to grab the
attention of people and increase the share in the market.
The second task which is covered in the report gives a brief description about the process
of communication and the model of AIDA and how their effectiveness helps the company
(Kutu Jacob and Olajide, 2018).
TASK 1
Promotional Mix Policies
There are various types of policies which helps the company to promote their brand and
companies such as Marks & Spencer has to use it as it is necessary for them because they
operate on a large scale.
Advertising-
This aspect is a paid form of communication through media which takes place with the
help of magazines, journals, newspapers and print ads also the announcements which are made
through TV by the companies such as Marks & Spencer. Other than this there are other factors
which are used by the company to promote their brand such as building and increasing web
based visibility and billboards. Company use this strategy at external spaces with the help of
billboards. They advertise their brand with the help of social media and websites and all the
available digital platforms. The other strategies used by the company is taking the help of third
party companies through journals, news, magazines, articles as this helps the company to
increase the visibility and boost the sales of the company by attracting consumers. This
method is termed as non personal form of activity because the company is not able to contact
the consumers in the market directly during the whole process of communication (Dahl, Gorn
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and Weinberg, 2018). To make it more practical company describes their portfolio and
suggestions related to fashion choices (Hasan, 2019).
Sales promotion-
This tool helps the company to persuade a prospective customer in order to make a
sale. It is designed by the company so that they can boost the sales for a short period of time.
It affects the company in the long run as they will not be able to build loyal customers for the
company. Some of the sales promotion which are targeted by Marks & Spencer is for their
consumers and other tools related to this aspect are for the middlemen and the salesmen of the
company (Dahl, Gorn and Weinberg, 2018). Marks & Spencer considers all the factors before
they take the action for promoting their sales. They determine whether promotional cost will
match its investment cost. Consistency of promotion in comparison with the image of the
brand as if they keep on giving their products at discounted rates then it will affect the
goodwill of the brand in the market. The last aspect which will be considered by the company
is that if or not company will be able to attract the buyers who bought the goods at the time of
promotion as they have to keep the balance between loyal customers and for those who keeps
looking for discounted rates. There are many aspects of sales promotion which is used by
Marks & Spencer to enhance their sales (Efthymios and et.al., 2016).
Money off Coupons-
Marks & Spencer spreads the coupons through newspapers or sometimes it is inside
the packaging of the product which will benefit the consumers the next time when they will
make a purchase from the company.
Competitions-
Marks & Spencer encourages their buyers to participate in a competition by buying a
certain product and they may get selected for a prize.
Discounted Vouchers-
These voucher helps the consumers get a flat discount up to a certain limit on any kind
of product. Although sometimes there are some terms and conditions which limits the benefit
still it is a beneficial option for the company.
Free Gifts-
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This aspect is for the benefit of consumers. This aspect of sales promotion allows the
consumers to have a product free on a purchase of certain product or minimum amount of
purchase.
Point or materials of sale-
Posters and display stands are used so that the product can be presented in a attractive
way or some offer that helps to pursue the consumer into making a sale (Heckman,
Vestergaard and Sole, 2018).
Loyalty cards-
This concept is considered as one of the most important aspect of this form as it helps
the company to get repeated sales. The concept of this aspect is that, every time a customer
makes a purchase some points will be awarded to him or her which they can redeem the next
time they make a purchase with the company. This aspect helps Marks & Spencer to retain
their consumers for a long period of time. As it makes the consumers think that the points they
have must be redeemed before it expires. Apart from this it helps the company to be aware
about their shopping habits which helps the company to plan appropriately as they know the
behaviour and buying pattern of people (Dumont and et.al., 2016). Whenever customer does
any kind of purchasing from marks and Spenser points are added within their Loyalty card
which they can redeem or use in their next purchase and reduce their overall cost.
Public Relations-
This aspect is the process of strategic communication which helps companies such as
Marks & Spencer to build relationship with the general public. Plan is designed by the
company so that they can use channels which are direct and indirect by which positive image
of the brand is maintained in the market with a strong bond from the audience they have
targeted. The main objective of this aspect is to never let the image get negative of the
company in market and keep every stakeholder of the company in relation with them so that
they believe that the company is maintaining their operations and is a successful venture. This
aspect is different from advertisements as it focuses on promoting the brand by the content
which is used in newspapers and TVs where as advertisements focuses only on promotions
which are paid. There are many types of public relations such as
Media Relations-
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Marks & Spencer maintains a good relationship with media and all the sources to it as
they are the source for publishing their content. Mostly they use Social media and printing
media for publishing any of their content.
