KAS-561 Marketing

KAS-561 Marketing1200 words

Table of ContentsIntroduction:2Extended Marketing Mix2Product2Price2Place3Promotion3Procedures3Personnel4Physical Assets4Conclusion4

Introduction:Demand and needs of a human being is the beginning point for marketing actions that have covered the ground with transactions and sharing products around demand for products. Marketing mix is the tool that organizations use to meet needs of customers and expand businesses in new markets. McCarty was the person who came up with four elements of the marketing mix. These includes product, price, place and promotion (Yasanallah and Vahid, 2012). Tesco was started in 1919 by Jack Cohen when sold extra grocery from a stall. Over the ages, it has changed into a giant general retailing and grocery chain. It has the largest market share in retail stores within UK and recorded revenues of 60 billion pounds in 2009. Tesco is considered as the third largest retailer globally (Kelly, 2009).Extended Marketing Mix:Marketing mix is the tool that companies use to attain their sales target from target market. Later on distinctions were created between product and service marketing. Service marketing requires a different set of tools in addition to traditional four Ps. As a result of it, three new tools of procedures, personnel, and physical assets were included to make it 7 Ps of marketing (Goi, 2009). A detailed analysis of the role these 7Ps of marketing play with respect to Tesco in given further down. Product:Product offered by the organization is considered as the heart of the business. It is usually a beginning point of crafting a marketing mix. The selection of the product that the company will sell will further lead to the formation of pricing and other related strategies (Lamb, et al., 2004). Tesco is a giant retail store with an enormous range of product line. Product development is a crucial part of the whole marketing mix for Tesco. Products are introduced after following series of actions by product development team. The whole process starts by spotting the latest trends in the market. A number of new products come under discussion by the group. The team performs a comprehensive market research for any new product. Product testing, risks associated with it, technicalities that can be faced, sales targets, timelines for product introduction are done before finally launching a product. After selection of the desired product, suppliers are sent a brief of the product company want to begin (BBC, 2002). By following this process, Tesco has been able to develop new products at a rapid speed by this method that has also helped the giant retailer to maintain its competitive advantage in the market.Price:Price is a constituent of the marketing mix that means a different thing to consumers and sellers. Product pricing is the key to revenues that an organization generates. Attempting to set a right price of a product is considered as one the most pressure filled and stressful task of marketing managers. Companies set their pricing objectives that are measurable, specific, and attainable in order to survive in a competitive marketplace (Jain, 2013). Tesco is a retail store brand, and it offers stable, logical and competitive prices. In order to achieve its pricing objectives, Tesco has modified its pricing strategy over a period. Tesco tries to device prices according to the income of the demographic sector of the market it targets (Tesco, 2014). Place:Placement of any business plays a vital part in making the company successful. Marketing managers are required to make decisions on where the consumers would be provided with the products or services of the enterprise. The decision of placement of big retail stores like of Tesco require brainstorming from the top management because the success and failure of the business lie in it. The governments regulations about different formats of stores play a key part in the choosing the location for the store. The Tescos management keeps in mind the easy access to customers, and suppliers while making any decision for placing a new shop. Tesco has also initiated selling its products through its website. (Kombenjamas and Lertrattananon, 2011).Promotion:It became very difficult for products or services to survive in the market if not properly promoted. Promotion is a component of the marketing mix that conveys, influence, and reminds potential customers about the product to stimulate their opinion. Marketing managers formulate a promotional strategy in such a manner to take maximum benefit of all available tools and techniques. This plan is formulated by keeping in mind the overall objectives of the business. Promotional campaign help in differentiating a brand from its competitor (Clow and Baack, 2012). Tesco being a marketplace spearhead in retail store segment in UK spend heavily on its promotional campaigns both through traditional media and online. Tesco formulates its marketing and promotional activities by keeping in mind the underlying objectives. Marketing managers make sure that the integrated set of promotional activities delivers an uniform message of cost advantage to the customers. Tesco offers