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Marketing is the set of activities and processes that aids in creating awareness about the product and services. This report will highlight the role of marketing in an organization and the interrelation of marketing with other functional units of an organization such as human resources, finance, etc. Further, the report will include the 7Ps of the marketing mix and the strategies used by different companies to decide the marketing mix.
Marketing.
Marketing can be understood as an activity, a synchronization of institutions, and processes to create the means of communication, deliver, and exchange offer that adds value to the customer's life, partners, and society (Griffin et.al, 2013). The marketing department plays varied roles in promoting the business among the customers. The specific role of the marketing department is enlisted below.
Creating awareness: Marketing plays an important role in creating awareness about the brand. It reflects the core values of the organization. The reflection of the company’s values highly impacts the behavior of customers towards the business organization. The company makes the customer aware of the experience they can expect from the offerings of the brand which would define the interaction of the customers with the company.
Market Research: The marketing department understands the customer's insights and the changing opportunities that would help the company to understand the challenges and overcome them to gain a competitive advantage in the market. The marketing department continuously monitors the changing environment and trends in the market.
Social Media: social media is a platform immensely used to make a social presence and target the audience. The social media is monitored and managed by the marketing team, the members of the team manage the positive and negative reviews about the company and try to reduce the negative comments by implementing changes in the strategies of the company about the products or services based on reviews (Kachersky and Lerman, 2013).
Outsourcing: sometimes it is required to outsource activities such as advertising, web providers, print vendors. The function of selecting the outside vendors and agencies is performed by the marketing head of the company.
Website content: website is often the first point of interaction between the customers and the company. The marketing department created the content for the website as well as maintains the search engine optimization for the website to create awareness through the electronic media. Search engine optimization means ensuring the visibility of the website as an option in the browser searches.
Marketing initiatives: The functions performed by the marketing department are proactive. The departments continuously identify the changing trends and opportunities through surveys, questionnaires, social media, etc. The material for communication such as advertisements, content on the website, etc is updated by the department.
An organization is like a human body and the various departments are the essential organs, the organs must work harmoniously with one another for a healthy functioning body. Similarly, marketing is the department that represents the face of the organization. The marketing department must work in harmony with all other functional departments to ensure the growth of the organization. The interrelation between different departments and marketing is discussed below.
Marketing and Research and Development are two different departmentsthatare highly dependent on one another. Research and Development cannot function properly to provide new products without the input of the Marketing team about the market trends, customer’s preferences, and the feasible opportunities. Similarly,the marketing team depends on research and development to advertise new products and services to increase the profits of the company. The marketing department also helps to test the innovations of Research and development and provide insights about customer choices.
Productions/ Operations department.
The product-based company defines the core business as production whereas the service-based company defines the core business as operations. The departments are similar in function, it consists of machines and human capital. Operations/ Production departments are less concerned about marketing needs. However, the two departments mostly disagree on certain issues such as operation/ Production focus on attaining average quality whereas the marketing department is focused on tight quality control. The Production/ Operation department prefers to keep the functions similar due to the technicalities in changing the procedure of activities or products whereas marketing insists on changing the products and services for innovation.
The disagreements between the departments can have a huge impact on the success of the organization. Hence the two department analyses the requirement to change, cost and benefit analysis, and the takes the decide the changes be implemented.
Finance/Credit department.
Finance is the basic requirement for all the activities of an organization. The company has to maintain profit and loss for growth. Usually, the marketing and finance department disagree with the pricing standards. Marketing requires flexible payment cycles, lavish expenditure, and flexible budgets. On the contrary,the finance department prefers fixed budgets and fixed payment cycles with minimum expenditure. It is important for both the departments to understand the requirement and complexities of each other to ensure the growth of the company. Effective coordination is required from the marketing manager to analyze the marketing requirements and the finance manager to understand the need and evaluate the marketing plans and its impacts on the growth of the organization.
Human resource department.
The marketing department requires a large number of sales and marketing people. It is important to have creative and efficient people in the department which is the responsibility of the human resource department. The areas of conflict are minimum between the human resource and marketing department. However, the efficiency of human resource choice, recruitment, and training puts a significant impact on marketing functions.
