Marketing Essentials 1: Zara's Marketing Strategies and Plan Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Zara's marketing strategies. It begins with an introduction to marketing and its importance, followed by an examination of the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within Zara. The report then explores how these roles relate to the wider organizational context, emphasizing the interrelationships between the marketing department and other departments such as finance, HR, and operations. A significant portion of the report is dedicated to comparing the marketing mix strategies employed by Zara and its competitor, C&A, to achieve their respective business objectives. The analysis covers product, price, place, promotion, people, procedure, and physical evidence. Finally, the report evaluates and produces a basic marketing plan for an organization, illustrating the application of marketing principles in a practical context. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and recommendations based on the analysis.

Marketing Essentials
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function..................................................3
P2 How roles and responsibilities of marketing relate the wider organizational context......4
PART 2............................................................................................................................................6
P3 Comparision of marketing Mix strategy use by organisations to achieve its overall business
objectives................................................................................................................................6
PART 3..........................................................................................................................................10
P4 Evaluate and produce a basic marketing plan for an organisation..................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14
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INTRODUCTION
Marketing refers to set of several operations that helps a marketer to convey marketing
message to its targeted customers (Mishra and Modi, 2016). This is a tool that helps a business to
create, communicate, deliver and exchange offers to ultimate customers that helps a business to
satisfy its customers. In simple words, it is a process of interaction between seller and customers
that assists in satisfying needs and wants of customers. Through this operation, company is
ensuring engagement of customers and also establish good relations with customers. As per
above explained benefits, it becomes necessary for an organisation to implement process of
marketing in an effective manner. Through this process, it will be helpful for the company to
persuade customers to buy offered products and services from the company. This process assist
management of the company to develop an understanding of what actually is the need of
customers. This will help them to design and serve products accordingly. In this report the focus
is on marketing activities carried out by a very famous company and it is Zara. It is a Spanish
apparel brand that in involved in business line of fast fashion including clothing, accessories,
shoes and many more. The primary focus of this company is to attain competitive edge by
serving better quality products in over the world. This report is going to discuss about various
roles and responsibilities of marketing function. Marketing mix and plan is also mentioned in
this report that may assist in accomplishing competitive success at market.
PART 1
P1 Key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function
Marketing plays an important role in promoting the vision and mission of a business. In
context of chosen company, Zara, marketing is playing the role of face of the company. It helps
in coordination and procurement of all required things that will be helpful in presentation of
company. It is the Marketing Department's job to reach out to prospects, customers, investors
and/or the community, while creating an overarching image that represents your company in a
positive light.
With a view in above statement, roles and duties of marketing function can be explained
as follows:
 Management of Brand: Marketing plan is a process through which company attempts to
establish value of brand among targeted customers. This communication will relate to
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who the marketer is, what it is doing and what are its objectives. This whole process
results in defining the experience that customers have during their interaction with the
company.
 Conducting campaign management for marketing initiatives: Marketing plan helps in
identifying the products and services that the company is concentrating upon increasing
the intensity of sales cycle. After focusing upon this cycle, company will ensure that they
are procuring right material and also will get the communication right (Moorman and
Day, 2016).
 Producing marketing and promotional materials: Marketing plans helps in creating
and highlighting the core product or service and it will help in keeping the product up to
dated with the services of the market. Marketing plans helps in featuring out the main
utilities of the offered product or service.
 Deep market research: Undertaking a detailed market analysis is also considering a
major role of marketing function of ZARA. In this company focus on competitor’s
strategy and also collect information about target customers. This can be beneficial in
improving the possibilities of capturing larger marker share from its competitors.
 Effective communication process: Marketing plans helps in creating efficient
communication channels into organisation by making goals and objectives of marketing
process clear to every internal stakeholder of the company. This will help in efficient
attaining of goals and objectives.
 Analysing positioning of company in market: Marketing plan helps company to track
their position in the market and through this, management of company comes to know
about their future course of planning. This will help in tracking the competition in the
market and then formulating the suitable strategies so as to surpass the competition in the
market.
P2 How roles and responsibilities of marketing relate the wider organizational context
Interrelationship of different functions within an organisation
Interrelationships between different departments plays an important role in the smooth
functioning of an organisation (Baker and Saren, 2016). It is formed by grouping of similar jobs
under one head of department. They work on a uniform task with a group of people for achieving
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a similar goal. Thus, it plays a dominant role in the management of a company and
interrelationships between them is vital to reduce redundancy and in optimising the resources.
