Marketing Essentials Report: Tesco Plc Marketing Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of marketing essentials, focusing on Tesco Plc, a major player in the retail industry. It begins with an introduction to the importance of marketing and its role in revenue generation and market survival for Tesco. The report then delves into the roles and responsibilities of the marketing function, including market analysis, market segmentation, and pricing strategies. It examines how these functions contribute to understanding market dynamics, identifying customer needs, and determining product value. The report further explores the relationship between the marketing department and other organizational departments, such as operations, human resources, and finance, highlighting the importance of interdepartmental coordination for efficient marketing activities. A key section of the report compares the marketing mix (7Ps) of Tesco and Asda, offering insights into their product offerings, pricing strategies, and promotional activities. The report concludes with a basic marketing plan evaluation, summarizing the key findings and their implications for Tesco's marketing strategies.

Marketing Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
P 1 Roles and Responsibilities of Marketing function.................................................................1
P 2 Roles and Responsibilities of marketing in relation to the wider organizational context....4
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
P 3 Comparison of marketing mix (7Ps) of different organizations............................................5
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................9
P 4 Basic Marketing Plan ............................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Marketing Essentials refers to all the important elements that are required in the
marketing function of the company that leads to the generation of the sales revenue and promote
the products of the company. This report is based on Tesco Plc, which is a multinational British
company that deals in supermarkets and groceries retailer in England. Tesco is the third largest
retailer in the world in forms of gross revenue. Tesco has overall of 6,800 shops and operates in
11 countries across the world. The company deals in supermarket stores and has the revenue of
£63,911 million and consists 450,000 employees working for it. This report will highlight the
roles and responsibilities of marketing function and explain the relationship of marketing
department with other departments of the organization. The report will also include the
comparison of marketing mix of the different organization in same industry. The report will also
include the evaluation of basic marketing plan for the organization.
LO 1
P 1 Roles and Responsibilities of Marketing function
Marketing- Marketing is a process that contains the activities that promotes buying and selling
of a product or service. It includes advertising, promotion, selling and delivering products to the
consumers. Deeply, Marketing is a discipline that involves all the actions that organizations take
to satisfy their customers and build relationships with them(Lancaster and Massingham, 2017).
Importance of marketing for Tesco- Tesco is the biggest supermarket in UK and has the
market share of 28% of the total UK market. In order to operate and expand its market and serve
the customers as well as to maintain the revenues, Tesco needs and effective marketing unit for
its organization. Marketing not only promotes and advertises the product brands of Tesco but
also enhance the better relationships with the customers and make sure they are satisfied with the
products and services offered by Tesco(Moorman and Day, 2016). Marketing is the biggest
source of revenue generation for Tesco as there are several numbers of competitors and effective
marketing strategy makes the company to beat and face the competition from its rivals.
Marketing has helped Tesco Plc to generate the global sales revenue of £48.4 Billion and the
company's operating of £944 million. Thus, it can be observed that marketing is of immense
importance for Tesco in terms of revenue generation and survival in the market.
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Marketing functions of Tesco elaborating different roles and responsibilities of the
functions in the organization- The following are the different marketing functions ate Tesco
Plc-
Market Analysis- Market analysis refers to the study of dynamic changes in the market.
It is an analysis of the current market information and trends that helps the organization to frame
the strategies as per these conditions. Tesco operates in the wide area market of 11 countries
across the world. In order to continue to survive in the market Tesco has to identify various
dimensions of the market of different countries(Tomczak and et.al., 2018). These dimensions
include Market size, growth rate of the market, Trends, Market profitability, key factors of
success in a particular market, distribution channels etc. Market analysis let Tesco know all these
factors related to the market as well as help in understanding its current position and the
strategies to be framed in order to deal the changing dimensions of market. The following are the
roles of market analysis of Tesco-
 To conduct the market research and survey in its areas of operations.
 To identify the needs and demands of the customers.
 To collect the marketing information regarding the customer's preference, tastes,
perception, purchasing power etc.
 To identify the profitability and growth rate of particular market.
 To determine the current position of the Tesco in the current market.
