Marketing Plan For Marks & Spencer's Premium Men's Grooming Kit

The report is prepared to present a marketing plan for one of the products or services of Marks & Spencer. The product that is to be marketed is a Premium Men's Grooming Kit, which can be supported by carrying out a situational analysis to determine the market demographics, needs, trends, and market growth aspects. It will also provide information and knowledge about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, furthermore, shed light on the various aspects of competition that might affect the company’s potential to market a new product. The critical issues experienced, the marketing strategy, target market, and positioning will also be included here to present an appropriate marketing plan. Lastly, the marketing campaign for the product will be included here, focusing on the concept of marketing, customer reach, estimated resources, and timeline set for the marketing campaign too.

The geographies-The marketplace consists of customers, who demand clothing products, home products, and also food items, all of which have been made available by Marks & Spencer, thus, making it acquire a sustainable position within the marketplace. Though the company has started its operations in the UK, the company has expanded to various nations all over the world and now it has secured a good place within the retail clothing sector in India as well. The business is focused on the development of products and services for the family age customers and others, and it could be reached through a channel network consisting of more than 1519 stores, and online services in the UK and all across the international markets, where the business has established its presence (Fashionunited.uk, 2022).

Demographics- The target market comprises people, whose ages range between 25 to 35 and also individuals above the age of 45 years. The young fashion-conscious ladies in their 30s prefer the clothing products and fashion-based items as they could choose a large variety of products, available all under the same brand. The target markets are reflected by the diverse product range, but it has been an essential brand for young women, though some older men and women also managed to purchase clothing products and related items available here. The company has targeted men and thus, the new Men’s grooming kit has to be introduced in the marketplace for influencing buyer behavior (Smith, 2022).

Behavioral factors- The consumer behaviors have changed, and it has enabled them to make purchases online, post-Covid 19 while there have been trends and awareness about looking young with progressing age. Thus, their behaviors are more inclined towards purchasing good quality clothing products, fashion items, and accessories that allow them to maintain their style quotient, look good too (Chetioui, Benlafqih & Lebdaoui, 2020).  

Market Trends

The market comprising of men aged 35 years and above, their skin becomes dull and they often demand good quality creams, moisturizers, and face wash, which could keep their skin and face healthy. The Men's Grooming Kit to be marketed provides a month-long regime for better skin and face care. This grooming set is blended with perfect Apothecary, which includes face and body wash, hair and beard wash and growth cream, facial moisturizer, and grooming oil, all available as a grooming set. The fragrance of the products in this grooming set is great and it has been produced with the use of the finest quality ingredients that make it soothing for the skin and the products have also been vegan (Jung, Kim & Kim, 2020).

The global male grooming products market has reached a huge value in the past few years and it has become a trend as well, among men. With aging, skin becomes dull and the individuals have preferred to use products for maintaining their overall hygiene and also physical appearance. The male grooming patterns have changed with significant emphasis on personal appearance, clothing, and beauty products, thus, making men more individualistic towards developing their style quotient. Skincare is a major trend as well, to look good and attitude towards traditional masculinity has changed a lot. The rising trend of metrosexual men and the increasing influence of celebrities has increased the potential for men to invest more in grooming products and also those, which are vegan-based products (Choi & Lee, 2021). Companies tend to invest in marketing campaigns for promoting the products on social media platforms, thus, intending to enhance growth in the upcoming years too.  

There is immense potential for market growth because Marks & Spencer has managed innovation and diversity of products, by expanding its product portfolio with the inclusion of men’s products, such as the Men’s grooming kit, which is entirely vegan. People are more concerned nowadays, about sustainability management and commitment to environmental protection, which has raised the possibility to bring something new and unique, i.e. vegan based products. The rising number of men's salons has also enabled companies to invest in such new products that are innovative and could drive growth in the market (Mckinsey.com, 2021). Thus, it is believed that the potential for market growth is quite good.

Marks & Spencer possesses a positive brand image and the retailer has represented clear branding by introducing clothing lines that are stylish, modern, and sophisticated. The brand also encourages innovation by allowing people to share their ideas while there is diversity within the workplace. The company has managed its distribution both offline and online, which makes it easy to access for customers. The wide range of products is also a plus while introducing the men's grooming kit could be a masterstroke to gradually create awareness among men regarding beauty and salon (Marksandspencer.com, 2022).

