Paper Example on Marks and Spencers Marketing Strategy

Current organization marketing strategy

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Every organization develops a marketing strategy which establishes the approach through which an organization will use to lure its customers. Marks and Spencer has been able to achieve good market reputation and experiences a high number of referral customers. Marks and Spencer has emphasized the importance of technology and information management in this golden age of telecommunications inventions and innovation (Bonetti and Perry, 2017).

Digital marketing strategy

In this digital era, digital marketing is a primary approach through which Marks and Spencer is using to reach out to more of its product consumers. A lot of product content is passed on to the consumer through the media. The entry of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook has revolutionized marketing of healthcare products. With many consumers and potential customers using social media Marks and Spencer use digital media as a primary instrument for marketing their products. Marks and Spencer campaigns and information is channeled to the consumers through social media. The emergence of new discoveries and also the creation of awareness of new fashion products by Marks and Spencer is passed along using social media. At different instances in the past Marks and Spencer has used social media to carry out their new products awareness. The organization also makes custom videos that they share through Facebook and YouTube. In particular, the organization uses the most common celebrities who increases the chances of the video going viral. The more a video goes viral in social media, the higher the number of people that can be reached. The above incidences alone shows how dedicated Marks and Spencer is towards using digital marketing strategy and also shows that the strategy has been able to pay off (Montecchi and Nobbs 2017).

Digital marketing strategy is important for Marks and Spencer because of its ability to reach more consumers in this digital era. Consumer experiences today starts in social media where consumers can meet people who have used particular products before. Consumers also seek product information through social media and other digital platforms hence the importance of adaptation of digital marketing strategy. Providing digital product information that can help Marks and Spencer consumers to make fashion decisions has increased the number of Marks and Spencer customers.

The digital ecosystem is an imperative approach and avenue that help modern Marks and Spencer consumers to consume fashionable and new products. Social media enables consumers to connect with Marks and Spencer retail organizations at the point of their need. Seamless integration of digital social media tools with Marks and Spencer product information allows the organization to access information regarding their consumers which can promote service delivery and product development. Also, social media enables Marks and Spencer to counter negative publicity from unhappy client and address product quality issues that can rob the organization more customers in the future. Providing product information on a digital platform is a moral responsibility for Marks and Spencer even if the target viewers might never become Marks and Spencer customers (Bonetti and Perry, 2017).

Transactional and relationship marketing

Transactional marketing is a marketing approach through which an organization focuses on one point of sale transaction. Rather than establishing a relationship with the buyer an organization establishes and maximizes potential when dealing with an individual buyer. The transactional marketing approach is based on the 4ps of marketing. The first P stands for the ability of an organization to create a product that meets the needs of the consumers. Marks and Spencer has been on the frontline in fashion and design research with the aim of improving their products. Marks and Spencer through their digital marketing strategy has emphasized on sharing information to the consumers and promoting awareness of new fashion solutions (Payne and Frow, 2013).

Pricing is the second P in the transactional marketing approach; pricing refers to the ability of an organization to establish a product price that will be profitable while remaining attractive to the consumers as well as the ability to establish the value of the product. Marks and Spencer has significantly used technology and innovation to improve their products and customer relationship. Placement refers to the ability of an organization to establish an efficient distribution chain for the products. Placement is a very significant amongst the 4Ps of marketing because distribution affects the ease of access and also consumer satisfaction. Marks and Spencer through its affiliate retailers can reach consumers at their convenient locations

Through digital marketing, Marks and Spencer can foster transactional marketing through promotion in which the organization has been able to create a visible profile for the product that makes it more appealing to the consumers. Through its social media hashtags and information on new fashionable products the organization has been able to promote their ability to deal with the disease (Bonetti and Perry, 2017).

