Retail Marketing

Executive summary

In the recent era of globalisation, the retail firms enhance the marketing activities and promote the organisational products and services in the retail market across the globe. The study focuses on discussing the customers experience in the retail industry in the recent years, where digitalisation has taken place for the organisational promotion. The organisations in the retail sector utilise technological innovation to manage the customer’s service and maximise the values for the consumers in the market. The study also focuses on evaluating the in-store management process in Tesco, where the organisation aims at managing customers and creating values at the store. The study also helps to recommend some suitable suggestions to manage customer’s service and maximise the experience of the consumers of Tesco.

Introduction

Marketing is the process of promoting the organisational products and services in the market and improve the brand visibility, so that it is possible for the organisation to retain the customers in the market and strengthen their customer’s base for long run (Shooshtari, Stan and Clouse, 2018). The study aims at discussing the recent pace of customer’s experience through increasing online activities. The study explores the online marketing and the customer’s experience that has been gathered through online support and customer relationship management, where the retail firms focus on creating values for the customers and retaining them for long run. The study is helpful to evaluate the existing literature regarding the marketing tactics of the organisations in the retail industry and the practice of serving the customers through online and e-commerce activities. The paper also provides a scope to analyse the case of Tesco, which is a famous retail super market chain in the UK. After reviewing the literature and case analysis, it is possible to draw conclusion and recommend some suitable suggestions for the organisation in long run.

Context of the background

In the recent era of globalisation, all the retail companies across the globe aim at digitalising the whole retail operational process in order to manage their production and manufacturing as well as distribution activities in the market to serve the customers in a better way. In the recent years, there are different strategic options, through which the organisations try to retain the customers in the retail market and strengthen their customer’s base by managing the customers through online and in-store customer relationship management. The way of the customers in browsing, shopping, and making shopping decision and with the organisational representative have been changed over the time and it has direct impacts on the organisational activities where the organisations must focus on the digital market tactics and improve the online activities and e-commerce services to attract the audiences and retail the customers for long run (Betzing, Beverungen and Becker, 2018). Recently, customer relationship management is one of the effective strategic planning to establish the brand in the market and retain old as well as new customers in the market for the quality products and services of the organisations. Hereby, retail marketing tactics and strategic planning have also been changed over time, where there is introduction of new technology and creative solution for retaining the customers manages proper customers’ relationship in long run.

Literature review

Retail marketing is playing a crucial role for the retailers to establish their business in the global retail, industry and promote the organisational products and services efficiently. In this regard, the customer experience over the years are also changing towards retail marketing where there are technological advancement and creativity and innovation in using digital technology for maximising the experience of the customers. Recently, the customers expect highly personal experience, where they need one to one communication with the organisational representative so that they can resolve their queries and make effective purchase decision (Mena et al., 2016). The customers also prefer online shopping activities through making effective purchase decision and in this regard they need continuous support from the organisational representative. Hence, the expectations of the customers are towards the digital marketing and getting proper assistance through online activities. The staff training will shift towards online activities and training sessions and it further encourage the staff to improved performance for providing high quality service to the customers. In the recent years, the retail firms experience new marketing tactics through using digital marketing strategies (Konrad, 2019). The major digital marketing strategies are such as using SEO, sending personalise email, creating mobile application, designing the inline website of the company, social media marketing and celebrity endorsement and social media campaign, which are effective strategic planning for digital marketing, where the customer’s experience can be maximised well through online activities.

In addition to this, the customer’s experience in the recent years is changing over time, where the customers prefer online activities for making effective purchase decision. In this regard, the rise of self service and self help is there where the customers prefer to self service activities. Online and e-commerce services are also increasing over the past few years, where the customers prefer online activities for making effective purchase decision for the bundle of organisational products and services. Transparency is another customer experience, where all the customers prefer to have proper transparency during the transaction of payment and delivery of products and services so that there is no such problems in purchasing the organisational products and services. On the other hand, the customers prefer the balance between humanity and automation and try to cooperate with the organisational representative to get the final products safely within effective time. Recently, the preferences of the customers change towards digitalisation of the business, where the digital business activities in the retail sector are increasing rapidly over the years and across the globe. Hyper-personalise experience can be gathered where the customers prefer to maximise their experience of purchasing the products from a particular company. Managing cyber security is also another effective strategy where the customers prefer security and safety during the payment and transfers of products and services. Data privacy is another customer’s trend towards digitalisation of the business, where the customers also prefer to safety and security of their personal data and information so that the data cannot be hacked further. Trust and loyalty need to be developed in this regard, where the organisational respect must ensure that the customer’s data will be protected under the Data Protection Act 1998.