Investor Relations-
This aspect states that if the company is able to handle all the events of investors such
as filing all the reports which are related to financial aspects of the company to their investors
on time so that when the time comes Marks & Spencer can easily raise the money through
them (Dahl, Gorn and Weinberg, 2018).
Government Relations-
It is necessary for the Marks and Spenser to follow all the legal aspects such as
consumer protection, employee protection so that relationship with the government and image
of brand in the eyes of them does not get affected.
Community Relations-
This aspect states that in order to maintain the relations with the community, Marks
and Spenser’s needs to engage in social activities and contribute in those areas so that
relationship can be maintained with the people of community (Khan and Varshney, 2018).
Internal Relations-
It is necessary for the management of the Marks and Spenser to communicate with
their employees on a regular basis so that they have an idea that if or not they are facing any
difficulties. It will reflect on their performance which is why it is necessary to coordinate with
them at every level.
Marketing Communications-
This aspect is concerned with keeping all the things in mind such as awareness of the
brand, positioning, launch of the product and campaigns related to marketing these efforts are
necessary for the Marks and Spenser to maintain the relationship with public.
Customer Relations-
This aspect helps the Marks and Spenser to obtain the details of the audience they have
targeted and what are their priorities so that corrective actions can be taken. They connect with
their customers and maintain their relationship with their customers through various ways such
as communicating though social media etc.
Direct Marketing-
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With this strategy the company only focuses on targeting or aiming the consumers
directly at their places. Being in the fashion industry. Marks and Spenser uses Below the line
marketing in which their promote their products through non-traditional channels. It is done
through the salesmen of the company as they take catalogues, coupon mailers and taking
letters with them to pass the details about the brand. This aspect includes two types of
marketing such as single level marketing and multi level marketing. These sales includes sales
which are made other than retail that is in different specific locations. Currently there are
various aspects which many companies uses to enhance their sales such as party plan sales,
sales through internet. Usually this method is used for those types of sales which are meant to
be delivered at the home of the consumers.
Personal Selling-
This aspect is concerned with taking the help of force of sales so that product can be
sold when the salesman of the company is dealing face to face with the customer. Sellers of
Marks & Spencer takes the help of different factors such as their appearance, attitude towards
consumers and the knowledge they possess about the product. These people try their best to
sell the product or at least make them try the clothes so it creates a urge in their mind to buy
the product. For instance In store retailers are the ones who deal with this aspect and the line
that Marks & Spencer are in is linked with this aspect and without it they won't be able to
make much sales in the market. This aspect helps the company to note the attention towards
things so that they can work on it and produce those things which helps them to get their
attention and make a easy sale (Gbadamosi, 2019).
TASK 2
Marketing Theories
Process of Communication-
Communication is the process which is dynamic and which starts with ideas from the
one who is known as sender and that person transmits the message with the help of specific
channel to the receiver and after that feedback is obtained as a signal or in the form of message
in a specific period of time. Marks and Spenser conducts both internal and external auditing
using risk management auditing model (Dahl, Gorn and Weinberg, 2018). There are seven
stages in this process-
Sender-
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This person is also known as the communicator who begins or engages in a
conversation and has an idea with an intention which is then conveyed by him to others.
Marks & Spencer sends message to their prospective and loyal customers so that they can be
aware about anything beneficial for them (Oriade and Robinson, 2017).
Encoding-
In this stage the company encodes the whole process so that all the things which are
complex and methods used which are non verbal such as signs, gestures of body and symbols
can be translated so that it is easy for the receiver to understand the information into a
message. Knowledge that the sender has and skills, background, perception, competencies all
of them are genuine factors which helps the message to be a success (de Sabando and et.al.,
2018).
Message-
This stage comes after the stage of encoding ends in this stage message can be written
in any form that helps to get faster feedback from the receiver. Ways in which message can be
formed are oral, written, symbolic and non verbal which includes silence, sounds, body
language etc.
