Introduction
The emphasis on increasing brand value and creating a positive image to increase customer loyalty are the tasks that many business companies strive to achieve. In conditions of competition and dynamic demand, attracting customer interest plays a significant role and helps maintain profits. The most common practice of enhancing brand value is the implementation of special marketing solutions to retail buyers. To give an example of successful marketing communication tools and consider the importance of branding as an entrepreneurial practice, as an object of evaluation, the activities of the global Marks & Spencer (M&S) supermarket network will be analyzed.
This company started its work in 1884 as a small trading store, and since then, it has transformed into one of the largest British and world retailers selling general goods, including clothing, food, furniture and other products (History, 2020). As a result, in 2019, M&S ’group revenue amounted to £10.4 billion, which is an extremely high indicator (Our year in review, 2020). The value of marketing communication tools in relation to M&S’ work will be considered, and the importance of branding policies will be analyzed based on relevant academic resources.
Literature Review
The importance of branding as a policy that stimulates the recognition of a particular business in a specific market segment is high in view of an opportunity to influence potential buyers and increase competitiveness, thereby ensuring stable sales. For both M&S and other large organizations, the emphasis on increasing customer loyalty and interest is one of the priority areas of marketing activities. In addition, for the target audience, branding is also a relevant practice that allows clients to make a choice in favor of a certain seller and helps establish positive relationships (Iyer, Davari and Paswan, 2018). By analyzing corresponding academic sources, the value of branding and marketing and communication tools as effective practices for maintaining high demand will be examined from the perspectives of both organizations and consumers.
Importance of Branding to Organisations and Consumers
In conditions of stimulating sales and retaining customer demand, business organizations resort to branding practices as mechanisms that help maintain stable market interest in the goods or services that they sell. According to Choi (2017), this marketing principle is closely related to a specific pricing policy and largely determines revenues due to the correlation between these two parameters. Sustainable and effective investment and pricing strategies promote efficient branding techniques, thereby creating a stable background for business activities (Mirzabeiki and Saghiri, 2020).
Alwi, Ali and Nguyen (2017) describe the concept of ethical branding and note the positive relationship between the quality of goods and services with the reputation of a particular brand. As Keller (2020) states, from the perspective of the target audience, this aspect makes it possible to deliver the seller’s responsibility to society, which strengthens the interaction between stakeholders and allows consumers to benefit. Thus, pricing policies and ethical aspects of activity are the important determinants of successful branding.
Another important benefit of branding for organizations is an opportunity to provide a competitive advantage. As Bii and Bett (2019) argue, many business companies develop specific principles to increase loyalty to their products and services in order to strengthen their market positions, and customer retention is one of the most effective ways.
According to John and Park (2016), the growth of the client base is directly proportional to the increase in profits, which is crucial in the conditions of competition with other organizations. Çifci et al. (2016) confirm the importance of overcoming a competitive barrier for retailers who sell in large volumes. Gilani and Cunningham (2017) state that the ability to ensure brand sustainability allows business owners to allocate available assets competently and avoid high costs on engaging customers in case of the loss of market positions. Therefore, branding is of great importance for companies providing services to a wide range of consumers.
Value of Marketing Communication Tools
The value of marketing communication tools utilized by business organizations to attract consumers and strengthen brand value is high in the contemporary dynamic market environment. According to Duralia (2018, p. 99), one of the main advantages that these mechanisms provide brand owners is the ability to predict and address consumer decisions in case of “a shift in the succession of the decision-making stages”.
In other words, due to effective marketing techniques, organizations can avoid losses and increase sales potential, which are the priority objectives of any business. As the main marketing communication tools, Hilman, Hanaysha and Ghani (2017) note sales promotion and advertising and argue that these practices are universal and may be applied in any industry. The value of these approaches lies in an opportunity to influence the interests of consumers and maintain demand for certain categories of goods or services, regardless of the current market situation or economic, political and other factors that often affect sales volumes negatively.
The implementation of marketing communication tools makes it possible to not only draw attention to a particular brand and ensure sales stability but also allows distribution of budget funds rationally. Kostelijk and Alsem (2020) evaluate these mechanisms as tools that facilitate the involvement of the target audience in various fields, including the online space, and help promote goods and services comprehensively, thereby covering many sales niches. Sadek and Tantawi (2017, p. 135) also assess the relevance of these tools in the context of brand value reinforcement and argue that they “contribute in building brands by informing, updating, convincing, and reminding customers about a brand’s products”.
These objectives are essential in terms of sales stability and help maintain a broad customer base. In particular, Zahoor and Qureshi (2017) note the importance of social media as an environment that is fruitful for promoting goods or services due to a large number of users and, accordingly, a chance to influence numerous potential buyers. Thus, the value of marketing communication tools is significant, and on the example of M&S, one can evaluate the effectiveness of measures taken by the retailer to enhance its brand equity.