 To find out the effectiveness and success of the new product that can be launched by
Tesco.
 To understand the economic factors such as inflation, exchange rates of the country,
taxes and other factors that might affect the business of Tesco.
Market Segmentation- Market segmentation refers to the division of a particular
markets on the basis of customers. Tesco has about 6,902 stores of supermarkets across the
world, In order to deal and satisfy every customer it is difficult for the company to frame
strategies and hence the company makes the segmentation of the customers based on various
factors(Rowley, 2016). Customers are divided as per the Psycho-graphic segmentation which
means on the basis of interests, culture and lifestyle, Behaviouralistic which means on the basis
of customers loyalty towards the brand and Geographic division as per the different areas, which
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helps Tesco to target a certain group of customers for their products. The following are the roles
of Market Segmentation function of Tesco-
 To identify the different groups of customers as per their age and gender.
 To understand the culture and attitudes of the people in am market region.
 To study the customers demand and allocate the products that will satisfy themselves.
 To identify on what basis the market can be segmented to target certain group of
customers.
Pricing- Pricing is the important component of the marketing function as the prices are
the factors that determines the value of the Tesco products to the customers. In order to influence
the customer the marketing campaigns of Tesco stresses on their products that offers the best
quality with the lower price. But the price and quality for maximum products are in the direct
proportion that is higher the quality and higher its price. Price determines the revenue and profit
generation of the company from a particular product line(Wongleedee, 2015). Tesco Plc adapts
competitive pricing strategy in order to deal with its competitors in markets. The prices are
somewhat similar to the substitutes but the competition lies in the brand image and product
quality of the company. The following are the roles and responsibilities of Pricing function of
Tesco.
 To determine the product price considering the incurred cost of production and
profitability of Tesco plc.
 To determine the cost of production behind a particular products considering the direct
cost and further adding up with all the indirect expenses that will determine the total cost
of product.
 To consider the competitors prices and fix the prices as in relation to them.
 To determine the marketing expenses as well as to identify the pricing segment which
will be more profitable to Tesco.
 Responsible for designing price structure of Tesco.
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P 2 Roles and Responsibilities of marketing in relation to the wider organizational context
Marketing is the important function of the business for its growth, survival and
profitability. Revenues of the organization are totally dependent on the sales that are generated
through marketing activities of the organization. In order to initiate the efficient marketing
activities and outcomes Tesco needs to establish a better relationship of marketing department
with all other departments and also develop effective coordination among them. The following
points state the interrelationship of marketing with other functional departments in Tesco Plc-
Marketing and Operations department- There has been a direct relationship of marketing
department and the operations department. As the marketing is responsible for delivering the
products and services to the customers, operations is responsible for producing those goods on
time and making available to the marketing department(Bahadir and et.al., 2015). Tesco deals in
supermarkets stores that consists various number of products that are been purchased by
customers. Operations department is mainly responsibly for production of these products on time
and has to ensure the quality specifications as per the instructions of marketing team. In simple
words it can be said that the marketing departments generate the demands and operations
department fulfills them. These coordination leads to the growth of Tesco stores in different
markets and also satisfy the consumer wants as well as leads to revenue generation of the
company. Tesco delivers high product in its supper market stores, thus it is responsibility of the
operations department to make timely availability of the products and ensure the best quality
offering by the company.
Marketing with Human Resource department- Human resource department plays a crucial
role in fulfilling the demands and requirements of the marketing departments. Marketing
departments requires the employees and individuals that can influence the customers through
their skills, design different strategies and initiate different actions in order to increase the sales
of Tesco(Išoraitė, 2016). Here Human resource department recruits the candidates as per the
requirement of marketing department, they prepare the job description and specification which
further helps them in identifying the best individuals that match these skills and can be beneficial
to perform the activities of marketing. Also, Human Resource department is responsible in
providing efficient training to the employees so that they can meet out the performance
requirement of the marketing team. Thus, Human Resource department generate the employees
that meets out the needs and requirements of the marketing function.