Channel of Communication-
In this stage company chooses the channel by which they want to send the message
either to their employees or customers. They must keep in mind that in order to make the
message more effective and correct for the receiver they need to select the right channel of
communication. Company does not have the choice to select the channel as it depends on the
relationship between sender and the receiver and also on how fast they need it to be delivered.
Common methods of communication used are oral, written, virtual, sound, gesture etc. Marks
and Spenser uses some of the most common communication channels for reaching to their
targeted audience such as: television, social media, e-mails and many more.
Receiver-
They are the customers, employees, dealers or suppliers of the company for them they
prepare the message. They try to encrypt in the best possible manner so that objectives of
communication can be achieved. The degree to which the receiver understands the context of
the message depends on the level of knowledge they possess, their experience, relationship
with the sender (Palmatier and Sridhar, 2017).
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Decoding-
In this stage receiver interprets that message which is sent by the company and tries to
understand every aspect of it with all the available sources. The communication will be
considered as effective only when the message sent by the company is understood by the
receiver in the same way that the sender expects them to and without any changes as it will
lead to miscommunication.
Feedback-
This stage is the final stage of this process which assures the company that the message
is delivered to the receiver and interpreted in the right manner as expected by the sender. It
helps to increase the level of effectiveness of communication as it allows the sender to
recognize the efficacy of the message. The receiver can respond in different ways such as
verbal or non verbal.
AIDA Model-
AIDA model helps the company to recognize the stages of customer which he goes
through in the whole process of making a purchase. It is also known as a funnel of purchasing
where consumers goes from one stage and reach to another so that they can support them and
purchase can be made by him. It is not considered as a relationship between the buyer and the
company after the entry of social media into the market as it has helped many companies such
as Marks & Spencer to achieve the goals of this model with the help of information obtained
on the basis of patterns of other consumers and through social networks (Serrat, 2017).
Meaning of AIDA and to increase its effectiveness
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Awareness-
This aspect is concerned with spreading the awareness of brand in the market or any
affiliated product which is linked with the company. To make it more effective Marks &
Spencer needs to increase the awareness of their brand and which strategy to take so that it can
help them to outreach to general public. Other than this which type of campaign will help to
enhance the awareness of the brand. Tools which are needed to increase the awareness and the
details of the message must be consulted so that no errors are there.
Interest-
This aspect is concerned with creating the interest in the minds of target audience for
the products of the company as it helps the consumer to get more information about the
company. To make it more effective Marks & Spencer needs to assess the strategies which
helps them to take their interest. Currently marks and Spenser uses Social media for getting
their target audience attention. With that it is required that the company keeps the proof of the
information so that reputation of the company does not get affected. To select the channels
which are appropriate for sharing the information such as websites etc.
Desire-
This aspect states that company must target and present their product in such a way
which helps to connect consumers emotionally with the product by highlighting the
personality of the brand. Company needs to make them so curious that they switch to liking of
the product to wanting it. To make it more effective Marks & Spencer needs to highlight the
features and attributes of the product which helps them to make them feel desirable for the
product. Strategies to interact with them personally so that they can develop emotional
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connection with them. There are plenty of ways to do that such as respond to them soon with
the help of online channels and suggest them with some tips to use it in a better way
(Alserhan, 2017).
Action-
This aspect states that steps must be taken which pushes the buyer and interact with the
company about the product and ask for all the details such as the brochure, live chat etc.
Marks & Spencer needs to assess the actions so that they can understand where they are
required. When the consumers are expecting the company it is easy for them to connect with
each other. Marks & Spencer needs to think that which channel of marketing will be more
effective for them such as email, website etc.
CONCLUSION
From the above studies it has been concluded that Marks & Spencer needs to take those
strategies which are according to the current trends as radio and newspapers are not an
effective measure for the company as compared to social media as the younger generation is
more shifted to this channel. Company needs to decide their channel of marketing and
promotion according to the audience they have targeted. Different aspects of promotional
policies has been highlighted such as advertising, sales promotion, direct selling, personal
selling, public relations etc. all of them is suitable in different areas which company needs to
assess that which will be the best option according to the nature of the business. Other than
this effectiveness of two models has been highlighted such as the process of communication
and the model of AIDA and how these two models helps the company to work according to
the changing needs of the market. Only this way Marks & Spencer will be able to promote
their brand effectively.
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