Marks and Spencer - Impact of Marketing Activities on Financial Performance - Research Proposal Example

Impact of Marketing Activities on Financial Performance: A Study on Marks and Spencer (M&S)

Introduction

Marks and Spencer (M&S) is a UK based textile retailer which has over 840 stores that are spread in more than forty countries. M&S was established by Michael Marks, a Belarusian outsider, in 1884. It was initiated as a 'penny bazaar slow down' in Leeds. Marks was a very driven man who was continually searching for new parkways for development. In 1894, Thomas Spencer, a previous clerk worked in conjunction with Marks to open a shop in Manchester. Not long after they dispatched their first shop they moved to gain a bigger shop in Leeds. This empowered M&S to make the move from little market slow down to well off business. In 1903, M&S Ltd was 'enrolled as a firm with a capital of 30,000 shares worth one pound each.' These shares were part between the two authors. Both founders died not long after the turn of the century which prompted William Chapman, the agent of the Spencer domain, taking chairmanship until 1916. Simon Marks, the child of the author Michael Marks took the steerage from 1916 and he stayed in control until 1964. Under the stewardship of Marks the organization procured other of penny bazaars and presented huge numbers of the lines still connected with the organization ("M&S: Strategic Report and Supplementary Information 2015", 2015). By the 1930's, M&S had turned into a retail realm offering materials, and canned nourishments. Amid this period M&S had built up an image of being an especially creative organization who grasped large portions of the new progressions of the time.

Research Aims

The aims of the study are to determine how marketing activities provide benefits in financial terms. The financial position of the company reveals the entire picture (Flammer, 2015) necessary for a firm like M&S to have cause and effect relationship of marketing activities examined (Brown & Whysall, 2013).

Significance of Study

This research is significant in that it will establish the relationship that exists between marketing and financial performance, particularly for M&S Company. Many researchers have suggested that good marketing strategies increase the sales of an organization thus increasing its revenues (Brown & Whysall, 2013). M&S is a clothing company that employs mixed marketing strategies including associating models and celebrities in their brands. M&S Company launched one of the greatest promoting effort in retail with the trademark "Your M&S", typified by surely well-known models and famous people from various ages, for example, Twiggy, Jodie Kidd, Shirley Bassey. This has been colossally fruitful and has the impact of putting the organization solidly back in the hands of people in general, giving them a feeling of possession and a stake in its prosperity. This strategy has worked previously to their advantage. This research will come in handy, therefore, to identify whether marketing activities and strategies affect the financial performance and profitability of the company.

Research Objectives

This research has the following objectives:

• To understand the canvas of marketing activities in the retailing firm.
• To explore the financial performance of M&S over the years.
• To determine the effects of marketing activities on the financial performance.
• To recommend M&S about the future marketing activities engagement

Research Background

The impact of marketing technique item concentrate on different measurements including genuine and expanded item considers on performance global markets, has entirely gotten consideration by various specialists. The study directed by Stewart & Gugel (2016) which utilized composite fare performance measures, concentrated on item plan marketing blend component discovered helpful for performance of organizations seeking after worldwide marketing in that it can serve item adjustment as a method for separation for opponent's items and impact abroad client states of mind (client performance) toward a company's product (Mintz & Currim, 2013). The provision of excellent products to clients has been proposed to increase the quality connected with client performance. Past studies uncover two perceptions in regards to nature of product in accordance with the marketing system that are critical.

Moon, Park, & Jung (2014) suggests that a chance to build sales performance can be accomplished by serving more client sections and marketing, managerial, and other sending out expenses can be spread over various items which is known as item adjustment. Nonetheless, the fare item marketing blend for organizations is normally of a smaller reach than that offered locally, due to monetary limitations and operational troubles connected with worldwide marketing exercises. Product development as far as the extent to which the company's genuine and enlarged item components are adjusted for universal markets can oblige contrasts of new natural strengths, diverse customer conduct, use reason designs, and aggressive circumstances of such worldwide markets ("Marks & Spencer : marketing and advertising profile at Adbrands.net", 2016). Be that as it may, three advantages can be gotten from item adaption methodology. To start with, it essentially mirrors a client situated stance in light of the fact that the firm captivating in worldwide marketing efficiently assesses the consumer’s conduct and host market qualities that enhance the company's aggregate performance. Product differentiation methodology can improve the company’s performance, for example, productivity, as a quality product–market match can bring about more prominent consumer loyalty subsequently enhancing client performance that is one of the result in our examination model, which therefore takes into consideration more noteworthy valuing opportunity for the firm (Goh, Elliott, & Quon, 2012). Pressures connected with meeting an awesome level of particular business sector necessities on universal level frequently request inventive and imaginative marketing system, which may realize extra products for a company's local and worldwide markets. Consequently, item adjustment was observed to be altogether connected with predominant firm performance, particularly very connected with sales performance.

A company's product offering and technique constitute to its help to the commercial center. Subsequently, item methodology is the way M&S contends in the business sector and enhances its aggregate performance. According to Toms & Zhang (2016), marketing is the absolute most critical segment of marketing technique item and is viewed as a diagram for marketing assets distribution toward understanding the targets of the firm, which is sales, monetary and client performance. To maintain predictable performance, firms routinely alter their marketing techniques to fit in with changes in the fare markets with the point of persevering responsiveness to their target market. Product development is a reasonable procedure toward business sector responsiveness as it offers the improvement of new items that address the issues of an evolving market (Baek, 2014).The relationship between marketing and financial performance has been all around recorded in earlier research and has been a theme of significant examination for researchers. It is turning out to be progressively obvious from the writing that marketers need to consider client level data when they produce a marketing system for the firm. In this research, I will establish a client centered system that uses a marketing procedure with a general target of financial performance.

