Executive summary
This business report is an analysis of Marks and Spencer retailer, found in Britain. The report focuses on the background of the company, its vision, mission, values and corporate objectives. Further, it highlights the stages involved in the planning process, which entails corporate objectives, marketing audit, SWOT analysis, marketing objectives, and marketing strategies, marketing programs, budgets and control evaluation. Additionally, the report conducts a PESTLE analysis of the company, where it focuses on the different factors that affect the performance of the company. These factors include the political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal factors. Notably, the report also conducts the company’s SWOT analysis, where it draws attention on the company’s strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It also identifies the significant areas of defining the marketing objectives thus choosing the one, which will best fit Marks and Spencer. Finally, it identifies two SMART marketing objectives that fit the company giving reasons why.
Introduction
This business report draws attention on Marks and Spencer, which a is a giant retailer found in Britain specializing in selling clothes, gifts, foods and home furnishing among others. In addition, the company also operates in financial services, which accounts for a small percentage of the company’s total profits. Initially, Marks and Spencer started as a stall in 1884 by Michael Marks. To enhance its development, the company insisted on low prices together with values. By the end of 1990, the company has acquired 35 more outlets, with a new partner know as Tom Spencer. Currently, the company employee over 65,000 employees, operating more than 450 stores and is among the booming international trade. For example, in 2007, Marks and Spencer ranked the best retailer in UK’s clothes with a total market share of 11.1%. Additionally, the food sales for the company reported 49.8% of the total UK business, thus possessing a market share of 4.3%. (Marcel, Phaal, Clare and David, 2009 p. 47). In the same year, the company opened up 36 more stores, among them being the largest franchise store in Dubai (Marcel, Phaal, Clare and David, 2009 p. 47).
Vision
- The vision of Marks and Spencer is to attain a standard against which all others are measured.
Mission
- The company’s mission is to implement aspiration quality that is accessible to everyone.
Values
- The major values of the company include quality, value, service, innovation as well as trust.
Corporate objectives
- The corporate objectives of the company are in its mission statement, which defines the company and what it aims to attain. This includes the information on the company regarding its values, which is specializing in clothing and food. It further aims to increase its financial goals through increasing its sales and market shares. Finally, the company highly appreciates its staffs because it considers them an imperative part of their plan as well as the modernization of its stores all over the world (Peattie and Crane, 2005 p. 361).
Identify and briefly explain the stages of the planning process
The diagram below shows the stages involved in the planning process.
Source: (Brassington & Pettitt, 2006).
Corporate objectives
- This stage involve coming up with detailed action plans that will enhance achievement of organizational goals and objectives with consideration of organizational resources and its surrounding environment. The successfulness of this stage relies on the collaboration of organizational resources and the environment (Newbery and Arouch, 2008 p.43).
Marketing Audit
- Marketing audit is a significant part of the planning process because it plays an essential role in ensuring that the company makes profits. This is because the stage puts in consideration both internal and external factors of an organization. Marketing audit occurs during every auditing. In addition, the stage includes the analysis of other factors in the company such as performance, quality, production and price among others, this enhances coordination among different areas in an organization. Therefore, it is an important step to maintain in a company because it gives it a blueprint of the business (Jackson and Sparks, 2005 p. 723).
SWOT analysis
- SWOT analysis is an imperative stage in the planning process because it highlights the organizational strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Therefore, this enables it to be essential in flushing off the significant issues. SWOT analysis enhances identification of the key issues thus enabling the planning team to come up with strategies that can help them attain the overall goals of an organization (Hansotia, 2009 p. 340).
Marketing objectives
- Marketing objective is a significant part of the planning process because it acts as guidance to marketing actions, thus measuring efficiency performance of a plan. It can focus on the market share, goals, and sales thus satisfying the targeted audience and enhancing awareness in the market.
Marketing strategies
- The marketing strategies stage involves the formulation of the marketing strategy in an organization. Therefore, the stage entails analyzing the Unique Selling point, clarifying the products, creating the message, dividing the targeted market as well as defining the major objectives of an organization (Beaver, 1999 p. 325).
Marketing programs
- The marketing program stage includes the documentation of customer list database, with the contact information of the companies as well as marketing the non-commodity products and services.
Budgets
- This is an important stage in the planning process because it is the major foundation of financial plan in every organization. Therefore, it enables the company to understand the amount of money that it has how it utilizes the money, thus coming up with the best ways of using the money. Concurrently, companies that budget effectively, keeps their spending on track thus uncovering the hidden cash flow problems that might end up freeing more money to be applicable in other financial goals (Davies, 1999 p. 64).
