Redefining Marketing: Beyond Product and Price

Introduction

“The days of building the perfect mix of the ‘four Ps’ [product, price, promotion, place] and then throwing it over to the sales team are dead,” says Pickles. “With real-time optimisation, fast-moving competitive markets and spiralling levels of consumer insight, the whole funnel from awareness right through to action is firmly in the control of the marketing leader.”

Section1 -What is Commerciality in retail?

Definition: Commerciality can be simply defined as the ability to run a profitable business by identifying the current market and the existing consumers trend. It can be understood as what makes a business or organisation successful, their values, the market they work, awareness about buying products or selling, and the most important understanding of their competitors. It is imperative to have a real and good understanding about the knowledge of the industry (commercial awareness). Knowing how much the company worth (money they make minus the costs they pay), how they make the money, who are their competitors are important. According to Marketing Week (2017), sales and commercial awareness are the most important responsibility where the managers must lead in order to become leader. Therefore, commercial awareness is a key skill, required for a successful performance in any job. It is also important to understand financial terms like:

Profit -is defined as the left over to a business after deducting all the costs, this could be from wages, rent or raw materials.

PROFIT = NET SALES- COSTS including shrinkage

Net sales – defined as the total sales that is received by a company. It is the principal sales figure that is reviewed by analysts when they examine the income statement of a business.

NET SALES = TOTAL SALES - VAT

Costs – the amount that must be paid or given up in order to get somethings. In the retail costs are usually resources, Material, time and utility consumed

COSTS = AL VARIABLE AND FIXED COSTS

Shrinkage and waste -Can be define has a loss material during a production process/ it’s also a shoplifting, employee theft and damage

SHRINKAGE = INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL THEFT AND WASTE/ADMINISTRATION

In the end managers should perform to have commerciality:

Drives sales to create profit

Implement budget to reduce cost (Loss)

Reduce Shrinkage and waste to maintain the margin (fra. lesson1)

Section 2 - What retail managers can do to protect and grow the “the bottom line”

Overview:

Company utilises USP to establish a mission statement;

Company’s focus on their standards, values and manage best and brand fit staff creating winning teams;

Deliver a highest customer service and experience;

Managers Protect Margin;

Reducing internal and external (shrinkage);

Managers Opportunities -Leadership

The choices we make as consumers have consequences, and some will say that, when deciding, we are choosing between consequences, or outcomes. In order to succeed in any market companies, it needs to identify the customers’ needs and preferences and develop strategies to build brand awareness and customers engagement. Therefore, they create and establish diverse techniques of competitive.

Unique selling proposition (USP) is a factor that differentiate a product from its competitors, characteristics that make your product exceptional such as low cost, quality, packaging (Entrepeneur,2019). The managers should have full knowledge of the product to help them establish an appropriate mission statement and drive the sales (Fig.1). Creating sales strategies to build customer engagement and brand loyalty by considering the actual customer’s needs.

In order to understand their needs companies, require building a mission statement, a mission where the primary objective of the organisation is to show the plans, aims and programs of the company. Therefore company, stakeholders’, employees generally look to the customer’s needs as an opportunity to resolve or contribute to the added value. These statement helps the companies what is done and what should be done, and some of the benefits of this values is helpful for the companies to make a visible strategic plans, through considering the vison & mission in which the staff can easily understand their job for better performance. It is up to companies marked their positioning on market by presenting their differentiation. The Lush beauty retailer has become one of the UK's most popular shopping destinations and ethically conscious believes in developing effective products from fresh, organic natural fruit, vegetables, essential oils and safe synthetics, without any use of harmful chemicals and invents all its products what made the company a big success. However, Lush differentiation is based on:

Understands their customers -- appeals to simplicity and environmental conscious

Selfless with its products -- offers free samples and in-store trials on nearly everything

Not selling an image -- the business is selling a viewpoint on how to define "beauty"

Offers a one-of-a-kind retail experience like you're walking into an Etsy store in real life (Lush,2019)

Work Force Planning

Every business company needs efficient employees who can deliver the success of the organization (Fig.2).

One of the most successful examples is VIRGIN company, where the CEO Richard Branson states that “Celebrating staff has always been part of virgin way. If your staff feel value, appreciate and loved, they are more likely to enjoy their work and perform even better” (virgin.co.uk)

Although the companies after fixing their values and mission statement, getting the right people, with the right skills, in the right (Fra quotes lesson 4) the managers need to start with their staff development with individual ability to perform task. According to the learning cycle KOLB they will have opportunity to:

How Retail managers control Costs:

In order to protect and grow the bottom line, the retail managers control costs that come in and out. A cost reduction program is a type of method that improves the profitability of the company. In addition, a cost reduction can improve the profitability of a business because by reducing expenses, profits are increased without making other changes. By using different cost control methods, the managers can: review the budget and final indicators; profit and loss Account; variable costs, and fixed costs (Fig.3work force planning).

Net Turnover- Costs (+ Shrinkage and waste) Costs and shrinkage must always remain lower than turnover if a company want to make a profit.

Therefore, another way to manage and control costs is using by Margin that helps business to know the cost that the company pays and the costs they charge their customers.

Swot analyses is another framework that can help Managers understand and positioning on market. Strengths will evaluate (e.g. Excellent Customer Service and focus in quality), weakness, (e.g. dealing shrinking margins) opportunities (e.g. expansion physical stores or diversification) and threats (e.g. Price competition).