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Marketing with Finance department- Finance is considered as the backbone of any
organization to perform, its business. Marketing activities of Tesco can be undertaken with the
sufficient amount of finance that is initiated by the finance department of the company. Finance
department helps the marketing team to conduct its various activities such as advertising,
promotion, fixing of price of products, determining the profitability and revenue generation for
Tesco and all other activities related to money. Finance department allocates the financial
resources to the marketing team of Tesco so that they can initiate the market expansion activities
and conduct the analysis of the market. Finance department prepares the budget that helps the
marketing team to conduct and perform its activities and also guide them regarding the areas of
investment and where the returns will be higher, the time of achieving the break even for
company's sales in a particular market as well as determine the company's growth rate. Hence,
the relationship between Tesco's marketing department and finance department is based on a lot
more activities discussed above.
LO 2
P 3 Comparison of marketing mix (7Ps) of different organizations
Marketing mix of Tesco and Asda are being compared in the below table-
Marketing Mix
(7Ps)
Tesco Plc Asda Plc
Product Tesco has its dealings in huge range of
products at its various stores.
Customer needs and preferences are
being catered by these vast product
offerings by Tesco. The products
include- Food products, pet care
products, beverages and drinks, frozen
food and bakery products, Gaming
products, home appliances and
electronic products, sports products,
clothing and jewellery, books etc.
Asda stores are one of the leading
retail stores in the world. The
company deals in variety of products
and service offerings. Asda deals in
its core business of super market
retail along with its mobile phone
company as well as financial
services. Asda has its products
dealings such as grocery stores,
electronics, clothing and even online
space(Wuand Li, 2018). The
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Tesco has several stores in the market
and the product variety depends on the
type of stores. Tesco also sells its
products online and also deals in
providing financial services such as
loans, savings account, insurance and
other banking services.
company also provide the service
delivery at doorstep of merchandises
and consists of 30000 products in its
stores. All these products forms to be
a part of Asda company's product
mix.
Price Tesco has adopted cost leadership as
its pricing strategy. The company
provides the lowest possible prices of
products along with the high quality
offerings. Tesco has implemented the
best use of economies of scale and
channels of procurement in order to
maintain the low prices of products.
The company has cut off the average
weekly shop by 3% in 2016 and has
also recently launched its new food
brands at low prices to attract more
customers in the market. Tesco reduce
its prices after receiving the customer
feedback and now the company has cut
down its promotional expenses to
further lower its prices(Zimmerman
and Blythe, 2017).
Asda comprises wide portfolio that
includes the company;s adoption of
low pricing strategy as a key to sell
the bigger volume of products. The
company believes in price over
perception. Asda has played the good
game of pricing strategy over the year
ends, Christmas and other festivals in
the country. The promotions are
around the best value for money that
Asda offers to the customers. The
company has understood its target
group of customers clearly , it has not
compromised on its quality of
products for incurring the lower
costs, which has made Asda popular
and successful. All these factors
explain the pricing strategy of the
company.
Place Tesco has overall of 6,900 stores in 11
countries that includes Tesco Metro,
Tesco express, Tesco Superstore etc.
Tesco metro are sized 1000 square
Asda has established its presence at
various places . The company has
adopted the niche store technique to
initiate greater profitability in the
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meters that is located in towns and
cities. Tesco extra are big stores that
includes wide range of products such
as groceries, general merchandize
under one roof.
long term. The company has over 100
non food stores in UK. Asda Walmart
Super-centres are the biggest
supermarkets in UK having its sales
area of 9000 square feet.
Promotion Tesco has established its strong brand
image due to its low prices. However,
the company uses the promotional
activities such as hoardings, television
advertisements, charitable events and
promotional channels. Tesco also
provides various discounts and offers
to the customers such as buy 1 get 1.
The company issues a loyalty card
known as “Tesco Club-card” to its
customers and provides them points on
their first purchase which can be
redeemed during the second purchase
made by the customer. Tesco also sells
and promotes its products online. In
this way Tesco follow its promotion
mix for marketing its
products(Gillespieand Riddle,2015).
