The Importance of Marketing Communication - Essay Example

Marketing Communication Table of Contents Introduction 3 Sainsbury's Plc 4 Marketing Communication Mix 5 Marketing Communication at Sainsbury's 6 Effectiveness 9 Recommendations 12 Conclusions 13 References 14 Bibliographies 16 Introduction In the competitive business scenario of today, the only word constant is believed to be 'change'. There has been continuous revision by the top companies of almost all segments through out the world regarding their business strategies and their implementations. The major changes that the companies are facing are the results of technological advancements and communication channels. In simple words, technology has redefined communication. Communication can be referred as the act of imparting or exchanging consequential information, opinions or beliefs by way of speech, writing or signs. The process of any effective communication has six constituents i.e. the context, the sender, the message, the medium, the receiver and the feedback. The intention of communication is achieved only when the receiver successfully decodes the message in its truest sense and provides feedback to the sender. The American Marketing Association defines marketing as "an organisational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organisation and its stakeholders" (American Marketing Association, n.d.). Communication is the most critical aspect of a thriving marketing plan. The stake-holders are to be properly communicated in terms of organisational objectives, strategies and policies. The end-users i.e. the customers or the business partners (the stakeholders) should have fair knowledge about the product line, the availability of the products, the price and the promotional measures. All of these can be achieved only with proper communication as and when required. Even with all other things in place, without effective communication, the organisation can never expect to reach its desired goal. Sainsbury's Plc The supermarket giant of United Kingdom, Sainsbury's Plc was established in 1869. The most reputed standing major in the sector of super market chain, over the period of time Sainsbury's Plc has been regarded as heritage provider of safe, healthy, tasty and fresh food. The company also has the credit of constant improvement to provide the foods according to the requirements of the customers and maintains special attention towards the freshness of the food. The company serves more than 18 million customers per week and the market share of the company is around 16%. The company claims that their large stores offer a whole range of variety products of at least 30,000 types and also cater to the markets of non-food products and services from many of the stores. The company has five core principles namely The best for food and health Sourcing with integrity Respect for our environment Making a positive difference to our community A great place to work. ( J Sainsbury Plc, n.d.). Marketing Communication Mix The marketing communication can be expected to be successful only with proper mix of the various components of it. The different features are as follows: Advertising - Advertisement id the most sought technique of marketing communication. The advertisements are general in nature and are used to reach the geographically scattered customers. It contributes towards the long term relationship of the company with the client. Public Relations - Public relations is more of a formal channel of marketing communication. It includes formal press releases, advertorials, organisation of parties in favour of the products. It also ranges to sponsorships. Sales Promotion - Sales promotion is another constituent of the marketing communication mix. The techniques involved in sales promotion include discounts, coupons, premium offers, interesting contests, etc primarily with the objective of drawing quick buyer response. Direct Marketing - The modes of marketing that are intended to effect the customer directly are with in the purview of direct marketing. The steps include direct mail, telemarketing and online marketing, etc. The advantage of direct marketing is that it knocks the prospective customer at the personal level and is often customised and interactive. Personal Selling - Personal selling generally involves one - to - one selling techniques by the sales persons. Personal selling often depends upon the personal relationships, social networks and the ability to convince of the seller. (Thomas Edison State College, n.d.) Marketing Communication at Sainsbury's The once leader in the market of supermarket, Sainsbury's Plc has been facing tough times in the last few years. The company has been losing market share under the fiercest competitions from the companies like Tesco and Asda. Therefore the company has to provide more emphasis on the marketing of its product ranges and also on communication measures to make the interested parties aware about those techniques so that the sales and the revenue shows an upward shift. To get back the lost market share, the company has designed a recovery plan to create universal appeal among customers. The plan was named 'Making Sainsbury's Great Again' (MGSA). The idea was to create the feeling among the lost customers of the retail outlet a sense of belongingness so that they are back with the brand. The company segmented their market on the basis of prices. The entry point of price for the products of the company was named 'basic' range implying the lowest strata of the available pricing. To attract more customers the company extended the pricing segment. Sainsbury's also thought of going back to basics. The company took measures to develop upon its core competencies by relaunching the products for which Sainsbury's is hugely popular. To relaunch and reposition the once famous products, Sainsbury's developed different marketing campaigns. 