PART A

LO2 Comparison of ways in which organisations use the marketing mix to achieve business objectives

A marketing mix is a tool used to determine the various marketing processes, referred to as the 4Ps (Blut et al., 2018). The marking mix element includes price, place, promotion, and products. Additional 3Ps are also essential in determining a marketing plan’s success, including the people, processes, and physical evidence. The marketing mix helps determine the products to be sold, where and at what price, and the distribution channels to deliver the goods effectively (Išoraitė, 2016). The report will analyse the marketing mix used by Tesco to achieve its business objectives. The report will also compare Tesco’s marketing mix with other companies.

Tesco’s marketing mix

Tesco’s marketing mix is discussed below:

Product: The product refers to the goods and services being sold to the customers (Pogorelova et al., 2016). Products can either be tangible or intangible and are the reason an organisation exists. Tesco has a wide variety of products, including financial services, electronics, clothing, and food, among others. The product line is available in retail stores and online stores and provides a wide variety of products to choose. On the other hand, ASOS is a fashion and clothing company. ASOS has about 30 brands with clothes, shoes, gifts and accessories in fashion. The company has a wide variety of products made to meet the needs of their clients. ASOS also works with other brands to create a win-win by editing some of their products to meet the needs of their customers. However, most of ASOS products are made by the company to ensure high quality, unique designs and lower price, thus achieve efficiency.

Place: Place in the marketing mix refers to how the clients can get the products they need to purchase (Pogorelova et al., 2016). The place can be a physical location or a virtual place where clients can place their order and deliver it to their convenient place. Tesco has many brick and motor stores where the customers can walk in and purchase the products (Tesco PLC, 2021). Additionally, Tesco has an e-commerce website where the customers can shop, compare products, and place their orders for delivery at their doorsteps. However, ASOS is an online store where all items are sold through the website and other online platforms. ASOS provides free delivery and returns to give the clients convenience of having the goods at their doorsteps. Additionally, the company has a 24/7 customer care department which addresses customer queries on all online platforms in eleven languages to serve the global customers effectively (ASOS,2021).  Tesco uses both physical and online stores has been necessitated by the changing customer buying behaviour and the changing market and competitive environment. As a result, Tesco and its competitors are moving towards online business to expand the business to new markets and serve the current customers on the level of convenience they desire through online orders and door step delivery. However, ASOS poses as a digital brand offering 24/7 customer service without a brick and motor store to increase efficiency.

Price: The marking mix price refers to the amount the customer pays to acquire a product. The price covers the cost of the item, distribution, and other overheads (Pogorelova et al., 2016). The price also allows the company to have the desired margin. Tesco determines its products’ price based on the cost of the products and the price offered by the competition. Tesco operates in a sector with many competitors including, supermarkets, kiosks, grocery stores, restaurants, among others, and thus has to consider the competitor’s prices to determine how much margin to include in the product prices. Pricing strategy plays a critical role in meeting the company’s business objectives. The pricing interrelates with other functional units in Tesco including marketing, finance and operations. The organization has to identify the best pricing strategy to cover its costs and give a desired margin while meeting the customers’ needs and beating competition. ASOS prices similar products of different sizes at the same price to assist the customers pick their best size without minding the price. Additionally, the company has a 10% discount to all students before graduation (ASOS,2021). The pricing strategy helps attract new customers while retaining the existing clients.

Promotion: Promotion in the marketing mix refers to how the company engages with the customers and potential clients to market and sell (Opresnik, 2018). Promotion can be done in several ways, including direct selling, advertisement on television, radio, and print media, personal selling, and online advertising, among other avenues. Tesco uses different promotional avenues to reach a wide audience and make sales, including advertisement and online marketing. The company has active social media accounts where they upload content to their customers. Tesco also engages the customers on the social media pages and creates a brand that customers can identify with and remain loyal. ASOS uses digital platforms to promote its brands and products (ASOS,2021). ASOS uses celebrity marketing on its website and social media platforms, with about 200 models working for the brand. Using celebrities help attract a huger viewership, thus leading to more sales.

People: People in the marketing mix refer to the personnel engaged in ensuring the customers get the products they need most effectively and efficiently (Opresnik, 2018). People influence how the customers view the brand, and thus the company should recruit the best employees for marketing tasks and activities. Additionally, the organisation should train the employees to empower them with the right skill set. The organisation should also motivate the employees to ensure they have a positive attitude towards their job and employer, reflected in their satisfaction. Tesco employees are motivated through training, engagement, and growth opportunities (Tesco PLC, 2021). The company also provides a safe workplace for the employees to be satisfied and perform their jobs diligently. Tesco meets its business objectives by maintaining high skilled personnel and conducting frequent trainings to empower the employees to improve their personal and group performance. Employee motivation and job satisfaction interrelates with the human resource function in the organization by creating development and reducing employee turnover. ASOS also has a team of skilled employees working together to deliver high quality products to the customers at the best price and in time to achieve value for their money (ASOS,2021). The employees are encouraged to remain creative to test the products and constantly improve them to retain the competitive edge in fashion industry.

