Topic 18 - An Organisation's Marketing Strategy & its Effectiveness

Ok.i will just put the graph's and charts in the rap instead but il put the calculation for ratios in the appendix.what are the best ratios to calculate for asda? For the accounting and business techniques used i have used the 7p's,SWOT,RATIOS,MARKET SIZE AND SHARE.but im not sure if i should add Ansoffs growth model there is really necessary?i was thinking of using the generic strategies instead(cost leadership,differentation,focus) and then explain which one asda uses..

@Abi - I cannot tell you exactly what you should do as I don’t know what information you have or is available but with this topic there are links between business objectives and marketing objectives and the marketing strategy and marketing mix/marketing plans so you need to ensure that you cover these. Additionally you should try to do some form of an assessment of the firm’s approach to market segmentation if possible, targeting and positioning (does it have special large stores like Tesco Extra? and Locals or Centrals like some other supermarkets?) and do these seem to influence decisions on the marketing mix (what types of store stock which product for example)? Ansoff may be difficult to apply to a supermarket itself as it has such a broad portfolio of products and services. (If you were doing Tesco you could apply it to the type of store and what the aims of those types are but you already have some models so that should be fine). . Here are few links that may help (note you would not be able to do an internal marketing audit but the external audit mentioned may help you consider some key factors relevant to Asda and how it counters those of its rivals) https://www.marketingteacher.com/marketing-audit/ https://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Retail_Operations_-_Six_success_factors_for_a_tough_market/$FILE/EY_Retail_Operations_-_Six_success_factors_for_a_tough_market.pdf With the ratios you need to show that they are relevant to your study rather than just presenting figures that in themselves do not necessarily mean anything (liquidity may be fairly meaningless for example and it is pointless calculating the quick ratio for a large retailer as they need to carry a lot of stock). You seem to have picked out the main ones. Remember if marketing strategies are successful then an increase in revenue would be expected and the proportion of marketing costs to sales should be stable or show a slight downward trend (if they are constantly rising then it tends to indicate that the company is having to increase promotional costs just to maintain its current level of sales or maintain market share). Increasing market share or maintaing market share if main competitors’ shares are decreasing is another indicator of success. The EY publication suggests a few measures, do take a look. (And yes put the calculations in an appendix but not the graphs themselves unless they are copies of what you already have in the report) If you have already included a lot of this then so much the better

hello,i have decided to you use market size,share,ROCE and operating profit margin i want to add inventory tunrover but im not sure..would it be useful as a ratio? also is it more effective if i compare the ratios i calculated to asda's previous year for eg the ROCE for 2013 is compared with the ROCE for 2012 or should i compare the ROCE for 2013 to tesco's ROCE for 2013..im not sure which is more effective..also is there any other way i can use the ratios apart from those which i mentioned?

@Abi - the idea of any ratios in T18 is they indicate that whether the marketing strategies have been successful or not so you should attempt to use those that best demonstrate this. As I have mentioned previously, you must focus on Asda and any comparisons with Tesco should be selective to illustrate definite differences or common approaches. Do not divert from the title for T18 as a comparison of Asda's marketing strategies with another company is not the title.

Ok thank you..i think i will just stick to ROCE,operating profit and market share.Is it ok jf i compare the figures for 2013 to 2012 in order to show how effective the strategies have been?i was also thinking of checking online maybe on asda's page to see if they mention anything about profitabilty in 2014 and directly quite the figures....Also Lately asda doesnt seem to be doing well because there has been a decrease in profits so i can i mention this?For eg i can say that the black friday was successful in 2014 because it lead to an increase in sales but in 2015 sales have decreased

Hello trephena, I just wanted to ask if asda is a public company or a private company? I'm getting different answers on Google so I just want to be sure

Please tell me which models i can use for topic 18( marketing strategies ). I decided to use 7p's and John p kotter(Change managment). Does these fit on the topic?

Help me guys.

@rana mansoor - certainly 7Ps. Change management would depend on you showing how relevant it is in the context of your RAP/ company. Not sure if you are confusing Kotter with Kotler here possibly? Philip Kotler is the marketing guru not Kotter. Take a look at this as it is about this maestro and his basic product theory https://www.provenmodels.com/16/five-product-levels/philip-kotler

@rana mansoor - You have to be a little careful here as the focus in the article though on strategy is mainly on HR strategies. However they do link into the 7Ps and delivering what the customer wants, so ensure that is where you put the emphasis. As for the Change Management Model itself – you would need to show how changes in the 7 Ps dovetail into this. The Change Management Model is concerned with top-level strategic direction (“the Vision”) and how to implement this throughout the organisation – Marketing forms part of the organisation’s strategies but again you need to concentrate on the effects on product offering rather than diverging too much away from this and into all the stages of the model. The model is more about promoting a change of direction and leadership throughout the organisation. This does impacts on the service delivery although marketing is not specifically singled out, so you would need to provide the links (perhaps via the article) and demonstrate the relevance of the model to your RAP. Otherwise the marker may think that you are trying to diverge too much from the topic title as T18 is about assessing the effectiveness of the marketing strategies not about assessing how successful the change in vision has been generally

I love this post. I've been looking to do something around marketing.

May I know what is 7p? How about if the financial statement doesn't mentioned for the marketing expenses but only mentioned other expenses? Is this other expenses can consider as marketing expenses?

marketing cost is very important in this topic?

