Introduction
For accomplishing business objectives, the organisation has to take help from different business functions such as human resource management, finance, accounting, production, and marketing. Out of these functions, marketing is most important because it helps the organisation in selling as well as promoting its business so that it can accomplish competitiveness over a market competitor. For the current business report, Your Destinations has been selected as it is a newly established organisation and gives core attention to its marketing activities. This organisation is a rapidly growing firm which operates its business activities into Essex and London. For having better growth and development Your Destination wants to expand its business in Aberdeen, Newcastle, and Manchester so that it can easily compete with market leader namely National Express. This report will include the discussion on different marketing roles and responsibilities that a manager has to perform. Also, it will be explained that how marketing roles and responsibilities contribute to achieving business objectives. Further, it will include the comparison between your destination and National express to determine how different organisation applies marketing mix elements. At last, there will be the development of a clear marketing plan which will help your destination in dealing with market competitors.
Part 1
LO1
P1 Explain the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function.
Marketing can be referred to as a process of buying and selling goods or services, which helps the organisation in accomplishing its objectives as well. In traditional time, business people have focus only profit maximisation instead of the satisfaction level of customers. In the present time, all business entities have become market-oriented which force them to focus more on their marketing activities as well as practices. For controlling as well as managing the marketing activities, your destination appoints marketing to manage who plays different roles and responsibilities so that organisation can huge market growth and development (Armstrong, Adam, Denize and Kotler, 2014). There are various important tasks which should be completed by marketing managers such as product promotion, advertisement, and fulfilment of all production requirements because production is the only function upon which business success depends. Apart from this, the manager of the marketing section must be accountable for the coordinating, controlling, organising and directing function. Your destination is a transportation organisation which totally depends upon its management function and marketing activities because they help the organisation in attracting a huge number of customers and managing them in an appropriate manner. Moreover, there are some other marketing roles and responsibilities which should be performed by the manager of your destination, these are followed as under:
Market research: This is the first and most pivotal responsibility of any marketing manager. For surviving in a competitive marketplace, the manager has to be well aware of the exact customer needs and market trends. By having knowledge about customer needs organisation can make changes in its current production function and produce products or services which highly satisfy the customer needs (Arnett and Wittmann, 2014).
Promotion and advertisement: It has become very much important for a marketing manager to keep knowledge about different promotional and advertisement techniques so that it can promote its business products in a cost-effective manner. Both promotion and advertisement are essential activities for marketing managers as it helps the organization in competing with market competitors and attracting a large number of customers.
Brand management: In the present time, only those companies are surviving in a competitive marketplace that has strong brand equity or which manage its brand image in an appropriate manner (Bai and Chang, 2015). For making your destination a successful transportation organization it is important for its marketing manager to adopt those methods through which he can manage as well as increase its brand equity in the marketplace.
Product development: On the basis of market research, the marketing manager has to improve their production process so that they can produce a high-quality product in a cost-effective manner. In simple words, the marketing manager is responsible for identifying the market trends and implementing them in current product function so that organization can provide high-quality products to the customer at lower prices. Also, this step of market manager helps the organisation in accomplishing competitive advantage over market competitors (Baker, 2014).
Internal communication: The most significant role of the marketing manager is to build good relationship among all business sections so that they can communicate and cooperate with each other, also they can help the organisation in leading at high business growth.
Hence, these are the major function which needs to be operated by the marketing manager of your destination in order to increase the business growth as well as development.
P2 Explain how the roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organisational context.
Marketing is an only business function which creates interrelationship among other business functions such as production, research & development, finance and so on. Your destination can accomplish its business objectives only if its marketing manager performs his roles and responsibilities in the wider organisational context (Baker, 2014). In simple words, by performing marketing roles and responsibilities manager can help other departments in accomplishing their goals as well as objectives. The major roles of marketing manager of your destination are followed as under:
(Figure 1: Roles of marketing manager)
(Source: Feng et al., 2015)
Identification of market potential: For surviving in a competitive marketplace, it is highly essential for a marketing manager to identify current market trends as well as growth opportunities which can lead their business to the high level of success and growth. In the present time, all companies try to identify their market needs and potential so that they can satisfy their target customer in most effective and in a relevant systematic manner (Chen, 2014). The manager of marketing regarding your destination focus on those merging needs of the market which attract customer most. By satisfying such needs Transportation Company can easily achieve competitive advantage.
