Marks and Spencer: An Analysis of Marketing Mix and STP Strategies

This report provides a detailed analysis of Marks and Spencer's (M&S) marketing strategies, focusing on the STP framework (segmentation, targeting, and positioning) and the marketing mix (product, place, price, promotion, people, and process). It explores how M&S segments its customer base based on demographics and psychographics, targets specific groups based on income and lifestyle, and positions its brand as a luxury provider of high-quality products. The report also examines the company's marketing mix, detailing its product offerings, pricing strategies, distribution channels, promotional activities, and its focus on people and processes. Furthermore, the report assesses M&S's relationship marketing tactics, recommending improvements to enhance its STP and marketing mix strategies for customer retention and competitive advantage. The report concludes by highlighting the effectiveness of M&S's approach in the context of the global retail market.

Marketing Management
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ABSTRACT
In this report it has been described about marketing mix and STP of Marks and Spencer.
Here, STP is framework which helps in simplifying process of marketing and segmentation.
Besides, it helps in targeting specific audience on basis of certain criteria. Moreover, it is
explained about marketing mix that refers to set of tactics or actions which is applied by
company for promotion and includes 4 P’s that is product, place, price and promotion. Along
with it, the report has discussed on relationship marketing and how organisation applies this in
order to retain customers and build relationship with them for long term. Also, recommendations
are mentioned that how company can improve their STP or marketing mix strategy.
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Table of Contents
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
1. STP strategy.............................................................................................................................4
2. Marketing mix.........................................................................................................................6
3. Assess their relationship marketing strategy with current tactics............................................8
Recommendations........................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Every business is required to develop an effective marketing plan or strategy so that they are
able to do attractive marketing and promotion. With help of marketing it becomes easy to create
awareness about products or services (Ardito, Petruzzelli and Garavelli 2019). Moreover, there
are certain models and concepts of marketing which is applied by company. Marketing mix and
STP are common models of marketing. Along with that, there are certain tactics used which
enable in effective implementation of marketing strategy. The tactics help in promotion of
product and increasing sales and revenue. However, changes are made in tactics on basis of
target audience.
The report will describe about STP strategy of M&S and marketing mix as well. Also, it will
be discussed about relationship marketing strategy with current tactics used by company. At last
recommendations will be explained. M&S is a British retailer that was founded in 1884 by
Michael marks and Thomas spencer (Gross and Laamanen 2018). The firm operate at global
level and provide variety of products such as clothing, home and foods products, etc.
1. STP strategy
STP is framework which helps in simplifying process of marketing and segmentation.
Besides, it helps in targeting specific audience on basis of certain criteria. There are 3
components in it that are segmentation, targeting and positioning (Bondarenko, Efremenko and
Larionov 2019). So, all these are to be followed by business to determine their target audience
(STP model, 2021). Also, it helps in breaking entire population into small segment and then
developing specific approach for engaging potential customers. Therefore, company do not have
to use general marketing strategy in it. The product or service is offered in more efficient way to
customers. With use of STP it becomes easy for company to identify their target audience and
develop market strategy accordingly. In addition, products are developed on basis of target
market. Every company is having their own STP strategy through which they find out their target
audience. It depends on type of product that is being developed and offered to people in market.
In similar way, M&S has also used this to target audience. It is explained as below :
Segmentation- It involves segmenting customers on the basis of their needs. This is done by
segmenting market in different groups such as on basis of
Demographics- It includes criteria such as age, gender, education, income level, etc.
Geography- In this it cover areas such as region, locality, population density, etc.
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Psychographics- Here, attitude, emotion, choice, lifestyle, etc. of people is considered.
Beliefs and values- They are ethics, values, culture, etc.
Thus, it has been found that Marks and Spencer has used various types of segmentation to
find out target audience. Here, they have used demographic and psychographic segmentation.
They have applied this in different markets as per market needs. It has enabled organization to
enter in new market and segment their audience easily. Furthermore, each product of Marks and
Spencer is segmented in different way.
