Answer :

MARKETING AND ITS APPLICATION

Executive summary

The current report is about marketing and its application in EE Limited, the best and the largest telecommunication company in UK.  The main purpose of this report is to analyse the importance of marketing and the marketing manager within an organisational context for improving the performance of the company through developing interrelationship between different departments. Further, this report also aims to identify the application of extended marketing mix and a marketing plan for achieving the business goals of a company.  In order to achieve the purpose of the report, in the first part, the importance of a newly employed marketing manager is shown whereas in the next section, the application of extended marketing mix in EE Limited and Vodafone Group is shown. Further, a marketing plan is developed where an analysis on the current marketing situation, the possible new strategy, and the actions needs to be taken and budget required is taken into consideration. From the analysis, it becomes clear that marketing has become essential not only due to its ability to identify consumer requirements and taking actions for their fulfilment, but also due to its feature of creating a good organisational culture and structure by developing inter relationship between different business departments.

Introduction:

Marketing has become an essential part of modern business whether it is a multinational company or small business enterprise. Every organisation uses some sort of marketing tools to ensure that consumers are attracted towards that company. Therefore, in this report, the use of extended marketing mix and its application in EE Limited and Vodafone Group is analysed. Further, a marketing plan is produced based on internal and external marketing environment of EE limited in order to achieve its business goals and objectives. 

Task 1:  The role of marketing and the way it inter relates with other functional departments

(Refer to PPTX)

Marketing has been defined in many ways. Few scholars admits marketing as the process of identifying consumers needs whereas according to few, it is the exchange of goods, services and even ideas and knowledge within different functional departments of an organization. However, it is important to note that in the modern business scenario, marketing has become a profession where new marketing techniques from digital marketing to mobile marketing are emerging. 

According to the general norms, the marketing process includes development of a strategy for creating value for consumers as well as for the company for increasing profit. However, fulfillment of consumer needs and demands depends on the supply and demand of products which the marketing process by identifying the needs and developing and implementing a strategy fulfills. 

As there is poor cross functional communication and lack of marketing orientation in EE Limited, being the marketing manager, it is the responsibility to instil ethos related to marketing within the organisation.  Thus, it might be possible to identify the external marketing opportunities that are there for EE limited within the UK market. Further, as a marketing manager, development of a new marketing mix, strategy, plan, focusing on customer relationship, measuring success, developing brand management strategy and managing customer service would be the other key roles and responsibilities in EE Limited. 

Marketing is now not only limited to consumer attraction.  The marketing department influence other departments like the advertising as well as new product development. For example, as marketing seeks to identify consumer requirements, it helps the advertising department to select advertisement methods that are required for attracting the consumers. On the other hand, the same goes for new markets or product development as marketing enables the firms to identify demand of new products or possible new markets where their product can gain popularity among consumers. 

As far as EE Limited is concerned, the company is lacking proper cross functional communication as well as the lack of marketing tools. In this context, marketing would help in creating an interrelationship between the departments. Further, by identifying the needs and requirements of consumers, the firm would be able to increase its consumer base which will lead to more profitability.

If there is a good interrelationship between the different functional teams likes as sales, advertising, and finance and product development departments, it will help in creating a good organisational structure and working culture in EE Limited.  Further, if all the team members are open to communication and sharing of their experience, it might be possible to achieve the business goals and objectives easily. 

Task 2:

2a) Comparison regarding the application of extended marketing mixes in EE Limited and Vodafone Group:

According to Sheau-Ting et al. (2013), marketing is about knowing the consumers, their requirements and demands. However, Tapp and Spotswood (2013) argued that marketing is not limited to the identification of consumer needs, but also the identification of the activities of competitors in a product market. Thus, in a free and perfect competition market like UK, consumers are the main determinants of product demand which increases the importance of understanding the consumers as well as the competitors in particular.  In this context, according to Anitsalet al. (2012), the use of marketing tools, preferably known as marketing mix helps in providing response to consumer needs and requirements. Therefore, this section tries to illustrate the use of extended marketing mix in the context of EE Limited and Vodafone Group in the telecommunication market of UK. 