Creation of marketing plan: For fulfilling the business objectives, marketing manager of your destination produce successful business plans which assist the organization in increasing organisational profitability as well as productivity. While making a marketing plan, a business manager has to keep in mind various important aspects such as targeting, segmenting and positioning activities which leads the organisation towards business success. In the present time, business entities invest huge amount on their marketing plan because it helps them in analysing their current market position (Chen, 2014). Also, it provides strategic direction to the company so that it can achieve its desired results in an appropriate manner.
Supervision of business activities: It is the huge responsibility of marketing manager to supervise business activities so that they can improve the efficiency as well as the effectiveness of the business enterprise. The process of supervision makes marketing manager familiar with internal and external activities of your destination such as production, procurement, and service delivery process.
Product launch: Before the product launch, marketing manager deeply analyse the positive and negative sides of the product so that it can make sure that customer will not get harmed. After getting passed from different tests, business services reach to final customers.
Hence, these are some most important roles and responsibilities of marketing manager which coordinates with other business departments like production, finance etc. so that desired business goals can be accomplished in an appropriate manner (Correia and Mårdh, 2013). The functions which are coordinated by the marketing manager are followed as under:
Finance Department: Without taking any help of finance section, the marketing manager can never build a successful business plan because for operating planned activities it needs enough capital. While making a marketing plan, manager consults with finance team so that he can allocate financial resource in an appropriate manner. This helps your destination in creating coordination among business functions and also helps in creating effective marketing budget that fulfils all the planning requirements.
Production Department: The most effective function of the manager in respect of marketing is to research and identify current market trends. After collecting market information, he has to consult with production manager so that they can make changes in the production process if required. With mutual understanding, marketing and production can make necessary changes in a product which will help the organisation in increasing its profitability as well as productivity.
Research and Development Department: This section is responsible for researching new needs of the customer and developing quality products which can bring an organisation to reach and earn a high level of profits and success. The R&D section deeply analyses that information which is collected by marketing section for better growth of business entity (Cummings and Worley, 2014). The coordination among marketing and R&D section helps your destination in accomplishing its desired goals as well as objectives.
M1 Analyse the roles and responsibilities of marketing in the context of the marketing environment.
The globalisation is a major reason that is increasing competition in all business industries like transportation, manufacturing and so on. The increasing market competition influences a huge impact on your destination and its profit margins. In this type of situation, it becomes important for a marketing manager to perform their roles and responsibilities in an appropriate manner so that the organisation can accomplish its desired results without any problem. For surviving in the marketing environment, it is essential for a marketing manager to analyse the market trends and customer needs on a continuous basis so that he can provide better satisfaction to business customers (Feng, Morgan and Rego, 2015).
There are different marketing roles such as management of the business brand, promotion, advertisement and market research which are performed by a marketing manager so that organisation can accomplish competitiveness over market contenders.
M2 Analyse the significance of interrelationships between marketing and other functional units of an organisation.
Marketing is considered as that business function which coordinates with other functional units of your destination so that desired business goals and objectives can be achieved in a proper manner. Some most important functional units of your destination are production, research & development, production etc. The marketing section coordinates with other functional units so that they can operate business activities in most effective manner. For instance, while making marketing budget business manager has to coordinate with the finance manager so that financial resources can be allocated in an appropriate manner (Germann, Ebbes and Grewal, 2015). Apart from this, the marketing section collects about new customer needs and market trends so that production section can produce products or services as per customer preferences. All these practices influence positive impact on business growth and also help your destination in achieving its predetermined goal as well as objectives.
