Unit 4 ABI Marketing Principles Assignment Help

This is solution of ABI College Marketing Principles Assignment for the fulfillment the requirement of BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma Business.

Using the following case organisation, answer Part A and Part B questions of marketing techniques.

 Argos was founded in 1973 and is now the UK's leading general merchandise retailer with sales of over £3.3 billion. Argos is owned by GUS plc and is part of the Argos Retail Group with over 580 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland, as well as distribution centres, call centres and its head office in Milton Keynes, employing over 23,000 people in total. Approximately 98% of the UK population live within 10 miles of an Argos store.

In the modern world of retailing consumers can have their needs met in a variety of ways such as High Street shopping, out of town shopping centres, and by direct delivery from Internet orders. Competition among retailers is increasingly getting tough.

Marketeers at Argos therefore are continually concerned with addressing the questions:

• Who are our customers? (Argos needs to find out as much as possible about its customers in order to meet their needs)
• Are we offering the right combination of choice, value and convenience?
• How can we create a compelling competitor advantage? (How is Argos different from the competition?)
• How can we defend what business we already have and how can we grow?
• How do we effectively communicate to our customer base?

Part A:

(a) Define the term marketing and explain the elements of the marketing process. (1.1)

(b) Evaluate the benefits and costs in adopting a marketing orientation for an organisation such as Argos. (1.2)

(c) Demonstrate your understanding on the differences between the consumer buying behaviour and organisational buying behaviour. (2.4)

(d) Explain the differences between the domestic marketing and international marketing techniques. (4.3)

(e) Explain how marketing products and services to consumers differ from marketing products and services to organisations. (4.2)

Part B:

(a) Discuss how the following factors can influence Argos’s marketing decisions. (2.1)

• Political
• Economical
• Social/Cultural
• Customers
• Competitors
• Suppliers

(b) Using realistic criteria segment the market for Argos (products and services). (2.2)

(c) Choose an appropriate targeting strategy for your organisation’s (Argos) product/s. (2.3)

(d) Propose a new positioning strategy for your organisation’s (Argos) product/s. (2.5)

(e) Illustrate how products can be developed to sustain competitive advantage with appropriate examples? Help: Students could discuss the New Product Development process with appropriate examples to illustrate how it can be used to sustain competitive advantage. (3.1)

(f) Explain the differences between the skimming and penetration pricing strategies. (3.3)

(g) Discuss how effectively Argos could integrate their promotional activities to achieve its marketing objectives. (3.4)

(h) The extended marketing mix additionally comprises elements such as people, processes and physical evidence. Analyse these 3 elements of the extended mix with examples. (3.5)

(i) The channel of distribution refers to the chain which links the manufacturer and the user. Discuss how an organisation’s distribution can be arranged to offer convenience to customers. (3.2)

(j) Plan marketing mixes for any two segments of your choice that is been served by Argos. (4.1)

PASS QCF	Learner’s Evidence Shows
	All the requirements defined in the pass assessment criteria for each unit are met;
PASS	Assessment criteria for pass
1         Understand the concept and process of marketing	1.1   explain the various elements of the marketing process 1.2   evaluate the benefits and costs of a marketing orientation for a selected organisation
2         Be able to use the concepts of segmentation, targeting and positioning	2.1   show macro and micro environmental factors which influence marketing decisions 2.2 propose segmentation criteria to be used for products in different markets 2.3 choose a targeting strategy for a selected product/service 2.4 demonstrate how buyer behaviour affects marketing activities in different buying situations 2.5 propose new positioning for a selected product/service
3 Understand the individual elements of the extended marketing mix	3.1 explain how products are developed to sustain competitive advantage 3.2 explain how distribution is arranged to provide customer convenience 3.3 explain how prices are set to reflect an organisation’s objectives and market conditions 3.4 illustrate how promotional activity is integrated to achieve marketing objectives 3.5 analyse the additional elements of the extended marketing mix
4. Be able to use the marketing mix in different contexts	4.1 plan marketing mixes for two different segments in consumer markets 4.2 illustrate differences in marketing products and services to businesses rather than consumers 4.3 show how and why international marketing differs from domestic marketing.

Marketing Principles

Part B (c) Choose an appropriate targeting strategy for your organisation’s (Argos) product/s. (2.3)

Introduction

Argos is the leading retailer in United Kingdom which is a subsidiary of Home Retail Group. It offers more than 33000 products to the customers and through online channels and through stores. It website is visited by more than 430 million people in a year and it has 740 stores to serve around 130 million customers.

In the process of STP i.e. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning, Segmentation is the first step in which the total market is divided into different segments or groups according to their needs. Targeting is the second step which means targeting one or more segments which depends on the factors like size, growth or profit of the segments. It includes identification of the marketing techniques and the segments which are more profitable for the company and in which the company have competitive advantage in the markets.

Argos is the retailer which connects directly with the consumer. The target market of Argos includes the people or group of people who are in the age group of 24-65 because, this age group has a very high buying power compared to kids and aged people. Argos uses latest technologies to meet the needs of its customers like it developed the option for online shopping and it is growing rapidly as the buyers are more interested in shopping online nowadays and the interests of the consumers influence the target strategy of the organisations. Argos makes efforts to know that what are the current needs and demands of the customers and it tries to provide those goods and services.

Argos tries to make shopping easy for its customers and it provides the services which are accessible to everyone. Argos targets the customers which have more buying power and who can frequently purchase the products from Argos. (Vizard, 2014). The habits of the customers are not constant at all levels and it keeps on changing with the time so with the change in the demands and preferences, Argos has to change its technologies, product offering, strategies with the changing demands of the customers and that is why Argos is concentrating more on the latest and updated channels to be in touch with the customers.

The customers of Argos have variety of needs and demands which they want to fulfill in variety of ways. The target of Argos is to make more and more customers and to fight the tough competition in the market so it targets those customers which have more buying power and Argos tries to complete and fulfill their demands in a way which gives easy access to the customers for the products of Argos.

Bibliography

Argos. (2015). About Us. Retrieved 12 12, 2015, from http://www.argos.co.uk/static/StaticDisplay/includeName/AboutArgos.htm#disable CHAPMAN, M. (2014). Retail Week. Retrieved 12 12, 2014, from http://www.retail-week.com/innovation/argos-sets-sights-on-a-youth-audience-with-live-streamed-in-store-gigs/5065523.article Vizard, S. (2014). Argos sales growth accelerates as it targets more affluent customers. Retrieved 12 12, 2015, from https://www.marketingweek.com/2014/10/22/argos-sales-growth-accelerates-as-it-targets-more-affluent-customers/ If you need help in ABI College Marketing Principles Assignment click on order now button.