Marketing Management Orientations

Introduction

Zara is one of the leading fashion retail companies that operate under the flagship of Spanish conglomerate Inditex Group. The company offers wide range of fashionable apparels and accessories for women, men and children (Ruddick, 2014). To analyze the company’s operations, the report involves the use five marketing concepts that include production concept, product concept, sales concept societal marketing concept and market concept.

Discussion and Application of Theory

Use of Marketing Concepts and Key Terminologies for Zara

Marketing Management Orientations

Marketing Concepts

Production Orientation: This concept usually is predominately related with production of large volume of goods to meet the demands of the customers. This concept views production capacity as an important factor for attaining competitive advantage (Plinke, 2015).

Product Orientation: The product orientation concept mainly focuses on the dynamics of product. Accordingly, it assumes that offering quality products to customers will provide the organisations with competitive edge (Plinke, 2015).

Sales Orientation: Sales orientation assumes that when products are easily available at lower price and there are good sales person who can ensure efficient product delivery to customers, it will leads to attaining greater competitive traction. The primary focus of sales orientation is firmly related with the improvement of supply of products.

Market Orientation: Market orientation deals with use of use ways and techniques to communicate product messages to customers such as promotion of products through advertising, using electronic and print media (Plinke, 2015).

Societal Marketing Orientation: Societal marketing orientation focuses on society as an important part of marketing concepts and recognises that business can only achieve competitive edge and success if it effectively manages and meets the needs of diverse customers (Plinke, 2015).

Use/Role of Marketing Research in the Organization

Product concept

Zara offers fashionable and trendy apparels for wide base of its customers that include men, women and children. It mainly offers fast fashion apparels like trousers, blazer, skirts, shoes, tops, jeans and other accessories. The apparels products that are offered by the company are unique and trendy in a sense that it uses ecological fabrics such as organic cotton to produced finished products (Press, 2016).

Branding

Zara through its unique management system related to design and supply long with its efficient production capacity has offered it to develop itself into strong and reputed brand in the worldwide fashion apparel industry. Besides, the premium locations of its stores have further complemented its brand reputation (Ruddick, G. (2014).

Product Life Cycle

Zara’s product life cycle can also be identified to follow the four primary stages that include introduction, growth, maturity and decline, but timeline of its product is different from other competitors within the industry. Zara’s product designs tend to change quickly in accordance with the changing trends and customers’ requirements and usually have a timeline of 5-6 weeks (Ruddick, 2014).

Pricing Strategies

Compared to other competitors of Zara, the apparel products that are offered to customers are mid-priced. Prices of its apparel products are country specific which implies that it follows market-based pricing strategy which the consumers in the given market are willing to pay (Vitzthum, 2001).

b. Explain how consumers make their buying decisions under various conditions, locally and internationally, as well as online versus offline

Need Recognition

Need recognition for buying international brand is closely associated with psychological needs of uniqueness while need for buying local products is based on functional needs (Ismail, et al., 2012). Similarly need recognition for online shopping is caused targeted banner ads, personalized event promotion and notification services in offline need recognition is a result of mass media, television and radio advertisements(Veronika, 2013).

Information Search

When buying local brands or products, consumers can be identified to rely on advices of friends and family for acquiring information and knowledge. In the case of international brands they are less likely to spend time to enhance their knowledge of the brand/product and are more concerned about their social status and prestige (Ismail, et al., 2012). Information search activities with respect to offline shopping require customers exert significant efforts and are often tedious while information search over internet is much easier. Correspondingly, easier accesses to wide range of information about product often stimulate them to buy online rather through offline or physical stores (Veronika, 2013).

Evaluation of Alternatives

Notably, while purchasing local products consumers are more likely to evaluate the product based on price attributes and often make product choice that offers best quality products that reduced price. Unlike in the case of local products, evaluation of alternatives with respect to international products is based more on product attributes such as quality, design, and origin of country (Frimpong, 2011). Likewise, role of evaluation of alternative is more prominent in online decision making process due to the availability large volume of product information which customers can compare easily at the click of mouse. However, in offline condition, it is difficult for the buyers to visit different shops and compare the products. Hence, they rely on friends and family for making their buying decision (Ismail, et al., 2012; Degeratu, 2000).

Purchase Decision

The purchase decision both locally and internationally is influenced by in-store choices such as interior of the stores, vendors’ communication ability as well as the location of the stores (Ismail et al., 2012). Likewise, in the case of online purchase, the customer’s decision to buy is motivated by ease of payment. Availability of product types, perceived privacy and security risks. However, in offline condition, privacy and security risks largely have no impact on the customer buying decision (Singhal & Shekhawa, 2015; Degeratu, 2000).

Post Purchase Decision

Post-purchase decision is largely related with customer sense satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Accordingly, consumers are more likely to reveal their satisfaction, if they feel that the product which they have purchased has met their expectation. In case where the customers’ feels that the product which they have purchased did not met their expectation, customer is more likely to experience dissatisfaction. It is thus important to offer products in accordance to needs and expectations of customers so that consumers are engaged in repeat purchase of the products irrespective of the channel they choose to buy (Ismail, et al., 2012; Singhal & Shekhawa, 2015).

Conclusion and Recommendations

Zara is a leading fashion retail brand in the global fashion industry that offers range of fashionable products and services. It should make use of various parameters to evaluate market conditions and consumer purchase decision. Besides, it should treat each customers group differently and strive to meet their varying needs and preferences rather than offering similar products to all consumers.

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4. Reference List

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Press, C. (2016). Sustainable Style: Zara finally joins the sustainable fashion movement. The Sunday Morning Herald. [Online] Available At: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/fashion-news/sustainable-style-zara-finally-joins-the-sustainable-fashion-movement-20160922-grlzft.html [Accessed 04 March 2017].

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