5MK006 Marketing Planning Assignment Sample

Module Code And Title : 5MK006 Marketing Planning Assignment Sample

Introduction

Market planning is a process which includes direct marketing, branding, advertising, publicity, strategy, pricing, sales promotion, product placement and it supports a company to achieve overall profit of the company. Matalan is a popular company which is based in the United Kingdom (UK) and it has operated in a worldwide range since 1985 and the mission of the company is the same for over 30 years is to serve outstanding quality as well as value for families (Refers to Appendix 1).

The company deals with fashion and home ware retailers with a good quality and in different range, style and quality and the continuous growth of the company supports the company to dominate the competitive market. In this report, the market planning will be discussed in a constructive manner through proper analysis of the market as well as the company for the further progress of the company and retain the position in the international market.

Situational Analysis

Marketing Analysis

Matalan is a well known retail giant which has already possessed a good performance as the company operates 230 stores in the UK and 30 international franchises in the world and simultaneously manages the online market. The company offers a huge range of products such as coats, jackets, jeans for men, knitwear, loungewear for women, clothes for baby boy and girls, varieties home accessories, bedding stores and many more (Matalan. 2022).

Maltan addresses the latest trends of the markets such as products according to the market demand, provides several offers on the online platform and so on, it helps the company to retain the position of the company. The locations of the stores, parking facilities, late night openings, free click, everything under one roof convenience, collect service are also part of market trends which helps the company to retain its consumer base.

Additionally, the company has a vast range of consumers which include different age groups of people such as the age group which includes 1 to 10 for baby products, the age group consist of 18 to 50 for attires and age group of 18 to 70 for products of home accessories and so on.

TOWS Matrix

Threats

The company is dealing with online service for the consumer to follow the digital marketing trend and the discrepancies in digital payment such as violation of security may pose a threat for the company as this obstructs the path of satisfaction of the consumer. The company may not retain its brand reputation, if the company does not focus on the recent trends, feedback of the consumer and the company fails to meet the demand of the consumer (Matalan. 2022).

Opportunities

The latest online trends of marketing need a good logistics system and the company maintains a good logistical service in case of delivery of the products which ensures satisfaction of the consumer. In contrast to that, the freights and logistics market has faced lack of Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) due to several factors such as Brexit and Covid-19 pandemic (Mintel Store. 2022).

Strengths

The company has a good number of employees which enhances the productivity of the company and aids to achieve desirable sales targets as well as growth which contributes to the constant growth of the company.

Weaknesses

The financial risks of the company is always a relevant issue and after the pandemic the risk relates to finance may obstruct the path of implementing strategic objectives for the further growth of the company. The expansion of the business in online platforms demands huge funds and the lack of debt management severely becomes the weakness of the company without proper planning.

PEST Analysis

Political

1. Stability of the government in the UK

2. Good trade relationship with neighbouring countries

Economical

1. Low inflation rate (1.89 %)in UK enhances the scope for business (Data.worldbank.org. 2022)

2. Low Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate poses threat for the business

Social

1. The growing population of the UK offers high employability to the company

2. The tech savvy population of the country offers required consumer base for the company

Technological

1. The company effectively takes sustainability initiatives through modern technologies as the country is technologically advanced and that supports the initiatives of the country such as net zero carbon, plastic to combat against climate change

Table 1: PEST Analysis (Source: Self-created)

PEST analysis of a country effectively supports a company to implement desirable marketing strategies to expand the business locally, nationally as well as internationally and target a certain customer base to increase the overall effect of the company. Political environment of the UK is extremely favorable as the stable government offers the company an added advantage of foreign direct investments as the condition seeks attention of the investors.

The UK always maintains a good relationship with the neighboring country which boosts the trade relationship as well as enhances the scope for the company. Economical factors impact the business immensely and the low inflation rate of the country enhances capability of the consumer for purchasing and the scope for the business for the retail company (Data.worldbank.org. 2022).

Figure 1: Inflation rate of UK (Source: Data.worldbank.org. 2022)

In contrast to that, the GDP rate of the company is low in the UK and it refers to the shrinking in the economy which affects the productivity of the company due to recession (Refer to Appendix 2). The growing population of the economy is supporting the business as part of the social environment of the business as the company may hire required employees for the desired productivity in the business.

The Tech Savvy people of the country also produce a kind of opportunity for the country as the company may identify the required consumer base for their business and implement effective marketing strategies. Technological environment is an important part of the macro environment for the business and the sustainable initiatives of the company through modern technology effectively comply with the initiatives of the country regarding climate change.

Competitive Analysis

The retail conglomerate in the UK successfully continues the business and the company implements several strategies as part of marketing to retain its position in the competitive market. Matalan has adopted the online operation due to the strong market need and the sales jumped £300 million and the huge profit boosts the confidence of the company (Robinson, 2022). The company addresses the demand of the consumer and the market and continuously launches various sales and offers which seek the attention of the consumer which enhances the overall profit for the company.

The company also gives core offers for the suppliers after the pandemic to focus on maintenance of the deep and enduring relationship with them which aids them to take the competitive advantage. The company also faces obstruction due to pandemic as the company for a long span had to shut down the retail stores which increase some weaknesses for the company. There are several companies in the UK such as Peacock’s store, Ross stores, Marks and Spencer, New Look, Primark, Stein Mart and many more and these companies help the company to take the competitive advantage in the market through launch of new products, lucrative marketing strategies and many more.