Recent studies on marketing systems have called for exploration that product development and dispersion standardization to the general performance of the firm, all the more particularly, the association's business, client, and financial performance. This research operationalizes the directing impacts of item homogeneity, focused power, and phases of the product cycle and inspects its association with firm performance. It is the primary observational exploration to operationalize the aforementioned variables with the directing variables and the association with extensive performance. (Giannakis & Harker, 2014). A few recommendations for future examination are offered to investigate and tackle this recently accessible confirmation. As indicated by the asset based perspective of the firm, item, estimating, development, and dispersion standardization ought to specifically impact firms' abilities (the company's business, client and monetary performance). These general discoveries, in light of earlier learning and past exploration led by different creators, demonstrate that every one of the variables incorporated into our study would affect the general performance of an organization. Doubtlessly there may be different elements too that could likewise essentially add to the individual performance variables. Future studies ought to in this manner exactly test our examination show or expand the exploration model by presenting new variables.

An organization's branding and marketing procedures are vital instruments in molding the impression of it in the marketplace. M&S has never fit in with the standards and really made ideals out of not publicizing. Rather, M&S depended until the 90's on informal exchange to advance the organization's brand and image (Flammer, 2015). This methodology is exceptionally savvy and eminent for being to a great degree capable in impacting client conduct. M&S's choice not to go into standard promoting has fortified its image of being an "easily recognized name" so popular, that like Rolls Royce it didn't have to publicize subsequent to the nature of its goods and services were undisputed (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). The St Michael's brand was additionally effective with its intentions of religion which infers values, for example, genuineness, loyalty, and commitment.

Marketing is the place individuals are permitted to do what they feel adjust, this is normally connected with medium status (e.g. Overseeing executive - Marketing Director) most likely in light of the fact that they are specialists in their field so they recognize what they are doing (Flammer, 2015). The most compelling studies on standardization contend that world markets have been orchestrated and the clients from far off parts of the world progressively request and incline toward comparative items through minimal effort situating, low costs and fantastic offerings. In the point of view of standardization, for the firm seeking after a worldwide marketing methodology, marketing procedures and projects have been institutionalized crosswise over various national visitors with respect to the item offering, limited time blend, evaluating system and dispersion structures. In any case, with respect to studies that supports the idea of adjustment in seeking after the worldwide marketing methodology toward propelling firm performance requires the separated methodology of marketing procedure.

The aggregate standardization viewpoint of marketing procedure sees economic situations crosswise over national outskirts progressively comparable, favoring the standardization of marketing exercises as the critical way to deal with accomplishing firm performance. Some studies that bolster standardization have demonstrated that the quest for institutionalized marketing exercises independent from anyone else has a positive effect on performance. According to Yu, Ramanathan, & Nath (2014), standardization encourages firms to adventure prevalent items and circulation directs in different markets to have more noteworthy performance over abroad markets, and to hold a steady notoriety locally and abroad. The quest for standardization in firms is inferable from the advantages expressed above, in light of the fact that the system of institutionalizing marketing programs globally is a lucrative choice that organizations can seek after to enhance performance.

As an aftereffect of these advantages, the procedure of institutionalizing global marketing projects is an appealing alternative for some organizations. Furthermore, marketing technique sought after in global markets affects the company's level and type of interest in those specific worldwide markets which fundamentally influence the association's ability to utilize standardization viably toward the firm performance. The bigger the quantity of target markets by a firm, the all the more effortlessly and effective standardization methodology can be connected to each of the nations gets to be in contrast with adjustment methodology of marketing technique (Domazet, Hanic, & Simeunovic, 2013). Thus, firms with a high level of worldwide business sector investment technique have a high likelihood to succeed in marketing their item offerings while receiving an institutionalized methodology. Firms with the worldwide marketing methodology can influence their standardization way to deal with a much more noteworthy degree than contenders with few focuses in remote markets. The greater part of experimental examination has inspected standardization regarding singular marketing blend components (e.g., publicizing content, brand name, dissemination channel, and estimating), with promoting accepting the best scope.

It is important for M&S to have the capacity of steady and arranged exercises to meet and surpass client inclinations and quality that can be viewed as client performance. This client performance is accomplished by the firm paying little mind to the methodology of marketing sought after importance either undertaking standardization or adjustment. In any case, a few researchers contend that a firm that seek after item adjustment technique in a worldwide market essentially prompts sales development performance. An observational study led by Ziliani & Ieva (2015) accepted that item adjustment is connected to sales development as well as money related performance of organizations, for example, degree of profitability. Zou & Fu (2011) further include that item adjustment as a worldwide marketing methodology emphatically influences the general business performance. All together for an organization to safely adjust to changing global markets, the marketing procedure ought to think about the inward and outer business environment that influences an organization decidedly to delight in more noteworthy performance.

Methodology

The study will be quantitative in nature and questionnaire will be evolved among the organization. Moreover quantitative analysis of company's financial status would be determined too. The correlation and regression tests will be run.

Research Design

The research study would be exploratory since exploration of the respective subject matter will be done. The analysis through quantitative analysis is the name of the game (Goh, et al., 2012).

Research Philosophy

This study will be purely based on Positivist research philosophy. The application of interpretivism and realism is not applicable. Moreover, deductive approach will be used in which objective reasoning will be done.

Research Ethics

The confidentiality aspect of this study is the most important thing and no data of individual profiles will be shared. Moreover, ethics and morality bar will not be compromised at all.