Target Markets of Marks & Spencer - Term Paper Example

Table of Contents Introduction Introduction Organization's Target Markets Analysis of Services Current Marketing Mix Recommendations to the firm SWOT Analysis Introduction: This report is essentially in place to determine the marketing practices of Marks & Spencer; evaluate their business practices and analyze on any areas for room for improvement. Organization's Target Markets: In line with the structure we have demarcated for this report, we will first identify the target markets of the organization. Marks & Spencer, despite being a top end multi-purpose department store which specializes in furniture, clothing and home wares is not merely restricted to the elite of the area where it is situated in. Offering a wide range of products, the main focus of Mark $ Spencer is on quality which is why their products are offered to the market at a premium. However, by offering attractive trade discounts to their customers at various junctures of the year, Marks & Spencer has been able to create a unique market for itself whereby it has been able to cater to those who are willing to purchase quality at a premium as well as those who are unable to purchase their products at the said prices but become part of the consumer base in the circumstances whereby these prices are slashed in line with a trade discount based on quantity purchased etc. Another major target market for Marks & Spencer includes people who are traveling or vacationing in the area of their outlet. The brand name of Mark & Spencer is synonymous with upscale and high quality products which are extremely desirous to everyone who goes to a Marks & Spencer outlet; especially to foreigners who are traveling into the country. Therefore, these people formulate a significant section of the market which constitutes the consumers of Mark & Spencer's products. Analysis of Services: Here, we will look at the services that are provided by Marks & Spencer for their brands. The key concept behind the services that are provided by Marks & Spencer is eliminating the crippling feeling of disparity that arises in the minds of the consumers with regards to the retailers and the customers. The shop keepers at Marks & Spencer portray themselves as being one from the legions of customers that formulate their target market, therefore, it becomes considerably easy for customers to associate with the shop keepers which allows for trust to be established between the customers and retailers. In addition, the ambience and general structure of Marks & Spencer outlets is created in such a way in order to create a homely environment for the customers. With soft colours, open space displays and effervescent shop keepers, Marks & Spencer fits the bill of a homely departmental store like a glove due to which their customers are highly energized by the ambience; which is considered to be one of the major reasons why Marks & Spencer enjoys a very loyal clientele and also are able to generate new customers from their existing consumer base due to word of mouth marketing. With these key ingredients as well as value addition services like overseas delivery etc, we can clearly establish that the services employed by Marks & Spencer for their brands formulate the best mix of marketing and customer closeness with regards to the product range that is offered by them; and it certainly has to be considered the most best practice towards services that are provided by firms of this genre. We will now look at the 7 P's of marketing mix in relation with the brands that are offered by Marks & Spencer. The first P that we will look at is Product. Now the product that is offered by Marks & Spencer is of the highest quality and rivals any of the products that are offered by any of its competitor in this regard. The product range itself is quite diverse but not so diverse that Marks & Spencer starts being termed as a clearance department store. In addition, all the products that are offered by Marks & Spencer are of the highest quality due to which they enjoy a loyal clientele which sees very little turnover; rather is compounded by the existing clientele due to word of mouth marketing. We will not look at the second P i.e. Price. Now, the prices that are charged by Marks & Spencer are above those that are quoted by some of its competitors and that is largely due to the fact that they offer products of the highest quality as we have discussed earlier due to which their products are charged at a premium above the prices quoted by their competitors. In addition, the trade discounts that are offered by Marks & Spencer also contribute immensely towards establishing a consumer base which they previously would not have been able to cater to due to the prices that they regularly charge, therefore, by slightly tweaking their pricing strategy, they are able to cater to a new section of the consumers which they previously were unable to cater to. We now move onto the third P i.e. Promotion. This basically involves the marketing side of the organization. Now Marks & Spencer does not directly involve itself with top of the line marketing and advertising as signified by their activities over the recent past. Their greatest mechanism of marketing is below the line which includes flyers, posters and printed material that is directly relayed to the consumer base. In addition, word of mouth marketing also plays an important role in establishing the clientele that they already have as well as create new customers for the products. This being said, Marks & Spencer does not shirk away from above the line marketing activities, however, these activities do not feature greatly in the marketing plans of Marks & Spencer. Place is the fourth P that we will look at in our understanding of the marketing mix of the product. Now, Marks & Spencer outlets are placed strategically in most parts of London, therefore, they come in close proximity to almost all the consumers that Marks & Spencer has with regards to its diverse product base. Also, these outlets are placed in strategic locations in order to provide easy access to customers as well as provide easy identification to new customers especially travelers who are visiting the city and are not especially familiar with the surroundings. Also, placement of products of products inside the outlets also takes an important standing in Marks & Spencer outlets: open space displays add value to the entire product that is placed for sale which increases its worthiness in the eyes of the consumers. Packaging comes next in the marketing mix. Now, due to the fact that a major portion of the products that are sold by the Marks & Spencer do not require extensive packaging, one might consider packaging to be one of lesser items of the marketing mix. Yet, Marks & Spencer has been able to turn this trait into a major value addition for its products. By placing products in such a way that allows the customers to see the customer in full form allows them to more informed decision with regards to these products. This fastens the process of purchase for these consumers and hence increases the clientele of Marks & Spencer. Positioning is the sixth P we will look at in the marketing mix. Now positioning is basically defined as the position the product of a certain brand holds in the eyes of the clientele. Due to its emphasis on quality, extremely co-operative task force and helpful ambience, Marks & Spencer has been able to create a niche for itself in the eyes and minds of the consumers due to which its sees very little turnover in consumers. The final P in the marketing mix is people i.e. the people inside and outside the organization. Due to its sustained surge towards success and quality maintenance, we can certainly see that Marks & Spencer is being run a group of extremely adept managers and entrepreneurs who are conducting business in line with the vision of the company. In addition, the people outside the organization i.e. its suppliers and those that Marks & Spencer supplies to are all geared towards the creation and procurement of quality products, therefore, the entire process becomes deeply entrenched with the attainment of quality products which helps in establishing the brand of Marks & Spencer. Recommendations to the firm: Moving on, the major recommendation that can be given to Marks & Spencer is that they need to continue diversifying their product base without it affecting the quality of any of their products; as the needs of the consumers are consistently increasing. Therefore, it is extremely essential for Marks & Spencer to cater to these growing needs in order to prevent customer turnover. SWOT Analysis: We also include a SWOT analysis to finish our report. Read More