Marks & Spencer Business Strategy: A Comprehensive Marketing Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of Marks and Spencer (M&S), focusing on its marketing strategies, business environment, and competitive landscape. It begins by differentiating between customer needs and wants, and then examines the specific needs, wants, and demands of M&S customers. The report includes a situation analysis, evaluating both the micro-environment (including key competitors like Sainsbury's and Tesco) and internal factors that serve as strengths and weaknesses. The marketing mix of M&S is thoroughly discussed using the 4P's framework (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). The analysis identifies potential threats from competitors and internal challenges related to flexibility and communication. The report aims to provide insights into how M&S can improve its strategies and maintain its competitive edge. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and study resources.

Running head: A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER
A detailed study of marks and spencer
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1..................................................................................................................................3
a) Needs vs wants.........................................................................................................3
b) Needs, wants and demands of the customers of M&S............................................4
TASK 2: -...............................................................................................................................5
a) Situation analysis.....................................................................................................5
Importance of situation analysis prior to setting a marketing strategy..............................5
b) Micro environment of Marks and Spencer..............................................................6
Two key competitors and their potential threat to the business.........................................6
Potential threat two key competitors pose to the business.................................................6
c) Two internal factors of environment that can be considered as strength or
weaknesses.........................................................................................................................7
TASK 3..................................................................................................................................8
Marketing mix of Marks and spencer................................................................................8
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10

2A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER
Introduction
The purpose of the report is to give a way to help in building an ecological future by
being such a business which facilitates the customers of the company named Marks and
Spencer for having a positive effect on well-being, communities as well as the planet through
the way in which the company does his business. This report is about the needs, wants as well
as demands of Marks and spencer (M&S). It talks about the environment regarding marketing
and it also points out the key competitors of the company and it discussed about the
marketing mix with the help of using the 4P’s of marketing.
The company named Marks and spencer is also known as M&S. It is a major
multinational retailer of the British. It has its headquarters in Westminster, London. It is
specialized in selling of cloth, luxury food products as well as home products. The company
Marks and spencer was founded in the year of 1884. It is founded by two persons namely
Thomas Spencer and Sir Michael Marks. After some days the company thought of expanding
the business, therefore they had started to sell branded items such as Kellogg’s corn flakes in
the month of November at the year of 2008. At the present, Marks and Spencer have
approximately 979 stores across the country named U.K. which includes 615 stores that is
busy selling of only food products. Supermarket Industry has done noticeably better than
other industries during recent global recession. Therefore, there is growth potential in this
company, especially in those areas which attract low sales volume at the moment. Marks and
spencer have low sales volume in Home Department and has a definite opportunity to grow
as it is only 20% of the M&S customer buy these products. The company demographically
segmented its market in order to supply their product to all groups of ages. In order to carry
out this process the company has made its brand, food, stores and clothing keeping in mind of
the different segments of market.

3A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER

4A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER
Discussion
TASK 1
a) Needs vs wants
Basis of
comparison Needs Wants
Definition Needs refers to the basic
requirement that is must to
be achieved in order to
survive in this world.
Wants is referred to as the
desires with an aim that it
can be satisfied by the
consumption of a good,
leisure or service activity.
As there is a limited amount
of resources, people are
unable to have all their
desire goods and or services
they are in search of.
Therefore, they have to
choose some of the things
over others. In simple
words, they have to give up
others things.
Nature Inadequate Limitless
What is it? Something that you must
have. It is a necessity.
Something that you wish to
have. It is not a necessity.
Represents Necessity Desire
Survival Essential Not essential

5A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER
Change May remain constant
throughout the time.
May change over the time.
Non-fulfilment May result in onset of
disease or it may even lead
to a person’s death.
May be the cause of
disappointment.
As from the above discussion, it came to the conclusion that needs and wants are different
from each other. If needs are not met on time, the survival of a person is at stake but wants
are something which a person is yearning for, that does not challenge a person’s survival if
not satisfied (Balance 2019).
b) Needs, wants and demands of the customers of M&S
Customer needs is all about the meeting of the expectations of the customers or the needs
as well as wants of the customer. We are in the need of research in the market to sort out the
likings of the products to the customers and emerging opportunities are being identified. The
product is having a chance to satisfy the needs as well as wants of the available customer like
the price, design, location, culture and some other factors.
Fig.1
The connection between the price and quantity is interrelated with the demand of the
customer and it is the initial point for constructing a model regarding consumer behaviour. At

6A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER
the time of measuring the relationship between both the unit of price and quantity which is
demanded that provides information which Marks and spencer used for the creation of a
schedule of demand, from which a demand curve can be derived.
TASK 2: -
a) Situation analysis
Situation analysis is known as the numerous collections of data or methods that is used by
the managers for analysing the internal as well as the external environment of an organization
to know the capabilities, list of customers, and business environment of an organization
(Onnasch 2014).
Importance of situation analysis prior to setting a marketing strategy
1) Developing and analysing of strategic opportunities as well as initiatives for the
selected groups (Sakas, Vlachos and Nasiopoulos 2014). To evaluate the position of
the group’s competition and to determine the strategies to pledge Marks and spencer,
the sub-brands of it, values as well as business attempt and to appraise the importance
on the key stakeholders.
2) To ruminate and deliver the financial, forecasts and the operational affairs of the
group, and to carry these plans and performance of the monitor against the plan of the
group, quarterly modifications as well as financial forecasts (Di Persio and Honchar
2017).
3) To have a record and monitor the business processes systems as well as controls of
the group (Dumas et al. 2013).
4) To analyse the level of development of the leadership skills and succession efforts all
across the entire group (Day and Dragoni 2015).