'Feed your Family for a Fiver' has been such successful campaign. To have successful marketing techniques, the third largest retail chain of United Kingdom increased promotional activity and also implemented various other measures. The marketing campaigns of Sainsbury's today depend upon three basic themes namely: Shop and Save - The campaign of 'Shop and Save' has been devised by the supermarket major to provide the customers with various ranges of promotional measures and the competitive pricing of the available products. Switch and Save - Being a supermarket chain, apart from keeping its own branded products, the outlet also comprises of various other types of products from the competing brands also. This marketing campaign of 'Switch and Save' is meant to highlight the usefulness, quality and value of the products that are highlighted by Sainsbury's itself against those of the other leading equivalent brands. Cook and Save - This is another campaign of marketing that has widely been used by Sainsbury's of late. The campaign aims to help the customers by allowing them to stretch their household budgets with the help of certain initiatives like 'Love your Leftovers' or Feed your Family for a Fiver'. Aim of all these promotional schemes has been to increase sales of the products of Sainsbury's and earn increased revenue and thereby enhance market share. Sainsbury's has also actively used promotional measures for kids. The company hoped to gain or rather to attract the conscious parents and guardians of children concentrating upon the rising problem of child obesity. For the purpose, the company has launched 'Active Kids'. Under this scheme, the super market giant vows to gift equipments for sporting activities and also materials of coaching to the students of primary and secondary schools against the vouchers and coupons collected by their parents. The thrust of this campaign has also been to promote Sainsbury's as a socially responsible retailer. The company is also taking initiatives in the field of relationship marketing. The aim of such marketing techniques has been to build long term relationship with the customers. The group devised nectar reward card. The objective of such card is to gather information regarding the purchasing behavior of the customers of the group. With the information, the group plans to tailor what the company offers with respect to the goods and services to the appropriate segment of the market (Business Essay.n.d.). The company also uses celebrity endorsements for the purpose of advertisements of its products. The company banks upon Jamie Oliver to feature in its television advertisements. The company has very high regards upon the association of Jamie Oliver with the brand. As Sainsbury's representative stated, "He takes the mystery out of cooking, fires people up with enthusiasm and confidence in the kitchen and appeals to everyone regardless of age or ability. He really is the ideal partner for Sainsbury's" (Finch, 2005). Of late, the company is also laying utmost importance upon the online channels of marketing. It has come up with online dedicated website for online shopping where the customers can order the products they intend to purchase. The company would reach the product to the customers. In case the customers change his mind, he can also cancel the order. The company also plans to compliment its in-store non food offer with online non-food offer services. This measure would help the customers to get benefitted from Sainsbury's own-brand non food items in addition to other branded non food items. The other significant strategy of the Sainsbury's has been the convenience stores. The supermarket giant perceived that the potential of expansion in the market can only be achieved with the location of their stores at the convenient and strategic locations. The company plans to open more than 165 convenience stores by 2011 and then on ongoing basis so that they can attract more customers. The company also aims to increase supermarket space by massive extent. The company expects to grow super market space by gross 5% in 2009-10 which includes acquisition of 24 stores from Co-operative group. Effectiveness The various marketing communication plan taken by Sainsbury's has been performing well. At present the company is positioned as the third largest super market chain after Tesco and Asda. The company with 823 stores around the country has booked profit of ' 488 millions, 28% above the profit that was booked the year before. The financial figures also reveal that the company has consecutive fifteen quarters of sales growth. These figures suggest that the steps taken by the company has been effective. Considering more figures, it is found that the brand of Sainsbury's has improved substantially over the last four years. In Fact, Sainsbury's has been the most trusted 'own brand' among the competing chains of supermarket. Out of all the shoppers who purchase their need from this supermarket, almost one - half (47%) trusts the products of Sainsbury's over any other. The other competitors of Sainsbury's like Tesco, Asda and Morrison's are far behind. Tesco has a brand loyalty of 27%, it is 17% for Asda and just 15% for Morrison's. The other promotional measure adapted by the company, featuring Jamie Oliver was also very successful. The advertisement offered meals for the entire