Introduction to Marketing

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 Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3

A clear understanding of marketing and marketing mix.................................................................4

Marketing.....................................................................................................................................4

Marketing Mix (7Ps)....................................................................................................................4

Explaining how marketing addresses challenges by using the SWOT model.................................6

Explaining how Marketing provides solutions to enter a new market............................................8

Explaining how a company can use digital marketing to grow on a global scale...........................9

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10

References......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Marketing represents the process of creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging
products or services that can create value for the customer or the intended users. Marketing is
essential to widen the market, accelerate business activities, optimize resource uses, increase
value for the business, deliver value to the customers, and facilitate the exchange of ownership
(Strydom, 2015). By considering the significance of marketing this report will demonstrate a
clear understanding of marketing and marketing mix, explain how marketing helps a company to
address the challenge in a competitive environment, identify the marketing solution in response
to business challenges, and describe the significance of globalization in the global competitive
market. To explore the objectives of this report, it will use the example of Tesco plc. which is the
largest British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer.

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A clear understanding of marketing and marketing mix
Marketing
According to Strydom, (2015), marketing represents the process of creating, communicating,
delivering, and exchanging products or services that can create value for the customer or the
intended users.

According to Smith, (2018), marketing is the process of exploring value from interested
customers.

Kotler, (2018), defines marketing as the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering
value to customers to satisfy the need of the target market at a profit.

Humby, (2020) defines marketing as the activities of promoting and influencing the buying and
selling behavior of the target market to maximize the business outcome.

Marketing Mix (7Ps)

A marketing mix is the combination of a set of actions, tactics, or strategies that a business
organization uses to influence the buying and selling behavior of the target market. The 7Ps of
marketing is the extension of the 4Ps of marketing that is regarded as the extended marketing
mix (Dowd, 2019). The explanation of the 7Ps of marketing (using Tesco Plc as an example) is
given below:

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 Figure: 7P’s of marketing (Dowd, 2019)

Product
The product segment of 7ps of marketing focuses on different types of products along with
quality, features, and variation of products offered by an organization. For example, Tesco sells a
wide range of products including clothing, food, stationery, electronics, financial service, etc.
There are differences in quality, features, variation, specification, packaging, outlook, etc.
(Drummond, 2021).

Price
This segment of the marketing mix describes how an organization should adopt appropriate
pricing techniques to explore the corporate goals and objectives. there are different types of
pricing techniques such as marginal pricing, value-based pricing, cost-plus-profit pricing, etc.
Besides, the cost leadership approach focused differentiation approach, and the differentiation
approach is an example of a pricing strategy. In this regard, Tesco follows cost leadership pricing
techniques. Under this approach, an organization charges a price as low as possible by reducing
errors and mistakes and increasing efficiency and productivity. Different organizations may
follow different pricing techniques in line with their corporate objectives (Drummond, 2021).

Promotion
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It represents a set of techniques to increase awareness of products and services and to influence
the buying behavior of the target market. Personal selling, branding, direct marketing,
advertising, etc. are some promotional techniques. Every year Tesco spends more than £80
million on promotion including television advertisements, newspapers, social media, internet
sources, etc. (Humby, 2020)

Place
It is the place where the target market can buy a product or service. It can be a physical or virtual
place. The target market can buy products from Tesco by visiting its outlets all over the UK or
can purchase from online platforms. Currently, Tesco is operating with 4,673 shops (Drummond,
2021).

People
It includes the key stakeholders of an organization including employees, management boards,
investors, founders, etc. Tesco is operating with more than 4,20,000 employees. It hires staff
from internal and external sources. Besides, it applies an integrated human resource management
approach to train and develop the required skills of the human resource and motivate them
towards achieving the goals of Tesco (Kotler, 2018).

Process
It represents the activity of getting or achieving something. There may be different types of
business processes within an organization such as manufacturing processes, delivery processes,
etc. For example, in the case of offline purchasing from Tesco, customers need to visit a Tesco
shop of Tesco, collect their desired product, and make payment.

Physical evidence
It is the tangible and intangible representation of a company in terms of interior design or
environment. For example, Tesco has a logo as a representation of the company, it designs shops
in the most convenient way for making a purchase, it has fantastic-looking websites, etc.
(Drummond, 2021).

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Explaining how marketing addresses challenges by using the SWOT
model
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) is a fact-based analysis tool for
strategic planning. It is frequently used by businesses to assess the competitive environment and
challenges (Dowd, 2019). The following is the discussion on how marketing helps businesses to
address challenges by using the SWOT model.

Strengths
Strengths are the competitive advantages of a company. It outlines how a company excels from
the competition. For example, the core strengths of Tesco are the strong brand value, huge loyal
customer base, strong financial position, strong supply channel, skillful human resource base,
etc. Marketing outlines the roadmap of influencing the buying behavior of potential customers by
using these strengths (Bala, 2021).

Weaknesses
Weaknesses are the facts that stop an organization from performing at its optimum level. It also
represents the areas that are required to improve for better performance. For example, the
weaknesses of Tesco are the decrease in operating profit in 2021, unfair business practices in
some markets, retreat from the global arena, fraud trail, accounting scandals, etc. Marketing uses
feedback from the market for developing tactics. As a result, it becomes easier for Tesco to
address its weakness by using marketing tools and developing a strategy for continual
improvement (Humby, 2020).

