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Marks and Spencer-The value of CRM?
Marks and Spencer for some time has been engaged in a new strategy which they call Plan A – People, Products and Planet. Marks and Spencer believe that their reputation for quality and great value within its ranges can take on Post Covid challenges and make inroads into the market share of competitors such Tesco and Sainsburys within it’s food sales. To make this a reality Marks and Spencer has spent time researching the change in shopping experience preferences of target customer segments when purchasing groceries in store and online. Their initial results found that customers still wanted to visit stores to browse but they also wanted the luxury of being able to go online and order groceries for delivery- preferably at a time when it is convenient for them. This has seen Marks and Spencer look for a new delivery partner in the form of Ocado. However, the £750 million Marks and Spencer has invested in this 50% share of Ocado has seen some commentators fear it will be at a cost to their continued commitment to the ‘Planet’ focus of their ‘Plan A’ strategy. With the focus now being put on the return to ‘profit’ for the organisation at this difficult trading time. Marks and Spencer CEO and management team recognise through their new advertising slogan ‘Never the same again’ that the products and services the organisation now offer must change and alongside this a greater emphasis placed on the importance of customer relationships which must be a key part of any future planning.
The CEO of Marks and Spencer has requested the marketing research department to undertake research and write a report based on the following:
Task 1
Describe what is meant by the term ‘Customer Relationship Management’
This task should include a definition of the term ‘CRM’ and describe what CRM means at Marks and Spencer.
Task 2
Investigate the customer relationship experience of Marks and Spencer and one other similar organisation based on the following policies:
- Ethical
- Sustainability
This task should be a critical discussion including examples from the organisations. It should also be supported with academic theory and citations.
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Task 3
Demonstrate through a literature review a ‘critical’ discussion of a variety of quality models and theories that may assist in an organisation improving its customer relationship management.
This task requires a ‘critical’ investigation into a wide variety of academic quality models and theories supported by organisation examples to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concept of ‘quality’ and its link to measuring Customer Relationship Management.
Task 4
Discuss through examples from Marks and Spencer, academic theory and industry good practice the benefit of CRM to organisations engaging in the following activities:
- Segmentation
- Targeting Customers
- A Loyalty Ladder
- Marketing Mix
This task requires each of the above activities to be researched and examples discussed based on the organisation, theory and industry good practice.
Task 5
The report requires a conclusion to be drawn which outlines the strengths and weaknesses of Marks and Spencer CRM system based on the report findings.
Task 6
Recommendations are required which are based on improving the areas identified within the conclusion as weaknesses.
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NOTE: The guidance offered below is linked to the five generic assessment criteria overleaf.
- Engagement with Literature Skills
Your work must be informed and supported by scholarly material that is relevant to and focused on the task(s) set. You should provide evidence that you have accessed an appropriate range of sources, which may be academic, governmental and industrial; these sources may include academic journal articles, textbooks, current news articles, organisational documents, and websites. You should consider the credibility of your sources; academic journals are normally highly credible sources while websites require careful consideration/selection and should be used sparingly. Any sources you use should be current and up-to-date, mostly published within the last five years or so, though seminal/important works in the field may be older. You must provide evidence of your research/own reading throughout your work, using a suitable referencing system, including in-text citations in the main body of your work and a reference list at the end of your work.
Guidance specific to this assessment: The work should contain at least 25 academic references within the report in support of your work from a variety of valid and reliable sources. A reference list should be provided using Harvard referencing conventions.
- Knowledge and Understanding Skills
At level 5, you should be able to demonstrate: sound knowledge and critical understanding of the well-established concepts and principles of the subject area and the way in which those principles have developed; knowledge of the main methods of enquiry in the discipline. Knowledge relates to the facts, information and skills you have acquired through your learning. You demonstrate your understanding by interpreting the meaning of the facts and information (knowledge). This means that you need to select and include in your work the concepts, techniques, models, theories, etc. appropriate to the task(s) set. You should be able to explain the theories, concepts, etc. meaningfully to show your understanding. Your mark/grade will also depend upon the extent to which you demonstrate your knowledge and understanding.
Guidance specific to this assessment: You should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theories/models within the report associated with ethics and sustainability, quality and customer relationship management.
- Cognitive and Intellectual Skills
You should be able to critically analyse information, and propose solutions to problems arising from that analysis, including the critical evaluation of the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems. Your work must contain evidence of logical, analytical thinking, evaluation and synthesis. For example, to examine and break information down into parts, make inferences, compile, compare and contrast information. This means not just describing what! But also justifying: Why? How? When? Who? Where? At what cost? At all times, you must provide justification/evidence for your arguments and judgements. Evidence that you have reflected upon the ideas of others within the subject area is crucial to you providing a reasoned and informed debate within your work. Furthermore, you should provide evidence that you are able to make sound judgements and convincing arguments using data and concepts, with an understanding of the limits of knowledge, and how this influences analyses and interpretations. Sound, valid conclusions are necessary and must be derived from the content of your work. Where relevant, alternative solutions and recommendations may be proposed.
Guidance specific to this assessment: You should critically evaluate your sources, synthesis of information from your research and academic theories/ models and draw appropriate conclusions and recommendations.
- Practical Skills
At level 5, you should be able to use/deploy a range of established techniques within the discipline, and apply underlying concepts and principles outside the context in which they were first studied, including, where appropriate, the application of those principles in an employment context. You should be able to demonstrate how the subject-related concepts and ideas relate to real world situations and/or a particular context. How do they work in practice? You will deploy models, methods, techniques, and/or theories, in that context, to assess current situations, perhaps to formulate plans or solutions to solve problems, or to create artefacts, some of which may be creative. This is likely to involve, for instance, the use of real world artefacts, examples and cases, the application of a model within an organisation and/or benchmarking one theory or organisation against others based on stated criteria. You should show awareness of the limitations of concepts and theories when applied in particular contexts.
Guidance specific to this assessment: The report should include critical evaluation of ethical/sustainable policies on CRM, an evaluation of quality theories/models and the impact on CRM success or failure within the organisation. ‘.
- Transferable Skills for Life and Professional Practice
Your work must provide evidence of the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and decision-making. This includes demonstrating: professional development to advance existing skills and acquire new competences that will enable you to assume significant responsibility within organisations; that you can initiate and complete tasks and procedures, whether individually and/or collaboratively; that you can use appropriate media to effectively communicate information, arguments and analysis in a variety of forms to specialist and non-specialist audiences; fluency of expression; clarity and effectiveness in presentation and organisation. Work should be coherent and well-structured in presentation and organisation.
Guidance specific to this assessment:
The report should be presented using a formal business report as demonstrated within the assignment guidance notes. The content should be of a professional standard with correct spelling, grammar and a logical flow to your discussion. The work needs to be supported with citations which should be referenced using the Harvard method.
