Vodafone UK Marketing Strategies: A Comprehensive Analysis

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments. This report analyzes Vodafone's marketing strategies and plan.

MARKETING ESSENTIALS

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is one of the most effective and important element of the business(Akter, 2012).
There are different targets and aims of an organization which can be archived . This can
help in providing the better quality services for the product in the market of the UK. The
different roles and responsibilities of the manager will be discussing in the report
(Armstrong et al., 2015).
This assignment is choosing Vodafone which is the telecommunication company of UK. It is
highly established and ranged in the region of meeting with the demanded headquarter in
the England. The company is really popular for its telecommunication services and quality
of products. Mainly the company is an internet service provider which is liked by their
customers and users. According to statistica (2018), there are around 60,000 employees
are working in the company. The company wants to improve its present market
strategiesin order to enhance their sales ration. The different marketing functions will be
discussed in the report in context to Vodafone (Baker, 2016).

TASK 1
There are different roles and responsibilities of the marketing manager of the organization.
It has been observed that the manager of Vodafone develops different strategies and plans
in order to promote their products and services in the market (Branch, 2014). The
marketing functions play a vital role in the development of the organization. The manager
must fulfill all the roles and responsibilities in order to achieve the targets easily. The key
roles and responsibilities of marketing functions are market research, finance, product
development, communication, distribution, planning, promotion, selling. With the help of
these functions, the organization can maintain its sales growth and other business
operations.
Figure- marketing functions
Source- Butscher, 2017
These marketing functions have different roles in order to promote the growth of the
organization (Christopher and Peck, 2012). The manager needs to understand all the
marketing functionaccurately in order to fulfill the different needs and demands of the
customers. The manager of Vodafone needs to fulfill all the roles and responsibilities in

order to enhance the profit of the business. It has been identified that the other
functionaldepartment of the organization is linked with the marketing functions (Eagle et
al., 2014). The marketing functions are connected with the other departments which are
really helpful in maintaining coordinationand effective communication between the
employees and team members. The main functions of marketing are defined as under:
Risk-taking
The marketing manager must have the capability of taking the risk in the business. The
changing marketing conditions and perceptions of the customers arereally risky for the
business organization (Kotler et al., 2015). Vodafone is taking a risk of expanding their
business. The manager is adopting the different plans and strategies to promote their
services which can be risky for the organization.
Buying and Selling
Buying and selling are the important functions of the marketing which is conducted
between the buyer and seller. Buyer buys the things from the seller according to their
satisfaction and demand while the seller sells the products or services to the buyer in order
to gain profit (Molthan-Hill, 2017).
Market information
Accurate information about the market situation is really important for the business to
develop strategies and plans accordingly (Palmer, 2012). The marketing manager of
Vodafone has the responsibility to gain accurate information about the market so that the
company can provide satisfactoryproducts and services to the customers according to their
needs.
Financing
The marketing manager needsto maintain a financial plan to manage all the activities and
actionsof the marketing department. This will be helpful in managing the financial
situations of the business. The financial plan can be helpful in gaining information about
expenses and gaining of the business (Pantelidis and Stogias, 2015).

Storing
Storing is one of the most important functions of the business which is helpful in storing
the products and stock properly. There are different products and services provided by
Vodafone which needs to be stored accurately (Rowley, 2016). The marketing manager of
Vodafone has the responsibility to store things properly.
The different marketing functions are differently important for the growth and
development of the business. The manager can complete all the marketing functions
appropriately in order to attain the targets and goals successfully.
Relation of the marketing department with the other functionaldepartments of
Vodafone
The marketing department is linked with the other functional departments of the
organization which is helpful in attaining the overall organizational goals easily. The
coordination and communication between the different departments of the organization
will be really beneficial in enhancing the understanding between the employees (Pantelidis
and Stogias, 2015). Healthy relations between the employees can be fruitful for the
development and growth of the business organization. This can be represented below:
Finance department
Among all department this department is prudential to meet the subjective requirement of
the organization. All the departments need money for the business and attaining their
targets. The marketing department needs funds for promoting their services and
advertisement for which the budget is maintained by the finance department of the
organization (Rowley, 2016). Both the department of Vodafone haseffective coordination
which is helpful in attaining the objectives easily.

Research and development department
The R&D department finds accurate sources of resources and other valuable things which
can be beneficial for the organization. The team of R&D department has healthy relations
with the marketing team of Vodafone (Talpau, 2014). The team of research department
searches the sources of income and development and the marketing team implements
them in their operations to develop the profit of the organization.
Human resource department
Human resource department hires capable employees for the job profiles. Marketing
departmentpromotes the hiring and recruitment of the organization with the help of
advertisement and other methods and the HR department give them capable employees
who can work in the marketing team accurately (Westwood, 2013). Both the departments
support each other to manage the business operations successfully.
Thus, all the departments are linked with each other. They all work with coordination and
maintain regular communication to avoid the risk of conflicts. The marketing department is
having a connection with all the functionaldepartments of the organization. There are
different strategies and plans made by the management of the organization in order to
maintain healthy relations with all the departments of the organization. It has been found
that all the functional departments of Vodafone are having healthy relations with each
other which is reluctant in achieving goals and objectives of the organization successfully
(Worthington, 2014).