Opportunities
Continual market analysis is a part of marketing. It helps to find out the opportunities that will
help to ensure long-term sustainable performance. For example, Tesco has the opportunity to
make strategic alliances with other brands and launch operations in the emerging market.
Marketing may help Tesco by outlining the appropriate techniques to explore these opportunities
and get competitive advantages (Cavusgil, 2022).

Threats
The threat factor represents the potential to harm a company. It may come from internal and
external forces. For example, supply chain threats and power crises due to the Russia-Ukraine
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war, rising costs, global economic crisis, Brexit referendum, etc. are the biggest threats to Tesco.
These threats can hamper the long-term and short-term performance of Tesco. With the help of
marketing tools, it can address the current challenges and design a strategic plan to overcome the
threats. By overcoming the challenges and threats, Tesco can ensure sustainable performance
(Cavusgil, 2022).

Explaining how Marketing provides solutions to enter a new market

H. Igor Ansoff developed the Ansoff matrix in 1957. It is also known as the product/market
expansion grid. It is used in marketing to provide solutions for entering into a new market or
developing new products. There are four types of strategies in the Ansoff matrix based on the
features of products (existing or new) and the features on market (existing or new). The four
strategies are market development, product development, market penetration, and diversification
(Kannan, 2017). For entering into a new market, the strategies are market development and
diversification.

Figure: The Ansoff matrix (Kannan, 2017)

Market development
Market development is followed for entering into a new market with existing products and
services. It is considered the least risky strategy as it does not require any R&D investment. It
allows a company to leverage existing products and services and take them to a new potential

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market. A company can adopt three types of market development strategies. The strategies are
entering into a new demographic market segment, entering into a new domestic market segment,
and entering into a foreign market segment. For example, if Tesco expands its operation in a new
city in the UK it will be a domestic expansion but if it expands its operation into an international
market such as India, it will be an international expansion. As a marketing solution company
should analyze the internal environment, and external environment including political forces,
legal forces, economic forces, demographic forces, environmental forces, technological forces,
etc., and competitive environmental forces of the target new market for market development
strategy (Cavusgil, 2022).

Diversification
It represents the expansion strategy with new products and services in a new market. It has the
highest level of risk along with the highest possibility of reward. Diversification can be related
diversification or unrelated diversification. For example, if Tesco launches new services such as
air ticket selling in a new market such as in the Asia Pacific, it will be an unrelated
diversification. But if it launches services in a new market with any products or services related
to its existing portfolio it will be a related diversification. A deep market analysis is required for
diversification strategies (Bala, 2021).

Explaining how a company can use digital marketing to grow on a

global scale
The advancement of technology has brought the world in hand. The expansion has become easier
with the help of digital marketing. Digital marketing enables a company to promote and offer its
product and service in the global market by using online selling channels. This section is going
to explain how Tesco can use digital marketing to grow on a global scale (Smith, 2018).

Using websites and apps

The website and apps of a company are the best way to global expansion. By using websites and
apps anyone from any part of the world can buy anything. In this case, the efficiency of the
supply chain is very crucial to deliver to products on time. For example, by using the website or
apps Tesco anyone from any part of the world can place an order (Bala, 2021).

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Using global e-commerce platforms
Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, etc. are examples of some global e-commerce platforms. A company
like Tesco can offer its products and services by using these global e-commerce platforms by
applying an integrated digital marketing plan. These e-commerce platforms have their supply
chain to deliver products and services. So, a company like Tesco can take the opportunity of
global e-commerce platforms for applying digital marketing techniques for increasing brand
awareness in the global market and growing in a global market (Cavusgil, 2022).

Both of the above-stated digital marketing tools will help expand globally, build brand value,
increase cost-effectiveness, generate better revenue, and improve financial performance.

Conclusion
By using the example of Tesco plc. which is the largest British multinational grocery and general
merchandise retailer this report demonstrated a clear understanding of marketing and marketing
mix, explained how marketing helps a company to address the challenge in a competitive
environment, identified the marketing solution in response to business challenges, and described
the significance of globalization in the global competitive market.

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References
Bala, M. and Verma, D., 2021. A critical review of digital marketing. M. Bala, D. Verma (2018).
A Critical Review of Digital Marketing. International Journal of Management, IT &
Engineering, 8(10), pp.321-339.

Cavusgil, S.T. and Godiwalla, Y.M., 2022. Decision‐making for international marketing: A
comparative review. Management Decision.

Drummond, G. and Ensor, J., 2021. Introduction to marketing concepts. Routledge.

Dowd, K., 2019. An introduction to market risk measurement. John Wiley & Sons.

Humby, C., Hunt, T. and Phillips, T., 2020. Scoring points: How Tesco continues to win
customer loyalty. Kogan Page Publishers.

Kannan, P.K., 2017. Digital marketing: A framework, review and research agenda. International
journal of research in marketing, 34(1), pp.22-45.

Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2018. Marketing: an introduction (Vol.
1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Smith, S.M. and Albaum, G.S., 2018. An introduction to marketing research. Accessed
September, 5, p.2017.

Strydom, J. ed., 2015. Introduction to marketing. Juta and company Ltd.

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