Strategic Marketing Report: M&S Wooden Product Development Plan

This report provides a strategic marketing analysis of Marks and Spencer (M&S) and its new wooden product line. It begins with an introduction to strategic marketing and the company's background, followed by a description of the new wooden product development strategy. The main body includes a critical analysis of the market, examining growth trends, key competitors, customer behavior, and ethical issues. The report then delves into segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies for the new product line, followed by a recommended extended marketing mix. Finally, the report discusses implementation issues and concludes with a summary of the key findings and recommendations. The analysis highlights M&S's approach to new product development, market analysis, and strategic positioning in the competitive retail landscape, focusing on the launch of wooden products and the considerations for its successful market entry. The report also addresses the ethical and social issues faced by the company, offering insights into the complexities of strategic marketing in the retail industry.

Strategic Marketing

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Introduction and product description..........................................................................................1
Critical analysis of the market.....................................................................................................2
Segmentation, targeting and positioning.....................................................................................4
Recommended extended marketing mix.....................................................................................6
Discussion of implementation issues .........................................................................................8
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
The term “Strategic Marketing” is referred as a process which consist of planning,
developing and implementing different action plans to gain a competitive advantage to the
company. Strategic marketing is the process through which a company effectively and efficiency
differentiates themselves from the other competitive company by focusing on its strengths and
potential capabilities to provide a better constantly a quality value to the customers in
comparison of their competitors by utilizing their strengths and potential abilities. The process of
strategic marketing is considered as a essential part of the company as it outlines and direct the
map of the company 's goals and objectives and what strategies are to be done to achieve them. It
includes the recognition of competition, identify the different competitive advantage for the
company and serve the customers with the better quality. (Chernev, 2018). The report is based on
the strategic marketing approach of Marks and Spencer Group plc which is major Brtiish
multinational retailer deals in clothing, food products and home products by having its own label.
The company has more than 1000 stores across the global world. The company is also offering
the online food delivery services in different parts of the countries. The report below includes the
introduction of product, critical analysis of the market, segmenting, targeting and positioning,
recommended extended marketing mix of the company, discussion of implementation issues
along with its conclusion.
MAIN BODY
Introduction and product description
The new product development strategy that is used by Marks and Spencer Group plc is a
wooden product selling. Marks and Spencer is the largest retailer in the global market. And as
being the largest retailer in the company id dealing with different clothing, different product
products and different home products for the customers. The company is using the strategy of
television advertising to promote their products and services to the customers in the market. As
dealing in food products, clothing and home products the company is now developing their
products and launching the new product line in wooden products in home products line. The new
product development is done in the home products lines. (Beirman, 2020). The new product
strategy of dealing with the wooden products. As the idea of launching new wooden products in
home products department can be proved to be profitable of the company. As the products made
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of wood are unbreakable so it can be last long as for the customer 's need. The wooden product
line makes the products like furnitures, tables, chairs, doors, frames etc. that are coming under
the home product line. As being the products of wood it is unbreakable and unrustable. So the
customers can avail the newly launched product with the high level of satisfaction among the
customers towards the product and company. As the newly provided wooden products can be
renovated again according to the choice and preference of the customers. The company is
providing the benefit to the customer to make their wooden products customized according to the
taste and preferences while purchasing so there will no chance of having any compromise with
the products and the customers will be able to buy the products of their choice. As being a
sustainable idea of launching wooden products the company is also giving their some to serve
the society also. Marks and Spencer is multinational retailer so it will be easy for the company to
launch new product in the global markets to gain profits for the company. It is necessary for the
companies like Marks and Spencer to keep working on their business growth strategies and can
launch new products in the markets to gain competitive advantage.
Critical analysis of the market
The critical analysis of the market can be made on the basis of market trends,
competitors, customer attitudes and behaviours and different issues present in the market. The
growth trends can defined as the rate of growth of the business company over a specific point of
time in the competitive market. The growth trends of the company can be measured in terms of
month, year,or decade according to the need of the markets. The growth trends of the company is
helpful to determine and have idea about the future market opportunities and the company 's
position in the market. In context to Marks and Spencer, the company is a leading multinational
retailer in UK. The company has long business story in the market with having one store in 1884
to more than 1000 stores serving across the global world. (Sahaf, 2019). As the company
employees more 70 thousand people across the global world with a majority of having female
employees more. The statistics represents the growth trend of Marks and Spencer from 2011 to
2017. The growth of the company is rising in the market as that it can be beneficial for the
company to have product development and launch new product.