In such an era of digitalisation, all the companies try to manage their online activities and develop suitable strategic planning for the customers to manage them in long run. The customers are the major stakeholders of the company so that the retail firms can secure future sustainable development and in this regard the retail firms also aim to developing their tactics to digitalise the business and manage their customers online (Mena and Bourlakis, 2016). Apart from that, in the recent years, there are also strong customers base, where the customers prefer in store management where they try to get proper support and assistance from the organisational representative at the physical store of the retail organisations. Hereby, managing customer experience in the store is necessary where the retail management team try to develop proper strategic planning to serve the customers in the store so that the consumers can choose the right products and services according to their needs and preferences (Nagar and Shukla, 2019). Apart from the online assistance, the one store management is also beneficial for the organisations to secure future sustainable development by strengthening their customer’s base. Recently, the customers prefer to get proper assistance at the physical store of the company so that they make appropriate purchase decision without getting confused. there are different strategic planning to serve the customers of the retail firms, which are supporting the buyers to make decision for the products, helping them to choose the right products, enhancing communication to acknowledge the actual needs and preferences of the consumers at the store as well as there are other factors which enhances the customers experience such as ambiance of the store, management team, stock of the products marketing tactics to promote the products at the store and support from the organisational representative (Betzing, Beverungen and Becker, 2018).

Case analysis

Tesco is British multinational general merchandise serving quality retail products and services to the customers. The company is a famous retail supermarket chains in the UK, where the company is efficient to serve more than millions of customers every week. The company develops the strategic planning of delivering high quality products and efficient services at affordable price, so that they can create customer’s values and maximise the customer’s experience in long run. The marketing strategic planning in this regard plays a crucial role in managing the customers and promotes the organisational products and services in the market. There are more than 450000 employees in the store across the globe, where the employees and the organisational representatives are efficient to support the customers with online services and offline services (Bolton et al., 2018). Tesco is efficient to restructure their online activities through developing suitable mobile application as well as developing the company’s personal website, where the customers can get proper assistance and support 24*7. The sales representative and customer service executive are efficient to support the customers and resolve their queries so that the customers can get better products and make effective purchase decision. The Smartphone application is also effective in this regard, where Tesco can develop strong relationship with the customers and help them to make effective purchase for the quality products and efficient services of the retail firm. Constant reply to the website and customer service portal, evaluating the feedback of the customers and continuous support to the customers are efficient to strengthen the customer’s base of Tesco (Nyadzayo and Khajehzadeh, 2016).

On the other hand, the company is efficient to manage the customers and maximise in store experience, where the store management strategies are effective to strengthen their customer’s base and retain more new buyers every week. The marketing planning to manage store capacity and promote the products are also effective, where at the store, there are proper templates regarding the new product launch, pricing offers and other activities which can attract the customers to make effective purchase decision. The store ambiance is good at the store of Tesco, where the company is successful to manage over 6800 shops across the globe. The organisation is successful to manage safety and security of the customers at the store, where there are safety measures by implementing CCTV cameras, fire extinguisher and emergency exit which give safe place to the customers where they can make effective purchase decision and spend time for buying (Behare, Waghulkar and Shah, 2018). In addition to this, the employees are also efficient at Tesco, where they try to manage the customers and promote the organisational products and services so that the customers can identify the quality of the products review the price and make effective buying decision. Moreover, the company is efficient to manage the staff at the store, where there is presence of experience management team, store management and the efficient staff members who can give proper support to the customers during their purchase (Parise, Guinan and Kafka, 2016). The emotion of the customers can be managed well, where the sales representative can understand the purchase decision of the customers and help them to resolve their queries at the store. Hence, the staff members at the store of Tesco are efficient to serve the customers in a better way and help them to choose the basket of goods and services of the customers according to their needs and preferences. Hereby, in the recent yrs, the changing customer’s experience is towards digitalisation of the business, managing privacy, getting continuous support and customer centred approach for better customer’s relationship management.

Conclusion and recommendations

It can be concluded that, customer experience management is mandatory for the retail firm like Tesco to maximise the values for all the consumers and retain them for long run. Tesco as a famous retail supermarket chain also aims at creating values for the customers by maximising their experience through providing online services and in store services. In this regard the organisation needs to improve their operational activities to support the customers at the store. The store manager needs to arrange training for the staff to maximise their knowledge and technical skill to support the customers and managed a huge numbers of consumers at a time. The staff members also need to improve communication and manage the store activities through developing partnership working. Store ambience needs to be good and calm, so that the customers can review the availability of the products and ask proper assistance from the staff at the store to make effective purchase decision. On the other hand, the numbers of staff at the store need to be increased to support the customers and maximise their purchase experience in long run.

Reference List

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