This paper examines how two UK-based companies — Parcelforce, the parcel delivery branch of the Royal Mail Group, and Peacocks, an international value fashion retailer — apply fundamental marketing principles in competitive environments. The paper covers the marketing process, macro and micro environmental factors, market segmentation, targeting and positioning, buyer behaviour, and the extended marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence). It also explores how both organisations adapt their strategies for domestic versus international markets, and how customer service, green initiatives, and celebrity endorsement contribute to their respective competitive advantages.
This paper examines how marketing principles operate across two different types of organisation. The first is Parcelforce, a parcel delivery service connected to the Royal Mail Group. As the parcel branch of the UK mail system, Parcelforce must compete with both national and international carriers. It also operates internationally to some degree, making it both a domestic and a global entity. The second organisation is Peacocks, an international clothing retailer headquartered in Britain with more than 200 stores outside the UK. The paper discusses how these two companies conform to basic marketing principles, distribute their products, and respond to local and international economic and market forces.
Parcelforce specifically, and the Royal Mail Group in general, have not always faced the level of competition they encounter today. Global companies have become a far more significant competitive threat because they can offer a similar product at a lower price. Operating on a large global scale, these rivals can also provide a much wider range of services than Parcelforce has traditionally been able to match. Although Parcelforce operates internationally to a limited extent, it is not as deeply involved in global trade as some of its competitors. This means the company must maintain its market share by offering something that the larger international carriers cannot.
One significant advantage is name recognition within the UK. While international carriers are relatively new arrivals (most having entered the UK market within the last three decades), the Royal Mail Group has operated for centuries. This history gives Parcelforce's management an understanding of the customer base that competitors simply cannot replicate. Since this is a free and open market, any competitor may enter the industry without restriction — but they would be entering a crowded market and would need to offer something that Parcelforce and existing players do not already provide.
For these reasons, one of Parcelforce's core marketing strategies has been to strengthen its perceived customer service among the UK population. Because many of its customers are large organisations, the company has made deliberate efforts to retain them by offering services specifically tailored to their needs. This requires Parcelforce to become intimately familiar with its clients and to forge personal relationships. The company has also launched an internal initiative focused on customer service, encouraging employees to invest time in building relationships rather than simply processing transactions as quickly as possible. This relational approach ensures that customers feel satisfied with every interaction and are motivated to return. It has contributed to the company operating profitably for several consecutive years.
This emphasis on relationships and trust reflects a broader shift in international marketing over the past two decades. Customers want to feel that they have had a positive experience and that they can trust the people they do business with. This shift has forced many companies to change how they operate. It is no longer sufficient to offer a superior product if the public perceives the company as impersonal or indifferent. In many ways, this represents a return to the local model of business that existed before the rise of large multinational corporations. As customers are increasingly required to deal with big companies, they want an experience that feels more like the personal service they once received from local businesses. Parcelforce is working to deliver exactly that.
Parcelforce has also recognised the need to become more operationally efficient in order to survive in a global market. Because they operate in a completely open market, they must be able to compete with any new entrant. While the company cannot match the global scale of a FedEx, UPS, or DHL, it can operate within the UK and Europe with comparable efficiency. To achieve this, Parcelforce has reduced its workforce, closed some of its hubs, and streamlined its operations. The company recently opened a large sorting centre that processes more packages with fewer workers and fewer errors. It also acknowledges that technology plays a central role: innovations in package tracking and improved distribution methods help raise customer perceptions and reinforce competitive positioning.
One challenge, however, is the fickle nature of the public. In an open market, customers have choices, and a single negative interaction can drive them permanently to a competitor. A marketing strategy that depends entirely on customer loyalty must therefore be robust and consistently delivered.
Despite the challenges of a competitive open market, Parcelforce can succeed if it consistently outperforms rivals on customer service. The company that retains consumer trust will ultimately outlast its competitors. Parcelforce benefits from strong name recognition in a diverse industry dominated by a handful of large conglomerates. Customers are likely to recognise it as a UK company with deep roots in the Royal Mail Group, which carries a degree of reassurance that newer entrants lack.
Parcelforce has identified several further avenues for improving customer service. One notable consideration is the ageing of the customer base — a demographic trend particularly pronounced in the UK following the post-World War II baby boom. Sixty years on, many of those "baby boomers" are now senior citizens. In response, drivers are required to write delivery cards as large and legibly as possible, and employees who interact with the public receive training on how to communicate effectively with disabled customers. Training has become a crucial component of the company's marketing strategy.
Parcelforce has also implemented a strategy to reduce its carbon footprint. This includes using natural gas or propane-powered vehicles, optimising delivery routes to reduce fuel consumption, and highlighting in its advertising that, as a predominantly domestic carrier, it does not rely on large fleets of fuel-intensive aircraft. This positions the company as an environmentally responsible choice relative to international competitors.