Processes: The processes in a marketing mix refer to the procedures and methods used in production, distribution, and communication (Opresnik, 2018). The processes influence the customer experience with an organisation as it affects the products’ quality if the goods get to the customers in time and customer satisfaction. Tesco’s processes allow efficiency throughout the supply chain. The customers can order the goods online in a user-friendly interface and have several payment options to complete the transaction and enable order fulfilment. The processes interrelate with all the functions in the organization including HR, finance, marketing, IT and operations. Tesco’s process strategy ensures smooth decision making to achieve competitive priorities and offer value to all stakeholders (Tesco PLC, 2021). ASOS has effective processes to ensure order fulfilment within same day for local orders for orders placed before the specific cut-off times (ASOS,2021). The company also offers delivery and return services in case one is not satisfied with the products. The company processes increase effectiveness and efficiency thus retaining and attracting new customers.

Physical Evidence:  This refers to the company’s different aspects that a customer can see and experience (Opresnik, 2018). Physical evidence includes the brand, the logo, colours, social media accounts, and the physical stores. Tesco has many branches across the UK and other countries. The company also has branded its outlets and maintains a high level of cleanliness and attractiveness. The stores are also easy to navigate, and the products are well organised and categorised to make it easy for the customers to find items they need. Like other retail stores, Tesco places offers strategically to attract customers. ASOS website is simple and easy to use showing different product categories and brands for customers to choose from easily. The company also has active interaction with its clients on social media networks to act as a point of contact with its clients (ASOS,2021).

Marketing Mix application to achieve the business Objectives through the marketing plan

Tesco’s marketing mix helps develop a marketing plan to guide the company to achieve the business objectives. The company will need to conduct a market analysis to understand the customer needs and the market dynamics to identify the products that the client’s needs, the channels of distribution to use, the promotion methods, and the pricing strategy in the planning phase. Next, the company needs to implement the best strategies identified in the marketing mix analysis including, the products that meet customer needs, price them most competitively, perform the right promotion and deliver the goods in convenient locations for the customers.

Conclusion

The marketing mix helps the company identify the products, price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence, and processes to use to meet Tesco’s business objectives. The analysis shows that Tesco is strategically placed to meet customer needs by selling a wide variety of goods. Tesco uses competitive prices, having elaborate distribution channels to get the goods to the right place, and conducting its promotion and communication using the most relevant media in the current digital era. The company can strategize to increase online sales and advertising to adapt to consumer behaviour changes due to the global pandemic where people seek to shop online and maintain social distance. Tesco can focus on building its ecommerce and having more promotions online to meet more customers and a lower cost, thus giving the company a price advantage over other retailers.

PART B

Marketing Plan (LO3)

Introduction

The section contains a detailed marketing plan for Tesco. The marketing plan is a report outlining the marketing strategy for an organisation for a given period, either monthly, quarterly, or annually. The plan will contain the marketing objectives, STP analysis, PESTEL analysis and marketing mix analysis.

Importance and value of the marketing plans

Marketing planning involves making various decisions to identify where to allocate marketing resources in the best and most economical way to meet the business objectives (Išoraitė, 2016). The process involves preparing policies, programs, and budgets to conduct several activities and functions of marketing to attain marketing goals. It involves setting objectives for marketing activities and determining the steps to be taken to meet the objectives. Marketing planning helps in achieving business goals and management by objectives. Additionally, marketing planning avoids future uncertainties by planning for them and keeping them in control (Išoraitė, 2016). The plan promotes a comprehensive view of the business and acts as a communication and co-ordination between the marketing department and other departments.

The connection between marketing plan, marketing objectives, and marketing strategies

Marketing involves first setting a set of objectives that the activities will achieve in the marketing process. After identifying the goals, the marketers prepare a plan to achieve the objectives, which involves setting strategies to guide the process. Therefore, the three elements are interconnected. Tesco has a mission and vision which guides every department in the organisation. The company uses the business objectives, particularly to the marketing department, to prepare a marketing plan. After preparing the marketing plan, the company comes up with marketing strategies that will help them achieve the objectives outlined in the marketing plan.