Control and evaluation
- The control and evaluation stage is an essential part of the planning process as well as final thus establishing how well different strategies have been. This is because the stage entails gathering information on how the company is performing including their service and products. Additionally, the stage considers the external conditions affecting the business such as the client feedback, thus determining the success of an organization (Brassington & Pettitt, 2006 p.76).
PESTLE analysis of Marks and Spencer
The table below shows PESTLE analysis of Marks and Spencer
Political factors
The political factors entails the manners in which a country conducts its politics as well as what is happening in the government. The political factors can affect Marks and Spencer either negatively or positively, depending on the political situation in Britain. The factor is beneficial to Marks and Spencer because the political status in Britain is stable thus enabling the company to conduct its business effectively. Consequently, this increases production in Marks and Spencer thus enhancing their profits (Beaver, 1999 p.325).
Social factors
Social factors include the manners in which customers affects the company. In Marks and Spencer, the concept of consumers in the market has really changed thus having less information in the British high quality products. Consequently, there have been major shifts in the demand of fashionable clothing. However, the customers have also shifted to shop in other clothing stores that are available in other markets. However, the social factors have negatively affected Marks and Spencer because it has left it less competitive (Beaver, 1999 p. 325).
Economical factors
The economical factors include how the state of currencies has affected the company. In this case, the competitors of Marks and Spencer have decided to specialize in niche market, thus getting customers that enable them to offer better customer satisfaction. Therefore, this has made the customers to prefer importing their products from overseas so that they can save the costs; as a result, this puts Mark and Spencer at a disadvantage due to perception of high quality. On the contrary, Mark and Spencer is among the leading retailer in clothing in Britain as it has a share of more than 10.4%, which enables it to attract older and more effluent customers. Additionally, recession has made customers to increase the rate of perceptive in their shopping habits, thus putting a lot of attention in values. Consequently, this has affected Marks and Spencer both negatively at positively. The company benefits due to its share in the country economy have enabled it to maintain its old customers while the high competition on the market has affected the company negatively by enhancing the rate of competition on the market (Beaver, 1999 p. 326).
Technological factors
These factors involve how the advancement in technology has affected Marks and Spencer. However, these factors have been of benefit to the company because they have enhanced opportunities for cross-sectional shopping. On the contrary, advancement in technology has also enabled other companies to implement high quality products hence being threat to Marks and Spencer. Additionally, technology has supported the company in enhancing its rate of innovation such as applying water and repellent storm wear finish in trousers among others. Technology has also enabled media to play an essential role in enhancing communication between the company and the customers. The media had been essential in communicating to varying designers and producers so that other manufacturing industries in countries such as Thailand and China have knowledge of fashion trends in UK. Therefore, this has benefited Marks and Spencer as it has enabled it to advertise its products to the world hence getting more online customers. On the contrary, it also affected the company negatively as it has enabled other companies to come up with high quality products hence being a threat to Marks and Spencer (Beaver, 1999 p. 327).
Environmental factors
These entail the factors within the surrounding environment that affects Marks and Spencer. This is because the sales of products produced by the company directly affect the surrounding environment as well as the manners in which consumers discard them. However, the company also requires application of different material in the production of its products making it essential for the company to take good care of its environment in order to maintain its productivity (Beaver, 1999 p. 328).
Legal factors
These include the policies put in place by government that companies should apply it its operation. This is because it is imperative for the company to work in line with the government policies and other organization systems such as World Health Organization, while conducting their marketing plans. These policies enable Marks and Spencer to monitor all its products so that they ensure an effective production method. This scheme has been beneficial to Marks and Spencer as it has enabled to it to save 5% of its total due to the government implementing energy saving organizations (Doyle, 1995 p. 23).
Identify four fundamental areas within which marketing objectives may be defined
Marketing objectives is what an organization aims to achieve within its marketing activities. There are fundamental factors that any given organization should consider while in need of establishing an effective marketing objectives. These include SMART approach, which calls for setting specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and coming up with time specific objectives. This is because when a company is setting up its objectives, it is imperative for all its objectives to meet the SMART approach. The approach enables an organization to manage its varying marketing activities thus being in a position to determine their success (Tresidder, 2010 p. 481).
Which one will you choose for Marks and Spencer?
I will choose specific for Marks and Spencer because it will enable the company to state precise objectives so that it can be able to achieve all it hopes to.
Identify two SMART marketing objectives for the organization explaining why
Initially, achievable is a reasonable SMART for the company because it will support it in implementing reasonable objectives so that it can be able to achieve them as it set its target high. Time specific is also an essential SMART factor for Marks and Spencer because it will encourage it to come up with specific time that it hopes to achieve its objectives.
Reference list
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