Sustainability-led Marketing of Marks and Spencers - Case Study Example

Sustainable-led-marketing Introduction Sustainable marketing refers to the promotion of products and services that are safe to theenvironment at all levels. It seeks to capitalize on the increased value consumers have placed on eco-friendly products. The Laundry-producing company can produce an item that does not require more packaging, and that does not use chemicals instead, it uses natural material (Blois, 2013, pp. 79-95). For a company to invest in sustainable marketing, it has to be very sure its customers will like and embrace the change. This is because this strategy is very expensive and can cost a company so dearly if its customers do not like the product. Sustainable marketing involves the following elements: creating a healthy relationship with the customers, other businesses, staff and the community; adopting marketing activities that generate continuing growth and minimising the use of resources in the day-to-day business activities (Bevan, 2011. pp.325-334). Marks and Spencer’s is a big British retailer majorly in food and general merchandise industry. The company was started about 129 years ago when they started as a single stall seller. The company is now an international multi-channel retailer with about 80,000 employees. They operate about 800 fully stocked stores in the United Kingdom and a fast growing e-commerce business; it is for a fact the biggest retailer in the UK (Kippenberger, 2007, pp.32-36). During the last decade, sales of Fair-trade products in the United Kingdom rose in significant numbers due to the customers’ new urge to know where the products and materials are sourced from. The rise of Fair-trade products also indicated that customers need to be involved with the corporate industry. Marks and Spencer experienced low sales due to this change in consumer tastes because it branded its own products by itself. It needed to act fast in order to save itself from being faced out of the market. To this effect, Marks and Spencer’s initiated a series of campaigns to turn the situation around. All the campaigns were based on social and environment to suit the market demands. In order to remain relevant throughout, despite competition, Marks and Spencers have developed marketing strategies that are help it to survive through various marketing environmental factors (Stanley, 2011, pp.329-333). These policies have played to its advantage in facilitating the almost evergreen command of the market. The unfavourable factors influence the business operations either directly or indirectly hence they need to be dealt with in a well-organized way such as: Varying customer preferences with respect to fashion, income, and substitution effect; Economic conditions and state of the parent countries in which they run their branches in. Additionally, through; Putting forward a strong market fight with both local and international businesses that produce similar items and brands and Seeking to balance the prices with the day to day varying the cost of production of raw material prices, maintenance and employees pays (Tresidder, 2010, pp.472-485). Marks and Spencer’s market All organizations are only competitive because they have specified their target markets. Marks and Spencer’s has targets the middle and the high class of elites in the UK and in the developed world where they selectively have opened up their branches. Marks and Spencer’s marketing mix is one of its strengths because it produce high-quality clothing products. The addition of Autograph, Plus collection, Limited group Per Una Petite and food products has strengthened quality. Despite the founding philosophy of M&S being quality, in the 1990s, it lost focus on this tradition and almost lost its customers because it failed to innovate in the face of the new competition. However, quality was re-established in later years more specifically in its high-quality foods (Worth, 2007, pp. 63-76). Look Behind the Label Campaign Marks and Spencer’s played the spectator while the other big retailers experienced a fifty percent increase in sales of Fair-trade in the UK in 2005 (Briggs, 2009, pp. 47-51). Marks and Spencer’s realized that shoppers became more and more curious of the origin of the cloths they bought. The campaign’s objective was customers how they acquired their products, explaining all its products e.g. toxic-free clothes dyes, sustainable seafood, the welfare of animals, ready food salt reduction and fair-trade products (Bevan, 2011, pp. 102-114). By employing “Look Behind the Label campaign, they beat their rivals as it was the fast of its kind. Customers fell for this strategy as it was the first to illuminate the supply chain of products hence re-establishing customer trust (Tse, 2005, 209-214). . Marks and Spencer’s did not stop there as the Look Behind the Label campaign only seemed to have been developed to save itself (Beaver, 2009, pp. 325-334). Marks and Spencer’s launched a new environmental and ethical plan in 2007, which was named as Plan A. Today, Marks and Spencer are dedicating their entire marketing efforts in ‘Plan A’ (Grundy, 2008, pp.195-208). In Plan A, they incorporate activities such as reduction of waste, encouraging and doing more recycling, assisting communities, production of sustainable clothing and household products. It also deals with food that is healthy, sustainable, and opening up more avenues for meeting customers like shops, online marketing and suppliers (Tse, 2005, 209-214). The 4-Ps of Market Mix 1. Product: Marks and Spencers is determined, in its Plan A goals, to produce goods that are durable and friendly to the environment. Consumers are shifting their preferences to products that are environmentally friendly, products that are inherently safer materials, those that have reduced air and water pollution and use less energy. Marks and Spencer have merited reducing chemical products and embracing natural materials for its products. They have also ventured in reducing plastic packaging of their products, and now most of their packaging is done with recyclable and renewable packages that reduce adverse impact on the ecosystem. Marks and Spencer’s garments are of their quality and reliability. In the food section, Marks and Spencer’s have extended their market base to international; they now have regional Chinese and Indian food and cooking methods (Bevan, 2011, pp. 102-114). 