Unit 16 Marketing Communications Assignment

Program	Diploma in Business (Marketing)
Unit Number and Title	Unit 16 Marketing Communications
QFC Level	Level 5

Introduction

Marketing communications assignment report has been executed over the topic “Marketing communication” which is an important aspect for every business. The term marketing communication can be understood as the marketing efforts placed by an organisation for the purpose of promotion of their products or services in the market. Themotive behind using marketing communication is to enhance their performance and enhance the customer base of the business by making the customers aware about the products or services. It is a form of messages or media used by the business for communicating with the customers and the potential customers. This report will be executed by covering the various aspects related to marketing communication and its role in a business. It report will discuss the marketing communication tools which an organisation uses, strategic marketing communication plan prepared or constructed by the business and a marketing communication strategy and the manner in which the elements of the communication process are applied at the global level.

Brief description of the company, the product and the target market

Marketing communication is a crucial aspect for every company as every company is engaged in the business with a motive to serve the customers and earning profit and growth of the business.With the change in the business environment due to the change in the level of competition and change in the technology, the manner of promoting products or services by the businesses has also changed. This shift has given rise to the concept of marketing communication.For the purpose of execution of this program a computer technology company has been selected named as “Dell”. Dell is a multinational privately owned computer technology company of America which is engaged in developing, selling, repairing, providing support to the computers and products and services related to computers. It is offering personal computers, servers, smartphones, peripherals and televisions (Avramescu, et. al., 2015). It was founded in 1984 and offering its services all over the world. It is having a huge employee base of 101,800,who are providing quality services to the customers.Dell is offering Alienware series for the purpose of providing computers and laptops with high performance computer gaming system and media centres. The Alienware series of Dell include Alienware 13 which is designed for the purpose of high performance gaming, Alienware 15 which is designed with carbon fibre materials for attaining a perfect balance between the performance and the mobility and Alienware 17 designed with roaring graphics and massive screen which acts as a ultimate choice of the gamers due to the power and performance and many more. The Alienware series of Dell can be identified with the alien-theme designs. Dell is planning to promote or advertise the Alienware series in United Kingdom market so as to make the people aware of the products and the services offered by Dell and attracting the customers. The trend of the gaming in United Kingdom is increasing at a fast speed and the market of UK has been identified as a leading industry for the gamingas the analysis of the UK market has helped in analysing that gaming revolution is taking place in UK. From the analysis it has been evaluated that the people who are of 45 above are playing games more than the children which provides a platform to the gaming computers. Due to this increasing trend of gaming industry in United Kingdom Dell is planning to use marketing communication for the promotion and advertisement of the products and services of the company among the people of UK as well as at global level.Dell is targeting these people who want to enhance the gaming experience and to ensure the high performance in the gaming (McKay-Nesbitt & Yoon, 2015).

Marketing communication tools

Marketing communication is an important part or element of marketing mix which is used by the businesses for conveying the message to the people for the promotion of the product and service of the business. With the change in the environment the methods or the tools used for the marketing of the products and services have changed. There are various tools of marketing communication which are considered as the mix of marketing communication. The main motive of using these marketing communication tools by Dell is to enhance the performance of the business by reaching the public and attracting them towards the products or services offered by Dell. Business need to maintain healthy relationship with the public so as to promote the product among them. Every business analysis the market trend so as to analyse the behaviour or the manner in which the customers or the potential customers are reacting towards the products or services offered by the business. Dell has analysed the increasing trend of the games in UK due to which it has adopted marketing communication tools or mix. These tools of marketing communication have helped in promoting the Alienware series in the market of United Kingdom (Samu & Wymer, 2014). Dell is providing quality services to the customers and for the promotion and advertisement of the products of the Alienware series of Dell it has adopted techniques which are mentioned below:

• Public relation activities: public relation can be explained as the manner in which the businesses are focusing over creation of a healthy relationship with the public so as to create or generate goodwill in the market. Dell is engaged in various public relation activities such as Corporate Philanthropy as it is adopting green packaging and shipping activity so as to ensure the safety of the environment, by keeping the focus over the reduction in the harmful impact of the business over the environment and over the people and it is engaged in charityin 60 countries. Dell is focusing over the use of the renewable sources for electricity generation and on reduction in the wastage for the better utilisation of the resources (Luxton, et. al., 2015;2014).
• Sales promotion: sales promotion can be explained as the processwhich helps in attracting the customers for purchasing the products or services by making them aware about the products or services. Dell is using sales promotional activities so as to enhance the sales of the gaming computers as the trend of gaming computers in United Kingdom is increasing. It is providing push money in which it is providing extra commission to the dealers who are selling more products. It is also Point of purchase displays in which additional discount is allowed to the buyers for purchasing the products instantly. Another sales promotion activity of Dell is trade allowances in which short term incentives are given to the retailers for increasing the units of product purchased or ordered by them(Luxton, et. al., 2015;2014).
• Direct marketing: direct marketing can be understood as the method in which the products and services are directly sold to the public. Dell is usingelectronic media for the purpose of directly communicating with the potential customers and for selling the Alienware series which is a gaming series in United Kingdom. It is also using newspapers and magazines through which it is establishing a direct link with the customers so as to promote the Alienware series and enhance the sales of the Alienware series a gaming series offered by Dell.Dell has set up various stores for selling the products to the customers directly and analysing the market conditions and behaviour of the customers towards the products or services offered by it(Samu & Wymer, 2014).
• Personal selling: personal selling can be understood as the promotional tool or technique in which businesses uses sales force for the promotion of the product and attracting the customers towards the products and services. Personal selling is a two way promotional activity. Dell has established a change for the distribution of the product and for reaching the customers in an effective manner. This marketing communication tool has helped Dell in gaining the attention of the customers, developing the relationship with the customers. This tool has helped Dell in analysing the feedbacks or the reviews of the customers for the company and the products and services offered by it. It is a customer oriented tool which helps in focusing over the customers and enhancing the experience of the customers by making them aware about the features of the products (Herman, 2015).
• Advertising: this is the most common tool of marketing communication which is used by the businesses for the purpose of spreading awareness in the market and among the public about the features of the products and services offered by it. The most common ways of advertising which are being used by the business are internet, radios, televisions and magazines. These ways are the paid promotional activities in which helps in enhancing the sales of the business. Dell is making use of this tool so as to reach a large number of public at the same time but this method is costly as the promotional agencies charges high fees and the selection of the advertising agency need to be done in an effective manner so as to promote the product in an effective manner.
• Online promotions through social media platforms, emails, internet and websites: the use of the online mode or internet is increasing for the promotion of the products or services. One of the most commonly used online promotion technique is the social media plat formas the use of social media platforms by the public is increasing. Social media platforms are effective and efficient modes for communicating with the people with less cost and in less time. Dell is using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Gmail and Google+. Dell has created page on Facebook so as to interact with the customers and the public and make them aware about the Alienware series offered by it and the changes taking place in the products which enhances the performance of Alienware series computers(Herman, 2015).
• Banners and hoardings: in this tool of marketing communication companies use to place banners or hoardings at the public places displaying the products offered by the business with their features. This tool helps the companies in making people aware of the products of the business and attracting them. Dell has hired advertisement agency which is performing the functions for the advertisement and promotion of the products of Dell in United Kingdom. The banners of the Alienware series are placed at the different places in United Kingdom and the advertisements are displayed at the public places where huge crowd is gathered (Janssens, et. al., 2014).

Strategic marketing communication plan of Dell for marketing the product in United Kingdom

Strategic marketing communication plan

Introduction: The motive behind framing this strategic marketing communication plan is to reach the customers of the business for selling the products and services offered by the business to the customers. It can be understood as the map or the blueprint which represents the planning of the business for enhancing their performanceby analysing the impact of the various elements of the business environment. Marketing communication plan helps in the identification of the objectives of the business which it needs to achieve with the execution of the operations of the business. Marketing communication plan covers the analysis of the market conditions as well as of the  internal and external environment  of the business. Dell is offering Alienware series which is designed with a motive to improve the gaming experience of the customers. Dell is planning to promote the Alienware series in the UK market as the UK market has been analysed with the increasing trend of the gaming products or software(Janssens, et. al., 2014).

Marketing objectives of Dell: The objectives of the Dell are to enhance the gaming experience of the customers by providing high performance computers which are designed for providing unique experience to the customers and to enhance the sales of the business by attracting the customers with the help of marketing communication tools and strategies.

Mission: The mission or the aim of Dell is to engage in continues innovations so as to provide better products and services to the customers.The motive behind developing Alienware series is to enhance the gaming experience and to provide a new height to the gaming industry and expand the area of operation by offering Alienware series in United Kingdom market.