Relationship marketing

On the other hand, relationship marketing is the marketing activities that are directed to the current set of customers in an organization. The primary aim of relationship marketing is to promote customer loyalty and also long-term engagement of a customer to an organization services. The primary goals of relationship marketing are to establish a bond between an organization and its existing products consumers. Word of mouth marketing can be used to increase an organization relationship marketing which can further improve an organization number of referrals to the new consumers from existing consumers. Marks and Spencer is keen on improving customer relationship marketing by following up on existing customers after offering their products. Through the development of the technological application which can be accessed through digital mobile phones. These applications promote Marks and Spencer to be in touch with their customers (Christopher, Payne, and Ballantyne, 2013).

Difference between transaction marketing and relationship marketing

Transaction Marketing Relationship Marketing

Point of sale discounts and promotion prices. Offering after sale services and warrants.

Creation and packaging of products that meet the consumer needs at a particular time and place. Establishment of a communication channel with the organization customers.

Use of pricing discounts and setting the price at a reasonable level to ensure that the price is customer friendly. Notification of the consumer of a new product in the retail shelves.

Establishment of a good product supply channel to ensure that the goods are at convenient reach of the consumers and in time. Promotion and discount purchase for the customers.

Transaction marketing is temporarily and less costly for an organization. However, the effects of transaction marketing to the product demand is temporarily and short-lived. Offering quality customer care services to solve and listen to customer concerns.

Transaction marketing maximizes the point of sale relationship with the consumer and the organization has to be persuasive to make a sale. Relationship marketing is long-term based and can increase consumer loyalty to the organization brands and products.

Analyses of macro and task environments affect Marks and Spencers marketing strategy.

Marks and Spencer is a huge multinational retailer, whose main facilities are in Westminster. It mainly offers and specializes with retailing of extravagance food products, clothing, and household products.

The company started operations in the year 1884 by entrepreneurs Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer and began as a partnership. Since then the company has had larger boundaries and larger markets such as Canada, France, Germany, Belgian and Australia. It has been able to employ quite some employees amounting to 83.069 by the year 2015. In its board of management, it has its key people as Robert Swannell whose is the chair and Steve Rowe who is the C.E.O. the directors of this company are keen on checking the progress of the sales of the enterprise.

This company has made a reputation for itself, known for selling British clothes. Like for example, the clothing market has gradually been falling while the foods sales have increased at a high rate due to the introduction of a new brand named after Michael. With this kind of a trend, it is the duty of the management to come up with a good marketing plan to allure people into buying clothes to balance sales and remain competitive. According to Mhlbacher (2006) "to be able to formulate meaningful objectives furthermore select the markets to be attended to, management must first determine the success pattern of their organizations in the past and then re-interpret them according to current and future challenges in the international markets considering serving.

According to Thompson, Gamble, & Strickland, (2005), the new environment certainty that disturbs the functionality and enactment of health care establishments is the characterization of continuous and frequent impulsive changes. For this very reason, measures and key strategies have been formulated to shape the aptitude of responding and adjusting to these varying and indeterminate environmental conditions, as a way of enduring through their economic and competitive situations. In the contemporary marketing and business facets of every organization, macro and task environments have been a critical area of primary apprehension. This has however been in dependence on an elusive comprehension and exploration of both the industry where these healthcare facilities compete and the competitors operating in the same domain. Therefore this paper, therefore, seek to analyses the primary macro and task environment impacts of Marks and Spencer, as well as evaluation of the organization's fundamental STPs in its marketing strategy.

Macro- environment impacts.

Reflecting on the macro environment impacts, Marks and Spencer comprises certain bearings at its general business operations, which are critical in shaping the organization and markets in which it contests. These main comportments entail the economic, political and technological factors.

Political factor.

Any amendment of the government policy would consequently affect the daily operations of the business, as it would also directly affects the international customer's inflow. It is a responsibility of every government to enhance the business sector in a given country. The efficacious execution and enactment of public policies on this particular sector are therefore very vital. The United Kingdom government has for years been enacting business laws, which has progressed and become exemplary prevalent in various retail markets. Additionally, certain collective resolutions such as the formation of accountable trade organizations as well as setting customer-centered objectives have grown to a great range. Policies on commercial insurance have been upheld thus enha...