The other strategy that can help the companies to increase their share of focusing on selling your existing products and seeks a growth strategy for an existing market, called Market Penetration use by Ansoff growth Matrix;- a simple example is NIKE, that increases their retail stores in USA to attract the American consumers with is already significant global presence. The strategy is empowering NIKE to penetrate the market base on product affordability with objective strategy to link market penetration for increasing their presence by the number of authorised retailers contributing positively in sales revenue. (according to profiwork.ca). Furthermore, the Ansoff growth matrix included market development, product development and diversification.

Brand positioning is also an important tool about driving revenue. It helps business to occupy a distinction position, especially when comes to competing with other brands. A good brand positioning will help the customers to distinct their brand compared to others, understanding the price/best value, product (features and quality). Zara builds brand positioning with their product on the consumer perception mind through managing availability of time /production. Zara textile is devoted in achieving consistent improvement in the system of providing products & services to customers through on time delivery & enhancing customers satisfaction by means of quality and value. (zara.co.uk)

How managers can deliver an excellent customer service and experience?

An outstanding customer satisfaction is always pointed as quality service that delivers an excellent experience with positive feedback about the company along with others through. According to UK customer satisfaction Index, the companies are more innovative and agile to the new technologies using new tools of customer satisfaction, engagement and awareness. As a result, customer experience has become an integral part of any business. The digital disruption changes consumer behaviour and companies need to follow the changes. A review of the best practice customer service company in UK, 2018 is Amazon with review of 86.7 points out of 100 of customer satisfaction.

Customers loyalty is extremely valuable to any brand and in very simple terms. Overall if they don’t invest in customer loyalty, and awareness they will end up creating customers frustration and loss of credibility (Fashion retail, 2019)

Section 3- Management and Leadership

All these strategies cannot be implemented successfully, if the Managers don’t have the management and leadership skills to fulfil company mission and values. Managing can be defined by having ability to make the rights decision while managing people and the performance of the company overall. Leadership can be defined as an individual, who have the ability to influence others and acts in order to achieve a certain goal. They inspire, motivate and encourage the employers in order to communicate with all (NicPeeling, 2005). Steve jobs is considered as one of biggest influencers of this century.

While we link management and leadership, there is a difference between both; Managing is a process of Planning (decide what needs to be achieved/future plan of action), Organising - building structure to carry on the activities of the company and as long as Delegating- and Controlling- demonstrating that everything happens in accordance with plans with values and express command (Fig.5).

To be an effective leader, the leaders must have the ability of adopting more than one style of leadership. The chancellor Angela Markel the leader of European Union is considered as successful leaders in the world according to Forbes. Characterised as leader with little style and less charisma. She displays no obvious political vision or even ideology.

According to Kurt Lewin Leadership styles included:

Autocratic Style

Democratic Style

Laissez-faire Style

Other styles can include: Charismatic Bureaucratic, Task orientated, Relationship Orientated

Leadership Competencies

According to IMD some of the characteristics to be a good leader is:

Be humble

Except you do not know everything and have to rely on others

Adaptability

Be comfortable in changing environments

Visionary

Have a clear idea where you want to go

Be engaging

Constantly meet and communicate with staff, customers, suppliers and share your thinking

Understand external factors PEST

Bricks & Mortar versus Online Pureplay

A perspective of fashion timeline has not only show social accessibility but an evolution of taste (Marya Bondareva-2017). In the UK from first shops Harrods (1834) following department stores – Selfridges, John Lewis by the time 80s the globalisation of brands and with London fashion week in (1984) Britain was spotlight with well know names such as Alexander McQueen, Vivien Westwood, Stella McCartney. Nowadays the revolution of the fashion increasing variety of choices, cheaper prices, increasing use of social media and increasing level of comfort across all age groups are changing the retail landscape with more and more users going online to purchase products.

From:

ZARA 🡪ASOS

Zara is a good example when refers to a traditional high street-side business that’s offer physical face to face service in store work out difficulties or return immediately products. According to Forbes (2012), the traditional retail model, has built its strategy around consumer trends embracing the fast-changing tastes of the consumers. The reason of this success developed a highly responsive supply chain that enables delivery of new fashion as soon as trend emerges. Main success: Delivery New products twice each week to its 2,242 stores in 96 markets around the world (Inditex.com) On the other hand, the UK online fashion retailer ASOS had no physical stores which focuses on selling through the pure-play e-commerce. One of the advantages is the fact of no boundaries or distance to the consumers. Company offers a new line of the latest trends between 2,500 and 7,00 new items per week (Fashionunited.com), another factor ASOS offer strategical on brand mix (spreads across range of categories- petite, tall, plus size.

Future Generation of Managers

Each person is unique with their own needs, expectations, and beliefs and values. Therefore, the managers use different strategies to engage, interact and connect with their consumers. We process information about brands and retain in our memory, associate with our needs and experiences. Personal characteristics such as internet knowledge, specific needs and cultural environment are elements to consider when target different audiences. Overall by observing different behaviours, the managers utilise this knowledge to reshape the ways, they promote their products to the consumers. The new era of technology as changed, the way companies and the customers can communicate freely. The previous way of communication, where the customers and companies had minimum engagement as change to a direct line of response from companies to deliver excellent customer service and competitor’s differentiation. As a result, the new digital era will demand companies fast responsive to consumers’ needs and preferences.

Conclusion

The fast fashion and the technology being in consecutive progress, according to ABC website some researches from Australian looked at a way to clean the Fabrique’s clothes when it exposed to the sunlight .The researchers are creating a way to create a structure on industrial scale and you never have to laundry again.

Today it is not only about making fashion and statements the industry runs differently besides we need to have a special awareness, where you will see the UK with the new implementations (Brexit) and understand which measures they will take to run not only socials, but economics, politics and technologies as soon as the partnerships with the other members of union end.