its consumers a wide range of products at affordable prices. In order to appeal and hold its customers, Tesco has used different forms of promotional campaigns. Tesco offers its consumers Clubcard in which customers are given specific amount of points whenever they shop. The company has invested about 200 million pounds in a new scheme called Fuel save for its Clubcard holders (Bold, 2014). Tesco gives much importance to brand marketing. Campaigns are run to reassure customers about the quality of food and other products (Joseph, 2013). Procedures:Procedures define the ways and mean to provide quality services to the customers. The primary role of this element of the marketing mix is to create a balance between service supply and demand. Companies put in many efforts to improve its procedures. The improvement in methods can lead to creating customer convenience that can then transform into purchases and repurchases or services. The core area of Tescos procedures is its supply chain system. The company has invested heavily in its supply chain to ensure fresh and quality products to its customers. The sustainable competitive advantage of Tesco is its distribution structure. Tesco has deployed one of the most advanced, and an innovative supply chain structure. With this system, it has become easier and cost efficient to deliver the right amount of merchandise to the exact place at the accurate time (Wood and Tasker, 2007).Personnel:Customer service agents play a vital part in delivering quality services to the customers. They are the people who have direct interaction with consumers, and therefore, companies pay particular attention to the quality of personnel it hires and retain. Tesco recognizes the importance of having quality sales representatives. The focus of the company is to attract and retain quality employees. Tesco offers its employees with attractive salary and benefits packages that include flexible working hours, medical, profit-sharing, childcare, and subsidized meals. Employees are given training on how to serve customers (Tesco, 2014).Physical Assets:It refers to the facilities and environment required by organizations to provide services to their consumers. These facilities can be of different forms. It includes parking space, self-service, play area for kids, and so forth. The fundamental purpose of these actions by the companies is to make sure that buyers do not leave the premises of the business without purchasing anything. Tesco recognizes the importance of providing healthy and hygienic environment to its customers. The company has invested heavily in establishing a customer-friendly environment, design of stores, car parking, and quality packaging in its stores. It has helped it to attract and retain more customers than competitors (Tesco, 2014).Conclusion:After analyzing the role of seven Ps of marketing for Tesco PLC, it can be concluded that ignoring any of these elements of the marketing mix can result in disaster for the company. Every component of the marketing mix has its importance to achieving the overall objectives set by the corporation.Reference:BBC, 2002. Lunch lesson 12 - new product development. [Online] Available at:< http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/working_lunch/education/2518475.stm>[Accessed 2 December 2014].Bold, B., 2014. Tesco ploughs 400m into cheaper pricing and cutting customers' petrol bills. [Online] Available at:< http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1282450/tesco-ploughs-400m-cheaper-pricing-cutting-customers-petrol-bills>[Accessed 2 December 2014].Clow , K. E. & Baack, D., 2012. Integrated Advertising, Promotion and Marketing Communications. 4th ed. Noida: Pearson.Goi, C. L., 2009. A Review of Marketing Mix: 4Ps or More? International Journal of Marketing Studies, 1(1), pp. 2-15.Jain, M. K., 2013. An Analysis of Marketing Mix: 7Ps or More. Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(4), pp. 23-28.Joseph, S., 2013. Tesco promises more brand marketing as analysts lay in to its insipid ads. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 2 December 2014].Kelly, P., 2009. Tesco: use of IT and information systems- introduction to MIS. [Online] Available at:[Accessed 02 December 2014].Kombenjamas , W. & Lertrattananon, N., 2011. Services Marketing Mix of Foreign Coffee Franchiser in Bangkok, Sweden: Mlardalen University.Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F. & McDaniel, C., 2004. Marketing. 7th ed. Mason: Thomson South-Western.Tesco, 2014. Staff. [Online] Available at:< http://www.tesco.com/csr/f/f2.html>[Accessed 2 December 2014].Tesco, 2014. Tesco PLC - about us - vision and strategy. [Online] Available at:< http://www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=12>[Accessed 2 December 2014].Wood , S. & Tasker, A., 2007. The importance of context in store forecasting: the site visit in retail location decision-making. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, pp. 1-30.Yasanallah, P. & Vahid, B., 2012. Studying the Status of Marketing Mix (7Ps) in Consumer Cooperatives at Ilam Province from Members Perspectives. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, pp. 194-199.