(CBE6281) Marketing assignment evaluating the existing marketing strategies and marketing mix of Sainsbury

Question

Task: For your marketing assignment you should conduct a marketing mix evaluation (i.e. discuss the 4Ps or more Ps) of what is offered or manufactured by a firm of your choice and propose future marketing mix moves.You are required to choose a real firm (most of you will probably choose the organization you work for) and analyse and evaluate the marketing mix of the specific company. You must also identify the reasons why the company follows the particular marketing mix. You should also give your own suggestions / proposals (per marketing mix element) as to what the company can do in the future.

Answer

Introduction
The marketing mix refers to a foundation business model. This business model is very significant and is based on four foundational aspects. These factors include product, place, price and promotion. The marketing mix as per Othmanet al(2019) is considered as one of the most effective models for business because it facilitates setting the marketing tools which an organisation uses for pursuing the marketing objectives in their selected or targeted market. It is found from the marketing assignment, over the years three more factors have been added the marketing mix. They include people, physical evidence and processes. This makes it the 7P’s of the marketing mix. These seven factors are the most crucial aspects of any business. In this marketing assignment, the company under consideration is Sainsbury’s. This company is a supermarket company based in the United Kingdom. The existing marketing mix of the company will be evaluated in this marketing assignment. This evaluation would provide a basic idea about the business and marketing of the Sainsbury’s. Through this marketing assignmentanalysis of the marketing mix, the real life problems in the business of Sainsbury’s would be identified. The marketing assignmentfurther presents certain proposals for amending the existing marketing mix of the company. The proposed changes are expected to bring the company better business outcomes. The marketing mix of Sainsbury’s would make an analysis of the brand using the framework which includes the price, product, place, promotion, physical evidence, people and process of the company. The brand could succeed through marketing strategies like product innovation, promotion planning, pricing approach, etc. which it needs to incorporate in the marketing mix.

Marketing mix evaluation for the marketing assignment
Sainsbury’s could develop its marketing strategies based on the marketing mix. The marketing mix facilitates the company to position itself and operate in the supermarket sector of the United Kingdom. The company can be competitive and effective in the market and also attain its business objectives and goals through the marketing mix (Sainsbury’s, 2022). The most important factors of the marketing mix are mentioned in the marketing assignment:
Price: The price of acommodity or serviceis the most crucial aspect of a brand. Thus, the marketing mix analyses the price quotient of Sainsbury’s. The price approach of Sainsbury’s is mainly based on the concept of offering its customers the proper value for their money. As per the marketing assignmentthis implies that the company wants to add value to their customers’ purchase. Sainsbury’s aims at providing high quality items which ensures the satisfaction and further retention of the customers (Bentham, 2018). Sainsbury’s also practices a very competitive pricing policy. They do not believe in price cutting as they know that this is a short run approach for gaining a larger market share. In the long run, quality and competitive prices gain market for itself. Sainsbury’s makes optimum utilisation of the price discrimination approach. They base their policy of price discrimination on the positioning of the commodity. This brings Sainsbury’s premium price for the goods as they position their goods in the high end markets. The company has been relevant in the supermarket sector for its low prices or affordable prices. Sainsbury’s has a wide range of kids and basic products which have a very low price range. As per the marketing assignmentthe items have excellent quality which ensures value for the customers’ money. The company was able to earn a huge annual revenue of around 38.004 billionUS dollars during the year 2021, because of its updated and adaptive pricing policy (Guo and Wang, 2019).