Marketing Mix.
Marketing includes strategies and tactics to promote the products or services of the company. These set of tactics, strategies, and actions constitutes the marketing mix of a company. There are generally 4Ps of marketing Mix that are Price, Place, Product, and Promotion, now there are 3 more Ps added to the marketing mix making it 7Ps of the marketing mix that are packaging, people, and positioning. There are continuous and significant changes administered in the customer’s preference, needs, wants, markets, and products which impact the marketing strategy of the companies as well. Therefore, the marketing strategy of the company must be continuously evaluated and evolved to be on track and competitive in the market. The elements of the marketing mix are discussed below.
Product: the organization needs to understand the value of the product in the customer’s life in the current market scenario. It is often found that the company is not selling enough products as it would have targeted to, this is where the question arises that if the product or service is appropriate in the current market scenario. Are there any changes required with the product or services? Also, the organization must address the question that is there any specific feature of the product or service which is superior that the products/ services offered by the competitors? Or is it possible to develop such features to make the product or service viable for the market in the current scenario?
Price: The price of the product or service is evaluated by the utility it offers to the customers. The price must be appropriate with the utility as well as competitive in the market. It is essential to continue examining the prices of the products as the market conditions changes rapidly which affects the prices of the product (Davcik and Sharma, 2015). Sometimes, it is justified to lower the prices whereas sometimes it is appropriate to level up the prices. While lowering the prices it is important to maintain a quintessential balance between the expenditure and revenue whereas while increasing the prices, it is important to understand that the company may lose some of the customers but remaining customers can provide percentage increase in the profit of every sale, would this condition provide overall profit?
Sometimes, the company provides free items with the product which are less expensive to produce but makes the offer attractive for sale and pricing, special offers and promotions are also offered with an effective pricing strategy. The company must be open about the analysis of pricing strategy continuously to revise the pricing and thrive in the ever-changing market place.
Promotion: It is the process of creating awareness about the products and services offered and how it is offered to the customers. It is a continuous process that helps to generate a new consumer base as well as increase the existing consumer base of the companies. Small changes in the promotion strategies can lead to drastic changes in the result of the marketing campaigns. There are different methods used by different organizations and industries to promote the products. But the promotion strategies must be continuously evolved as sooner or later the promotion strategies become outdated and stop providing desired results. Sometimes the reason would be known and sometimes it wouldn’t be. It is the time to evaluate the generate new sales, marketing, and advertisement approaches to the customers.
Place: It is defined as the actual point of sale where the product or service of the organization if offered. The place where the customer and the product eventually meet must be reviewed continuously to analyze effective selling. A large number of places are available where the products can be sold such as telemarketing, e-commerce websites, direct selling, trade shows, retail stores, etc. The companies use more than one method to achieve the desired sales. It is important to make the right choice of place so that the product reaches the customer. Using an effective combination of the place to sell the product can drastically change the result. The companies must evaluate the point of sale and be open to change the method if required.
Packaging: It is the first thing that customer notices about the company. The packaging reflects the values of the company. Packaging includes a lot of factors such as offices, waiting areas, the way employees are groomed, brochures, etc. Small changes in the packaging can reflect drastic changes in the customer’s confidence in dealing with the products and services of the company (Lee et.al, 2014). A new trend of customization is seen in the cosmetics industry for the packaging which has resulted in increasing sales (Jain, 2013). The hospitality industry puts a major focus on the grooming of the employees as it impacts the views of the client about the services. The salesperson of any company must represent the confidence and professionalism in the behavior as it reflects the value of the company.
Positioning: It is the sentiments that the customers have with the product or services offered by the company. It can positive or negative, depending on the services or product attributes. How a customer defines the product reflects the positioning of the product in the market. The positioning strategy of the organization starts with creating an ideal impression of the services and later by improving the services to reach the ideal position. For example, Mercedes Benz is known for its “quality engineering” and the BMW is known for its “ultimate driving machine” (Boonpradub and Thechatakerng, 2015). The positioning is the feature that defines the superiority of the product from the products offered by the competitors.