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP)

Segmentation

Segmentation is a valuable part of marketing and it refers to classification of the target of the company and identifies the consumer based on the target with similar behaviour and needs. There are four types of segmentation which includes demographic, psychographic, behavioural and geographic and it helps the company to divide the targeted customer into smaller groups based on the conditions.

Demographic segmentation immensely helps a company to divide the market based on different variables such as gender, age, family size, occupation, income and based on this the company launches its product. Psychographic segmentation provides the way for a company to assess the markets through interests, behaviour, attitudes, and interests of the consumer. Behavioural segmentation refers to the process through which the company divides the market based on the purchasing pattern, behaviour, decision-making of the consumer.

The loyalty, satisfaction, and attitude are the key components of the success of e-commerce success and the Dirichlet modelling helps to identify the consumer behaviour research on online platforms (Chowdhury et al., 2022). Geographic segmentation helps the company to assess the market based on the geographic location, region, weather and it immensely helps the company to launch the product. Consumer segmentation based on consumers’ actual sustainability and identifying differences of product labels based on benefits helps a company to develop a market segmentation framework for the company (Sarti et al., 2018).

Figure 2: Market segmentation (Source: Sarti et al., 2018)

Targeting

The selection of the desired consumers and based on the demand of the selected customer the company launches a service or product and the whole procedure is known as the targeting in the business. Targeting includes four types which are mass marketing, differentiated or segmented marketing, concentrated or niche marketing, micro marketing and it effectively helps to implement marketing strategies.

The mass marketing usually does not consider any kind of segmentation and the company launches a product based on a single or overall target. Segmented marketing is another strategy of the company and it effectively considers segmentation in the market planning to achieve desired success in the business. Targeting helps a company to do a strategic alignment between the assets and competencies based on the company’s capability and supports the company to take competitive advantages in the market (Graenu, 2019).

Matalan offers baby products and the company targets the age group of 1 to 16 and this implies that the company targets a certain group and launches its product. Segmenting, targeting and position is an effective global marketing strategy and it enhances the process of retaining customers, positioning a product and many more which enhance the growth of the business (Ariq et al., 2022). The company offers home accessories which are based on single targeting as it covers all age groups of consumers and it is the instance of undifferentiated or mass marketing.

Positioning

Figure 3: Perceptual Map (Source: Self-created)

The above perceptual map helps the reader to understand the position of the product of the company in an transparent manner and it derives the position of the company among the competitive market based on price and quality. The vision of the company is to provide quality products to the customers and for that reason the company always maintains the quality of the product and launches according to the demand of the market.

According to the conceptual map, the price of the product is not extremely high and it is affordable which enables the consumer to purchase the desired product. Furthermore, the affordable price immensely helps the company to increase the sales of the company which ensures desirable profit and aids the company to maintain its continuous growth. Matalan usually uses strategies such as positioning based on price, quality, and competition, application of the product and features to take the competitive advantage among the international market.

Positioning strategies also includes service, reliability, attractiveness which helps a company to assess the perception of consumer and it enhances the market planning to meet the demand of the market (Blankson et al., 2018). The offers for different seasons and the occasions make the product more affordable to the consumer and the company attracts the digital consumers through other offers and ensures the repurchase option for the company.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it may be said that Matalan is a famous retailer giant of the UK which maintains its continuous growth and prosperity and operates its business nationally and internationally. The TOWS analysis provides clarity about the external as well as internal condition of the company and the PEST analysis provides the idea on the contemporary condition within the country as a part of the macro environment of the business.

On the other hand, the segmentation, targeting derives the marketing planning properly to catch the desirable base of consumers and the conceptual map provides a clear notion about the position of the company based on quality and price.

Reference

Ariq, F., Muna, N. and Syumantra, R.F., 2022. ANALYSING SEGMENTING, TARGETING, AND POSITIONING TO FORMULATE GLOBAL MARKETING STRATEGY FOR ASAHAN’S OPAK CRACKERS. Journal Of Social Research, 1(2), pp.91-100.

Blankson, C., Nkrumah, M.F., Opare, G. and Ketron, S., 2018. Positioning strategies and congruence in the positioning of high‐end indigenous and foreign retailers in sub‐Saharan Africa: An illustration from Ghana. Thunderbird International Business Review, 60(4), pp.535-548.

Chowdhury, S., Barker, A., Trinh, G. and Lockshin, L., 2022. Using the Dirichlet model to predict how fashion brands compete and grow on eBay. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 21(1), pp.63-79.

Data.worldbank.org. 2022. GDP growth (annual %) – United Kingdom | Data. [online] Available at: <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=GB> [Accessed 16 March 2022].

Graenu, P., 2019. Strategic Marketing.

Matalan. 2022. Online Clothes Shopping – Shop Latest Fashion. [online] Available at: <https://www.matalan.co.uk/> [Accessed 16 March 2022].

Mintel Store. 2022. Logistical Services – UK – 2021 : Consumer market research report|Mintel.com.[online]Available at:<https://store.mintel.com/report/uk-logistical-services-market-report> [Accessed 16 March 2022]

Robinson, J., 2022. Online sales boost revenue and profits at retail giant. [online] Business Live. Available at: <https://www.business-live.co.uk/retail-consumer/online-sales-boost-revenue-profits-22773188> [Accessed 16 March 2022].

Sarti, S., Darnall, N. and Testa, F., 2018. Market segmentation of consumers based on their actual sustainability and health-related purchases. Journal of Cleaner Production, 192, pp.270-280.