Marketing planning process: The planning process of the marketing of the products of Alienware series of Dell it is using marketing communication tools.It is planning to offer the Alienware series in UK market so as to attract the customers and enhance the customer base of the business. Analysis will be done of the market or the environment of UK so as to analyse the conditions of the UK market and the trends prevailing in UK market. Marketing mix elements will be used by Dell for enhancing its performance and the chances of growth and survival in the  business environment  (Štefko, et. al., 2015).

Analysis of the current market situations: Analysis of the current market situation needs to be done so as to analyse the suitability of the market for the business and for the products and services offered by the business.Dell is analysing these market situations for offering the Alienware series in UK market.

Situational analysis:

• Competitors: the level of competition is continuously increasing due to which the use of the innovative technique arises. These competitors affect the performance of the business. With the increase in the role of gaming industry in United Kingdom the level of competition is also increasing which can affect the performance of Dell and act as competitors to the Alienware series computers of Dell. The reason behind the development of Alienware series is to improve the standards of gaming industry and the competitors of Dell Alienware series are Asus, Micro-Star International, and Velocity Micro, CyberpowerPC, Digital Storm and Razer Inc.
• Profile of customers: for the analysis of the profile of the customers the trend of the UK market for the gaming industry need to be analysed. The trend of the gaming industry is rising and the use of the gaming computer is by different groups of people belonging to different age groups are increasing. As per the analysis of the UK market for the analysis of the trend of gaming industry people above 45 years are playing games more than the children (Danaher & Rossiter, 2011).
• Technology: the change in the technology has laid a way for the innovations in the gaming industry and the development of Alienware series computers of Dell is also done so as to ensure the level of satisfaction of the customers from the products offered by it.

SWOT analysis:

Strengths	Weaknesses
The products offered by Dell are of good quality and are reliable. The products are developed as per the requirement and innovations in the existing products. Dell is offering wide range of products to its customers. It is having adequate amount of resources which are effective in attaining the objectives of the organization. The prices of the products are affordable and reasonable.	Dell is lacking in marketing its products. As it is using traditional forms of marketing. There are gaps in the capabilities of the business. It is lacking in implementing leadership qualities which affects the performance ofthe business. It is lacking in making predictions for the future period. Future predicts forms a base for the growth of the business in future. It is lacking in competitive strengths.As the level of competition affects the functioning of Dell (Danaher & Rossiter, 2011).
Opportunities	Threats
The growth is available in the market which provides opportunity to Dell for enhancing its customer base. The technology is changing which can be used by Dell for enhancing its performance and making innovations in the product (Danaher & Rossiter, 2011).	The budget may get affected due to the change in the economic conditions and factors. The level of competition is increasing. There are various competitors available in The technology can also create impact over the performance of Dell as Dell is a computer technology company which is operating in an industry which gets affected by the technological factor at large.

Marketing strategy adopted by Dell: For the purpose of marketing the products of Alienware series offered by Dell it need to adopt marketing mix and the elements of  marketing mix  which will help Dell in maximising the chances for the attainment of the success in the operations of the business as well as the objectives framed by Dell. It will help Dell in marketing the Alienware series in the UK market in an effective manner. Marketing mix is an effective marketing communication strategy which will help Dell in promoting its products in the market in an effective manner and enhancing the performance of the business (Epure, et. al., 2014).

Segmentation, targeting and positioning: It has targeted the UK market as the trend for the gaming industry in UK is rising and which has laid a way for Dell to provide Alienware series computers which have been designed for the purpose of enhancing the gaming experience of the customers. Different people of different age groups are using gaming computers in UK which has encouraged Dell to promote Alienware series in UK market. For the purpose of marketing the Alienware series in UK market it is using various techniques and tools as well as the elements of marketing mix (Shakeel-Ul-Rehman& Ibrahim, 2011).

Budget:

Particulars	Amount ($)
Analysis of market	4,000
Analysis of the internal and external environment	3,000
Constructing marketing plan	5,000
Salary to the experts	10,000
Fees to the expert	4,000
Implementation of marketing mix	2,000
Evaluation of the plan	2,000
Total	30,000

Conclusion: 

Strategic marketing communication plan has been prepared so as to formulate plan for the purpose of marketing the products or the services offered by the business in the market. Dell is offering Alienware series computers which are designed for the purpose of enhancing the satisfaction level and experience of the customers of the gaming industry. This report discusses the strategies which will help in enhancing the performance of the business and the sales of the business.

Marketing communication strategy

Objective: the objective of formulating the communication strategy is to plan or construct the manner in which communication will be made with the customers so as to promote products in the market.