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(Source: The wood from the trees: The use of timber in construction, 2021)
Through this graph it has been explained that the company can have different costs in
transportation of wooden products by different means of transport by road, sea and the total
distance that is covered by the vehicles transporting the products to the customers.
There are different key competitors in the markets having with the same business which a
company has to deal with competition to maintain its position and brand image in the market.
And to maintain the position and to survive in the business market it is essential and important
for the companies to keep making innovation and changes in their business strategies and
constantly develop the new products to maintain the position and deal with the competition in the
market and gain competitive advantage to deal with the dynamic situations of the market. In
context to Marks and Spencer Group plc, the company is having a high competition in the
market that are running with the same business. (Hansen and Juslin, 2018). The major key
competitors of Marks and Spencer are Aldi, Centra, Tesco, Farmfoods, Macy's and Asda. These
companies are also having a strong brand image in the market and giving high competition to the
company. The different key competitors company are positioned in the business market by
having revenue 10.3b of Aldi, 22.9b of Asda and $24.6b of Macy's. These companies are
positioned well in the markets.
The attitude and behaviour of the customers varies in retail market. As the retail
customers have the behaviour of more demanding in nature. The retail customers demands the
value of the product, they mainly prefer the quality of the product more with the choice of
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availability and accessibility of products and services. Nowadays the companies are facing the
dexterity of the customers with a desire to have access to e-commerce,mobility enabling and
social media to purchase and crack the best deals. In context to Marks and Spencer the
customers are focused on purchasing the quality product. As to serve and fulfil the desires of the
customers the company is constantly providing the customers the different mystery shopper
schemes to gain the customer 's loyalty towards the product and the company. The customers are
expecting to have regular change in the product and keep coming up with the new products and
strategies to have competitive advantage in the market.
Nowadays markets are receiving much more criticism. There are different social and
ethical issues that are present in the market. These issues in the markets are to be solves for the
smooth running of the business companies. In context to Marks and Spencer, the retail company
is considered as one of the leading companies to go towards the higher ethical standards in the
competitive market. (Schiavone and Simoni, 2019).There are several ethical issues that is faced
by the company. The different ethical and social change that the company faces are the issues of
climate change, workers rights,factory farming, irresponsible marketing and the employee rights.
The other different social and ethical issues are: High prices: The company 's pricing of the product and services is of high cost. And due
to higher prices of the product the company is not able to have proper marketing about
their in the markets which can be proved to be a issue for the company. High pressure selling: The company is facing the issues of having high pressure of
selling their products in the markets. Marks and Spencer sets different targets for them
that are to be achieved within specific period of time. The company has set up high
selling targets that are to be achieved which can be referred as a issue in the market.
 Lack of social goods: The company is facing the issue of having a shortage of social
goods. As the company is lacking of social goods. The company is providing limited
number of social products for the customers in the market.
