Marketing Planning and Operations Assignment Sample

INTRODUCTION

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Effective marketing is one of the most important factors for the business as it can help the businesses to grow and move towards success and development (Newman, 2016). If the businesses do not have better Marketing strategies then it will have a negative impact on the firm. Marketing is being referred as the different strategies used and practices made by the businesses for promoting their products and services and enhancing the sales of the company which would have an impact on the profitability of the company. The present report focuses on explaining the different concepts of marketing for a cited company which will elaborate regarding the marketing planning and the different operations of marketing. The report will focus on a case company 'Pret a Manger' which is an international sandwich chain. In the case, the company had launched a new product range of vegetarian products, although the company was selling non-vegetarian products primarily. The company was growing effectively, but as a result of coronavirus, the company had faced saviour losses. This report will conduct market research for analysing the current market position of the company and based on it; the researcher will suggest marketing strategies and develop a marketing plan for the suggested marketing strategy.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS OF PRET A MANGER

For analysing the market position of the company, it is important to conduct an environmental analysis of the environment in which they are operating. Both internal and external business environment is having a significant impact on the company. The internal and external business environment of Pret a Manger is being conducted by applying appropriate analysis tools such as SWOT analysis, Porter five forces and PESTLE analysis is being conducted such as:

SWOT Analysis of Pret a Manger

This is an analysis tool which explains regarding four important factors of the internal business environment which are explained below for Pret a Manger such as:

• Strengths: the great geographical presence and market position of the company are important strengths for the company. Along with this, the other important strengths of the cited company includes a wide product range, high-quality products, strong online presence, great IT infrastructure, better financial position, highly skilled employees and better market performance (Sarsby, 2016). Some of the important resources of the company such as human resource and effective financial resources are important strengths of the company which can offering several benefits to the company.
• Weaknesses: the poor waste management practices of the company and its poor inventory management practices are the weakness of the cited company. Along with this, the lower investment in the R & D department and poor customer service are also the weaknesses of the company.
• Opportunities: the cited company has great opportunities to expand the business by entering into the emerging markets and making use of latest and effective technologies for managing the business operations and delivering better services to the customers.
• Threats: the cited company is facing a threat from the changing regulatory framework for the businesses operating in the food industry. Along with this, the company also faces a threat from its competitors which is affecting them to a greater extent as the company face both direct and indirect competition from different businesses operating in the same industry.

Porter Five Force Analysis of Pret a Manger

Porter five forces is an effective analysis tool which is being conducted by the businesses for analysing their competitive position in the business market in which they are operating. The cited company is facing the lesser impact of from the threat of new entrance as entering into the food industry is not much easy as it is requiring several legal formalities and requires high capital investment due to which this force is having a lesser impact on pert a manger (Indiatsy, et. al. 2014). The threat of substitute is higher for the cited company as the customers can easily switch to other products for satisfying their needs. The competitive rivalry is more for the company as the firm is facing great competition from the market players of the industry, and due to this reason, the company is facing high pressure from this force. The bargaining power of the suppliers is higher for the cited company due to the availability of the limited suppliers, and the demand of the products is also higher, so the company had to pay the prices demanded by the suppliers. Also, the bargaining power of the buyers is also for the Pret a manger as there is a large number of businesses who are selling similar product range which increases the bargaining power of buyers for the company. Through this analysis, it can be said that it is important for the company to focus on all these forces and to limit their impact on the businesses so that they can gain a competitive advantage over other competitors.

PESTLE Analysis for Pret a Manger

When the businesses are operating in an external business environment than there are different factors of the external business environment which are having an impact on the businesses and it is important that the businesses should focus on analysing the impact of these factors. PESTLE is an analytic tool used for analysing the external business environment and focus on six important factors and their influence on business practices (Perera, 2017). The PESTLE analysis for Pret a Manger is mentioned below, such as:

