Marketing Strategy of Top Shop

LO 1

P1. Important roles and responsibilities of marketing function

Marketing department of Top Shop has major roles and responsibilities to play to maintain a strong and competitive position in market. Some of them are like:

• Listening to customer needs – The most important role of marketing function in Top Shop is to listen to the needs of customers so that products can be developed accordingly. For the purpose of establishing a marketing strategy, being closer with clients and taking their feedback to get aware with their needs is a vital task of this department.
• Bringing innovation – Another important role played by marketing function of Top Shop is to bring innovation in products offered and keep on developing them on continuous basis so that customers can be retained in the long run (Grimmer, 2018).
• Tracking trends and monitoring competition – To track the current and upcoming trends in market along with knowing the position of company against competition is a crucial responsibility of marketing department in Top Shop to identify their mistakes and protect business from losses and getting failure.
• Improving the brand value – One more significant responsibility of marketing function is improve the brand value of products by using different ways like offering high quality at reasonable cost or by creating attention catching messages and ideas that will help firm in communicating with customers in the most effective way (Craig, Mitchell and Wilkinson, 2018).

P2. Relation of roles and responsibilities of marketing in wider organisational context

Marketing is interrelated with all other departments of company and without coordination in between all, to attain the common goal of business successfully is not possible. Roles and responsibilities of marketing in Top Shop directly relate to the wider organisational context as it is an important function of business which is connected with all other functional units of firm. It can be understood as follows:

• Marketing and HR department – Major role of marketing is to conduct market research first to analyse the needs and wants of customers for which adequate manpower is required. For the same, marketing unit of Top Shop needs to communicate with HR (human resource) department in case if they require more members in their team.
• Marketing and finance department – It is the responsibility of marketing function to plan strategies and make plans for which support of finance department is required as it will only provide the funds that are required for activities decided to be conducted (Grewal, 2018). In case if firm is planning to give some offers like discounts or buy 2 get 1 free scheme then it has to consult with finance unit first.
• Marketing and operations department – After assessing the needs of customers, marketing department of Top Shop communicates the same to operations unit so that products can be made and delivered accordingly. Profitability of business is the main aim of marketing department which can be made possible by rise in the productivity for which operations unit is responsible.
• Marketing and IT department – Likewise, promotion of products in the form of giving advertisements through digital medium is also an important responsibility of marketing department for which support of IT (information technology) unit is needed (Kasemsap, 2018).
• Marketing and R&D department – Further, bringing innovation is a vital responsibility of marketing department of Top Shop which cannot be done without support of research and development (R&D) unit.

M1. Roles and responsibilities of marketing function in marketing environment

To deal effectually with the marketing environment which is highly dynamic in retail sector of UK, marketing department of Top Shop have various roles and responsibilities among which some are stated as below:

• Dealing with competition – Due to globalisation, competition has intensified, especially in retail sector of UK. For the same, it is the responsibility of marketing department of firm to identify the competitor’s strategies as well as their strengths and weaknesses to fight against the level of competition (Schmidt, 2017).
• Creating customer value and providing satisfaction – To render high customer value and satisfaction is one of the main roles of marketing department to gain their loyalty in return that can be done through CRM (customer relationship management).
• Managing integrated marketing communication – It is the responsibility of marketing department of Top Shop to invest in effective communications in the form of advertisements, PR (public relation) management, etc. so that customers at large can be made aware and influenced with firm’s offerings.

M2. Importance of interrelationship between marketing and other functional units

There is direct relation in between marketing and other functional units of organisation. To have healthy and positive relations in between marketing and other departments is of utmost importance for the success of Top Shop. Marketing cannot be done with coordination and support of other units like it has to closely work with operations department to ensure that customer’s current and future needs will be satisfied with research and development done (Sugathan and Kozhikode, 2018). Further, operations department can only tell that whether specifications desired by market customers can be manufactured to the quality and design. Also, it is the operations department only that tells if timely delivery of generated order can be done. Likewise, marketing department has to coordinate with finance unit to ensure that adequate budget is available with firm to meet the needs of marketing activities like promotion and distribution. Similarly, HR department also has a significant relationship with marketing unit as it provides staff as per the skills and knowledge required (De Mooij, 2018). Overall, it can be said that there is high important of interrelationship between marketing and other functional units.