Current situation: for the analysis of the current situation PESTLE analysis has been done.

• Political analysis: Dell need to analyse the political aspects of UK as the changes in the political parties can affect the functions or the operations of the business.UK economy is having political stability which ensures that businesses are not getting affected by the political aspects (Dahl, et. al., 2015).
• Environmental analysis: the weather conditions and the climatic conditions of the place need to be analysed so as to ensure that the operations of the business can be carried out in the country without any adverse impact over the business due to the environmental factors. UK is having warm climatic conditions which are suitable for the purpose of execution of the operations of the business.
• Social analysis: the trend, age groups and the taste also affects the products and services offered by the business. Dell is offering Alienware seriesof computers which are designed for the purpose of providing high quality experience to the gaming industry. Different age groups of UK are engaged in gaming industry which enhances the chances of success of Dell in UK market.
• Technological analysis: Dell is a computer technology companywhich gets affected at large due to the change in the technology so Dell needs to analyse the technological aspects on regular basis.
• Legal analysis: rules and regulations are framed for guiding the businesses for operating within a legal framework so as to ensure that the businesses are operating in a safe manner and are not harming to the environment and the elements of the environment. Dell needs to analyse the legal environment of UK (Naeem, et. al., 2013).
• Economic analysis: the economic conditions create huge impact over the performance as the change in the economic conditions affects the business financially. The economic conditions of UK are stable.

Targeted market: The targeted market of Dell is UK and for offering the products in the UK market it has analysed the conditions of the environment of United Kingdom so as to ensure that the performance of the business are not getting affected. The trend of UK is increasing for the gaming industry which has acted as a base for offering the Alienware seriesin UK market (Vavrecka & Mezuláník, 2016).

Strategies which can be adopted by Dell

Marketing mix: There are 7 P’s of marketing mix which need to be applied by the business for the purpose of marketing the products or services offered by the business. Dell needs to use these elements of marketing mix for the purpose of marketing the Alienware series. These 7 P’s are discussed below:

• Product: Dell is offering Alienware series in the UK market with a motive to encourage the gaming industry and the experience derived by the customers from the gaming computers. The Alienware series of the Dell is having various products which are designed for improving the satisfaction level of the customers or the people of UK (Galão & Crescitelli, 2015).
• Place: Dell is offering Alienware series in UK as the trend in UK for the gaming software and computers is increasing at a very fast speed and it is expected to rise in the future also. The people of different age group are engaged in using the gaming software and the computer. For the distribution of the products in the market it has established an effective distribution channel which helps in selling the products.
• Promotion: for the promotion of the Alienware series of Dell it need to use the promotional techniques such as social media platforms which help in advertising the products as well as taking the feedbacks from the customers about the products offered by the business (Kitchen & Proctor, 2015).
• Price: the prices of the products of Alienware series of Dell need to be decided after the analysis of the competitive environment which exists in United Kingdom. There is huge competition so Dell needs to decide pricing its products after analysing the pricing methods of the competitors and as per the features of the products offered by it.
• Physical evidence: the products of Alienware series need to be offered online as well as offline at the stores of Dell as well as at the website of Dell and other online sites which are offering the products and services online such as Flipkart, Amazon and many more (Valos, et. al., 2016).
• People: for the sales of the products of Alienware series of Dell it need to provide training to the employees so as to enhance the sales of the business and enhancing the performance of the business. It is offering trade discounts and commission so as to encourage the dealers or the retailers of the distribution channel of Dell.
• Process: the focus of the Dell need to be over providing better quality products to the customers for enhancing the satisfaction level of the customers and attracting the customers. For the purpose of offering the products to the customers it is analysing the market situations and the trends.

Social media marketing: in this the businesses uses social media for the purpose of marketing the products and services of the business. It is an effective technique which has been used by the business. With the change in the environment, people are using these social media platforms for interacting with each other. Dell can use these platforms so as to enhance the performance of the business and make people aware of the products offered by it. For the purpose of making the people of UK aware of the products offered by it, social media can be an effective and efficient technique(Kitchen & Proctor, 2015).

Conclusion

This report has discussed the concept of marketing communication and the importance of the marketing communication in shaping the future of the business. This report has discussed different aspects of the marketing communication which can be applied by the business for enhancing its performance and the future prospects. It has discussed different marketing communication tools and these tools are personal selling, direct marketing, communication, promotion, public relations and advertising. A strategic marketing communication plan has been prepared and the Marketing communication strategy has been discussed for an organisation. 

References

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