D1 Critically analyse and evaluate the key elements of the marketing function and how they interrelate with other functional units of an organisation
As per the observation of Baker (2014), marketing is that essential function of business enterprise which helps it in promoting business products and services so that maximum number of the customer will get attracted towards it. There are two major components of marketing which are product development and market research. On the basis of conducted research, marketing team collects informative data regarding market trends and customer needs which should be implemented in production function for the better product or service development. In the present time, customer likes to shift to those companies which cooperate with latest market trends. The best feature of above-mentioned components is that they interrelate with each other. For example, market research helps R&D team in determining the market requirements so that necessary changes can be made in the production process and organisation can produce high-quality business products or services for its target customers.
Part 2
LO2
P3 Compare the ways in which different organisation apply the marketing mix to the marketing planning process to achieve business objectives.
The marketing mix is that business concept which helps the business entity in achieving its desired results in an appropriate manner. There are seven marketing mix elements which are applied by both the destinations such as your destination and National express but in some different ways.
| Marketing mix elements | Your destination | National Express |
| Product | Your destination is a newly established company which provide transportation services in limited areas like London and Essex but for having future growth it needs to expand its business. This organisation delivers high-quality transportation services along with basic facilities so that it can attract a maximum number of people. | On the other side, National Express is a well-known transportation company which operates its business in more than 1000 location. On every transportation service, it provides 20 to 25% discount which helps it in attracting a huge number of customers. |
| Price | As it is a newly established organisation so it starts its transportation services from 200 Euro which is economically affordable by all people (Baker, 2014). | On the other side, National express is a well-established company so it provides its services at very high prices because its customer is loyal to it. |
| Place | In the present time, your destination is providing its services in Essex and London. But having better growth and development it will start providing its services in Glasgow, Newcastle, and Manchester because there is a huge demand for transportation services. | The national express provides its services at higher prices which can be afforded by rich people so it provides its services only in urban areas. |
| Promotion | The promotion activity helps the organisation in making customer aware of its services. Your destination is taking help of social media platforms so that it can reach to a maximum number of people which investing huge investment. | National Express on the other side takes help of TV advertisement so that it can attract local people (Boone and Kurtz, 2013). |
| People | Your destination is developing so well because it keeps its employees satisfied by providing financial and non-financial rewards. | The national express does not focus on its employee satisfaction because it considers business profit more important. |
| Process | There are several processes which are operated by your destination for effective utilisation of resources and improving the business systems (Chen, 2014). | On the other side, national express focuses on profit maximisation instead of business processes. |
| Physical evidence | The biggest physical evidence of your destination is its satisfied customer base. | Huge market expansion and increased market share is strongest physical evidence of National express. |
M3 Evaluate different tactics applied by organisations to demonstrate how business objectives can be achieved
The most important tactics of the marketing mix are product, price, promotion, place, physical evidence, process, and people. By focusing on these components, your destination can lead to a high level of success and growth. The product elements help the organisation in determining which kind of services customer wants and how they can satisfy their needs. Apart from this, product’s price and promotion activities help the organisation in attracting a huge number of customers which mainly increases business profitability as well as productivity.
Moreover, by focusing more on people and process elements business enterprise can strengthen its position within the competitive marketplace (Germann, Ebbes and Grewal, 2015). The physical evidence of organisation makes it different from other industry rivalries. Hence, it can be said that marketing mix elements help your destination in accomplishing its desired results.
LO3
P4 Produce and evaluate a basic marketing plan for an organisation. (M4, D2)
In the present time, ‘Your destination’ wants to build a successful marketing plan which will help it in expanding its business in other regions as well. Different components of the complete marketing plan are followed as under:
Executive summary: The marketing plan can be referred to as blueprint of an organisation which provides right direction to the organisation so it can achieve its desired goals in a proper manner. Current marketing plan would be a focus on your destination for its market expansion.
Company Overview: Your destination has recently completed its 3 years of success. This organisation is specialised in providing transportation services (Westwood, 2013). But for surviving in a competitive marketplace it wants to expand its business in Manchester, Glasgow and another area for which it needs to design to marketing plan which will include the situation analysis, STP analysis, marketing mix elements, and marketing budget.
Situation analysis: Before making a business plan, it is important for your destination to analyse both internal as well as an external business environment which can be determined by below mentioned analytical tools (Wrenn and Mansfield, 2014).