Figure 1: Extended marketing mix elements

(Source:Merajet al. 2016, p.155)

Product:Merajet al. (2016) pointed out that product, mainly its quality, design and variety is the main element of marketing mix. However, Gordon (2012) identified the use of quality, brand name and for service providers, the quality of service as main elements of product that helps in satisfying the needs of consumers. Even though consumers do not buy the products, this satisfaction depends on their perception of features in the product. As EE and Vodafone are both working in the serviced industry, both of the competitors rely on their product quality to satisfy consumer needs.  The report from Bbc.com (2016) shows that EE tops the rank with 84.6% coverage when it comes to provide seamless network coverage whether 3G or 4G network whereas Vodafone ranks the last with 52.4% score in network coverage and other services. Therefore, it becomes clear that EE is using its network coverage to fulfil consumer requirements. However, as opined by Henley et al. (2011), consumers requirements change frequently and therefore, EE Limited also needs to come with new technologies keeping in mind upgrade in the telecommunication technology. 

Price: Price according to Klink and Athaide(2010) is the most important element of the marketing mix. Modern consumers have become price conscious. The main requirement is value for money products which means quality products or services in low prices. However, Luan and Sudhir(2010) argued that when it comes to the quality of service, consumers do not want to compromise the quality of the product with price. Currently, EE is providing contract for its serves in £26 per month (Telegraph.co.uk, 2013) which is below of Vodafone’s’ offer of £42 (vodafone.co.uk, 2016) per month. Further, it is also seen that EE being the largest telecommunication service provider in UK uses the price mechanism, especially discounts and special offers for grabbing the customers actually before others competitors grab the competitors. 

Place:Kotler et al. (2015) considered place being the most important and the first element of marketing mix.  It includes distribution channels, stores, locations and the area covered by a company or its services. As far as EE is concerned, it is present in almost every area of UK whether it is county side or cities. In this respect, Vodafone lacks the competition as allegation regarding the non-availability of 4G network in county sides is increasing (Express.co.uk, 2015). However, Vodafone has its store all over UK which enables it to create good relationship with the consumers as well as to solve their queries. EE lacks this very aspect and therefore, is required to increase its presence in the market. 

Promotion: Promotion acts as the process of creating consumer awareness and fulfilling the perception satisfaction of consumers. Tapp and Spotswood (2013) in this respect remarked that advertising including online and offline, traditional and modern advertising methods work as promotional tool for products and services. In EE Limited and Vodafone both are in the run to over ride each other through their marketing activities. The news from Campaignlive.co.uk (2016) shows that as a part of summer promotional campaign, EE runs a TV programme that includes the celebrity Kevin Bacon. It means that along with TV advertising, it also uses celebrity endorsement, a method for creating psychological impact on consumers. Vodafone also seems to use TV advertisement, but not celebrity endorsement. Further, event promotion like that of in British Grandpix where Vodafone claims that it has ultrafast 4G network which is not accurate as per speed tests and records in UK. Therefore, it can be said that even though promotional activities are being used properly, there are instances like as in the case of Vodafone regarding British Grandpix, restrictions needs to be adopted. Further, direct selling is also another method that can be employed. 

People: People that is the employees and responsible persons of different functional departments are important for marketing. Merajet al. (2016) remarked that it is necessary for firms to retain the best working employees as consumers will deal with them, not with the company. In order to retain the employees, EE limited needs to employ employee engagement and employee satisfaction policies which are not present currently. 

Process: The next element of the extended marketing mix is that of the process that is the ways by which companies tend to solve issues or complaints of consumers. Further, it also refers to the position that a company has established within the hearts of consumers. As far as EE is concerned, it has established itself as a trustworthy and remarkable company in the eyes of consumers.  Vodafone has also become a major company in the eyes of consumers, but is losing its reputation due to the inability to provide good service to consumers. 

Physical evidence: Physical evidence, layout or even packaging of the products works as the extended element of marketing mix. According to Sheau-Ting et al. (2013), consumers select to buy a product not influenced by the quality, but influenced by the first impression created by the brand. As a telecommunication service provider, along with the physical stores and good customer service, Vodafone is creating good impression on consumers. EE limited seems to lack this feature and therefore, is required to improve the first impression on the consumers so that it can gain competitive advantage from the competitors. 

