Marks and Spencer’s (M&S), one of the most famous department stores. It’s website is simple yet effective and sophisticated. With the variation of price range and products, M&S has made it clear it does not have a specific target market. They value ‘loyalty and confidence’ (Marks and Spencer, 2016) over anything else when it comes to it’s customers. Their main values incorporate ‘inspiration, innovation, integrity, and in touch underpin [their] customer promise of enhancing lives everyday’ (Marks and Spencer, 2016), demonstrating the commitment they have towards their products and customer satisfaction.

Marks and Spencer seems to have no specific target market profile, instead choses to target a variety of individuals with their range of products. In terms of demographics, M&S’s fashion line tends to create clothing targeted to middle aged women but fails to mention so, ([N.A], 2018). With such set values, it can be assumed that the company’s target segmentation is none specified, however, based on their annual report, M&S recognizes that changes need to be made (Marks and Spencer, 2018). On the other hand, with it’s main departments located within the United Kingdom, it can be assumed that it’s main geographic segmentation is within the U.K. None the less, with access to the website, the company can be reached and utilized throughout the world. Marks and Spencer have announced that they will be partnering with Starcount; as part of their five year transformation plan; of which they hope will better ‘customer understanding and insight through personalization of M&S’s loyalty and CRM programmes including M&S’s Sparks Card’, (Marks and Spencer, 2018).

John Lewis and Tesco’s are Marks & Spencer’s main competitors due to their similar products and price ranges. Tesco is well known for being the U.K’s leading supermarkets, it offers a selection of products similar to M&S’s food hall but targets the typical U.K family. John Lewis is perhaps, the most relatable competitor as the price ranges are often matched and targets the middle class families, with more of a disposable income.

Customer experience:

Figure 1 demonstrates two customer journeys taken through Marks and Spencer’s website. This table reflects the perception of the website for both personas with it’s negative and positive features, with the aid of the market Segmentation Target Positioning (STP) model to better understand the customer journey, (Vyas, 2016). (For more information about Persona 1 and Persona 2, refer to appendices for Figure 2 and Figure 3).

 

Penelope (Persona 1) has discovered products throughout the M&S website which were recommended through online word of mouth (e-WOM). Before continuing with the purchasing process, Persona 1 (Penelope) would rather compare products and price ranges with M&S’s main competitors for better deals. After researching similar products, she recognises M&S’s search engine optimization (SEO) to be the first one in 214,000,000 results and, therefore, continues with her online shopping. Being adapt with technology, she finalises her online shopping by creating an account, purchasing and receiving her digital receipt on her email. Being content with her experience, she goes on to using online customer queries and becomes part of M&S’s loyalty scheme, in search of future offers.

Betty (Persona 2), familiar with Mark and Spencer stores, begins her customer journey via the website. Struggling with technological advancements, she seeks the help of customer chat support. Thanks to the support, she directs herself to the website with ease thanks to the SEO and pursues with her online shopping. Unsure as to how to proceed, she contacts customer support chat again, and manages to finalise her purchases. However, confused by the confirmation email notice, she turns to customer support chat once more for clarification.

 

Both customer journeys are successful, however, it is clear that Persona 1 has had more facility navigating the website than Persona 2. Due to the difference in age and/or technological capabilities, Persona 2 had to contact customer support up to three times during her shopping process, which can impact her experience negatively.

Please refer to the following videos for more information about M&S products:

Bibliography:

[N.A] (2018), ‘Is M&S stuck in the middle?’, Birmingham Business School Blog. [Online] Available at: https://blog.bham.ac.uk/business-school/2018/05/25/is-ms-stuck-in-the-middle/ (accessed 10.12.18)

 

Evans, J.R. and Haase, I.M., (2001), ‘Online business education in the twenty-first century: and analysis of potential target markets’, Internet Research, Vol. 11, Issue 3, pp. 246-260. [Online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/10662240110396432 (accessed 12.12.18)

 

Kirby, S., (2017), ‘New M&S Vegan Options- Taste Test’, YouTube. [Online] [Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL2i1-tCn7U (accessed 12.12.18)

 

Malhotra, S., Sivakumar, K., and PengCheng, Z., (2009), ‘Distance factors and target market selection: the moderating effect of market potential’, International Marketing Review. [Online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/02651330911001332 (accessed 12.12.18)

 

Marks & Spencer (2018) Annual Report and Financial Statements 2018. London: Marks &Spencer. [Online| [pdf] Available at: https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/annualreport (accessed 10.12.18)

 

Marks & Spencer (2018), ‘Marks & Spencer announces new customer insight partnership’. [Online] Available at: https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/media/press-releases/2018/marks-and-spencer-announces-new-customer-insight-partnership (accessed 12.12.18)

 

Marks & Spencer India, (2017), ‘The New M&S Experience: Ambience Hall’, YouTube. [Online] [Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csrDc9xpfkY (accessed 12.12.18)

 

Marks and Spencer (2016), ‘Code of ethics and behaviour’, Marks and Spencer. [Online] [pdf] Available at: https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/documents/policy-documents/code-of-ethics.pdf (accessed 10.12.18)

 

Microsoft Office 365, (2016), ‘Marks & Spencer: M&S World’, YouTube. [Online] [Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbspsc0OCDI (accessed 12.12.18)

 

Singh, H., (2018), ‘Reaching your target market: identifying and appealing to your ideal client base’, Journal of aesthetic nursing. Vol. 7, Issue 7. [Online] Available at: https://www-magonlinelibrary-com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/doi/full/10.12968/joan.2018.7.7.396 (accessed 12.12.18)

 

Sky News, (2018), ‘M&S Boss: We must do better’, YouTube. [Online] [Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLMDdNLC6ug (accessed 12.12.18)

 

Vyas, A., (2016), ‘Importance of STP in Business’, Linked-in. [Online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-stp-business-ashutosh-vyas (accessed 12.12.18)

 

Appendices:

Figure 1- Customer Journey Mapping

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2- Penelope [Persona 1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3- Betty [Persona 2]