• Political factors: higher political stability of the country is supporting the business to grow and move towards development. But the Pret a Manger also operates in different nations due to which the company needs to focus on all the different political factors which are having a greater impact on the businesses.
• Economic factors: economic development of the country in which the company is operating is having a significant impact on the business performance of the company. The economic factors which are affecting the Pret a Manger includes labour market conditions, financial market condition, inflation rates, exchange rates, interest rates, employment rates and economic structure of all the different nations in which the company is operating. In the present situation of COVID pandemic the economic condition of the entire world has being affected to a greater extent and due to this the case company is also facing negative effective of the economic slowdown.
• Social factors: the social factors are having a greater impact on the businesses as the buying pattern, and eating habits of the individuals varies with it. The factors such as culture, gender roles, social equalities and the customers spending pattern are some of the major factors which are having an impact on Pret a Manger. In the era of the pandemic the peoples are more concern with the safety issues and due to this it has become important for the businesses to focus on safety measures and then serve the safe products to the customers.
• Technological factors: Pret a Manger is getting better technological support as UK is a highly technologically advanced country which supports and promote better technological advancement to the companies operating in the UK. Also, there are several technologies which can support the businesses in making their operations more effective. The cited company is not technologically advanced, so it is important that the company should focus on making use of better technologies and investing more in the R&D department (Luxmoore, 2018).
• Legal factors: the company needs to follow the legal framework of different nations in which they are operating. For Pret a Manger, the major legal considerations include employee protection law, intellectual property law and consumer protection law while operating in all the different nations.
• Environmental factors: managing the waste is an important concern for Pret a Manger, and they also have to focus on reducing their carbon footprints which can help them in operating in an environmentally friendly environment. Other important environmental concern for the cited company must include the use of renewable technologies and proper recycling.

MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR PRET A MANGER

Businesses need to focus on changing their marketing strategies on the basis of the treats of the fast-changing business world. In the fast-growing business market and due to the increasing competition in all the different industries it had become important for the businesses to make better efforts for improving their marketing strategies and attracting the customers in an effective manner. Pret a Manger operates in the food industry, which is highly competitive and is highly unpredictable as the buying pattern of the customer depends on the variables of the social factors (Tran, 2017).

Several marketing strategies are present for the businesses, but it is important that the marketing strategy should suit well with the market situations so that the businesses can do effective marketing and can lead the company towards success. In the present era majority of the businesses are using both traditional and online advertisements and marketing strategies as it can help the companies in attracting the customers belonging to all the sections of the society. Also, as the world is towards digitalisation, it had become crucial to invest more in making better use of digital platforms for promoting the products and services (Christiansen, 2014). The events which take place at the international level affect the businesses to a greater extent, and after that, it becomes important for the businesses to refine the business strategies. The COVID-19 had changed the situation to a great extent for all the business operating in different industries. Businesses are highly affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are having a significant negative impact on the businesses, and it had become important for the businesses to redefine their strategies so that they can survive in this pandemic situation. Due to the lockdown situation across the world, it had become crucial for the businesses to make changes in the way they operate and do marketing as well.

From the above analysing of the external and internal business environment, it can be said that the cited company is having a great market presence and is having better opportunities to grow more. If the company focuses on all the strength and weaknesses in an effective manner, then it would help the company in getting better benefits. Through the analysis, it can be said that the company needs to focus on its research and development department as they are not using effective technologies. If the company starts investing in their R&D department, then it would help the company in getting better benefits. With the changing world, it is important that the businesses operating in different industries should focus on making use of the latest technologies so that they can move effectively in the fast-changing business environment in an effective manner. Due to the lack of technological advancement of the company, the firm is using limited technologies for marketing. Also, due to the situation after covid-19, the entire world had changed to a greater extent, and it had become important for businesses to focus on the changing world. In this era of COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional marketing cannot be done, and it is not much effective as the world is under the situation of lockdown and companies cannot reach to the customers with the use of traditional marketing strategies (Moore, 2015). In this condition, the effective approach for digital marketing is the only alternative available for the cited company which can help them in leading the firm towards success and managing all the business operations effectively in this changing world (Armstrong, et. al. 2018).

 In the present business era, it is important for the businesses to use the latest technologies for marketing so that they can move in a technologically advanced manner which is important in the present business environment. Pret a Manger is having good market presence and represent themselves in an effective manner on the different social media platform, which is important but with the use of better technologies, the company can do more than this. In the present business environment where investing in traditional marketing strategies is not much effective, it had become important for businesses to use digital marketing strategies in an effective manner.

Digital marketing strategies are much effective in this present business world and can help businesses in attracting customers and enhancing sales in an effective manner. This marketing strategy involves different sub-strategies which can are much effective in enhancing the customer reach of the company. Social media marketing is an important marketing strategy which can help the businesses in enhancing the overall customer reach and can help them in connecting easily with the customers across the world without any restrictions of the borders and is a cost-effective strategy. As Pret a Manger is having a better presence on the social media platforms, but the company should focus on representing themselves effectively in all the different social media platforms which include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat and youtube. The company should focus on being active on all the different social media platforms and should try to connect more with the customers (Armstrong, 2014). Pret a Manger should try to post better content on the social media platforms, which can help them in increasing the customer's engagement, which would have a positive impact on the sales of the company. Also, the company should focus on developing two-way communication on social media platforms, which can help them in connecting more with the customers.