2b) Marketing plan for meeting with the marketing goals of EE limited:

Executive summary: 

The current topic is marketing plan for EE Limited in the UK telecommunication market. In order to make a marketing plan, both internal and external marketing environment analysis has been done. From the analysis of the current market situation, it is identified that, EE Limited is operating in a very competitive market. Therefore, proper marketing strategies, segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies are included in this marketing plan for achieving the intended business objectives.  The overall budget and control plan is also made for assuring the achievement of marketing objectives for competitive advantage. 

Company overview:

EE Limited is a telecommunication service provider in UK. The services it provides includes data, voice, message, fixed voice, broadband and online TV service. EE limited is considered as the most advanced telecommunication service provider in UK. EE is the first company that has brought 4G services in UK and is now leading the market in terms of coverage, service, speed and accessibility of the network all throughout UK (Bloomberg.com, 2016).  However, even after that, due to the competitive market situation, it is faced with huge competition in the market. 

Current marketing situation analysis:

Internal analysis:

Internal environment analysis is the most important part of a marketing plan. It helps in identifying the resources and availability of critical success factors within the organisation to be successful in the competitive market environment of UK telecommunication industry. Internal environment of a firm is composed of the resources it has internally. It may include the financial resources as well as the management team and the people working in the organisation. However, Proctor (2014) argued that internal environment also includes the suppliers and the other stakeholders that are engaged with the organisation.  EE limited being the number 1 telecommunication service provider in UK has the required human resource and finances to achieve the business goals and objectives.  The management in EE led by CEO Marc Allera is quite effective in leading the company in the right direction. Further, as far as the suppliers are concerned, it is found out that the suppliers are happy due to the good relationship created by the management team which enables the company to carry out swift customer service and top notch quality of its product. The mission statement that includes being responsible and connecting everyone in UK shows the direction to which EE limited is now in terms of market status.  Therefore, from the analysis, it can be deemed that the internal environment is in favour of the company for sustainable growth. 

External analysis:

The external environment analysis can be done with the help of PESTLE and Porter’s Five Forces Framework

PESTLE analysis: 

Table 1: PESTLE analysis

(Source:Ho, 2014, p.6478)

Ho(2014) remarked that stability in the external environment helps a firm to make strategies for increased competitive advantage. As far as EE Limited is concerned, the political environment is stable whereas the economic situation is well enough to sustain the growth. Further, as UK is technologically improved, it provides the chance to the company to fulfil the requirements of consumers. Even though environmental degradation is a concern, EE Limited needs to come with a new technology that can help in reducing the environmental risk. 

Porter’s five forces: 

Figure 2: Porter’s Five Forces

(Source: E. Dobbs, 2014, p.40)

The UK market is full of powerful telecommunication players in the market like Hutchinson, Vodafone, Telephonica and the O2, 3 and others.  However, EE Limited has the largest market share of 32.9%. Vodafone and O2 are also not behind EE as they have market share of 20.9% and 18.2% accordingly (Statista.com, 2016). It means that competitive rivalry is high in the UK telecommunication market. E. Dobbs (2014) remarked that in a market where competitive rivalry is high, there are less chances of threat of new entrants as if new entrants enter into the market, they will not be able to match with competition and will eventually become obsolete. Therefore, for EE, the threat of new entrants is low. However, as opined by Wu et al. (2012), when there is competition, suppliers get the chance of bargaining with the companies whereas the consumers are also able to do so.  However, as EE Limited has been able to position itself as a trustable and good company, both the bargaining power of consumers and suppliers is low to moderate in the UK market.  On the other hand, keeping in mind the competition and current market situation, especially the demand of smart phones and high speed internet, apart from home broadband, there are no such substitutes.  Therefore, the threat of substitutes is also lower to moderate. It means the external environment is in favour for the growth of the company. 

SWOT analysis:

Table 2: SWOT analysis

(Source:Bloomberg.com, 2016)

EE Limited is one of the largest and the best telecommunication service provider in UK.  It has the best data speed whereas consumer dissatisfaction level regarding interruption in service is lower. However, even after having good home network, it creates problem in roaming. However, improving roaming networks as well as improving cross functional communications between the departments, these problems can be solved.  It is also seen that EE Limited does not dominate the market as competitors like Vodafone are chasing the company in every sphere of business. As the company has the required resources and technological advancement, deploying them can be able to improve the business performance of the company by providing it with competitive advantage.   Further, by using this same method, it can expand into other markets and therefore, can increase its market presence. 