TASK 2
There are different marketing strategies and plans used by the organization in order to
achieve the objectives and targets of the organization (Talpau, 2014). Vodafone is using the
marketing mix for attaining their business objectives. This is helpful in understanding the
situations of the market by which the company can gain more profit. This is also helpful in
promoting products and services in the right manner. Apart from this, the brand value of
the organization can be enhanced with the help of the marketing mix. This can be saidthat
the marketing mix can be an effective tool forunderstanding the different aspects of the
target market. Marketing mix for Vodafone is presented below:
Figure- 7 P’s of Market
(Source-Astuti et al., 2015)

PRODUCT
The product is the most important element of the business that developsa connection
between the seller and buyer. Seller is the person who manufactures and sells the product
and buyer is the person who purchases the product from the seller ( Amiri, 2016). The
value of the product represents the brand image of the organization. Vodafone must
maintain the quality of their product in order to maintain its brand image in the
organization.
PRICE
Price is an essential element which decides the value of a product or service. Vodafone
needs to set accurate prices of the products in to influence the customer to buy their
products. Vodafone uses different pricing strategies in order to provide services to the
customer's inaccurate prices (Astuti et al., 2015). They should use different strategies of
pricing by which they can gain loyalty of the customers.
PROMOTION
Promotion is the most important procedure in which the corporation promotes its
products and services in the market by using different tools. The promotional mix has been
adopted by Vodafone to promote their products in the market. The accurate promotion of
the products and services is helpful in enhancing the sales ratio and healthy relations with
the customers (Baena, 2018).
PLACE
The place is one of the most important elements which needs to be selected appropriately.
The organization needs to select a place where it can earn profit from the customers.
Vodafone is already providing their services in the UK and other countries as well.
Vodafone wants to expand its business in other countries as well so they need to choose the
appropriate area and location for expanding their business. Selection of accurate place can
be fruitful for the organization.

PEOPLE
Peoples are the most valuable asset of the organization who helps in attaining the goals and
targets of the organization (Barreto, 2015). Vodafone should respect all the stakeholders
and their efforts. It will be helpful in motivating them towards the work and managing
healthy relations with them. Workers, suppliers, customers, financers, and other employees
are really valuable people for the organization who contribute their effort and time to
achieve the overall targets of the organization.
PROCESS
The overall process of the organization highly impacts the results and outcomes. The
company needs to manage an effective process by which they can attain the goals and
targets easily. The manager and leader of the organization can use innovation and new
technology for managing the effective process of the business (Brychkov and Domegan,
2017). Vodafone is having a well-managed process which is helpful in gaining the trust of
the peoples by providing them satisfactory services according to their needs.
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
Physical evidence is an essential element which is provided by the seller to the buyer which
represents the appearance and transaction of product which has been done. The direct
interaction among the customer and supplier can be seen between the supplier and
customer. Physical evidence gives satisfaction to the customers which are helpful in
managing healthy relations with them (Chicago, 2018). Vodafone uses the physical
evidence which is helpful in managing the business operations.
Thus, it can be said that the marketing mix is really helpful for knowing the present
conditions of the market. The above factors are beneficial in knowing the performance of
the company and which strategies can be suitable for the organization.

Tools of Marketing
Mix
Vodafone BT Group
Product Mainly the company is an internet
service provider and
providestelecommunication
services. The company is having
innovative products and internet
packages. The company is having an
effective brand image in the market
because of the quality of its
products and services (Daoud,
2016).
BT group is the largest provider of
fixed-line, broadband, and mobile
services in the UK, and also
provides subscription television
and IT services. The company is
having the top position in the
market because of its consistent
quality services.
Price Vodafone is using different pricing
strategies in order to attract
customers. The price
discrimination strategy is adopted
by Vodafone which is helpful in
providingsatisfactory services and
products to the customers as per
their needs.
The company always focuses on the
consistency of products without
compromising with quality. BT
group adopts different pricing
strategy to maintain their position
in the market and healthy relations
with the customers (De Jong et al.,
2015).
Place Vodafone is having a wide area for
their business. The company is
based on the UK but also provide
their services in other countries
and they have a strong mobile
network which is covering the wide
area. There are more them 495
stores of Vodafone which is
providing telecommunication and
BT group has operations in around
180 countries and is the largest
provider of fixed-line, broadband,
and mobile networks (De Mooij,
2018).

internet services to the customers.
Promotion Vodafone is using different
methods of promotion in order to
promote their services in the
market (Fotiadis and Folinas,
2017). Advertisement, attractive
packages, discount offers, and
database marketing are adopted by
Vodafone to promote their products
and services.
BT grouphas adopted the different
methods of promotions by which
they can gain profit from the
market. Advertisement, attractive
offers, and tie up with different
sponsors are giving them positive
feedbacks and they are doing
accurate promotion of their
products and services.
People The employees of Vodafone are
capable enough to handle the
customers and their different
choices. Peoples are the most
important element for the success
of the business which can be seen in
the working place of Vodafone.
BT group is focusing on providing
accurate training to their employees
so that they can work properly.
They are hiring capable employees
who can manage the work properly
(Gillespie and Riddle, 2015).
Process The process of production is really
simple and managed which is
helpful in developing accurate
products as per the needs of the
customers. The company is
havingsufficient workers and
resources to complete the business
process successfully (Goworek et
al., 2015).
BT group wants to improve their
current process so that they can
compete with the other competitors
like Vodafone and maintain their
position in the market easily.
Physical evidence Vodafone uses the physical
evidence which is helpful in
managing the business operations.
They are famous for their attractive
physical evidence which makes
them different than others.
BT groups are one of the most
popular and famous organizations
in their field. The company provides
attractive and satisfactory evidence
to the customer thatis helpful in
fulfilling their needs (Chicago,
2018).