Market Growth

The weaknesses include a decline in sales, due to lack of supply chain management, while there are negative perceptions among the public that the company mostly serves older individuals. Lack of success and growth in foreign markets, while there is also a lack of brand loyalty and increased brand switching (Marksandspencer.com, 2022).

Fashion has evolved business and new segments have emerged, which has increased demands for new clothing products and most importantly, men’s beauty products. The new Men’s Grooming Kit, which is entirely vegan, is to be marketed for grabbing the attention of consumers and drawing in male customers too. The online store and use of social networks could further increase brand awareness and allow for strengthening the brand image and identity (Gazzola et al., 2020).

There is the threat of competitors such as Tesco, Zara, Gap, UCB, Amazon, John Lewis, Loreal, etc. The dissatisfaction of customers could also affect the revenue generation capability (Marksandspencer.com, 2022).

The leading competitors of the company are Zara, Loreal, GAP, United Colors of Benetton, Amazon Tesco, and other retail companies. These companies are significant competitors, which have to provide similar kinds of clothing and fashion foods for people, which people purchase (Guo, Choi & Shen, 2020). Thus, it could be a challenge for Marks & Spencer to bring something different and unique, thus, creating awareness among people and influencing purchasing behaviors.

The product or service offering is the Premium Men's Grooming Kit, which is vegan and consists of various essential nutrients that are good for skincare among men. With the rising men's salon and increasing demands for men's lifestyle products, this new Grooming Kit could cater to the needs of men and ensure that they look good and keep their skin healthy (Marksandspencer.com, 2022).

The key aspects that need to happen to be successful include the awareness about the men's product, increased sales of men's grooming products, and also drawing more people towards visiting the website and stores for checking the newly introduced product in the market. Moreover, the product, being vegan also commits to the protection of the environment and managing sustainability across its manufacturing and production processes too. This is a major aspect, which could strengthen brand image and bring success to the company (D'Attoma & Ieva, 2020).

The issues could be that there is a lack of brand awareness and also men's products are not demanding like female beauty products. Moreover, M&S focused on providing beauty and clothing products, mostly for female individuals, due to which, the new Premium Men’s Grooming Kit, that too available at a high price, might be ignored by the male customers. It is targeted at premium customers, due to which, for the low and middle-level income customers, it might not be affordable, which is another critical issue (Comm & Mathaisel, 2018).

SWOT Analysis

The overall marketing strategy that M&S could initiate is the social media marketing strategy. It could not only help in reaching out to the masses but would also generate brand awareness, thus, creating a sense of interest among the people to make a purchase of the newly marketed product by the company (Morgan et al., 2019).

  The main of marketing is to create awareness among the general public regarding the newly introduced product named "Premium Men's Grooming Kit" and create an urge among them to purchase the new product.

Social media marketing has to be initiated to reach out to different market segments quite easily, as most people nowadays remain online on their preferred social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. This creates a great opportunity for M&S to use these social networking sites for enhancing awareness about the brand and its new product, which is entirely vegan and consists of various essential nutrients that could meet the lifestyle choices and opinions along with management of grooming essentials to look good and healthy (Wibowo et al., 2020). This also encourages better engagement and participation of customers along with the ability to generate higher revenue, improvement of customer experience, and position the company as a thought leader within the competitive business environment as well.

• To develop brand awareness, by reducing the sales process and increasing market share
• To acquire the highest potential of targeting the right audience and also create interest among them to make purchases
• To generate higher traffic to the website and social networking webpage managed by M&S
• To implement measures for strengthening the engagement strategies and increase loyalty and trust among the customers as well (Marksandspencer.com, 2022)

The target market here is the men above the age of 30 years, who have an interest in lifestyle and fashion-based products and also grooming products. Also, some people are enthusiastic about looking good and love taking care of their skin and face, the product is for them. It is a premium product, thus, has been targeted at the premium segment of customers with higher income. The premium Men’s grooming kit also serves the purpose of fulfilling lifestyle choices and behaviors of the individuals, thus, making them have something that belongs from a strong brand and is vegan, considering its commitment towards social responsibility and protection of the environment as a whole (Colucci, Tuan & Visentin, 2020). Personal grooming for men is not only for remaining hygienic but also to appeal to a positive impression among individuals. There is a diverse range of men's products, which are related to skin, hair, and face and this premium grooming kit consist of most of these essentials, which is a major driving factor for the demand for grooming products among men. Also, the men who want to remain hygienic, clean and want to maintain a good style quotient, positive personality outfit, and personal appearance, have been targeted by the company while marketing this product (Sebald & Jacob, 2020).