People: This element of the marketing mix is the most important of all as the human resource is the mind behind all the activities executed to conduct the business. It is people who create, and manages the strategies. It is important to hire and recruit the right people for the right job at the correct timing. Similarly, it is also important to remove the wrong people from the business who can negatively impact the process of growth. After the hiring of the right people, it is important to make them sit and work at the right position with the skills and abilities.
Several industries in the market use the elements of marketing mix differently as explained in the table below (Chan et.al, 2012).
Industry
Product
Price
Promotion
People
Place
Positioning
Packaging.
Transport
It is a service-based industry that offers different modes of transport like buses, trains, taxis, etc.
The pricing strategy of the industry depends on the competitor's pricing, load factors, class of travels, and the distance.
The promotion strategy used by the industry is often the combination of print and electronic media.
The companies in the industry offer various promotion strategies such as festive offers, discounts on multiple rides, etc.
Tours packages are offered at discounted rates.
The key people in the industry are the drivers, booking agencies, marketing, and advertisement
Booking offices and ticket counters are available as offices as well as online facilities.
The companies in the industry focus on positioning the place in the market as fast and safe transporters.
The clean buses, taxis, drivers, and booking facilities reflect the packaging in the industry’s marketing mix.
Telecom industry
Prepaid
Post-paid
Value-added services.
Pricing strategies are highly competitive in the industry due to less product differentiation.
The companies provide rewards on uses, offers, lucky draws, etc.
Companies in the industry use a combination of print and electronic media, companies sponsor various activities such as local or national level events.
Celebrity and non-celebrity endorsements (Homsuwan and Nanthapiwat, 2012).
The key people in the industry are management support, training, distributors, etc. The companies in the industry use various strategies to have efficient staff such as attendance management, health, and fitness coaching, workplace environment, etc.
Distribution points, retailers, online facilities for recharges, customer care points.
Showrooms are also available for the giant players of the industry.
The positioning of the companies in the industry focus on features such as better and reliable connection, cheaper plans. Etc.
The packaging of sim cards, brochures of the plans, online recharge portals, websites, etc. reflects the packaging in the industry.
Fashion and clothing industry.
The companies in the industry deal with the clothing of men, women, and children.
The range of clothing includes skirts, jeans, ethnic, western, jackets, etc.
The price varies from low to high depending on the quality, design, and brand.
The company offers various discounts on festivals, rewards, etc.
The industry uses celebrity endorsements for its promotion.
There are various advertisements channels used such as television, magazines, internet, banners, fashion shows, etc.
The employees in the showrooms as well as distributors are well dressed, groomed, with a good command over the language and soft skills.
The companies sell the products online as well as offline in retail stores or showrooms.
A network of distribution is established in the industry that reaches from the manufacturer to the consumer via retailers and factory outlets.
Comfortable and stylish clothing is the aim of companies to be positioned in the market.
The design of the clothes, the appearance of the employee, showroom infrastructure, magazines, celebrities used for the endorsement, etc reflects the packaging strategy.
Basic Marketing Plan for a new social enterprise
In this part of the report, a basic marketing plan will be presented for a new social enterprise “Proud-to-be” which willprovidethe support and advisory services to the LBGT Community in Swindon. Following is the marketing plan:
Introduction
The marketing plan is an important document creating a path for the marketing activities and strategies for any business. Proud-to-be is a new social enterprise that is looking forward to starting its business in Swindon, United Kingdom in a peaceful and safe environment. The basic elements of the marketing plan for Proud-to-be are given as follows:
Mission
The mission of Proud-to-be is to create provide help and support to the LBGT community and providing them educational, mental health, and self-health related advice.
Vision
The vision of the company is to create an equitable society where the LBGT community is respected and they have enough opportunities for education as well as employment.
Organizational and Marketing Objectives
To provide training and development programs to the LBGT community for future employment and growth (Han, et. al.,2019).
