Marketing Introduction and Limatations Essay

IntroductionIn my assignment I testament be writing about Two large air agency, label and Spencers, and British Heart foundation where I will rationalise about the different shareing techniques and strategies they phthisis to undertake to promote their products and services. How they marque their company and about relationship market. Marks& SpencersMarks and Spencer atomic number 18 a unsound franchise employing up to 78,000 employees world encompassing plainly broadly in the UK. Marks and Spencers argon one of UKs hint retailers with annual sales of 8 billion. They operate to a greater extent than 450 stores in 30 countries, and serve tens of millions of customers e very week. Marks and Spencers argon only as strong as the communities in which they lot. They aim to please their customers and market in an easy and understandable manner. Marks and Spencers promote over thousands of products, from provender to clothing, sever whollyy product marketed in a different fashion. Marks and Spencers invite used many strategies to survive the recession. Them being Growth, Branding, Survival and kin marketing.Survival StrategiesThey started by cutting jobs and closing stores. In January 2009 Marks & Spencers were planning to close 25 small simply food stores one being Croydon Valley retail store. They cut 780 jobs and 450 head office jobs. gross revenue plummeted in the 13 weeks leading up to December 27 2008, they degenerate by 7.1 %.Total sales fell 3.4 % in the UK. Other strategies they used to rule money were Pension cuts, Even though Marks and Spencers boilers suit sales fell by 1.2% in that respect was an international sales emergence and online retail increase. The retailer made pension cuts to save the company 175m 200million per annum. chairperson of Marks and Spencers Vandavelde (2009) gave a key speech on the retrieval plan. The previous plan was like feeding a tree that was already overgrown and unhealthy. What it really needed wa s serious pruning back. It had unproductive limbs that were hampering its harvest-home and a lot of its best characteristics were lost in the foliage.This is regarding the cuts that were being made. A strategy used by M&S is SWOT. SWOT is a method for analysing a credit line, its resources, and its environment. Marks and Spencers used the SWOT method for their food products. SWOT helped them discover What the billet does break off than the competition. What competitors do bust than the business? Whether the business is making the most of the opportunities available. How a business should reply to revisions in its external environment. By employ this method and braking down feather each sector they were able to research if thither products would sell, and their competitors such as big organisations like Tesco would affect their up sales. A nonher strategy which Marks and Spencers use is known all the Boston Matrix.The main value for them using this is because its a useful to a faultl for analysing product portfolio decisions. Constraints on survival of the fittest strategies ar the financial situation, resources and material. Cash flow is a common bashfulness to the sales systems. The financial coldness is usually internal. A resource coyness is also an internal limitation. Machinery, power and skills are some resources with constraints. Moving too slowly to get products to where they need to be is a internal constraint. genuine is also a constrain due to where we are procureing it from, are we paying for quality and receiving a product of quality or are we not spending enough to make sure our products are expeditiously made? This is a external constraint.Relationship MarketingRelationship marketing has continued to evolve and move forward as technology opens more(prenominal) communication channels. This includes tools for managing relationships with customers which goes beyond simple customer services. They identify six markets which are weded to relationship marketing. They are internal markets, supplier markets, recruitment markets, referral markets, govern markets, and customer markets. Relationship marketing is designed to develop strong connections with customers by providing them with information directly suited to their needs and interests and by promoting open communication. This turn up is there for results in increased word of mouth activity. Marks and Spencer relieve oneself created customer loyalty by launching different campaigns promoting different products which connect with each customer. Theyve launched fashion campaigns, food campaigns and an online clothes shop.Marks and Spencers reserve now call on partners with Tesco for Fair Trade campaigns they now have a range of electrical appliances on sale to comply with what their customers want. Marks and Spencers customers want to be able to rely on them to succeed and act their needs as individual customers rather than a group. While Marks and Sp encers have created a relationship with their buyers and are constantly researching too find out what their customers want more or less of, there are also constraints and limitations with doing so.A market constraint is external. Marks and Spencers competitors are al slipway changing strategies and competing in smart and better ways to try and come out on top. A question which is asked inside big businesses such as M&S is, is the market postulate for our products decreasing? This is an external constraint, if theres no longer a demand for the product then their profit margin decreases. A decrease in sales = decreased profit. Benchmarking is a strategy that is used by M&S for marketing this involves looking outside the box to read how other organisations are achieving their performance levels and to understand the processes they are using to be successful. In this way benchmarking helps explain the processes behind excellent performances.Although this strategy helps M&S diaphrag m ahead it can also bring them down as changing your outlook and ideas can be a constraint, Managing change is a common constraint. Markets are dynamic and always changing. Organisations work to stay ahead of markets and their leading competitiors. Knowledge could be an internal constraint to success, this could become critical if survival is at stake.Growth StrategiesMarks and Spencer uses the Mckinsey Growth Matrix, to pad and grow their business. Instead of trying to find out how other business have grown, the Matrix strategy argues to grow on your own strengths. They have developed there growth strategies based on Operational skills, countenance assets, Growth skills and Special relationships.By growing based on these strategies M&S have been able to keep their customer loyalty nevertheless also have been able to increase their products and launch new promotions to get hold of new customers, by using different approaches they have a better change to widen their customer sat isfaction. Some of these products can be change to subsisting customers who may trust the business (and its brands) to deliver but new customers may need more persuasion. Even though M&S base their growth on their on development they do snap their competitors. They use recorded dare, opportunistic date and observable date. * Recorded selective information frameworks include competitor annual reports and product brochures. * Observable data dangerous example is competitor pricing.* Opportunistic data to get hold of this lovely of data requires a lot of planning and organisation. Marks and Spencers have grown as a company by producing a wide range of products, by up interchange and engaging in customer loyalty. Strategies that have been used are the foundation of growing. They have focused their marketing and sales on a specific target market this has modify effectiveness and speed the learning process. Unfortunately a common constraint could be an unresponsive market. Marks a nd Spencers campaigns have reeled in more customers but buyer Motivation is a must in all businesses, companies can often fail to provide incentives to motivate their buyers to purchase. A constraint which can be avoided is the follow up after sale. Once a product has been bought research should be conducted to find feedback on that product and if theirs a chance of growth from that product.BrandingThe brand of a product is very important when making your decision weather to buy something. People buy branded names due to loyalty. Either they no the quality is sober or the product is always vent to taste good. For example going to Tesco and having the choice to buy, 23p Tesco value beans or 63p Heinz beans. Just because its not a named brand doesnt mean the quality isnt as good, theres just no risk. Trust is the most critical voice in building and maintaining a strong, emotionally driven brand. Strategies used to enfold their brand to the public is media. By promoting their brand s its then known by existing and new customers. Many businesses such as M*&S use celebrities in their campaigns this is to engage the buyers and also make them aware that a celebrity likes the brand.LimitationsLegal constraintsMarks and Spencer may be constrained by a variety of licensure and other regulatory requirements, based on the industry and activities the business wants to pursue. For example M&S sell alcohol so they will need to have a alcohol license before they are permitted to sell any alcohol. Sales of goods act 1979,This act requires trader to sell goods that are described and are satisfactory. Marks and Spencers sell products to members there for the information stated should be accurate and not misleading. For example selling food which states that theres only 130 calories in it but really there 600. This is illegal.Voluntary ConstraintThis is where a company instinctive state that they wont do something, or they always will. For example Marks and Spencers have jo ined forces with Tesco to sell Fair trade products, and they are also recycling old clothes to Oxfam. These things do not have to be done but yet they do they do them anyway to give them a better reputation with the public. pressurePressure groups can be extremely effective in changing organisational behaviour.