Objectives:

The main objectives of the company in the current situation would be the following:  

Table 1: SMART objectives

(Source: Self developed)

Strategy:

Foxall(2014) pointed out the importance of the development of a new strategy for the fulfilment of business objectives and requirements. The Ansoff Matrix provides an insight regarding the strategies that can be taken. It has four quadrants as seen in the below figure: 

Figure 3: Ansoff Matrix

(Source: Chiang et al. 2016, p.222)

Chiang et al. (2016) remarked that in an existing market, market penetration or product development is the main choice that a firm has whereas in a new market, the opportunity to develop the market or obtain a market diversification strategy is beneficial. However, Fung (2014) argued that even in an existing market, new product development and using the diversification strategy can be fruitful. For example, if new products are developed, they are meant to fulfil the unfilled requirements of consumers. However, Foxall(2014) come with the point of view that for most of the time, new products eventually due to the lack of proper marketing research. Therefore, diversification is the most suitable strategy when it comes to gain competitive advantage in a market.  As far as EE Limited is concerned, being the marketing director of the company, going with the diversification strategy seems appropriate. The main reason is that EE Limited has the required resources in terms of human capital and financial resources. Further, it is also improvised in technology compared to other players in the market.  Therefore, diversification which will diversify the company from others in terms of quality, service and after sales service can be implemented as the new strategic direction. 

Segmentation, targeting and positioning:

Pyo(2015) remarked STP as a systematic process where absence of one element impacts on the other heavily. Diamantopoulos et al. (2014) referred Segmentation as the process of identifying potential customer groups.  Segmentation can be done via four methods namely geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural. As product diversification is chosen as the preferred strategy, behavioural segmentation which segments the groups as per their needs and requirements, their use and loyalty towards the product would be effective for implementing the strategy. 

Figure 4: The STP process

(Source:Bickhoffet al. 2014, p.120)

Bickhoffet al. (2014) identified targeting as the process of making choice of potential customer groups. EE Limited is a Telecommunication company. The current market trend is towards the data service. From teenagers to the middle aged people, mobile phones and the use of high speed internet has become necessary. Therefore, the main target group would be the teenagers that are the trending users of smart phones, voice and the internet.  As identified earlier, consumers are price conscious and therefore, keeping in mind the target group, the price needs to be moderate whereas the quality needs to be high for making loyal customers, a way towards successful marketing plan. 

Tactics and action:

In order to target the intended consumer group for achieving the business objectives and strategy identified, application of marketing mix is required as the main tactic. It becomes clear that competition is high. Therefore, the product quality for the intended target group needs to higher than normal value for money. The price can be lower or moderate to attract the teenagers. The company needs to be having coverage of the network throughout the country whereas there is a requirement of increment of physical stores. Further, in order attract the young people, offers related to the use of the service needs to be highlighted not only through event, TV or traditional advertisement techniques, but also with the help od digital technology, mainly the social media sites. 

Budget:

The allocation of resources, especially finances makes the way for the success of a marketing plan. The finance required for the current marketing plan is as follows: 

(Refer to appendix)

Control:

Developing a marketing plan and after its implementation, forgetting to control the success of the marketing plan is seen for most of the time. However, in order to ensure that a marketing plan fulfils the business requirements, implementing control measures required. Bickhoffet al. (2014) remarked fiancés as the main measurement of company performance. However, according to Kotler et al. (2015), company performance cannot be dependent on one measurement. In this context, employing the balanced scorecard approach opined by Pyo(2015) can be effective as it takes the measurement of business process, growth, consumer perspectives and finances.

Conclusion:

 From the above analysis, it is clear that within an organisational context, marketing plays a very important role. It correlates with other departments and helps in the development of a good organisational structure and culture. On the other hand, a marketing plan helps a firm to identify the external and internal marketing threats and opportunities based on which new measures, preferably new strategies and actions can be taken. It thus clears the importance of marketing as well as the decisions made by a marketing manager and marketing director for achieving business goals and objectives. 

Appendix

Figure 1: Marketing budget forecast

(Source: Self developed)