To educate the instances of the discrimination and support the LGBT community mentally
To increase the market reach through opening community centers in a different part of the country
To raise funds with the help of donations and charity every year for such community
Situational Analysis
In order to prepare the marketing plan, it is highly important to understand the internal and external environment for the organization. Following is given the PEST and SWOT analysis for Proud-to-be social enterprise:
PEST Analysis
Political Factors: Under this section, the political situation of the UK iscovered which has the ability to influence the operations of the company. The government is in full support of such social enterprises who are working for such issues and effective policies are also in place.
Economic Factors: The economic position of the United Kingdom is falling down. The people are not willing to spend much money due to lower-income levels hence it can have a negative influence on operations of the company.
Technological factors: The advancement in technology can prove to be very helpful for such social enterprise as it can utilize the digital marketing technique to promote the business for such noble activities (McGowan and Branche, 2020).
Social factors: Generally, there is a scene the discriminatory behavior towards the LBGT community but a gradual change in the mentality of people in the UK is seen which is a positive element for Proud-to-be.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
· The strength is that company is going to be work for a noble cause.
· The will power of the human capital of the company is very high.
· The company will have collaboration from the outsiders also.
Weaknesses
· It will be difficult to recognize the needy people.
· The company will have to struggle to bring awareness.
· The lack of enough funds and resources
· The complexity of operations is also a weakness for the company.
Opportunities
· It will create job opportunities for people.
· Volunteering opportunitiesfor people willing to do social work.
· The support from the government will be a great chance for enterprises to raise funds.
Threats
· The lack of acceptability among people for the LBGT community.
· The fear of people coming forward to help
· Lack of funds and this COVID-19 pandemic is a threat for business
STP Analysis
Segmentation
Targeting
Positioning
Potential customers for Proud-to-be are all people of the LGBT community in the city Swindon. They can be of any age and from any cultural background and gender.
The target market of the company is vulnerable groups, entrepreneurs, government, and funders (Moodley, et. al., 2019).
The services provided by the company to be perceived as the inclusive entrepreneurship and creation of the new opportunities for the LBGT community
Marketing mix strategy
Element
Description
Product
The company will have a comprehensive portfolio that will be focused on advisory and social services for the LGBT community to provide the training for their personal and professional development.
Price
The prices will be measured in terms of the operational costs of the company, trust for donors. There will be a subscription charge only and rest funds will be raised through donations.
People
The management team composed of the people volunteerto provide services and the human capital of the company. Dedicated professionals will be there to provide training (McGowan and Branche, 2020).
Place
The company will be located in Swindon, the UK which can be accessed by the people easily. The enterprise will be located in such a space that satisfied all accessibility standards.
Promotion
The promotion will be done through digital marketing methods and some of the traditional marketing methods will also be utilized such as radio and TV advertisements.
Process
There will be a well-developed website as well as social networks. The database of the customers will be managed confidentially.
Physical Evidence
There will be the existence of office premises as well as the presence of an official informative website along with a helpline number (Moodley, et. al., 2019).
Marketing Budget and controlling
In order to execute the marketing plan, there will be a requirement of funds that will be initially raised from the financial institutions and the grants from the government. After that, the funds will be raised through subscription charges and donations. The budget amount for this marketing plan is £50,000 which will be utilizing in the marketing activities and other expenses.
In order to control thebudget activities, there will be utilized the cost-benefit analysis and the deviations will be eliminated through using the effective measures (Mahmoud, et. al., 2016).
Conclusion
The above-presented marketing plan has been prepared for the social enterprise Proud-to-be which would be providing the support and advisory services for the LBGT community in Swindon. The marketing mix strategies for the company have been discussed after analyzing the internal and external environment of the company. The information about the budget has also been provided in the marketing plan.
The report has discussed the marketing and its roles in different organizations. Marketing plays a role in creating awareness about the product and services of the company. The marketing department is interrelated with other functional departments of a company as reflected in the report. Further, the report has discussed the marketing mix of the companies and how different industries use the elements of the marketing mix, differently.
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