Strategic and International Marketing Activities

International marketing is an important aspect for organisations that operate globally as it helps them in expanding their operations globally and fulfil the needs of people present in different parts of the world. It also helps businesses in connecting with world for example new business partners as well as customers and they also get access to future opportunities. Get Assignment Examples.Talk to our Experts!

Strategic and International Marketing Activities

Marks and Spencer has operations in different parts of the world and follows a competitive pricing strategy for its products in order to remain competitive and gain advantage of being a market leader. The different strategic marketing activities of the respective company are explained below with the help of 4Ps of marketing -

• Product - As per the view point of Hitesh Bhasin, Marks and Spencer believes in manufacturing goods as services that are environment friendly and thus works towards it consistently (Marketing mix of Marks and Spencer, 2019). The company offers a diversified portfolio of products ranging from clothing items for women, men and kids, household products as well as food and beverage items. The products are available in a wide variety of colours and other options to choose from.
• Price - The respective brand caters to the needs of upper and upper-middle class segments of the society (Charles and Anderson, 2016). Since the products that are offered are of premium quality, they are price at high rates as compared to other competitors in the market. Marks and Spencer follows the strategy of competitive pricing but for some products, it also follows the strategy of bundle pricing wherein it bundles its products together and sells the same at lower prices. Besides following these strategy, the company can also offer frequent discounts and offers to customers in order to attract large number of customers and increase its share in the market (Eteokleous, Leonidou and Katsikeas, 2016). It can also introduce new product line with the penetration pricing strategy which will help it in penetrating different untapped markets.
• Place - Marks and Spencer has is operations spread across various locations with nearly 900 retail outlets in the United Kingdom itself. The company sells its products both offline and online through retail outlets and online website respectively. The outlets are decorated in such a way as to offer a soothing experience to customers. The company follows an intensive marketing strategy while promoting its products in the market. Also, an omni channel distribution is followed wherein the brand has integrated its various online as well as offline stores in order to provide the customers an easy access to all its products. The company can also consider selling its products through various social media platforms, this will not only help in increasing its sales but profitability as well.
• Promotion - Marks and Spencer has aligned itself with various tools that are available to market its products. The respective company promotes its products through various online as well as offline channels which include magazines, in-store promotions, various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The company also follows an in-store strategy in which the products are promoted through retail outlets.

Marketing involves various activities like promoting, branding, selling, advertising, distributing products and services etc. But when an organisation decides to market its products internationally, it can adopt various methods like giving special attention to packaging of the products etc. Therefore, International or global marketing strategies improve the overall effectiveness of products and services of the company in a country and helps it in gaining a competitive advantage against competitors (Hadjikhani, Lee and Park, 2016). In context to Marks and Spencer, the company hosts as well as sponsors various events and campaigns globally. This helps in increasing the brand awareness among people and also attract potential customers. The company understands cultural differences across the world and thus opts for strategies to market its products to different customer segments accordingly. In some parts of the world, Marks and Spencer runs its operations in tie-ups with the local market leaders of the region. The company has specialised and highly skilled employees that also contribute in marketing its products and services across different regions. Want to get Assignment help? Talk Our Expert Now!

Marks and Spencer pays its primary attention on creating brand awareness as well as brand positioning in different markets internationally. The company has flagship stores globally along with a large number of small supporting outlets as well as online channels so that the customers feel heavy presence of the same (Hernández-Perlines, Moreno-García and Yañez-Araque, 2016). While conducting these activities, the company makes sure that it has enough financial backup so that it can overcome any sudden challenges that might come up. Also, the company ensures that the quality of its is products is maintained across different locations internationally and that there is no compromise in the same. The company runs various marketing campaigns in different countries to gain attention of large number of customers and thus encourage them to purchase its products and services.

Position of the company

Marks and Spencer is a market leader that is based in the United Kingdom and offers high quality products to its customers. The company is placed as a premium brand in the retail industry and since it offers products that are high in quality, customers are willing to pay premium for the same. Although, Marks and Spencer faces high competition from different brands like Zara, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger etc. in the market, it still is identified as a premium brand that offers products of best quality possible. Thus, the company is well place in the market in order to compete with other brands globally as it has a satisfied and loyal base of customers.

The company operates globally in different countries both through offline as well as online retail channels which is one of the reasons why it is able to attract a lot of customers. People buy products from the company's online website as well as offline retail stores. Also, the company makes sure that its retail outlets are never out of stock and there is a backup available always. Marks and Spencer is a household name in several countries as people have been buying its products from a long time now are are satisfied with the quality as well as prices of the same (Kotler and et. al., 2018). This is one of the primary reasons why the company has an advantage of competing globally. The company also has a large number of suppliers that supply materials that are needed by it to manufacture its products with a strong network of distribution that helps it making sure that the final goods and services are delivered to retail stores or the customers on time and there is no delay in the process.

The company is highly competitive and can survive in a competitive environment with several factors that can affect its overall operations. The brand is competitive because it is among the oldest brands that puts the needs and wants of its customers at priority and continues to produce products that are of high quality without compromising on the same (Srinivasan, 2016). Marks and Spencer is an ethical brand that takes regular actions to minimise the harm being done to the environment by conducting various CSR activities and taking other initiatives that most brands today lack behind in. Also, the company has convinced its customers that it is a brand worth paying for as products of high quality are offered to customers at affordable rates. Thus, it can be said that the company has placed itself well in order to compete with other brands globally.