D1. Critical analysis of key elements of marketing function and their relation with other departments

The key elements of marketing function are research, strategy, planning and tactics that have a direct relation with other departments which is stated as below:

• Research – Market research is the most important marketing element on which rest of the activities depend. It can be critically assessed that in case if marketing department of Top Shop will not conduct effective research, correct information will not be gained by other units like in operations department and so, efforts may lead to wastage and loss of profits.
• Strategy – Another key element of marketing is the strategy which is made after collecting all relevant information and judging the possible strengths and weaknesses (Andrews and Shimp, 2017). However, if marketing strategies are not made properly then department will not be able to provide valuable guidance to other departments like sales and IT that will result in missing out the opportunities available in environment.
• Planning – Further, planning is also a key element of marketing function and having a strong relation with other departments in Top Shop as on the basis of same, activities are conducted in all units as it involves sales forecast, financial planning, medium of communication and distribution, etc. On the other hand, it can be critically evaluated that if planning is not done appropriately which is the base for all other activities, firm may have to face issues like reduced profits, decrease in customer base, etc. (Garnica and Viveros, 2017).
• Tactics – Tactics also serve as the key element of marketing which are actually short term plans with the help of which customers at large are attracted by the firm. These are directly related with other departments like with use of appropriate marketing tactics, sales of company increases that results in rise in the productivity and so, capital of business enhances that can be re-invested in further activities. However, improper use of same may create losses for the organisation in terms of reduced market share and customer base (Tuten and Solomon, 2017).

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LO 2

P3. Comparing the application of marketing mix to marketing planning process in different organisations

Company uses marketing mix in its marketing planning process, however, it differs from business to business. Application of marketing mix in Top Shop and Marks and Spencer (M&S) is compared as below:

Figure 1: 7 Ps of Marketing

M3. Demonstrating the way business goals can be attained through applying different tactics

Marketing involves different tactics which when effectually applied in processes lead to the attainment of common goals of firm like 7 Ps of marketing. These marketing tactics play a significant role in maximising the profits and eliminating interferences. Like, if a product of Top Shop is developed in a way that is actually desired by target customers, this will make it successful and increases the profit of business. Similarly, if price charged from customers is set by considering the quality and competition existing in market, this will be acceptable by target market thus, leading to success (Campbell, Martin and Fabos, 2018). Further, giving due consideration on the convenience of people is of utmost importance and thus, by having stores at nearby locations to target customers will prove to be helpful for firm to attract a large customer base. Along with that, it can be said that if Top Shop will promote its products by using the most suitable promotional techniques, to grab the attention of customers at large at less cost will become easy like through online medium.

LO 3

P4. A basic marketing plan for organisation

Setting goals and objectives – Top Shop is going to launch a new product i.e. Herbal Face Cream for those females who are highly conscious about their skin and beauty.

Situation analysis – Firstly, company will be required to conduct situation analysis with the help of SWOT and PEST analysis to assess that whether there is feasibility to attain requisite levels of performance or not.

Marketing strategy – By using penetration pricing, extensive advertising and expanded distribution, the new product i.e. Herbal Face Cream will be launched by Top Shop with an aim to increase the profits as well as growth rate of business (Pooler, 2018).

STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) – Top Shop will select the segment based on psychographic segmentation. Its target market will be selected through concentrated targeting. Positioning will be done with the help of advertising through online and social media.

Action plan – Finally, Top Shop will implement the strategy made for launching new product i.e. Herbal Face Cream.

Feedback and control – In case if any deviations are found in the present outcomes against the set benchmarks, corrective measures will be taken by the marketing manager of Top Shop.

M4. A detailed, coherent marketing plan for organisation

Executive Summary – Top Shop is one of the leading brands in retail industry of UK that is offering range of products to customers. However, for the segment that is highly conscious about their skin, company has decided to launch Herbal Face Cream in London that has no side effects.

Situation Analysis – It will done with the help of SWOT analysis.

• Strengths – Having high customer base and increased profits are the major strengths of company.
• Weaknesses – Intense rivalry in the market of UK as well as availability of more advanced techniques with competitors are the main weaknesses.
• Opportunities – To enter in new segment and increasing scope in international markets can be the most fruitful opportunities (Grimmer, 2018).
• Threats – Major threat is from the entry of many new firms and copy of technology from existing rivalry organisations. Also, switching of customers to other competitor firms is also one of the major threats of Top Shop.