Asda believes in the price war and
the pricing strategy as the activity of
promotion for its products in the
market. Asda believed that the due to
its ownership under Walmart group,
the consumers' perception about Asda
is value pricing for the products. The
company attempted to convince the
customers regarding the quality
products that Asda serves them. The
company has also joined hands with
the 'Leith's cookery school of fine
food and wine' and allowing it to
price its up market label “extra
special” by Asda and is sold at
premium price.
Physical
Evidence
The physical evidence represents the
authenticity of the products that are
served to the customers. The company
uses Logos, colours, labels and
equipment that are used as a proof by
Tesco to its customers. The stores in
the markets are also the physical
Asda physical evidence lies in the
location and number of stores present
in the market which are further
divided into the categories such as-
The supermarket division that
includes small store segment formed
in 2009. The company's general
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evidence for Tesco company that
represents the truth of the company's
existence.
merchandise store popularly known
as Asda living is linked to the
Compass group operating coffee
shops.
People Tesco is among one of the leading
retail brands that provides employment
to large number of people across the
world. The company consists of about
4,80,000 employees in 11 different
countries across the world. There is
high level of diversity in Tesco and
people are valued higher in order to
perform the more and better for the
company. The employees are being
encouraged to support and assist each
other and to remain supportive ion
order to maintain cooperation and
coordination among them. The
employees with greater potential are
rewarded with various promotional
activities by the company.
Asda consists of 1,80,000 employees
and millions of customers as its
people. The people strategy of Asda
consists of providing high quality
training to the staff to provide best
services to the customers as well as
imparting the skills of remaining
friendly and helpful as well as high
technical skills. The company focuses
on its key component of delivery as a
part of its immediate services and
hence it trains the people involved in
the delivery(Baker and Saren, 2016).
Process The process initiated by Tesco is the
one that focuses more on the market
task and is designed in such a way that
there were fewer deviations from the
company's policy. The other factors
which are later considered are
convenience, service features and level
of production capacity(Blythe and
Martin,2019).
Asda was initially a food seller later
it moved in the retail industry of the
household goods. Later the company
move towards selling meat brands
and then in financial services,
insurance etc. The company now
deals in supermarkets and super chain
departments.
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LO 3
P 4 Basic Marketing Plan
(Covered in PPT)
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is summarized that the different roles of marketing function
supports the organizational marketing strategies. The report also studies the interrelationship of
marketing department with other functional departments of the organization as well as their
contribution and assistance towards marketing unit of the company. The report also studies the
ways and comparisons between the application of marketing mix by the two different
organizations in the same industry and analyses the differences between them. Thus, it can be
concluded that the marketing department of any organization plays a major role in controlling the
activities of the business as well as act as source of revenue generation that is necessary for any
firm's survival.
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REFERENCES
Books And Journals
Bahadir and et.al., 2015. Marketing mix and brand sales in global markets: Examining the
contingent role of country-market characteristics. Journal of International Business
Studies. 46(5). pp.596-619.
Baker, M.J. and Saren, M. eds., 2016. Marketing theory: a student text. Sage.
Blythe, J. and Martin, J., 2019. Essentials of marketing. Pearson UK.
Gillespie, K. and Riddle, L., 2015. Global marketing. Routledge.
Išoraitė, M., 2016. Marketing mix theoretical aspects. International journal of research
granthaalayah. pp.2394-3629.
Lancaster, G. and Massingham, L., 2017. Customer care and relationship marketing.
In Essentials of Marketing Management (pp. 270-288). Routledge.
Moorman, C. and Day, G.S., 2016. Organizing for marketing excellence. Journal of
Marketing. 80(6). pp.6-35.
Rowley, J., 2016. Information marketing. Routledge.
Tomczak and et.al., 2018. Planning the Marketing Mix. In Strategic Marketing (pp. 171-221).
Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden.
Wongleedee, K., 2015. Marketing mix and purchasing behavior for community products at
traditional markets. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 197. pp.2080-2085.
Wu, Y.L. and Li, E.Y., 2018. Marketing mix, customer value, and customer loyalty in social
commerce: A stimulus-organism-response perspective. Internet Research. 28(1). pp.74-
104.
Zimmerman, A. and Blythe, J., 2017. Business to business marketing management: A global
perspective. Routledge.
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