As the number of mobile users is significantly increasing and the customers around the world focus on surfing the content on mobile phone which is more convenient it had become important for the businesses to provide their content available on the mobile phones easily. The cited company should use mobile optimisation, which is an effective strategic approach to digital marketing. This is an important strategy which can help the businesses in tracking the customer behaviour and on the basis of it the company can inform the customers regarding different offers which can attract the customers to make a purchase. Also, with the use of mobile optimisation the company can enhance the customer behaviour which is important for the success of the company and the firm can also focus on personalisation of the product recommendations to the customer (Mei et al. 2017).

Pret a Manger should also focus on understanding the changing perceptions of customers towards buying the food items after covid-19. The company needs to focus on safety measures which can help them in providing safe service to the customers. After Covid-19 as a safety measures, the company would be able to serve the dine-in services to their customers, and this will have a significant impact on the sales of the company, and it is affecting the company to a greater extent. For understanding the customers' option regarding the services, the organisation should focus on market research through conducting online surveys. The company can also offer the home delivery services with effective marketing through multiple channels which would help the company in increasing its sales significantly (Filimonau et al. 2019).

MARKETING MIX

The marketing mix is a marketing model which can help the businesses in making their marketing much effective. For applying this model and conducting the marketing mix, it is important that the businesses should focus on conducting the competitive analysis and SWOT analysis, which can help the company in developing better strategies (Išorait?, 2016). On the basis of the market analysis of Pret a Manger different marketing strategies are being suggested for the company which can help them in managing the present market condition in an effective manner and leading the company towards success. Marketing mix for Pret a Manger is explained below, such as:

Product

Pret a Manger is having a wide product range and is also offering high-quality food to its customers, but the company needs to make improvements in their product which is important. For product development, the company had started offering both veg and non-veg varieties, but it is important for the businesses that they should focus on product development. All the different businesses operating in the same industry are having similar product range due to which the bargaining power of buyers is more so the company should focus on offering diversified products to their customers. After the covid-19 the company should also offer better packaging which can help them in providing them with safe products to their customers.

Price

The cited company is having an effective pricing strategy as it is not charging more from its customers and is focusing on penetration pricing strategy, but this is having a negative impact on the profitability of the company. If the company focuses on product differentiation, then the company can design a pricing policy to offer the products at a moderate price. Changing the pricing strategy can be an effective strategy and can help the company in improving its sales of the company. It is important for the company to use different pricing strategies in different countries as there are different factors such as the economic condition of the country, trends of spending money on food and many more which varies from nation to nation. Due to this, it is important that the company focus on using diverse pricing strategy on different markets. 

Place

The company is having many outlets and is operating in nine different nations. Pret a Manger focus on operating the shop in the urban areas, which can help them in reaching the customers easily, which is having a positive impact on the sales of the company. Pret a Manger offers both dine-in and take away options to their customers who make shopping more convenient. The company should focus on expanding its business by entering into developing nations which can help the company is growing. With the changing situation due to Covid-19, the company should also focus on offering their products and services to the customers through online platforms or the mobile applications which can help them in delivering better services to the customers in this situation (Charlesworth, 2014). If the company is focusing on using this strategy, then it will help the company in attaining a sustainable market position in this pandemic situation also.

Promotion

The promotional strategies of the company need to be very effective for gaining a competitive advantage over others. The cited company is not using effective marketing strategies, unlike other foodservice providing organisations. Pret a Manger needs to focus more on their sales and promotions, which is important for the success of the company. Presently the company focus on their CSR activities which can attract their customers, but this is not enough; it is important for the company to use latest and effective marketing strategies. In the technologically advanced world, it is important for the company to make use of the latest technologies of marketing such as social media marketing, digital marketing, mobile optimisation and market research (Tiago and Veríssimo, 2014). The approach can be well implemented by the company if the firm starts using the diverse tools of digital marketing. Also, the company needs to focus on investing more on the research and development department, which can help them in making use of the latest technologies for the promotion of the products and services. The company have to use the multiple channels of social media activity so that they can update the customers regarding their changing product range and the different offers which are being made by the company so that they can easily attract the customers (Kaur, 2016).