Market Research – Then, marketing manager will analyse that whether the product which is going to be offered by the firm will be accepted by customers or not along with the risks associated with same.

Marketing Objectives – Major objective behind launch of new product i.e. Herbal Face Cream is to grab a new segment and increase scope of business with earning higher profits and market share.

Marketing Strategies – Top Shop will have to make new marketing strategies for the new offering related to marketing mix which is given as below:

• Product – Product will be made with using all herbal ingredients that are of high quality with adding no chemicals that can have side effects (Craig, Mitchell and Wilkinson, 2018).
• Price – The price will be charged as per using penetration pricing strategy in which at first, company will be charging a low and reasonable cost from customers for the new offering.
• Place – The product will be made available to every nearby store of Top Shop from the target customers by using expended distribution strategy.
• Promotion – Further, in order to position product in the minds of customers, company will use extensive advertising where it will use digital media the most for promoting new offering.

Strategy Implementation – After deciding all strategies, finally the plan will be executed and product will be launched in market. At first, test marketing will be done where sample on a small population is tested and if it will get successful, the product will be launched on the entire market segment.

Feedback and Control – Later, feedback from customers will be taken and in case if they will be found dissatisfied, necessary modifications will be made in the product (Grewal, 2018).

D2. Strategic marketing plan to achieve overall marketing objectives

Setting goals and objectives – Firstly, the main objective and goal of business is decided which is to launch new product i.e. Herbal Face Cream for the segment which is conscious about their health and skin.

Situation Analysis – Company will perform situation analysis first in the market where it has decided to launch the new product i.e. in London city of UK. It will be done with the help of PEST analysis which is given as below:

Figure 2: PEST Analysis

• Political factors – Political environment of UK is stable presently and so, if company will launch its new product here, chances of getting successful are high.
• Economic factors – After Brexit, economy of UK fluctuated but right now, it is sound and stable and thus, launching product there will prove to be advantageous for business to earn high profits and revenues.
• Social factors – By taking care of the health of target customers, the new product will be made and so, it can be said that Top Shop is concerned about society’s interest and welfare.
• Technological factors – With using highly advanced and latest techniques, company will be making the product so that at lower cost, higher profits can be earned (Kasemsap, 2018).

Deciding mission – The mission of Top Shop behind launching this product is to grab and satisfy those customers, especially females, who are conscious about their skin as well as health.

SMART Objectives – These stand for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely goals.

• To increase market share in the UK market by 20% by the month of June.
• To enhance profits by 30% by the end of year 2019.
• To increase the customer base by 15% till 2019.

Marketing Mix – These are the strategies made by organisation related to marketing.

• Product – The product will be superior quality that will be made with using all herbal ingredients.
• Price – Reasonable price at first will be charged from customers for the new offering by using penetration pricing method.
• Place – At every nearby store to target customers, the product will be made available through using expended distribution strategy.
• Promotion – Extensive advertising will be used to promote the new product through digital media i.e. online medium which includes company and social networking websites.
• People – Firm will have to hire a new sales team for this new project with required skills and capabilities (Schmidt, 2017).
• Process – Effective processes will be used to manufacture and sell the product in market with using highly advanced techniques.
• Physical evidence – Employees and customers will be provided with healthy and safe environment in well organised and beautifully managed stores.

Budgeting – Before implementing the strategy, budget is to be decided so that estimation regarding expenses can be made. The budget for new product launch is given as below:

;

Strategy Implementation – Finally, after deciding all strategies, assessing the environment in which company is going launch the new product and deciding budget for same, the plan will be executed and product will be launched in the target market.

Feedback and Control – At last, feedback of customers will be taken regarding their satisfaction and in case if it is found that they are dissatisfied then corrective measures in terms of making necessary modification will be taken (Garnica and Viveros, 2017).

CONCLUSION

From the above report, it can be said that being operating in retail sector of UK, Top Shop is facing high competition from the rivalry firms like Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Asda, Morrison and Sainsbury. Thus, to deal effectually with existing competition and remain in market for longer span of time, to focus on marketing activities is of utmost importance. Giving due emphasis on marketing function will help the organisation to retain and increase its customer base with gaining their loyalty and trust in return. This will result in enhancing the market share as well as goodwill of business with gaining a competitive edge over others.

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