Product:As the company, Sainsbury’s is involved mainly in the supermarket business, they always have the urge of being innovative and adding new items to their product range. However, the company has also diversified its business over the years. As per Xiao, Chen and Yu(2021),Sainsbury’s has a very wide range of products which offers its customers a good choice basket. The brand emphasises on innovation as well as the management of quality of the products and services. As per the marketing assignmentthe company not only develops new products but also keeps on enhancing the quality of the existing products. The company, Sainsbury’s, operates under two main formats. The local convenience stores and the supermarkets. These local convenience stores and the supermarkets offer their customers more than thirty thousand items under their product range. Out of these items approximately twenty percent are from the Sainsbury’s brand itself. These include basics like toiletries, food and stationery items. There are ready to eat meals, organic food items, bakery items, low fat content healthy food items, food products for allergy prone customers who avoid gluten, dairy and wheat (Jones and Comfort, 2019). It is found from the marketing assignmentthat Sainsbury’s has a clothing line as well which is the TU range. Sainsbury’s is a brand which has not stopped at selling groceries in their supermarkets. It went beyond this business to target the home collection range. The brands has a great collection and offers furnishings and products. Sainsbury’s product range has biodegradable packaging for all the items. These packages are made from potatoes. The brand sells their own organic labelled fruits in the trays which are also biodegradable (Nelms et al, 2022). The company, Sainsbury’s considered for this marketing assignmentalso has its own bank which provides its customers the basic financial help and services.
Place:The distribution of the products of a company is very important for ensuring proper sales and revenue. The place of distribution of Sainsbury’s is a core determinant of the success of the business of Sainsbury’s. as per the marketing assignmentthe company has more than seven hundred convenience stores and more than five hundred supermarkets out of which there are quite a few stores which operate for twenty four hours, all the seven days of the week (Urquhart et al, 2022). The other stores remain open until the mid of night on Fridays. Sainsbury’s further offers the facility of home delivery of the products. The customers can place the order online through the company website or make phone calls for ordering. It is found from themarketing assignmentthat sainsbury’s in the initial times handled the distribution system on its own. However, since the dispute of 1970 with the drivers, it has contracted out the distribution job to the specialists like NFT and DHL couriers (Vargas, Patel and Patel, 2018). The company has thirteen regional distribution centres and two national distribution centres, which are meant for the slow moving commodities. They also have two store houses which are exclusively dedicated for the frozen category of food, along with a few depots.
Promotion:Today to remain in business, one needs to concentrate on promotion. Sainsbury’s focuses on its advertising strategy and promotional strategy. As per the marketing assignmentfindings, the company is good at utilising the below the line and above the line promotional strategies for drawing the attention of the customers. The brand tries to build their brand name through these promotional strategies. The company uses the feature of celebrity endorsement in the advertisements. They have David Beckham advertising for their brand. They also advertise their sponsorship towards the London Paralympic Games (Jackson-Brown, 2020). Under their above the line promotional strategies, the company utilises the broadcast media such as radio and television for communicating its corporate image. Under the below the line promotional strategies, as per the marketing assignmentresults, Sainsbury’s utilises the sales promotion, packaging and database marketing. Sainsbury’s is presently using its slogan, ‘Live well for less’ in all the promotional programs. The company also launched their Nectar reward card for the purpose of increasing their sales and developing the customer loyalty. This facilitated the customers to get points on each purchase they made at the Sainsbury’s stores. The points could be used by the customers while making their future purchases. The Nectar reward cards helped the company to build its customer database. The company further sent out tailored offers for the targeted segment of the customers. As per the marketing assignmentfindings, the company has an offer for its customers termed as ‘Active kids’. This is a voucher scheme in which in specific sports club these vouchers could be redeemed against purchase of sports equipment (McInch and Fleming, 2022). For promoting the brand image before the public, Sainsbury’s indulges in community services as well as undertakes environmental responsibilities.
As Sainsbury’s is a service marketing based brand, the other three Ps, i.e., people, physical evidence and process, have been included in the company’s marketing mix for the marketing assignment. People:The company, Sainsbury’s has a very good mix of professionals and well-trained experts. These people are aware of the consumer behaviour and its sensitivity. The customers at Sainsbury’s are given the highest priority and first preference (Harmer et al, 2021). The new employees who Sainsbury’s are given on the job training for satisfying the needs of the customers. As per the marketing assignmentthey are also trained to fulfil the goals of the organisation. The company knows that the impact of the skilled employees is positive on the organisational performance and outcome. Therefore, Sainsbury’s tries to hire and train their employees on various skills. The company has introduced a training program for the fishmongers and bakers, which is known as the Level 2 Craft skills Apprenticeship (Esmond, 2022). They also have a college which mainly trains the students on leadership skills so that they emerge as good team leaders and store managers.

Process:
Through click and collect service, Sainsbury’s has initiated a convenient online shopping for its customers. Through this service customers are able to roll out groceries almost rapidly. The company has also initiated changes in the allocation of delivery slots as well as prices. As per the marketing assignmentthis in turn has increased the demand for orders as well as implanted customer loyalty. Sainsbury is also looming with new store set-ups to deal with the altering requirements of customers and is considerately selecting the location for its new stores.

Physical Evidence:
Through physical evidence, Sainsbury’s has been able to introduce an outstanding marketing strategy in order to market its products. In order to address diverse requirements of customers, the company has diverse store design as well as layouts. In order to make sure about outstanding shopping experience, Sainsbury’sconsidered for this marketing assignmenthas ensured about basket as well as trolley quality(Jackson-Brown, 2020). They have also made impressive shelf layout in order to make shopping more convenient. It also has an online website that is not only user-friendly but it also makes it easier for customers to view the commodities in high quality images that are taken from several angles.