@EVELEEN WONG - Yes to assess effectiveness you need data on market share, sales growth and ideally marketing costs (sometimes the latter is shown in the notes to the accounts)

Hi All Please could you help - Are these questions specific enough? What are the SWOT of Clicks Group marketing mix? How does the Clicks Group's marketing mix meet its customer expectations? Is Clicks Group getting ROI on therir marketing plan?

Are we allowed to use the same research questions?

Hi, does the obu rap topic based on marketing campaign evaluation require the candidate to gain information directly from the company . can we use a public opinion research as suitable evaluation method.

@tandi - do you mean are these specific enough as project objectives? Yes but you need to now formulate some more detailed research questions that you will help you fulfil these objectives e.g. is Clicks able to offer any unique selling propositions? Also given that customer expectations can be broad you should consider whether it differentiates its product offerings for particular markets (types of customer) or segments (what it offers in specific areas or outlets). Do you mean the same research questions as someone else or same as your objectives? The research questions breakdown the objectives into more exact components. So your SWOT objective would be dealt with by developing research questions on the marketing mix: considering how Clicks uses price to compete with rivals or what forms of promotions it uses for specific products and /or to attract specific customers etc. You should also consider how it pitches itself in the market e.g. does it go for high end customers or mass market?

@Raveen -Topic 18 does not require primary data collection -it can be done successfully from doing good research and using appropriate secondary data. These days with the internet this data is relatively easy to come by if sufficient effort is made and the right organisation is chosen Some students do conduct surveys but these will only ever normally fulfil part of the project brief that is the effectiveness of SOME of the strategies and is unlikely to cover everything. Before doing this topic students need to get a good idea about the theories underlying marketing strategies so I suggest that you look at the following links: https://www.segmentationstudyguide.com/stp-process/full-stp-process/ https://www.consumerpsychologist.com/cb_Segmentation.html IF you decide to conduct primary research then you also need to understand the principles of how to conduct valid surveys so read Phil Clarke's article in the Info Pack AND the Information on the following link. https://www.consumerpsychologist.com/cb_Research_Methods.html Students invariably produce and rely on unreliable surveys and then fail on application and evaluation (which is why I advise secondary data -BUT the research needs to be good to pass and excellent for a higher grade). Raveen I reposted your query here as we only need one forum for Topic 18 and this is it. Reminder to everyone -please search for an appropriate existing Topic rather than starting a new topic - see PLEASE HELP KEEP OUR FORUMS TIDY!!!!

Hi Trephena, Is it really important to have both the research questions and research objectives for the rap. Can't I have only the r. objectives? plz advise. thanks

@tanvi2211 -You are expected to formulate one from the other. So objectives are usually overarching aims of what your project hopes to achieve and the research questions are more detailed 'plans' of how these objectives will be fulfilled. Please see the attached (although it deals primarily with T8, the same principle applies to T18) https://opentuition.com/topic/words-for-criteria-of-the-structure-of-the-research-and-analysis-project/

This is great. Thank you.

Hi All I am now doing part 3 of my rap. My research questions: What is the current marketing strategy of Clicks Retailers What is Clicks Brand Proposition? How do they communicate their product offers to their customers How does Clicks cater for its customers given the extreme demographics in South Africa Is the strategy effective What can Clicks do better to improve their marketing strategy 1) What is the current marketing strategy of Clicks retailers. - For this I have a heading - Ïdentifying Marketing Strategy of Clicks Retailers. I have a page and a half of this giving a breakdown of all what Clicks Plans to do based on a document I obtained from work (Clicks). 2) My second heading is Evaluation of Clicks Marketing Strategy Do I have to answer each question individually as a heading? I feel that I have answered these questions on the models under this heading? 3) Conclusion and Recommendations

@tandi -sorry if has taken me so long to get back to you my day job has been making heavy demands on my time unfortunately. My main concern for the success of your project is that you must demonstrate that you have some original analysis and input and the 'danger' of using company information is that you are just reporting and repeating what someone else found and their ideas. So rather than just state the strategies you need to evaluate them - remember part of the title is about reviewing the effectiveness of the strategies! You could do this review by researching artcles on the company and its marketing techniques, assessing what competitors do and bringing in some data e.g showing growth in market share, possibly increases in net profit per employee or trend in ratio of revenue to marketing costs.

Hi, Is it neccessary to use the swot analysis, marketing mix and 5 porters forces as models in Topic 18? Because am exceeding the word limit. please advice. Thanks,

@tanvi2211 - cut the Porter's and try to make the SWOT more relevant by applying it specifically to marketing strategies

Hi, is it compulsory to have a recommendation section for the RAP?. My mentor said if exceeding word limit, then its not necessary. But I believe it should be there. Please confirm if its compulsory. thanks

@tanvi2211 - No you could cut the Recommendations but you do need a Conclusion i.e. how successful or otherwise the strategies have been (based briefly on the main evidence you found) Have amended the last advice to...'or cut the SWOT and really try to bring in marketing aspects that could apply to the 5 different aspects of the Porter's' wherever possible (customers , rivals should be easy some of the others will be harder - so don't worry too much if you can't do this so well for suppliers for example).'

Hello, Please confirm me whether is it important to include bibliography for the rap.Also, as am resubmitting my rap this period, confirm me if i need to submit a ppt presentation as i have changed my topic and organisation as well. but i have pass my SLS. Thanks

@tanvi - a proper reference list is a must, a bibliography is optional. Sorry I am on holiday and can't access the Information Pack but it will tell you in there if you must resubmit the Presentation if you have changed topic. (Sometimes the system won't let you complete the submission and upload your files without a Presentation file and I have known students to have to load the one they did and passed previously even when they haven't changed topic just to submit their report!)