PEST analysis: This business tool helps in analysing the external factors which are mentioned below:
Political factors: The changing taxation policies, legal rules, and regulation come under this section. Before expanding business in new areas your destination needs to identify the political stability of those areas.
Economic factors: For having better growth, the organisation needs to analyse the income level of people so that it can provide its services on affordable prices.
Technological factors: With the help of advanced business technologies like social media and other digital platforms organisation can attract a huge number of customers (Paley, 2017).
Social factors: Consideration of social needs and cultural values helps organisation in leading a high level of success.
SWOT analysis: This business analysis tool provides information about the internal environment of the organisation.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
| · Satisfied customers
· Growing market shares · The strong brand image in UK market |
· Poor access to financial resources
· Lack of human resources |
| Opportunities | Threats |
| · Market expansion
· Technological advancement |
· Increased market competition
· Changing political factors |
On the basis of PEST and SWOT analysis, the organisation has determined that there is intense competition in the market for which it needs to develop new market objectives and set segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies (Lamb and Crompton, 2017).
Marketing objectives: The major objectives of your destination are followed as under:
- To expand business activities into new locations
- To increase market share by 2% within 2 years
- To provide better customer satisfaction
STP analysis: With the help of this business analysis tool your destination can set successful segmentation, positioning and targeting strategies which are followed as under:
| Segmentation | Targeting | Positioning |
| For segmenting the market, your destination would take help of demographic and geographic factors because it helps the organisation in segmenting the market in an appropriate manner. Your destination will select travellers as well as business people of United Kingdom. | For better growth, it is important for your destination to target only those people who can provide a huge profit to an organisation such as travellers, business people and so on. | For attracting targeted customers, your destination will take help of different promotional and advertisement tools such as Twitter, Facebook and TV ads. |
Marketing tactics: There are seven most important market mix elements which are applied by your destination for having better growth, these are followed as under:
(Figure 2: Marketing mix elements)
(Source: Marketingmix.com, 2015)
Product: The most important product of your destination will be its high-quality transportation services across the nation along with basic facilities.
Price: The price range of your destination will start from 200 Euro so that people with all backgrounds can afford its services.
Place: For having better growth and competing with market competitors, the organisation will provide nationwide transportation services.
Promotion: For attracting a larger number of people, the organisation will take help of social media platforms which are cost effective also.
People: The major focus on the organisation will be on its employees because without human resources it cannot perform its business functions.
Process: The activities and practices of the organisation will be operated in a systematic manner so that the organisation can accomplish its desired goals.
Physical evidence: The high satisfied employees and customer will work as physical evidence for your destination.
Marketing budget and control: For executing the above-mentioned marketing plan, it is highly essential for your destination to set market budget. Without the help of enough financial resources, your destination can never accomplish its desired marketing goals (Lamb and Crompton, 2017). For the successful execution of marketing, plan organisation has decided to set a marketing budget of 100000 Euro. For controlling the budget, the organisation will take help of cost-benefit analysis as well as rating scales which will help in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the marketing plan.
Conclusion: Thus, it has been concluded that with the help of effective planning and procedures, your destination can build a successful marketing plan and also can accomplish its desired goals in an appropriate manner. The situation analysis and STP analysis are major business tools which contribute to the success of a marketing plan.
Conclusion
By summering above mentioned discussion, it has been concluded that marketing is a most vital function of the business enterprise as it helps entity in promoting as well as advertising its business image in the competitive marketplace. There are different marketing roles and responsibilities like market research, brand management, promotion, advertisement, product development and so on. By fulfilling these roles marketing manage can contribute a lot in accomplishing business objectives as marketing corporate with all business functions for better organisational growth. The marketing mix is a most important concept which should be followed by your destination for accomplishing competitive advantage in the marketplace. National Express is the biggest market competitor of your destination but with the use of marketing mix elements in an effective manner, your destination can increase its customer line as well as market shares. Apart from this, a business enterprise can take help of a coherent marketing plan for achieving its marketing objectives in most effective as well as in a systematic manner.
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