International Marketing Opportunities

Marks and Spencer is counted among the premium as well as highly competitive brands of the world and thus have a variety of opportunities of marketing its products internationally. For example- the company can host or sponsor various events that take place on different occasions. Also, it can carry out various CSR activities in order to spread a particular message and support a cause in the society (Lu Jin, Zhou and Wang, 2016). This will help the company in increasing its brand awareness across various locations of the world and will be beneficial for the environment as well. Offering products of high quality at affordable rates in a new and untapped market will assist the company in attracting large number of customers. For this, the respective company can adopt various strategies in order to price its products and services.

Marks and Spencer can also carry out a research in order to identify as well as get a better understanding of the latest trends of the market. The company can also introduce and implement new technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented as well as virtual reality etc. This will provide the company an opportunity to market itself internationally and also retain customers who are loyal to the brand. The company can utilise various opportunities of international marketing that come its way which will be beneficial for it in expanding its business globally and reaching out as well as satisfying the needs of different customer segments present in different parts of the world.

International marketing opportunities can be beneficial for the company and lead to an increased return on investment as well as size in the market. This can lead to an increased share as well as profitability in the market Marks and Spencer would like to expand its business in countries that are developed with high levels of disposable income and a high purchasing power of the citizens.

Marketing strategy to expand business internationally

A marketing strategy can be defined as a plan that a business sets ups in order to reach prospective consumers and thus turning them to loyal customers (Samiee and Chirapanda, 2019). Marks and Spencer's strategy is to reduce the wastage that is generated during the manufacture of the products. The strategy that Marks and Spencer can adopt in order to expand its business internationally are explained below-

• Developing a strategy and a Business Plan - In order to develop a strategy to expand its business, an organisation should formulate a strategy (10 Steps for Expanding Into Global Markets, 2020). In order to do do, it should carefully analyse the markets in which it is planning to expand. A business plan should be developed by Marks and Spencer wherein various factors like tax rates, custom duties, available resources etc. should be included (Sheth, 2017). This will give the organisation an understanding of how can these factors be addressed to minimise chances of any issue coming up.
• Identifying the product or service that is to be sold - To expand its business, it is important that Marks and Spencer identifies the products and services that it wants to sell in the market decided by it. This will ease out the process of setting a target market and selecting the various promotional activities it can use to attract potential customers.
• Export Plan - The respective company should develop an export plan which will include certain questions that the customers are likely to ask as a part of the export process. By answering these questions, the company will get a better understanding of the requirements relating to products, licensing, pricing strategies, logistics, cost of raw material etc.
• Conducting a market analysis - Marks and Spencer can also rely on different secondary data sources as they are available readily and also, are less expensive. A marketing analysis will help the country in identifying potential countries that are more likely to have customers who would purchase its products (Yang and Gabrielsson, 2018). The market analysis will also help it in focussing on the prices of its products, distribution channels available and other factors like taxes, duties etc. that may act as barriers to the company's entry in a new market.
• Segmenting potential export markets - Marks and Spencer should also estimate the size of the markets that it has targetted and is considering to expand in. Segmenting different markets can provide the company useful insights about the number of potential customers in the country and the ways to reach them.Take Marketing Assignment Help from professional experts!
• Assessing Competitors - It is essential for Marks and Spencer to thoroughly analyse the performance of its potential competitors in the different markets it decides to expand in as competitors can impact the performance of the company significantly. To be successful, an in-depth competitive analysis should be conducted for all the new markets separately in order to get a better understanding.
• Determining various requirements - Marks and Spencer should carefully analyse the packaging, regulatory and labelling requirements in different countries as these requirements might differ in different locations. One of the best ways to do so is to plan and package the products in the language that the company is selling its products to. Requirements of any special labelling should be determined as they are often required in the case of food exports.
• Developing a final budget - Once the various requirements are identified and analysed, Marks and Spencer should prepare a final budget that is attainable and is responsible to be taken care of by a separate team (Tantawy and George, 2016). A budget can be a 3 year budget or a 5 year budget and should contain all the key performance indicators. The same should be updated after every six months with operating reviews being undertaken on a timely manner.
• Test markets for the products and services - Besides conducting traditional market research, one of the best ways to test the products and services in the market is to use trade shows and participate in other trade events in the country to do so. This will help Marks and Spencer to get an idea if the products that it has planned to sell in that new market will be successful or not.
• Testing the strategy - Once the final products are developed and ready to be exported to a new market, the complete strategy should first be tested in a single market that has comparatively low barriers to entry. Regardless of the country that Marks and Spencer plans to enter first, it should set goals that are real and have clarity. Also, taking big steps should be avoided and the company should take small steps as the market as well as customers are new.
• Establishing close relationships with local businesses - The company can gain a strong competitive advantage by building strong close relationships with local businesses that already have a hold in that particular market (Vellas, 2016). Such relationships will be helpful for Marks and Spencer and will also minimise the financial risk that the company would had to face otherwise. Expanding business overseas offers a company enhanced opportunities of growth.

Thus, in order to expand their business overseas organisations should consider and analyse various internal as well as external factors that can affect their functioning in a new market. The process might consume some time but is ultimately of help when it comes to doing business internationally (Wu, 2016). Following all the above steps to develop a marketing strategy will help Marks and Spencer in setting up and running its business successfully in new markets.

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CONCLUSION

From the above report, it can be concluded that international marketing is a useful technique for organisations that want to expand their business overseas. In order to do so, they should analyse the market conditions of the countries where they want to set up and expand their business. Also, a company must position itself in the market in such a way that customers across the world recognise it and thus associate themselves to the brand. This helps it in competing against different brands globally and thus gain a competitive advantage. For this, the organisation can sponsor various events as well as host campaigns that help it in attracting in large number of customers and increasing brand awareness as well. Therefore, in order expand business globally, an organisation should formulate an effective strategy through various steps which can be helpful and provide it with useful and valuable insights about the market(s) that it plans to expand its business in.

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