Targeting- This is second step in it where on basis of segmentation company identify their
target groups. Here, target market is made more specific in it (Cortez and Johnston 2017). This
helps in identifying their needs in effective way. After segmentation, targeting is done further to
specify target people. Thus, Marks and Spencer has also target various audience on basis of
segmentation and their needs. Here, it can be found that in demographics company has targeted
gender and income level people. Now, in gender company target men, women and children. In
income level they have targeted high class income level people. Besides that, in psychographics
Marks and Spencer target people on basis of lifestyle. In that they have targeted people who
follow leisure lifestyle. The targeting of company is same in all markets in which they operate.
Hence, it has enabled them to create a unique brand image in market.
Positioning - It means positioning of product in the minds of people. It is done by applying
different techniques. This is useful in creating a distinct image in market and differentiating
product from competitor (Crosno, Dahlstrom and Tong 2021). Likewise, M&S has also
positioned itself in market by offering products at high quality. Along with it, company is using
various social media sites as well such as Facebook, and promotional techniques like PR, e mail
marketing, etc. to positon themselves in market and attract people. In addition, Marks and
Spencer have positioned themselves in market as luxury brand which provide high quality
products to people. Similarly, in doing marketing as well company portrait themselves as luxury
brand. In this way they are able to create a unique and strong brand image in minds of customers.
Hence, it is found that Marks and Spencer are using an effective STP strategy by which
they have segmented population on basis of two groups. Also, they have targeted people on
various criteria for their product. Hence, it has resulted in creating a strong position in market by
which they are able to compete with rivals for long term and attract large number of customers.
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2. Marketing mix
There is need to use relevant marketing mix tactics and action so that it is easy for M&S to
promote and advertise their products and services in market. Basically marketing mix refers to
set of tactics or actions which is applied by company for promotion. Generally, it includes 4 P’s
that is product, place, price and promotion (Homburg, Jozić and Kuehnl 2017). But in present
times there are some other P’s included in it as well. They are people, process and physical
evidence. The use of marketing mix allow companies to develop an effective marketing strategy.
With that they are able to determine tactics as well. In addition to it, the company is able to take
effective decisions at all levels. By that it grow in market and gain competitive advantage.
Marketing mix is useful in offering right product to right people. In this most important P is
product (Understanding concept of marketing mix concept, 4 P’s, 2020). It is because on basis of
product rest all elements are dependent. Every company is having their own marketing mix
strategy that is applied by them. It depends on type of product that is being developed and
offered to people in market Similarly, here M&S marketing mix is described which is as
follows :
Product - - It relate to the tangible and intangible goods or services which is offered to people
to fulfil their needs. Tangible goods are those which can be touched and seen whereas intangible
can not be touched. Also, PLC is also followed in that is related to product. There are 4 stages in
PLC that is product development, growth, maturity and decline (Kumar, Shankar and Aljohani
2020). It is vital for marketers to understand and plan for the various stages and their unique
challenges. Also, to understand those problems that the product is solving in market by fulfilling
people needs. The benefits offered by the product and all its features need to be understood along
with its USP. There are variety of products which is being offered by M&S to its customers.
They are women, men and kids cloths, beauty products, home accessories, furniture, food
products, etc. (Keegan and Rowley 2017) Alongside, M&S products are currently present in
various stages of PLC. This means that for every product the stage varies as its demand varies in
market. For instance – food products are at decline stage, in clothing new fashionable clothes are
at growth stage, etc. Besides, PLC stage of product changes with change in market condition.
Price- It is a core component in marketing mix which refer to deciding the price of product at
which it will be sold to customers. There are different types of pricing strategies which is
available such as penetration, skimming, dynamic, competition, etc. Each company follow
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pricing strategy as per their need, market, etc. If a product is priced higher or lower than its
perceived value, then it is not sold in market (Chung 2020). M&S have adopted various pricing
strategy in different market. In highly competitive market company has adopted competitive
pricing. Here, the market are UK, US, Germany, etc. in which this pricing is applied. But during
off seasons they have adopted dynamic pricing. Thus, it helps them to clear stock and generate
sales. Hence, with change in market condition company changes their pricing strategy.