family for less than ' 5. It was such an initiative that no other supermarket had done earlier. The survey also showed that more than 30% of the items that the shoppers were purchasing were among those that were highly promoted against the statistics of 22% of such products being purchased even a year ago (Research Papers, n.d.). To have easier reach to the target market of the Sainsbury's, the company additional channels of marketing. The online channel has been hugely successful. The sales increased by more than 25% year - on - year basis, thanks to the customer retention as well as ability to attract newer customers. The effectiveness of the increasing convenience stores and growing space of supermarkets is expected to reap benefits over a long period of time. The company believes 500,000 more customers will have a Sainsbury's store with in a ten minutes drive from their home. Recommendations The marketing communication channels that are used by the supermarket giant to attract more customers seems to do quite well as the company is performing well in last few years. Yet, there is lot of scope for the company to develop. Being 140 years old company, presently Sainsbury's is the third largest super market chain in United Kingdom. The company should strive to be the market leader in near future and for the purpose the company should lay much emphasis upon the marketing of their products and effective communication of those marketing initiatives. Advertisements with Jamie Oliver have been successful for Sainsbury's. The company should try to rope in some of the other relevant celebrities for the purpose, which can attract the target group of customers. The other measure that company can take to have effective marketing is extensive use of online initiatives to attract the customers. The company already has a dedicated website for the purpose. But in order to reach the desired goal in addition to that, Sainsbury's should initiate measures of marketing the website. Search engine optimisation can be useful technique. The company is providing due importance upon the freshness of their products and is also aligned with the governmental initiatives of promoting vegetable purpose. To have effective bearing on the target group of customers, the super market major should get involve in to few of the corporate social responsibility measures. This would help in creating human face for the company. The group can sponsor some of the government events related with the segments that the group deals with. It would help to create mass appeal for the company. The company can also think of attracting more of the women customers as they are often the decision makers in terms of selecting and purchasing of the grocery needs. The company should provide emphasis on the training and development of the employees with due weightage on the communication. The customers upon their visit at the store if are not satisfied by the behaviour of the employees, it will be tough to retain them. So, the employees being face of the company should be well conversant with the marketing communication techniques. Conclusions The importance of marketing is always felt in an organisation. However, developed be the product or service, if that is not marketed to the world in the effective and the efficient way, it is almost not possible to achieve the desired objective of earning higher revenue or getting hold of the market share. Equally important in the fast pace environment of today is the proper communication of those marketing initiatives. Sainsbury's, being a seasoned custodian in the field knows the tricks of the trade very well. The 140 year old company has been initiating measures like online marketing, conveyance location or greater shop place to attract more customers. The group feels having a shop outlet with in ten minute's drive would act wonders for them. The company has been using the celebrity endorsements effectively. It is also initiating some of the social responsible measures like 'Active Kids'. The future prospect of the company seems to be bright with the proper marketing communication techniques in place and is all set to compete with Tesco and Asda for market share. References American Marketing Association, No Date. Marketing Strategy. Sheffield Health and Social Care. [Online] Available at: www.sct.nhs.uk/files/OTB9ii-17Sept08MarketingStrategy-P(PS).doc [Accessed 20 July 09]. Business Essay, No Date. Integrated Marketing Communications Campaign on behalf of Sainsbury's. Analysis. [Online] Available at: http://www.modelanswer.co.uk/business/essays/communications-Sainsbury's-retailer.php [Accessed 20 July 09]. Finch, J., 2005. Sainsbury's has high hopes for schools promotion. Gurdian. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2005/feb/12/schools.schoolmeals [Accessed 20 July 09]. J Sainsbury Plc, No Date. Company Overview. Corporate Website. [Online] Available at: http://www.jSainsbury'ss.co.uk/index.asp'pageid=202 [Accessed 20 July 09]. Research Papers, No Date. Sainsbury'S Marketing Communications Plan 2008-209. OPPapers. [Online] Available at: http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Sainsburys-Marketing-Communications-Plan-2008-209/178779 [Accessed 20 July 09]. Thomas Edison State College, No Date. Communication Mix Components. Marketing Communications. [Pdf] Available at: http://www.tesc.edu/tecep_desc/MAR-321.pdf [Accessed 20 July 09]. Bibliographies J Sainsbury Plc, 2009. Annual Report and Financial Statements 2009. London: Sainsbury J. Sainsbury Plc, 2009. 140 Years Making of a Difference - Corporate Social Responsibility Report. London: Sainsbury Read More