Marketing Essentials

Task 1 & 2

Introduction of marketing and current and future marketing trends related to KFC

Marketing is the activity in which organizations perform various activities in order to aware customers about the product which is offered by the company. KFC is using new and innovative techniques in its marketing campaign. New trends are also taking place in market that includes online marketing, mouth publicity etc. In future KFC can use artificial intelligence and use robot delivery system for the food and satisfy customers with the help of innovative techniques.

Overview of different marketing processes

Marketing processes: 

These are the different steps that are required to be followed by an organization while conducting marketing activities. It includes setting mission, analyzing market opportunities, selecting target market and developing and managing marketing mix so that business can be executed successfully.

Firstly a mission is set by the organization in which the main objective of the company is decided for the marketing activities.

Marketing opportunities are identified by conducting a research in the market so that market conditions can be analyzed in order to expand the business and operate it appropriately. For all the organizations like KFC it is very important to identify opportunities in the market for the purpose of achieving organizational goals. In KFC market research is conducted to gather market information (Cabrera and Williams, 2014).

When market research is conducted than marketers also identify the target market where the organization should introduce its products so that business can be expanded in different locations. As KFC is operating its business all around the world and for operating business in different countries the marketers have conducted market research so that target customers can be identified. When the market is determined than organization can take decision related to expanding business.

Marketing mix is the mixture of 7 different P’s that are product, price, place, promotion, process, people and physical evidence. KFC manage its marketing mix in effective manner that helps it to be competitive in the market. After all these steps, marketing plan is finally implemented and controlled by the organization.

Explanation of the role and responsibility of a marketing manager

Marketing manager: 

The person who is responsible for the preparation and formulation of marketing strategies and for enhancing market share of the company by conducting promotional activities is a marketing manager. In KFC, marketing manager have various responsibilities that are required to be performed. Some of them are discussed as follows:

• Developing marketing strategies: Marketing manager of KFC is responsible to develop marketing strategies so that business can be expanded and large number of customers get attracted towards the organization. These formulated strategies are implemented by the company and it results in increased profits and sales as customers get aware about the products that are offered by KFC (Guffey and Loewy, 2012).
• Employee management: Main responsibility of a marketing manager is to manage employees who are working in the field and promoting the organization. In KFC, the mangers are supporting all the workers so that they can perform their duties in effective manner which will be beneficial for the organization.
• Identifying new business opportunity: Marketers are responsible to identify new business opportunities in the market so that business can grab them to get success. Marketing managers of KFC are fulfilling these responsibilities effectively so that business can be expanded.

Roles of marketing manager:

• Researcher: Marketing managers of KFC work as researcher as they are focused to identify the growth opportunities from market so that business can be operated in more effective way.
• Motivator: Marketeers are responsible to motivate all the employees who are working under them. In KFC marketing managers are performing the role of motivator as they motivate the workers to perform their jobs in more appropriate way and contribute towards the organisation.

Also Read: Analysis of Marketing Management of a Mobile Company

Explanation of marketing and how it influences and interrelates with other functional departments of the organization

Marketing includes all the promotional activities that are performed by an organization in order to increase its sales. In KFC marketing is done through various medias like online marketing, commercials etc. It influences and interrelated the functional departments of the organization. The relation can be understood with the help of following points:

Marketing and finance department: 

Finance department of KFC is responsible to allot funds to all other functional divisions of the organization. When marketing division require money for all its activities finance department allot money for all the promotional activities so that sales and be enhanced that may result in increased profits. Hence it can be said that both the departments are interrelated to each other (Ionita, 2012).

Marketing and research department: 

Research department of KFC gather information of market by conducting market research and all the collected information is provided to marketing department so that all the activities can be performed accurately. This data is used by marketers to formulate strategies that can help to be more competitive in the market.

Marketing and IT department:

 IT division is related to all the technology related aspects that can be used to use latest technology in marketing functions. In KFC, IT division help marketing department to use innovative techniques in marketing so that large number can be attracted toward the company by providing them valuable information about the company.