Furthermore, for each product as well the pricing strategy differs. It depend on market demand
and target audience.
Place- This P refers to place which means product should be available to target customer easily.
So, it is necessary to decide proper place where products and services are offered to customers.
There are various types of distribution strategies which is available such as direct, indirect,
intensive, exclusive, etc. (Kemper and Ballantine 2019) Likewise, pricing, distribution strategy is
also applied by company as per their target market. The placement strategy will help assess what
channel is the most suited to a product. So, as M&S operate at global level, they are having their
own outlets. They have applied direct and exclusive distribution strategy. In direct distribution
strategy company sells its products through online via website. There is no distributor or
suppliers in between it. Likewise, in exclusive distribution strategy Marks and Spencer sells it
via their stores. In this as well there is no distributor or suppliers involved in it.
Promotion - The P refers to promoting products and services in market to attract customers. For
this there are different types of methods available such as use of social media, advertising, PR,
etc. Besides, there are various promotional mix strategies that exist like advertising, PR, direct
and sales promotion. Here, M&S have applied both traditional and digital channels for
promotion. The company place ads in newspaper, magazines, TV, billboards, etc. as traditional
marketing mix strategy. Alongside, in digital channels M&S uses their website for promotion. In
addition, celebrity endorsement is done by brand as well for promotion (Vinerean 2017). But this
technique is not used frequently. However, traditional and digital channels promotional mix
strategy is used more. It has resulted in generating huge revenue and creating awareness about
Marks and Spencer products and services in market.
People - It refers to the people of company that represent it (Labanauskaitė, Fiore and Stašys
2020). The people may be employees, manager, stakeholders, etc. who are engaged with
organisation or work with them. So, here, M&S people are identified by their skills. The
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company is having a competitive payment policy to retain staff. Besides, various other benefits
are given as well by organisation to staff such as bonus, health insurance, etc. the company has
focused on diversity and promote women employees by implementing more friendly policies.
Along with it, there are various employees, managers, etc. who also represent people of Marks
and Spencer. They are highly trained and skilled do their tasks in effective way.
Process- This refers to the way of offering and delivery product or service to customers. So,
process reflect way of tasks and activities which is carried out for offering services. There can be
different process of offering product or service. It also depends on nature and type of product to
be delivered. Here, M&S follow two types of process. First is they are having their own stores by
which they provide products to customers directly. Another process is through online from their
official website. In this they provide home delivery of products. In addition, customer queries are
solved by customer executive service either through e mail or calls or in stores. This process
ensure that customer experience is good. Hence, with this both process company deliver products
and services to customers (Varadarajan 2020).
Physical evidence - The physical evidence is proof of company existence in market. It includes
physical asset or elements such as outlet, stores, etc. through which it is easy to recognise it. In
this M&S is having around 1000 stores in all over the world through which they sell products.
Also, company is having more than 83000 staff employed. Thus, these both are physical
evidence of M&S. Furthermore, M&S is having their own website by which products are sold.
Hence, it is also physical evidence of existence of company (Miskiewicz 2020). Other than this,
hoarding, billboards, logo, etc. displayed on roads and buildings shows existence of company.
Therefore, these are the marketing mix strategies which has been applied by M&S. It has
enabled them to attract a large number of people and generate sales. Also, through it company is
able to create a distinct brand in market. Alongside, they have gained competitive advantage in
market by applying marketing mix in effective way. The company have analysed each P of
marketing mix in depth and then accordingly tactics is applied. With that they are able to apply
marketing mix in effective way (Wang, Malthouse and Uzunoglu 2019).
3. Assess their relationship marketing strategy with current tactics
With use of marketing strategy, M&S is using different tactics as well in it. Here, they
apply concept of relationship marketing. It is known as facet of CRM which emphasis on
customer loyalty and engagement. The main purpose is to acquire customer for long time period
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rather than short one. So, goal is to develop strong relation with customers so that they can be
retained for long time. Alongside, emotional relationship is also maintained with customers.