7A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER
5) To give a review on the strategy of the human resource which includes framework of
reward, benefits as well as bonuses of the employee, the overall condition of the
employment and schemes of pension as well as other matters of human resources.
b) Micro environment of Marks and Spencer
The main duty of marketing management is to attract customers as well as to establish
good relationship with clients by creating the worth as well as satisfaction of customers
(Yang, 2014). Nevertheless, marketing managers not only pay attention to the needs of target
market, but also, they need to recognize the consequence on micro environment that are
suppliers, customers, distributors and competitors.
Two key competitors and their potential threat to the business
The company named Marks and Spencer has constantly focuses on the quality as well as
service of its business. The two key competitors of Marks and Spencer is the ‘Sainsbury’
and ‘Tesco’. These competitors focus on the convenience, quality as well as the breadth of
range of their businesses. This is not the thing that a company only wants to gratify the needs
of the listed customer but it also considers the strategies of its same target market competitor.
The company M&S has some of the advantages regarding open market competitors that are
more than one hundred years in the active business, brand name is recognizable.
Potential threat two key competitors pose to the business
The business of the company mainly focusses on the quality as well as service
(Yarimoglu 2014). Tesco and Sainsbury are the two key competitors for the marks and
spencer, which also focusses its business based on the convenience, quality and the breadth of
range. The company is not only involve in satisfying the customer needs but also considers
the competitors strategies in the same market that is being targeted. The company are having
more than one hundred years of existence of some of their competitive advantages,

8A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER
relationship of a good supplier and the brand name which is easily recognizable. To be
particular, the company are having its own testing of market and are able to exercise control
of tight quality. The loyalty of the customers can be retained by providing good quality
products and services. Marks and spencer is able to do this job for a long time. Inopportunely,
the two of their key competitors does not able to maintain their quality well but are able to
expand their business and make their stores universally available. This thing is turning out to
be a potential threat to the company. The company should try to overcome this disadvantage
as soon as possible.
c) Two internal factors of environment that can be considered as strength or
weaknesses
1) Implementation
Due to power of concentration of the management level within the company, as it was
introduced in some of the relevant case study that the chair position as well as the CEO of the
company was generally owned by a single individual, brings up the company a top to
lowermost method of management, orders are usually come from the top level of
management and then it was well executed by the available employees, decisions are quite
quickly made as well as it could be implemented in a more effective way. It give a rise to the
efficiency of the execution of brand new strategies (Rowe, Guttman and Liskov 2016).
2) Insufficient flexibility in operating methods of operating and management
The company was unable to react to the vigorous changes of the business surroundings
fast and quickly enough (Wilden, 2013). This is the reason behind less effectiveness of its
competitive benefits. Flexibility could help to provide more sustainable corporation in the
business surroundings. The company itself waited for so long for just providing their
customer a scheme called loyalty card when the time came to capture the entire market. The

9A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER
industry of food was also largely disapproved as well as affecting the performance of the
company but still it capable to run for a longer time until being unambiguous to be surpassed
as well as redirected.
At the time of handling the aspects of the company, the communication in between
the top management level and the employees was not being concerned by the company, the
board level as well as the frequency level is always the maker of the orders and decisions in
which the originator changes from the top management level would be the cause for the trust
shown to the employees as well as respect to the level of management to be decreased,
especially with companies such as Marks and spencer for having culture of unique
corporation that all the employees are looking for (Spaho 2013).
TASK 3
Marketing mix of Marks and spencer
Fig. 2
By using the 4P’s of marketing, the current marketing mix of Marks and spencer are
discussed below (Resnick 2016): -
1. Product
The products of marks and spencer of category garments are known for their best quality,
style, reliability and variety. After its program of incorporation held in the year of 1984 and

10A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER
international expansion in the year of 1974, the company have never compromised on the
above-mentioned factors, for this thing the rewards which they get are immensely good. They
get the rewards in the form of loyal customers all corners of the world (Söderlund and
Colliander 2015).
2. Price
All customers are belonging to a different class of income. It may act as a more gainful
process for competitive organizations for the allowance of their product to be acceptable as
well as affordable for the varieties class of income. The company make the garments of
different prices. But it generally targets the people of higher class and it is not affordable for
the people who belongs to lower class (Londhe 2014).

11A DETAILED STUDY OF MARKS AND SPENCER
3. Place
It is not enough just to make a product and runs a campaign of market. The targeted
customer should be aware of the availability of their product. The company is present in all
the big towns and cities where its market is usually targeted. It is most important for the
company to capture the market before their competitors do the same (Eshuis, Braun and Klijn
2013).
4. Promotion
The company chooses its strategy of marketing very skilfully in order to line up its
operation of advertisement with the help of digital marketing as well as in store strategy. It
tries to provide the same message through all communication medium. Generally, it uses TV
ads, mobile ads, print ads and any other campaign of social media. The company even uses
their website for the promotion of their brand, clothes for men, women and kids. Blogs as
well as fashion tips are made available in the website and which can be browsed by
customers at any time. The company also entertains their loyal customers by giving special
discount offers in order to promote their season sale. The company also entitles with a
program of loyalty named ‘sparks’ which will continue to add points to the account of its
customer according to the amount of money spent on shopping. This point of reward can be
used in the next purchase by the customer from its stores (Khan 2013).
Conclusion
As from the above research, it came to the conclusion that the report is all about the
market analysis of the well-known multinational company named Marks and spencer. It is
specialized in selling of cloth, luxury food products as well as home products. New rivals
who are ready to tap the market with their new technique has made their plan constructively.
Now at the end, would like to say in order to make effective business decision making