Marketing with Finance department - Marketing department includes not only sales
but relates to all the activities in an organisation. It is perceived as a customer centric activity
which includes customer satisfaction with varied needs and wants. It needs to work together with
all the departments for the effective achievement of overall objectives (Hanssens and
Pauwels,2016).
The finance department has to ensure that entire organisation works under the financial
capabilities of an organisation. It plans the financial activities and frames budgets for major
activities or departments for controlling. Marketing department focuses on tapping market
opportunities by overspending on the profitable ones and concentrate on increasing sales
numbers and market share while finance departments focus on cost reduction, smooth cash flows
and payment of liabilities quickly. For different and colliding objectives of two departments they
need to work collaboratively with good flow of communication.
Marketing with HR department – The marketing department requires enthusiastic and
ambitious employees in their teams with appropriate skills. To meet their goals and changing
demand of customers they need to come up with new ideas and conducting research and
development. Innovating timely is essential for an organisation to be competitive and
profitability of an organisation.
The HRM department needs to ensure that staffing levels and competencies are efficient
in an organisation. For balancing between marketing department needs and their objectives
scheduling of training and development activities need to place timely also usage of various
recruitment methods to attract the competent candidates (Thabit and Raewf, 2018).
Marketing with Operations department– Operations and marketing departments works
interrelated to ensure competitive advantages, marketers wants to launch the new product
quickly whereas operations wants more time to test the product to ensure that it has reach its full
potential. Also, removing any defects and meeting the health and safety needs.
Marketing department requires to satisfy the future and current needs of
consumers by scanning the environment. For this production department needs to ensure the
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quality and design specification laid down by the marketing department. Adequate supply of
products by meeting the delivery needs of marketers.
Finance department with Operations – In this both the departments work interrelated
as finance department release the funds required to procure the resources in an organisation.
They control the flow of funds with the help of budgets and deadlines by ensuring optimum
utilisation of financial resources. Operations may desire to spend more funds on the procurement
of resources for maintaining the quality benchmarks and delivery of outputs on schedule
timescales (Martin, 2009).
Finance with HR department - In this HR departments meets the balance between
recruitment of competent candidates with the compensation demands of skilled people in the
market. Also, for conducting various training and development needs and other recreational
activities for employees they are require to pass the funds from the finance department. Also,
finance department requires competent professionals in their teams for the achievement of their
objectives.
Finance with R&D department – Research and development department is the blood
vein of an organisation by meeting the innovation needs for the current and future market. They
scan the market and conduct research for ascertaining the best solution available in the
environment. Finance department release the required funds with efficient flow of
communication between them for meeting the overall objectives in an organisation.
From the above analysis, it can be stated that it is very important that all departments of
the company need to work in proper coordination and collaboration so that management can
direct employees in attaining organisational goals and objectives in an efficient manner.
PART 2
P3 Comparision of marketing Mix strategy use by organisations to achieve its overall business
objectives.
Marketing mix this business strategy used by managers to fulfils their marketing objectives. It
includes, prices, promotion, place, product, procedure, physical evidence and people. All these
are known as combination of traditional & modern marketing mix (Cohen, 2005).
Different business corporations use marketing mix in according to their ways which define
below
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Objective
Name of organization Goal
Zara Main aim of this organization
is to become leading clothing
brand of market
C&A Providing best quality of
clothes in world market.
Different in service
Name of organization Goal
Zara Management department of
Zara focus on offering
designer clothes which made
by best fashion designers.
C&A They provide clothes
according to the preference of
their customers.
Price strategy
Name of organization Goal
Zara It is famous brand of Spain
thus this organization use
price penetration strategy.
They set price of clothes n the
basis of classes of customers.
C&A They use price skimming
strategy for selling their
products.
Place
Name of organization Goal
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Zara This corporation not only
famous in Spain but it spread
its market within all over the
world by establish branches
and through online and offline
trading.
C&A It market main are a focus on
Belgium, Germany, and UK,
however they now starting to
cover up market by giving
tough competition to Zara.
They open small branches and
stores.
Promotion
Name of organization Goal
Zara Management department of
Zara apply digital platform
and advertisement strategy for
marketing purpose.
C&A This organization use local
channel as well s social media
for promotion brand clothes
and designs.
Difference in people
Name of organization Goal
Zara This business corporation
mainly focus in hiring best
employee for designing and
promotion their branded
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clothes thus they focus on
recruiting experience and
skilled personals.
C&A Management department of C
& Focus in hiring personals
and proceeds them best
training program which useful
in enhancing their skills.
Difference in procedure
Name of organization Goal
Zara Management department
apply decentres process for
distributing rights and duties.
They use this strategy for
maintain interest of their
workforce among this
business organization.