This marketing is different from transactional one. Here, it focus on increasing individual
sales. Here, Marks and Spencer has also applied relationship marketing. In that they have
focused on promoting through TV, ads, etc. (Wroblewski 2017). Moreover, all retailers have
direct contact with their customers and use management information systems, using data from
loyalty cards and direct feedback, to match their new product development to consumer needs.
Therefore, own brand labels have become differentiated by tapping into niche market. M&S has
recently started to introduce more non-own brand labels and begun to compete on price. Within
the Marketing Mix, product is M&S strength, which has been supported through premium price
strategies. Along with it, Marks and Spencer also maintain effective CRM by which they are able
to identify the needs of customers. Also, customer complaint is also examined to ensure that in
future they do not face similar issue. In addition, company takes review and feedback from
customer by providing them high quality after sales service. With that they communicate with
them and establish relations. Other than this, company sent frequent e mails to them regarding
any launch of new products. In this way Marks and Spencer is able to connect emotionally with
customer and develop strong relation for long term.
Moreover, current tactics which has been used by company is that they are focusing on
online business model. So, for that they are focusing on promoting more on social media sites
rather than traditional marketing channels (Ardito, Petruzzelli and Garavelli 2019). Apart from it,
Marks and Spencer are finding out new ways of promotion that is by creating videos, including
3- D graphics and images in ads, etc. hence, it is done to enhance customer experience so that
they get attracted. Besides, offers and discounts are offered to people to increase sales and
profits.
Recommendations
There are certain recommendations which can be followed by M&S. It will enable them to
promote their products in effective way. So, they are as follows:
 M&S can use social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, twitter, etc. in order to
promote their products. This will enable in attracting large number of people and
generating more leads. Also, company can use different social sites for different target
market. So, this is easy to differentiate them and do more effective promotion.
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 The organisation should use various other types of marketing tools such as e mail
marketing, video, content, etc. for various target audience. Hence, in that several tactics
can be used as well. For instance – giving discounts, coupons, etc. on social sites to
attract people.
 The company can focus on digital channels by which they can reach more customers.
Also, it will enable in identifying their needs and maintaining strong customer relations
with them. In this way they can retain them for long time. Here, digital channels that can
used by them can be PR, direct marketing, social media, etc.
 The organisation can do segmentation and targeting more specific way at global level.
For that they can follow similar criteria in all market. This is because it will be easy for
organisation to retain their customers. Also, they can gain competitive advantage as well.
 Here, Marks and Spencer can make change in their pricing strategy. In order to enter in
new market they can use low pricing strategy (Grönroo 2017). This will help firm to
attract customers at initial stage and creating brand awareness as well. Hence, they can
create a large customer base with help of low pricing strategy in new market.
 Marks and Spencer can start various promotional campaigns by which they can attract
large number of people. They can offer discounts, membership, etc. to customers in those
campaigns. It will enable in increasing sales and revenue. Besides, doing promotion like
this is a unique way. However, this will led to rise in cost but its outcomes will be
positive.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that marketing mix refers to set of tactics or actions which is applied by
company for promotion. The 4 P’s are product, place, price and promotion. Also, STP is
framework which helps in simplifying process of marketing and segmentation. It include
segmentation, targeting and positioning. Marks and Spencer has used demographic and
psychographic segmentation. In demographics company has targeted men, women and children
and high class income level. In psychographics they have targeted people who follow leisure
lifestyle. Relationship marketing is known as facet of CRM which emphasis on customer loyalty
and engagement. The firm have direct contact with their customers and use management
information systems, using data from loyalty cards and direct feedback.
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REFERENCES
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Understanding concept of marketing mix concept, 4 P’s, 2020. Online [available through]
https://www.cleverism.com/understanding-marketing-mix-concept-4ps/
STP model, 2021. Online [available through] : https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-
strategy/customer-segmentation-targeting/segmentation-targeting-and-positioning/
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