Segmentation, targeting and positioning
The segmentation, targeting, positioning model is a concept used by the different
business companies in which segmentation of the new product that is launched by the company
is done in different categories, then the audience is targetted according to the market and the
customer's needs and desires towards the product and services and positioning the product in the
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market to promote the business and generate the sales for the company. In context to Marks and
Spencer the new product development of wooden products 's segmentation, targeting, positioning
model is explained as: Segmentation:- It means to divide customers into various groups according to their
common needs. The segmentation is done through different ways like demographic
segmentation, psycho-graphic, behavioural as well as geographic segmentation. In
context with Mark and Spencer, they segmented their market among four groups; green
zealots who seek most ethical responsible products and their main issue is regarding to
climate change. The second group of people are concerned about how to achieve ethical
objectives. (Hollensen, 2019).The third group of people are aware of the problems but are
not much sure that whether their actions will affect objectives or not and according to
fourth group pf people they are still struggling which do not give much priority to
consequences. Mark and Spencer follows demographic segmentation for choosing their
target market for their products. The company categorise their customers on the basis of
age, income, occupation and social class. In accordance with age group the company
focus on 30 plus people who have high income and belong from high social class people
with good occupation. As company launched wooden products so they basically targeted
people who have high occupation because wooden product range is always high and
everyone can't afford to buy such products. When they segmented their market they
focused on high income people and according to that sold their products. They mainly
focused on age group which enhanced their productivity and launched their wooden
products according to that. Targeting:- It means to determine most attractive segment from stage of segmentation
and selection is done on the basis of which stage will be more profitable. In context with
Mark and Spencer, as they launched wooden products so their main target was offices
and shopping malls. They targeted them because both offices and malls require furniture
in bulk. Every organisation has some targets and they focus only on those areas so the
company also focused on those market areas. (Thrassou, Vrontis and Bresciani,
2018).The offices, malls are owned by only those people who have high income and can
easily afford wooden products for their offices so brand also targeted high income people.
When company followed demographic segmentation they focused on high income group
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only as it was more profitable for them. There are many segment groups like age, gender,
occupation, income so if brand will focus on age segmentation then it will be not
profitable for them but if they will follow high income group then it will be profitable for
them.
 Positioning:- It is the last process in which company determine their competitive
advantage and according to that positions it in customers mind so that their brand looks
more attractive. In context with Mark and Spencer they differentiated their brand and
made a good image in minds of consumers basically from their brand name. The
company focused on providing good quality products in context with the prices they have
set so customers still recognise their brand products because they fulfil their objectives.
As company is producing wooden products so in these type of products quality is the
main thing and company provide best quality products. (Brooksbank, Subhan and
Calderwood, 2018). They mainly targeted offices and shopping malls so as products are
purchased in bulk no consumer will purchase a low quality product.
Recommended extended marketing mix
Marketing mix is a very useful tool that is used by different companies and the marketers
to identify the brand and its offering in the market. Marketing mix can be explained and done
with the use of 4 P 's of marketing that product,price,place and promotion. Modernly now it is
most known as the 7 P 's or marketing mix in which people,physical evidence and process is
added. In context to Marks and Spencer new product developing the new product which is
wooden product development in the product line of home products the 7 P 's of marketing mix
can be explained as: Product: The product of the company should be designed according to the needs and
desire of the customers. Company's product should fulfil the needs and desire of the
customers. (Paul and Mas, 2020)As Marks and Spencer is a well known company serving
the quality products. Many customers are having the customer satisfaction because of the
product quality of the company. The company keeps focusing on the products that are
provided to the customers and keeps making changes in them the wooden products
includes different lines of home products like table, chairs, furnitures etc. with the quality
provided products to the customers.
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 Place: The product should be easily available for the customers. The target market should
be identified properly, so that the product can be easily purchased by the buyer. (Alsem,
2019). As Marks and Spencer is providing a supermarkets for their products of the
company and as well as for newly developed products that is wooden products for the
customers. The company is providing a place like supermarket of the company to make it
easier for the company to purchase the company 's products and services. Price: The product should be designed in a good value. The price of the product should
always serves the quality of the product. As it is the customer thinking they are ready to
pay little more for the product if the quality of the product is good and according to their
need. The prices of the products and services of Marks and Spencer are little higher as the
company is having its own online delivery portals for the customers which the company
charges. The prices of the product is higher but it serves the quality of the products to the
customers.(Visconti, Peñaloza and Toulouse, 2020). Promotion: All the communication tools like advertising,personal selling,sales promotion
are the ways of promoting the company 's product. For promoting the product of the
company it is necessary of the company to choose a right communication tool to sell their
product. Marks and Spencer is using different promotional strategies to promote their
products and services of the company to serve the customers. The company uses
television advertising and press to promote their newly launched wooden products of the
company. As the company spends enough amount of money for promoting the product of
the company. As television advertising and press can proved to be best source of
promotion of the new products which the company is planning to do. People: It is essential for the company to hire right person, who can work with their
efficiency and sale the product in the market. People are to rightly chosen for the work
they are efficient at, so that the company can achieve more sales target and their goals. As
Marks and Spencer is a global brand and there are more than 1000 stores in different
countries so as a result the company is capable of hiring large number of employees and
workers in the company. (McCamley and Gilmore, 2018). The company 's employee
strength is around 83000. and the company focuses on paying attention to its employee 's
needs and wants by paying them on time and providing them various benefits and
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incentives for their work. So that the company 's employee and workers are able to work
with their full efficiency and effectiveness in the company Physical evidence: There should be a proper existence for purchasing the product. By
having physical existence for the customers, creates a good impact on customer. It will be
easier for the customer to reach out to the product. (Tafesse and Wien, 2018). As being
a global brand Marks and Spencer has now opened up many stores in different countries
to make the product available to the customer and easy to avail the product and services.