Analysis of Mark & Spencer’s Branding
The introduction of relevant marketing communication tools into its business practice allows M&S to maintain a high level of sales and occupy the top line in the ranking of British retailers. As Ishaq and Di Maria (2020) state, along with many other corporations, this organization implements socially significant programs and projects that are designed to not only retain the target audience but also address essential issues, for instance, supporting green production. These and other aspects of activities have made M&S a company with an advanced marketing system, which helps strengthen its brand equity.
Communicating Brand Values
One of the principles used by the M&S’s management to communicate the brand values of the retailer is direct marketing. Nilssen, Bick and Abratt (2019) explain this method by the importance of an individual approach to consumers and argue that personalized recommendations increase customer loyalty and enhance potential buyers’ interest. In general, the emphasis on the cultural characteristics of the market is a successful mechanism that M&S has been promoting for years.
According to Mowla, Hoque and Bhuiyan (2017), communicating its brand values to the British through an individual approach and respect for people’s traditions is a practice that helps the retailer under consideration to be a leader in its industry. A wide range of products sold by M&S, in particular, food, clothing, furniture and other goods, aims to satisfy the needs of consumers from both practical and cultural perspectives, which increases the interest of the population in the brand and expands sales opportunities.
Advertising, as an effective marketing communication tool, allows M&S to engage the target audience. Islam (2016) considers the retailer’s activities from the standpoint of the success of its sales and argues that clients’ participation in the formation of demand influences sales volumes positively. In particular, various channels for disseminating the information about the offers of the supermarket network can increase the degree of impact on potential consumers and determine the effectiveness of specific involvement mechanisms.
A strategy to increase brand equity through memorable and creative ads, like Jin, Miao and Park (2018) remark, allows making a unique image of the retailer and contributes to attracting public attention through targeted offers. As a result, M&S proposes the public catchy advertising programs for its products and is one of the leaders in the field of visual marketing, which, in turn, is an effective mechanism for influencing consumers and communicating relevant brand values.
Effectiveness of Mark & Spencer’s Marketing Communication Tools
By promoting public relations as an important marketing communication tool, M&S has managed to achieve significant results. Toda and Dawson (2017) note that corporate social responsibility practices supported by the retailer are welcomed among various stakeholders, including both ordinary consumers and partner organizations. Addressing crucial issues related to protecting the environment and helping vulnerable communities creates the image of the company as a corporation that takes an active part in people’s lives.
According to Jones and Comfort (2018), one of the reasons why M&S holds a leading position in the ranking of British retailers is a socially significant activity, which, in addition, is public and appears in regular reports. As a result, the effectiveness of such a marketing mechanism is explained by the approval of consumers and the increased interest in the working methods of the organization that creates new strategies for strengthening corporate responsibility constantly.
Product innovations and transparency that M&S promotes as important components of its marketing program allow the retailer to retain a broad customer base. Kennedy, Kapitan and Soo (2016) state that the organization’s policies aimed at engaging customers and suppliers are the tactical steps that contribute to increasing its brand equity and communicating specific values. The mechanisms of interaction with the target audience are relevant and correspond with modern trends in market communication. In particular, the method of online marketing via social media, as an example of a successful communication tool, is justifiably effective.
Batra and Keller (2016) conduct a study that analyses the effectiveness of this method of advertising and note that those users who subscribe to the YouTube channel of M&S tend to buy about a quarter more products than other consumers. These statistics confirm the effectiveness of the applied marketing communication tools and are testify to the relevance of these tools in the context of enhancing brand equity.
Conclusion
By reviewing marketing communication tools and branding practices applied by M&S, one can argue that the retailer’s public activities are successful, and the tools and approaches considered are effective mechanisms for enhancing brand equity and communicating the organization’s values. The analysis of relevant academic sources and scholarly studies aimed at assessing the performance of M&S and large business companies as a whole proves that effective steps in addressing the needs of the target audience can include implementing the necessary drivers that stimulate sales and increase consumer loyalty. The principles of branding, which the retailer in question follows, make it possible to not only maintain high profits but also follow the ethical principles of interaction with the public, which is an important aspect of any marketing policy.
In the context of managerial implications, the findings prove that the implementation of appropriate marketing and communication tools is an effective practice if assets are distributed competently, and the current market needs are addressed adequately. As one of the recommendations, the expansion of interaction with consumers in the online space may be offered due to ample opportunities provided by Internet advertising. The use of social media as tool to engage potential buyers can help expand a client base and maintain stable sales due to the rapid dissemination of the necessary information among users.
Another recommendation is the analysis of market parameters, including the indicators of competitiveness, the demand for specific goods and services and sales stability. In case such assessments are not carried out, the risks of significant losses arise due to organizations’ potential inability to implement their marketing decisions under conditions of external barriers. Therefore, the introduction of branding practices is a procedure that requires preparation and an appropriate resource base.
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