People

Employees of the company are considered to be the most important resource for the businesses, and it is required that the company should focus on them in an effective manner. The cited company Pret a Manger is having highly skilled employees who are delivering better services to their customers. Employees of the company have better communication skills, and the corporate effectively with the customers while offering services to them. The cited company should focus on offering better training programs to the employees who can help them in developing the interpersonal and professional skills of the employee so that they can interact effectively with others employees and customers in an effective manner. Along with this, the company should also focus on offering better training for the development of technological knowledge of the employees so that they can use the latest technologies in an effective manner. It can be said that Pret a Manger should focus on investing more on their human resource management which is important for delivering better customer experience.

Physical Evidence

For maintaining the quality of the products, the company focus on making fresh products daily so that they can offer fresh products to their customers. All the food items are being prepared in their kitchens, and the company focus on delivering high quality, fresh and nutritious products to their customers. Pret a Manger offers good packing of the food and provide recyclable bags while delivering the food. Due to covid-19 pandemic now the company wants to focus on the safety measures and needs to ensure that proper social distancing should be followed in the kitchen while preparing the food and also at the time of delivery of the food items. Also, the company needs to use proper sanitisation while packing and delivering the food to the customers and proper hygiene should be ensured in the kitchen.

Process

The company is using high quality and fresh raw materials for maintaining the standard and quality of the finished products. The proper concern is being given to the hygiene of food items so that better products can be offered to the customers. The company ensures that all the customers should get better services irrespective of which Pret shop they are going so that customer satisfaction can be increased to a greater extent. Pret a Manger should also focus on taking feedbacks from their customers regarding the customer service and should also focus on conducting management audits which can help them in overall business operations. As the businesses are moving towards making better use of the technologies the cited company should focus on using better IT system for their different departments which can help them in managing the business operations in an effective manner which is important. In accordance with the COVID-19 pandemic, the company can also use the automation technology, which can help them in emphasising more on the safety measures (Charlesworth, 2014). It can be said that the company should use automation during the food preparation process.

TWOS Analysis

TWOS Matrix	STRENGTHS · Highly skilled employees · Effective financial position · Great IT infrastructure · Strong online presence	WEAKNESSES · Poor inventory management · Lower investment in R&D
OPPORTUNITIES · Market expansion · Using latest technologies for operational management	Using social media marketing	Bringing automation in the business operations
THREATS · Changing regulatory framework · Competition	Implementing mobile optimization	Increasing the investment in the R&D department for meeting the competition

Marketing Objectives

On the above-mentioned strategy development plan TWOS analysis and the marketing mix prepared for the company there are different strategies which can be implemented by the company. The case company is already using the social media marketing but they should focus on offering multiple features and using the big data of the customers which can help them in attracting new customers and retaining the customers as well. On the basis of the developed strategies the marketing objectives are mentioned below such as:

• Implementation of the mobile optimisation for increasing the customer case and understanding the buying pattern of the customers.
• Using social media platforms in more effective manner for retaining the customer and attracting the customers as well.
• Using pay per click marketing on all the social media platforms for increasing the customer base.
• Implementing the automation in business operations.

Implementation Plan

Activity	Strategy of implementation	Ways to measure	Timeline
Implementation of Automation in operations	By implementing system development, life cycle automation technology can be implemented in the business operations	By measuring the increase in the production of the company and the ratio of men power and machines	3months
Implementation of social media marketing	By implementing social media marketing in an effective manner and using all the channels of social media for marketing	By measuring the increased traffic on company websites	Two months
Implementation of mobile optimisation	By developing effective customer behaviour tracking system from their mobile devices	By measuring the orders made by the customers through the mobile devices.	Six months
Implementing the pay per click marketing	Using pay per click marketing for all the social media platforms.	By measuring the traffic on the social media platforms of the company	Six month

CONCLUSION

Effective marketing is very important for the development of the company and continuously increasing the sales of the company. The businesses should focus on using better technologies and latest marketing approaches which can help them in enhancing the sales of the company and attracting the customers in an effective manner. The above-mentioned report had explained regarding the market performance and marketing strategies of the case company and had made a better recommendation of the marketing strategies for the Pret a Manger on the basis of market analysis. The report had mentioned the SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis and Porter five analysis for Pret a Manger which had provided detailed information regarding the market position of the company. The present report had suggested that the company should make better use to digital marketing strategies which can help them in attracting the customers in an effective manner. In this report, the researcher had also developed a marketing plan which had elaborated the marketing mix and implementation plan so that the company can implement the suggested marketing strategies to the company in an effective manner.

References

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