All the different stores dealing with the products and services in different countries
comes under the physical evidence for the company. The company is also having its
online website where the customers can purchase the products and services through
online portals also to get the direct home delivery of the products and services to the
customers.
 Process: The process for the product refers to delivery of the product to the customers. It
comes with the satisfaction of the customers. When the product is delivered properly with
rightly chosen tools it creates satisfaction for the customers. (Lim, Jee and De Run,
2020). Marks and Spencer is a global multinational brand dealing with clothing, food
products and home products and now by extending its product line of home products the
company is launching the wooden products for the customers and generating more
revenues for the company. The company 's stores are now found at different malls, and
sub urban areas of different countries. The company 's stores are divided into three floors
which has a separate section of each product line like clothing for men, women and kids,
home decors and food products and each sections includes the other sub sections to make
it easy for the customers.
Discussion of implementation issues
There are various implementation issues that arises for the business companies when they
are launching new products in the markets.(Hunt, 2018). . Implementation issues are the issues
that are faced by the business companies when they are trying to enter the new product or
modified products or services in the market in implementing them. The companies faces
different issues when they are implementing or making the new product enter in the market. In
context to Marks and Spencer new product development of wooden products the some of the
implementation issues are:
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 Failure in determining and involving all users: Implementation issues can be occurred
in the market when the company is failed to determine the targeted audience properly.
And the audience's need is not fully matching to the product 's design. (Ndofirepi,
Farinloye and Mogaji, 2020). Failure to identify total costs : When the company gets failed to determine and analyse
the total cost covered in the manufacturing of the new product that is wooden products in
that case implementation of new product in the market can be proved to be an issue. Lack of study: Implementation issues can be arise when the company fails to conduct
proper study of the market and customer 's need. In that case the company 's new product
fails to experience growth in the market and implementation issues can be arise. Lack of innovation: When the company lacks in innovating the product and makes it
enters in the market. Then the new product will not be able to survive in the market in
long term and can create implementation issues in the market. To protect from having
implementation issues the company should make their product creative before making
them enter in the market. (Gupta and Nair, 2020).
 Wrong choice of communication channel used: Implementation issues can be arise
when the company has choose the wrong medium of communication channel to promote
their product in the market. When the communication channel is wrongly choose by the
company then the product is not promoted in the market properly which can create a bad
affect on the sales of the product.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded as the strategic marketing is considered as an
important part of any business company. As strategic marketing helps in doing planning,
designing the action plan and implementing them with different present strategies to gain
competitive advantage for the business companies to survive and maintain a brand image in the
market. The report is based on Marks and Spencer Group plc that is a largest retailer in UK and
deals in clothing, food products and home products in the global market. The report generally
analyse the new product development by the company. As the company launches the wooden
products in the product line of home products. The wooden products will be beneficial for the
customers. The introduction and a brief description of wooden products is mentioned with a
critical analysis where the growth trends, the key competitors, the customer 's behaviour and
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different ethical and social issues are explained. And the segmentation, targeting and positioning
is mentioned in context to the new product development line. With the recommended extended
marketing mix in which the different P 's of marketing in context to new product development in
Marks and Spencer is explained with a brief discussion of implementation issues is explained in
which different implementation issues are explained where company can face issues in
implementing the product in the global market.
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