2. Price: A business can either increase or decrease a product price in relation to its competitors. Marks and Spencer have served the middle and top class of customers. The high prices of products have the perceived high-quality psychology in customers of strong financial capabilities. It charges medium to high prices for most of it garment products and most of its other products have premium rates in which only target specific upper class of consumers. Marks and Spencer’s have priced their products above average due to the perception of “expensive is quality”. Arguably, this is due to the company’s aim of positioning itself along the same line as its primary competitors as John Lewis, Debenhams and Bhs. However, statistics indicates that Marks and Spencer’s prices for clothing products are lower than those of its competitors (Tse, 2005, 209-214). 3. Place (Distribution) Marks and Spencers have significantly achieved large success in this strategy. For instance, by opening up so many retail stores throughout the UK, which are about 800 retail stores and several others throughout the globe. These outlets have greatly facilitated the business’s easy reach to the customers available in towns and cities of UK and the rest of the world. In addition, Marks and Spencers have now ventured the online marketing platform from where they sell products on the internet through online portals and its website (Grundy, 2008, pp. 87-96). 4. Promotion (Communication). Among all the retailers in the UK, Marks and Spencer are the highest spenders when it comes to advertisements and product promotion. Today consumers have become very discriminative when it comes to product choice due to their ever-growing knowledge and style consciousness. Customers only choose a product after doing a thorough market research and exhausting all possible alternatives (Briggs, 2009, pp. 47-51). Therefore, it goes without saying that retailers have to expend a significant amount of their marketing skills and effort to appease the customers. Marks and Spencer’s allocates a large share of its budget to promotional endeavours otherwise, its image of the brand will gradually die out with the increasing inflow of competitors. Marks and Spencer’s has exploited all promotional platforms e.g. international televisions, major and minor newspapers and fashion magazines, the internet portals and website, Marks and Spencer’s broachers, etc. Marks and Spencer have also exploited another unique promotion avenue that involves the use of celebrity endorsements, which, apart from enhancing product development, helps to improve the company image. Extended marketing mix Due to the ever-changing market logistics, there needs to be a program to look for new strategies to enable a business to remain afloat in its market. The extended marketing mix helps the business to accommodate particular marketing aspects. Marks and Spencer’s have gone through the market dynamics and incorporated within its strategies others that help it to do business as follows: Physical evidence; this is, particular, important in providing services that are intangible. Websites are particularly very instrumental in this aspect. Marks and Spencer’s is a leading retail destination has launched its website together with brochures; packaging style with the business logo for easy identification to customers and employees uniform pattern. Physical evidence creates a public image and brand for itself. It is an identity that will sell it to its market all around the globe by separating itself from the rest of similar businesses. Process; in order to remain as the primary market controller in the retail industry, Marks and Spencer’s have over and over introduced new programs into its activities as dictated by the dynamics of the market. The new programs facilitate stock visibility improvement and management, process efficiency increase that, in the long run, enhances the consumer experience and greater control drive. People; do I need to say the significance of people in any business service or experience. Marks and Spencer are inclusive in approach; it has offered jobs and opportunities to many people including career advice and quality training. They have introduced career paths that have not been there before for store section managers and marketing teams. They also provide on-the-job training popularly known as corporate training within their businesses to train their employees on the current trends in the industry so as to remain relevant especially in the technology field (Beaver, 2009, pp. 325-334). Conclusion Marks and Spencer’s has merited in the sustainability marketing in so many ways as explained above. One particular strategy that is driving this company towards this end is its ‘Plan A’ objectives. By rejuvenation of Marks and Spencer’s sales after an almost collapse position, indicates how good their campaign was. Doing continuous market survey and listening to the customers helped Marks and Spencer’s to understand their market and therefore acted appropriately. Marks and Spencer’s also noted that it is a weakness to employ the same strategies for a long time. Continuous innovation and invention of new marketing strategies is the solution to good sales. References Beaver, G. (2009). Competitive advantage and corporate governance shop soiled and needing attention! The case of Marks & Spencer plc. Strat. Change, 8(6), pp.325-334. Bevan, J. (2011). The rise and fall of Marks & Spencer. London: Profile Books. Blois, K. (2013). B2B `Relationships - A Social Construction of Reality?: A Study of Marks and Spencer and One of its Major Suppliers. Marketing Theory, 3(1), pp.79-95. Briggs, A. (2009). Marks & Spencer 1884-1984. London: Octopus Books. Grundy, T. (2008). Business strategy re-engineering and the bid battle for Marks and Spencer. Strat. Change, 14(4), pp.195-208. Kippenberger, T. (2007). Marks & Spencer: a revolutionary in retailing. The Antidote, 2(6), pp.32-36. Stanley, J. (2011). Marketing communications: How Marks and Spencer does it. European Management Journal, 9(3), pp.329-333. Tresidder, R. (2010). Reading food marketing: the semiotics of Marks & Spencer!?. Int J of Soc & Social Policy, 30(9/10), pp.472-485. Tse, K. (2005). Marks & Spencer. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Pergamon Press. Worth, R. (2007). Fashion for the people. New York: Berg. Read More