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Introduction

Report on Marks & Spencer Recovery 1.0 The Marketing Process 1.1 What is marketing? Marketing is not just about selling and advertising. Marketing is about satisfying customer's wants and needs and their demand. Marketing starts to suggest it self when the product has been thought of to be produced. A marketer has to find out whether the product will be profitable. Marketing has to be continued as long as the product or service exists. To attract more customers and to improve customers wants. Marketers have to focus on offering new goods and improving it. The aim of marketing is to know what the consumers want, to make it fit their wants and their needs, so that the product can sell it self. Marketers that have been researching consumers before producing will be successful and profitable. Although selling and advertising are still important in the marketing mix industry. As Kotler sad in 'Principles of Marketing' marketing procedure consist of giving what the customers need, to get a success in the field in return. The 'CIM' suggested that in order to make a profit in business is to classify what the customer's demands. "Marketing is the human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through an exchange process."1 "Marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they want and need through creating, offering, and exchanging products of value with others."2 "Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer's requirements profitably".3 1.2 Market Orientation As Kotler sad in 'Marketing Management' book, a market oriented company will produce product or service according to consumers wants and needs. They will research or do survey before making a production. The company will supply a consumers demand to secure a successful brand. Market oriented company will keep their customers exited by improving and developing customers wants. And the consumers will be giving feedback on how great the product has been and what it is lacking. ...read more.

Middle

This usually used to make comparison.15 For example, how many people consume M&S poultry instead of Tesco's in a percentage. M&S will hereby find out if Tesco is their leading competitor. Or M&S can also use quantitative data to measure how many people use online shopping rather than coming to the store. This will help them to see whether they should improve or stock more goods online rather than just focusing on the store. Targeting respondents using segmentation Segmentation is splitting potential customers into market different groups. For example, splitting the customer's age grouped of 18-25 years into one group to generate their interest in clothing styles and colours etc. This will enable M&S to become conscious of which market segment to focus on. And to compare two groups to see which group to focus on. 2.3 Best research method for M&S They best research methods for M&S is to use their primary data collected on surveying their focus groups and on customer feedback which they can obtain their customers details through their credit cards. M&S obtaining information from their focus groups will cost less as they are of to a particular information and particular age group. They can carry the survey out by inviting their customers to a event and obtaining the information by making them fill a questionnaire. They can entertain the customers with snacks and drinks. This wouldn't cost much as the their will be limit of people which they would like to obtain information from. To organise such an event will take about roughly a month. To send of the invites and to receive back the respond from customers who wants to attend the event, it can even take less time depending on how efficient the customers are responding. When goods are returned back for refund or exchange, this opportunity can be used to obtain information on why the goods where no good and its preferred instead etc. ...read more.

Conclusion

M&S is also good at taking care of their staff, which is important to retain the staff. 3.7 Process The process factor refers to the system used to assist M&S of producing amazing services. This only needs a bit of management attention to ensure the best procedure in store. For example, if the mannequin is wearing a top that has been sold out in all colours and sizes, the top has to be taken of to prevent customers walking into the store to ask for that particular top which has been sold out. As some customers wouldn't be bothered to ask for something else they looking for they have been disappointed for the first time. And this will lead to losing a sale or possibly losing a customer. However the M&S marketing process management is well organized as stock of the clothing line are 2 each size displayed. 3.8 Physical Evidence The physical evidence is clearly the way their staff is being presented and their store. That is what the customers sees and that what M&S is judged on as a store. The store is always clean and is the window and the shells are well stocked. The lightening and music is always on the appropriate standard suited at time of the day. Their carpets are posh and tick and clean. These are all the bits that count on how well the store is presented and it will make the customers feel comfortable to shop at M&S. 3.9 Conclusion I will conclude that M&S marketing mix is on the fundamental standard, they don't need much changed. Although they will have to adopt the market oriented approach to improve their clothing line, as this is their current weak point. The clothing line is what they started producing which they should be specialised in, to be in the lead of their competitor's stores such as Matalan, Primark and Next in the fashionable clothing wise. M&S has been to focused on their product and they have been producing the same sort of products without style updates. This has been their biggest week point which needs improvement. ...read more.

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