Marketing and HR department: 

HR division of KFC is responsible to hire employees who are capable to fulfill all the requirements of the company. It is very important to select such individuals who can work under critical situations so that all the tasks can be accomplished successfully. Employees of marketing department are hired through HR department only by which it can be said that these two departments are inter related.

From all the above points it can be analyzed that marketing influences and interrelates all the functional departments of KFC.

Value and importance of marketing

Importance of marketing: 

For all the organizations marketing is very important as it can help to grab attention of customers (Importance of marketing, 2018). For KFC importance of marketing can be understood with the help of following points:

• It helps to aware customers about the products of food items that are offered by KFC.
• It is a tool which is used by organizations by increasing sales and profits..

Conclusion that emphasizes that all the functional departments are interrelated with each other

All the departments of the organizations are related to each other because they depend upon each other for the effective execution of business. For example if marketing department of KFC is willing to formulate new marketing strategies than it will consult with finance department for money, contact IT department for the innovative techniques, research department will provide information of market and human resources department will be contacted for the selection of new talent who can help to implement the strategies appropriately. These interrelationships between the functions of KFC are significant as it results in high productivity and profitability.

Comparison of the ways in which organizations are using elements of marketing mix

Marketing mix:

It can be defined as the combination of seven different types of elements that are considered by the organizations for the purpose of attracting large number of customers. A comparison of implementing marketing mix of KFC and Mc Donald’s is as follows:

Marketing Mix	KFC	Mc Donald’s
Product	KFC is offering varieties of food items to its customers according to their taste that helps to retain all existing customers and attract large number of customers. It offers different vegetarian and non veg items including sandwiches, salads, snacks etc.	Mc Donald’s is offering different types of burgers to its customers that helps to increase their satisfaction level as they are made according to their preferences (Kolb, 2013).
Price	Premium pricing strategy is used by KFC as it is focused to offer food item to upper class of the society.	Penetration pricing strategy is used by Mc Donald’s in which it offers burgers to all type of customers.
Place	Location of KFC restaurants are very good and they operate business on such places that are easy to reach for the customers.	The place where Mc Donald’s operate its business in such locations where customers can reach easily.
Promotion	Various different types of discounts and other types of offers are provided by KFC to its customers to satisfy them.	Mc Donald’s have different schemes like discount coupons that are used for promotions by the organization.
People	Employees of KFC are very cooperative that helps the customers to resolve all their queries.	Mc Donald’s have well trained staff who can handle the customers effectively and appropriately.
Process	The methods that are used by KFC for the preparation of food items that are very good and it helps to provide good food to the customers.	Mc Donald’s is using appropriate methods for the cooking of food and its helps to offer good quality food to the visitors.
Physical Evidence	As market image of KFC is positive hence it helps to attract large number of customers.	Customers of Mc Donald’s are very much satisfied with the food items and it help the organization to retain its customers (Schwarz and Hunter, 2012).

Conclusion

From the above project report, it has been concluded that marketing is the technique which is used by organizations as it helps aware customers about the products that are manufactured by them. It guides the marketers to formulate effective strategies that can be used for the effective execution of the business.

References

• Akaka, M. A., Vargo, S. L. and Lusch, R. F., 2013. The complexity of context: A service ecosystems approach for international marketing. Journal of Marketing Research. 21(4). pp.1-20.
• Cabrera, S. A. and Williams, C. L., 2014. Consuming for the social good: marketing, consumer citizenship, and the possibilities of ethical consumption. Critical Sociology. 40(3). pp.349-367.
• Guffey, M. E. and Loewy, D., 2012. Essentials of business communication. Cengage Learning.
• Ionita, D., 2012. Entrepreneurial marketing: a new approach for challenging times. Management & Marketing. 7(1). p.131.
• Kolb, B. M., 2013. Marketing for cultural organizations: New strategies for attracting audiences. Routledge.
• Schwarz, E. C. and Hunter, J. D., 2012. Advanced theory and practice in sport marketing. Routledge.