Competition

Positioning within the market requires extensive assessment of the target market and understanding the needs of customers properly. The positioning represents a strategic procedure to define the product or service that fits into the marketplace and also make customers understand why the product could be better than alternative solutions available. The positioning of the new product in the marketplace could not only evaluate the audiences, and determine what they need, but should also facilitate marketing efficiency (Schlegelmilch, 2022).

The new product needs to be positioned within the marketplace for the target audience with the help of advertising and promotions over social media platforms. The use of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter could help in advertising and promoting the newly introduced product, furthermore, ensuring the product is rightly priced for drawing the attention of customers. The social networking websites must also hold information about the product's manufacturing process, why is it referred to as a vegan product, and what essential nutrients are present in the product, which are good for skin and facial care.  Understanding the demands of grooming products among men is crucial, which could help in conducting market research as well as understanding their needs properly (Pal, Shen & Sandberg, 2019). Survey process could be managed and focus group discussions, which allow for understanding the needs and preferences, thus, make necessary changes and improvements to differentiate the products from the competitors and bring something new in the market, which could be a solution to certain problems for the men. M&S could market Men’s Premium Grooming Kit“, by representing its reputation as a brand in skincare and cosmetic products that promote cleanliness, hygiene, beauty, skin and face care. The brand strives to introduce new products that are safe for the environment, due to which, the new product is entirely vegan and thus commitment towards sustainability and use of ingredients that could not harm the environment, has been evident too (Pal & Gander, 2018).

The marketing campaign for a new product represents a proper course of actions undertaken by a company to promote and sell a product or service in the marketplace to the customers. The marketing campaign implies a proper strategic plan adopted by the companies with the focus on the identification of goals and objectives set, target market audiences, resources, and budgeting along with a timeline for the prescribed marketing campaign or plan. The major steps followed for developing a successful marketing campaign include determining the objective and budget, identification of target audiences, creation of messages for the product to raise awareness about the product, development of a media strategy, implementation of the marketing campaign, and final measurement and analysis of results or outcomes (Topalova, 2021). The marketing campaign comprising of the strategies also favors the business to achieve specific goals while striving to build brand awareness, provide necessary information to the customers, and launch a new product as well. The marketing campaign or approach here has to be implemented the social media marketing to promote and sell the product or service.

Key Success Factors

The basic idea of the marketing campaign is to develop brand awareness, thus, creating interest and attention among the individuals, especially men, about the new product, to be introduced, which is the “Premium Men’s grooming kit”. The marketing campaign starts with the determining of budget and objectives (Chiu et al., 2018). The objectives have already been stated above, which is to engage the target audiences with the brand and build brand awareness for influencing buyers; choices. Based on the objectives, the budget needs to be assessed about how much the company is willing to spend or invest on fulfilling the goals and objectives. The management of the annual budget properly could help in the allocation of funds for the campaign, thus, prioritize on setting budget by tasks and matching the budget of competitors and also the percentage of sales that the company aims to achieve for the newly introduced product (Hvass & Pedersen, 2019).

The identification of target audiences is crucial as it helps in determining the individuals to whom, the marketing campaign has been addressed. The more specifically the target and objectives are determined, the higher is the potential of return on investments made by M&S. The demographics, psychographic and geographic characteristics must be assessed for determining the behaviors of purchasers, thus, analyzing these key factors relate to the campaign. The targeted audiences here include the men above the age of 30 years, who have an interest and are enthusiastic about their looks, facial and skincare management (Moorhouse & Moorhouse, 2018).