C&A In this management
department apply centralized
business strategies which
useful in giving direction and
flow of command in one way.
Different in physicals evidence
Name of organization Strategies
Zara This business entity is famous
for their luxurious brands,
customer get attract t the
accessories and design ,
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material use by Zara for heir
branches.
C&A They also focus on the same
schemes as management
department of C & A focus on
use material which directly
attract customers .
Marketing mix useful in attain competitive business advantage thus business organizations
mainly focus on using all the marketing mix in a way which useful for them to fulfil and
complete all the essential business desire (Westwood, 2013). Zara, is famous for their marketing
s policies, thus it become the main reason that organization able to maintain position in market,
just because they use effected marking mix tool.
PART 3
P4 Evaluate and produce a basic marketing plan for an organisation.
Marketing plan is a strategies roadmap make by a company to organise, execute and track
their marketing plan in a specified time. Marketing plan is different for the teams in a
organisation but every separate team have same motive for completing the business common
goal.
SMART OBJECTIVE
Objectives are the outline of the initiatives taken by the team and what they are going to
do for achieving their marketing plan. It provides a clear vision to the team for follow and
completing the target.
“To introducing household products for the new targeted customers in order to
increase the market share by 40% within a year”.
SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT analysis is the technique which shows that where the company is standing in the
market at present, before launching any product and adopting new strategies. Zara is planning to
launch the new products in the market. In order to know the positive and negative aspects of the
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environment in the market, SWOT analysis has been prepared. It will help to know about the
advantages and failure that can be faced by the company.
Strengths: Established goodwill: Zara is well known and established company in the market already.
And their market strategies are already highly successful in the market.
 Highly skilled work: Zara's workers are well trained. They maintain their quality in order
to maintain the standard.
Weakness: High range: Zara's product is mostly high range. And now the new product i.e.
household’s items which have already high range in the markets.
 Already established companies: In household’s sectors there are already lots of
companies established with good reputation.
Opportunities: Online channels: Applicability of household’s product at online platform, will provides
the new opportunities.
 Market segment: Increase in the market share by launching new product in the industry.
Threats: High Competition: Households sectors are already selling by well known companies like,
Procter & Gamble, Unilever etc.
 Buyers behaviour: Buyers behaviour is totally depending on their mood. Accepting or
rejecting a new product by the company is totally depends on customers.
PORTER'S GENREIC STRATEGIES Cost leadership strategies: In this the cost has to be decreased by the companies, to meet
the target with cost leadership. By doing this Zara performed better in the presence of
rival competitors. Differential strategies: Here products must be changed in short intervals, according to the
customers need and demand. They focus on the quality and structure of the product,
rather than the price. Product differentiation is important aspect for the business like Zara
as the customer's need and preferences are changed from time to time.
 Focus strategies: There are two types of strategies: Cost focus and Differentiate focus. In
this company can focus on two aspects either on low cost advantages or differentiation in
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the products. By adopting this, company can earn profit as well as earn the reputation in
the market.
4P's OF MARKETING
4P's of marketing signifies that what product is sale, at what price and with which
promotion techniques (Pride and Ferrell, 2004). In short it can be said that 4p's of marketing mix
helps in putting the right product at right place at affordable price. These 4p's includes: Product,
Price, Promotion, Place.
This marketing strategies help the business to grow and achieve their pre-defined targets. In Zara
this strategy helps in innovation, customer relation and marketing atmosphere, this helps in
growing Zara. Product: Zara is one of the leading company in the market and supplying products in
fashion industries for men, women and teens. And now Zara is producing an ultimate
new product in the market in their industry. Households products are never introduced by
a fashion industry like Zara. Also Zara place for reducing the waste and believes in
sustainable development. Price: Zara is adopting affordable prices in the market. They set market based price
strategies which defines prices according to the customers and locality. Households
product are new in Zara so their prices are lower than the existing companies, so that it’s
easy to get the customer's attraction. Promotion: Main promotional tools adopted by the company are ensuring awareness of
offering at online platform. Through this, targeted customers can be attracted easily.
Chosen company always take care of the fact that they are producing only those products
which are in alignment of customer’s needs and preferences. Moreover, commercial;
breaks and online ads are some of significant marketing strategies adopted by the
management. Company is attempting to establish a familiar bond with its customers
through channel of gifts and cashback offers. This also helps them to enhance their
market share.
 Place: Zara is famous for the unstoppable culture and tradition which is followed by
Zara, and make a difference from the other companies. Their main focus is spreading
their new product in all over the world (Sandilands and Strachan, 2020).
BUDGET:
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