Marketing Plan for Tesco

1.      Executive summary

The marketing plan for Tesco is outlined to guide the company’s marketing drive for one year. The plan contains the marketing objectives, situational analysis, and marketing mix analysis of Tesco.

2.      Marketing Objectives

The marketing objectives are set based on the company’s vision and mission and the market mix analysis. Below are the marketing objectives for Tesco:

• To reduce the cost of doing business by 20% to achieve a highly competitive price for global clients.
• To increase the marketing budget by 10% to reach more clients using online platforms.
• To increase sales by 15% in 12 months.
• To enhance the company brand and improve customer satisfaction and have a 95% retention rate.

3.      Situational Analysis

The situational analysis involves considering the internal and external market factors to project growth, defining the potential customers, and assessing the organisation’s competitors (Hollensen and Opresnik, 2019). The situational analysis will discuss segmentation, targeting, and positioning.

Segmentation

Tesco will serve different market segments for its products as it is a global organisation having a wide range of products from different brands and qualities. The company will use the following segmentation strategies:

• Geographical segmentation- the company will have market segments based on the regions and locations the customers are located.
• Demographic segmentation- the company will serve different demographic groups and provide products that meet each demographic groups’ needs. The segments will be based on age, gender, education level, income level, and family size.
• The psychographic segmentation-the strategy will be based on the customers’ social classes, culture, and lifestyles.

Targeting

Being a huge retailer, Tesco will continue to serve the diverse market segments. However, the company will target the most profitable and sustainable market segments to invest more in marketing. Tesco will make marketing content to meet each market segment’s needs and engage them using the most appropriate channel for each segment.

Positioning

Positioning involves having the brand or company appeal to the customers and attract them to buy from you. Tesco’s global positioning is;

• enjoy a better-quality life
• have an easier way of living
• Grow your value with Tesco

4.      PETEL Analysis

The PESTEL analysis has been conducted for Tesco for the UK market only.

5.      Marketing Mix Analysis

The 7Ps of the marketing mix will guide the strategy that Tesco will use to achieve the marketing objectives.

Product: Tesco will sell a wide range of products, including consumables products, electronics, groceries, food items, among others.

Price: Tesco will price the goods using the cost leadership strategy to offer its products competitive prices.

Place: Tesco will maintain physical brick and motor stores and e-commerce channels to avail the products to the customers.

Promotion: Tesco will have several promotional channels, including television advertisements and SEO. However, the company will major in social media advertising as customers are shopping online more due to global pandemic.

People: The Company will train the sales and marketing employees to understand the market needs and deliver the goods and services to enhance customer satisfaction.

Physical Evidence: Tesco’s Logo, stores, social media platforms, websites, and brand will be made appealing and people-friendly to attract and retain the customers.

Processes: The customers will have clear procedures for placing orders, paying, and monitoring their orders for delivery. The customers will have different payment methods availed and will be able to make direct payments when buying at the stores.

Conclusion

The marketing plan will guide Tesco towards achieving the marketing objectives and overall company objectives. The strategies are guided by the marketing mix analysis, which drives product selection, pricing strategy, promotion, and distribution. The marketing mix also provides strategies to make the people, physical evidence, and processes help achieve the business objectives.

References

ASOS. 2021. About Us | ASOS. [online] Available at: <https://www.asos.com/about/asos-experience/?ctaref=aboutus|asosexperience> [Accessed 4 February 2021].

Blut, M., Teller, C. and Floh, A., 2018. Testing retail marketing-mix effects on patronage: A meta-analysis. Journal of Retailing, 94(2), pp.113-135.

Hollensen, S. and Opresnik, M.O., 2019. Situational Analysis in the Marketing Planning Process. World Scientific Book Chapters, pp.43-138.

Išoraitė, M., 2016. Marketing mix theoretical aspects. International journal of research granthaalayah, 4(6), pp.25-37.

Lisna, I.F., Pivavar, I.V. and Ponomarenko, O.O., 2018. Marketing research and marketing planning at macro and micro levels. Бізнес Інформ, (11), pp.333-339.

Opresnik, M.O., 2018, July. Effective Social Media Marketing Planning–How to Develop a Digital Marketing Plan. In International Conference on Social Computing and Social Media (pp. 333-341). Springer, Cham.

Pogorelova, E., Yakhneeva, I., Agafonova, A. and Prokubovskaya, A., 2016. Marketing Mix for E-commerce. International journal of environmental & science education, 11(14), pp.6744-6759.

Tesco PLC. 2021. Sustainability. [online] Available at: <https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability> [Accessed 29 January 2021]

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