Marketing mix proposalsdiscussed for the marketing assignment
The section of the marketing assignmentwill show how the above-mentionedmarketing mix could be justified that will help the company to develop in the future:
Product: The suggested product strategy that has been suggested includes extension of additional advantagesfor procuring the products that are sold by Sainsbury’s. In other words, extension should be made on delivery, warranties, after-sales service as well as credit. On the other hand, it is found from themarketing assignmentthat new products should be introduced in the market that should be in-line with up-to-date trends. Opportunities within the market should be recognised and products that will utilise those opportunities should be introduced. Broadening of product portfolio should also be introduced that will satisfy customer demands. It should also progress its packaging of product such that it is more suitable to transport and use. As per the marketing assignmentits packaging should also be visually tempting so that customers getfascinated to it.

Price: The price strategy that has been suggested includes introduction of allowances as well as discounts. This will in turn diminish prices for a short time period. This will attract customers as well as gain market share(Jackson-Brown, 2020). This can be carried out by decreasing a percentage from the price offered for the products. As a part of marketing mix proposal, price penetration strategy can also be suggested as this new pricing system will provide an initial price that will be lower than the competitors. According to the marketing assignmentthis will help to gain a proper share in the market.
Place: Social media post is highly recommended for Sainsbury’s where it should try selling its products through social media posts. On the other hand, as a part of place strategy it should put stress on developing its online website as it will become more user-friendly.As per the marketing assignmentfindings, it should also try for personal selling through large retailers. It should also open up retail stores that are company-operated where it can provide all of its commodities. Promotion: The company should opt for hiring social media influencers that includes bloggers as well as movie stars. Promoting strategy should be regarded on a serious basis that will help to raise awareness among customers.As per the marketing assignment several digital marketing techniques should be considered to develop the online traffic on its website such as banner advertisement, blog creation as well as Search engine optimization. Relevant social media posts that attract target audience should be created recurrently(Vargas, Patel and Patel, 2018). On the other hand, data should be gathered on customers to send them email or SMS on innovative products to increase repeat customers. People: Sales force training should be provided as it plays an imperative role in delivering value to customers.Similarly, the sales force should be provided with incentives through rewards on meeting their daily targets. Individuals who have the potential to show respect towards customers should be hired.

Process: The company continually seek ways to innovate and recover its processes in terms of competence and cost. As per the marketing assignmentcosts savings would sooner or later bring about lower prices for its products. Physical evidence: The company should gather feedback from its customers regarding its packaging so that it could progress on this. It should set-up customer-friendly environment As well as ambience.

Conclusion
It could be concluded from the marketing assignmentthat a company can be competitive and operative in the market besides accomplishing its business objectives as well as goals through the marketing mix. Sainsbury’s utilises the sales promotion, packaging and database marketing as a part of the line promotional strategies.A very competitive pricing policy is practised by Sainsbury’s in order to accomplish a larger market share. It could also be concluded that there two major formats such as local convenience stores and the supermarkets under which Sainsbury’s operates. The company believes in the enhancement of its existing products beside introducing innovative commodities in the market. The company provides basic products as well as widespread range of kids products at a low price range. The company also prefer hiring efficient as well as skilled employees as they known capable employees are always productive. Sainsbury’s is a brand which has not stopped at marketing groceries in their supermarkets. As per the marketing assignmentfindings, it went outside this business to target the home collection variety. It could be inferred that prospects within the market should be identified and products that will utilise those prospects should be introduced. Expansion of product portfolio should also be introduced that will gratify customer demands.

References
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Harmer, G., Jebb, S.A., Ntani, G., Vogel, C. and Piernas, C., 2021. Capturing the healthfulness of the in-store environments of United Kingdom supermarket stores over 5 months (January–May 2019). American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 61(4), pp.e171-e179.
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Sainsbury’s., 2022. About Us. Available at https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/about-us. [Accessed on 2 December 2022]
Urquhart, R., Newing, A., Hood, N. and Heppenstall, A., 2022. Last-Mile Capacity Constraints in Online Grocery Fulfilment in Great Britain. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 17(2), pp.636-651.
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Xiao, B., Chen, Q. and Yu, Z., 2021, April. Research on the Investment Value of Sainsbury’s. In 2021 6th International Conference on Social Sciences and Economic Development (ICSSED 2021) (pp. 108-115). Atlantis Press.