Creating messages and content for the product is an essential concept of marketing, which requires fitting the message about the product to the audience. This is usually good for garnering a higher potential response rate as well as illustrating the brand values, beliefs, and commitment towards sustainability about introducing a vegan-based product that is not only good for skin and facial care but also contributes positively to the environment. The brand also needs to provide content and messages that should reflect how the lives of individuals could improve, post-purchase (Ho, Pang & Choy, 2020).

The development of media strategy requires careful consideration of the media, which is the social media platform here, used as part of the campaign planning. Not only does it assist in knowing the target audiences properly, but also communicates the messages and information properly. Social media marketing is the latest trend and it helps in impacting the way customers are engaged to make decisions regarding the purchase of the new product, made available for them, through advertisements and promotions via social media platforms (Xie & Lou, 2020).

The implementation of a marketing campaign requires monitoring the expenditures, managing budgetary aspects, while carefully planning to allocate the right financial resource for the specific tasks. The measurement and analysis of results represent the traffic in the website, followers of the webpage in the social networking website, increased sales for the new product launched, and more men, hopping into the stores to inquire about the new Premium Men’s grooming kit (Lorenzo et al., 2020).

The customers could see the advertisements for Premium Men’s grooming kit on websites and social networking sites of Marks and Spencer, browse the catalogs on Premium Men’s grooming kit, and provide their ratings and feedback. These ratings and feedbacks would be visible to the members of the sales and marketing team of Marks and Spencer, who would track the response of the customers and plan the changes, improvements, and up-gradation of services in the marketing of Premium Men’s grooming kit (Chetioui, Benlafqih & Lebdaoui, 2020).

People possessing efficient technical skills, that is skilled and qualified web developers, people acquainted with the latest trends in the online marketing process, strong analytical skills, and efficient decision-making skills would be preferred (Jung, Kim & Kim, 2020).

Items	Expenses UK dollar)
Online-contents	50000
Press releases for launch of Premium Men’s grooming kit	70000
Social media marketing	60000
Market research (competitive analysis)	30000
Infrastructure management	10000
Consultancy services	20000
Miscellaneous	10000
Total	2,40,000 UK dollar

Activities	April 2022	May 2022	June 2022
Collecting data on market demographics
Conduct internal environmental assessment
Conduct external competitive analysis
Prepare marketing strategy, bearing in mind the aims and objectives
Identify the available resource, time, and people
Prepare budget, and estimate the price
Launch Premium Men’s grooming kit
Conduct advertisements campaigns on websites and social networking channels
Track the response of the customers on the rolled-out advertisements and gain feedback
Evaluate the capability and competencies to work on the feedback provided by the customers

The measurability of success in the campaign lies in an increase in the number of clients, after the launch of Premium Men’s grooming kit by Marks and Spencer. The success could seem realistic if there is an increase in the number of clients visiting the websites and social media pages of Marks and Spencer. This increase in the number of clients could simultaneously increase the sales revenue and profit margin. Along with this, the success of the marketing campaign of Premium Men’s grooming kit could be reflected from the positive feedback of the clients, influencing their purchasing decisions and intentions (Choi & Lee, 2021). For example, if the clients repeat the purchase of Premium Men’s grooming kit, then it could reflect that the marketing strategy of conducting advertising campaigns has been successful and efficient. For retaining this success, Marks and Spencer could introduce new loyalty programs like an online renewal of the subscriptions for the customers, and discounts for the new customers, who have purchased Premium Men’s grooming kit or similar products for the first time (Gazzola et al., 2020). Continuous improvement and development, along with evaluation could be the two most essential aspects for Marks and Spencer to measure the success, and upgrade the standards and quality of products and services.  

Conclusion 

The marketing plan of Marks and Spencer for Premium Men’s grooming kit could be successful if the vision is strategic on conducting situational analysis, that is, the market summary, reflecting stability in the presence of people, especially men in the age group of 30 years, who desire healthy skin. Alignment with the current trends of fulfilling the desires of men to develop an individual and exclusive style quotient of their own could add value to the market plan. Paradigm shifts to sustainability management and commitment to environmental protection could further add to the market growth. Capability expansion in the form of product diversification could enhance the strengths. Online marketing advertising campaigns, budget, and evaluation could ensure the success of the marketing campaign of the new Men's Grooming Kit.

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