Marketing Essentials Report: M&S, Zara, Marketing Mix and Planning

This report delves into the marketing strategies of Marks & Spencer (M&S), comparing them with those of its competitor, Zara. It begins with an introduction to marketing and the chosen organization, M&S. The main body of the report is divided into tasks, starting with an overview, followed by an in-depth analysis of the marketing mix (7Ps) employed by both M&S and Zara, highlighting their approaches to product, price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence, and process. Furthermore, the report presents a detailed marketing plan for M&S, including an executive summary, objectives, SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, Porter's 5 Forces model, and strategic recommendations for segmentation, targeting, and positioning. The report concludes with references to the sources used.

Marketing Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Covered in PPT.......................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................9
P3............................................................................................................................................9
TASK 3.........................................................................................................................................12
P4 .........................................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is considered as creating an interest among people to buy an organisation's
products through the use of various activities such as advertising, distributing sample products
etc. Marketing can also be referred to as a combination of all those activities that persuade a
buyer to purchase a product (Baker and Magnini, 2016). This aid an organisations in conducting
activities related to promotion and launching of products in potential marketplace. The
organisation chosen for this report is Marks and Spencer which is a leading British clothing and
food brand headquartered in London, United Kingdom. This report compares the different ways
in which Marks and Spencer and one of its competitors apply the marketing mix for attaining its
desire goal as well as target. Moreover it will also describe about basic plan of marketing for a
company.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Covered in PPT
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

TASK 2
P3
Marketing mix comprises of a group of actions (7Ps) that help the companies in
promoting their goods as well as services at potential marketplace (Baker and Saren, 2016). The
Ps are Products or services, Price of offering, Place to display offering, Promotion activities,
People of company, Physical evidence of store as well as process. With the times changes
packaging, positioning and politics are also counted among the Ps of marketing mix. Marks and
Spencer have strong marketing mix strategy so that the company is able to attain its
predetermined goals as well as target for sustaining at potential marketplace. Zara is the chosen
competitor of Marks and Spencer. The main objective of M&S is to develop business that is
sustainable by profitable as well as consistent growth and make sure that it meets the
accountability of its shareholders responsibly. Whereas, the main objective of Zara is to
safeguard the environment as much as possible by implementing practices like generating less
waste, using environment friendly fabrics, recycling etc. A list of comparison of different
strategies related to marketing mix that are use by for achieving their goals and objectives is
described below-
Marketing Mix Marks and Spencer Zara
Product
M&S is a famous and high end
retail chain providing products in
food and clothing for men, women
and children. The brand also offers
products in home segment like
furniture, gifts, flowers etc
(Brychkov and Domegan, 2017).
Zara is considered as a fast brand
in the fashion industry selling the
latest trends in the market at
affordable prices. The brand is
known for selling products that
match the taste and culture of the
people in a particular region.
Price
Marks and Spencer follows the
strategy of competitive pricing for
its products. The company has it
own in house product brands for
clothing which are priced from
Zara focuses on an average
shopper who is looking for latest
fashion clothes at affordable
prices while pricing its products.
This strategy has helped the brand
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moderate to high categories
because of the high quality of the
products.
in addressing the needs of a large
segment of customers and in
creating a special brand name
(Campbell, Martin and Fabos,
2018).
Place
Marks and Spencer is an
international brand which has
operations worldwide through
approximately 1000 offline stores.
The brand has its presence in
France, Spain etc. and also offers
the option of delivering
internationally for specific
products. Since, Marks and
Spencer is a more giant brand, it is
more diverse in terms of its
presence across the world.
Zara has a wide presence across
markets in different countries with
approximately more than 7000
stores across the globe. Besides
having physical stores, Zara also
sell its products through its
website. The brand is now looking
for expansion online. Zara came
into being much later than M&S
and is still in the expansion phase
with not a very diverse presence.
Promotion Marks and Spencer focuses on
spreading the same message on all
the media where it operates. The
company promotes itself and its
products through various media
and at various platforms like
television advertisements, running
various campaigns, blogs,
magazines, reward points etc.
Zara does not market itself very
aggressively as its competitors.
Instead the brand markets itself
through word of mouth as the
products are priced at affordable
rates and therefore has high
customer loyalty. Zara uses
channels social media to
effectively promote its products
effectively.
Marks and Spencer has a strong
employee strength of
approximately 83000. The
Being a widespread brand, Zara
also has a large strength of
employees. The brand conducts
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