The company recognises that customer service affects its business in six key areas:
"Deliveries to the customer — providing timely delivery, prompt response to queries, clear documentation; Re-deliveries — ensuring clear procedures are in place; Collections from customers — providing a timely service with documentation; End-to-end parcel location (tracking) — an online service with easy-to-use screens means customers can find out when a parcel has been delivered; Customer contact — improving customer communications and providing help by web or by telephone; Making claims — making it easy for people to claim if things go wrong" (The Times 100, 2010a).
These six areas are not separate elements of a marketing strategy but form a unified, team-based approach. The company recognises that sustained attention to every one of these details is necessary to retain its customer base as competition intensifies.
Environmental factors that affect a business can be either local (micro) or global (macro). Parcelforce has attempted to address both. A key macro environmental factor is the global scale of its competitors. Parcelforce operates internationally to some degree, but it does not match the reach of its largest rivals. In response, it has several strategic options: forming a partnership with a globally active competitor, expanding its own international footprint, or merging with a global player. At the micro level, the primary concern is how the company manages its day-to-day customer interactions — an area already discussed at length above.
Parcelforce has developed two products designed to meet the needs of different customer groups based on their priorities (The Times 100, 2010b). These are called Global Express and Global Value. Some customers require rapid delivery and are less sensitive to price than to speed. Because it costs Parcelforce more to deliver a package in one or two days than over the course of a week, the price of the Global Express product reflects this premium. For customers without strict time constraints who prioritise value, Parcelforce created Global Value. Both products are segmented according to the price and timeliness preferences of the customer, and both fall within the behavioural segmentation category, as they are based on customer buying behaviour rather than demographic or geographic criteria.
The positioning of a product refers to which market segment it is aimed at. Global Express is positioned internationally, targeting businesses that need packages or documents delivered rapidly — such as important contracts or legal paperwork. These customers are typically far less concerned about price than about speed and reliability. Positioning is arguably the most important strategic decision, because the market must align with the product if the offering is to succeed.
"Individual vs. business customer buying behaviour"
In the second scenario — a business sending important paperwork to another business requiring next-day delivery — the customer is far more focused on speed than on price. However, this large company is also less likely to switch to a competitor, since it almost certainly conducts a high volume of business with Parcelforce and the switching costs are greater. This does not mean that the individual parcel matters less; rather, the large business client has a higher probability of remaining a customer because of the scale and regularity of its transactions.
That said, the large company is also more likely to formally request a refund if something goes wrong, whereas the individual customer may simply leave without making a complaint. Parcelforce therefore needs products that accommodate both types of customer behaviour. This is why the company maintains three pricing and timeliness tiers to serve the full range of its customer base.
Peacocks is a large UK-headquartered clothing retailer specialising in low-cost designer fashion. Its principal designer, Pearl Lowe, has built her reputation on clothing that is simple yet stylish, with a strong following among celebrities who endorse her work. The store originally sold a wide range of goods but has since been rebranded as a fast fashion retailer. While it stocks several brands, the best-selling products are those sold exclusively through Peacocks. In addition to Pearl Lowe's women's wear, the company has commissioned designers for a well-received men's wear line and a children's clothing range. Peacocks' primary competitive advantages are its extensive store network in the UK (over 600 outlets) and its rapidly expanding international presence under the Peacocks London brand.
Peacocks has developed a significant online presence that makes its clothing accessible to customers worldwide, while simultaneously flooding the UK market with physical stores. All stores are continuously stocked with products exclusive to the Peacocks brand.
Like many other retailers, Peacocks has also committed to reducing its carbon footprint. New stores are built using sustainable construction methods, and the company incorporates green fabrics into many of its garments. Organically grown cotton accounts for approximately 25% of the cotton products it sells (Peacocks, 2011). The company also has a policy of selling only animal-derived products that are either faux or sourced from ethically farmed animals.
Peacocks underwent a significant pricing strategy revision several years ago after its executives recognised that the company was pricing out much of its potential customer base. The decision was made to focus exclusively on clothing and to position the brand as a destination for chic designer fashion at affordable prices. The company achieves this through volume: the number of stores has increased dramatically in recent years, and the brand has been taken to international markets on a larger scale than ever before.
A key element of the pricing and promotion strategy has been the engagement of former rock musician Pearl Lowe as a designer. Her celebrity connections have made it easier to market her designs to fashion-conscious consumers, and Peacocks benefits from free publicity whenever her garments are worn at high-profile events. On one occasion, Lowe designed a black dress that was worn by three separate celebrities at different events (Hull, 2010). This creates a powerful psychological advantage: when celebrities desire a product, broader consumer demand tends to follow.
Peacocks' primary marketing objective is simply to sell clothing. The company has pursued this by reinventing its brand identity and promoting its products through fashion magazines and celebrity endorsement. Internet marketing is also a central pillar of the strategy. Because the company has a limited store presence outside the UK, it has invested heavily in its digital channels. All products available in-store are also available online, and exclusive online promotions are regularly offered. This allows Peacocks to reach a diverse international audience and cultivate a customer base in markets where physical stores have not yet been established.
Peacocks has made use of most of the marketing tools available to a retailer. The in-store experience has been completely redesigned to make shopping more pleasant, and the online platform has been streamlined with the same goal in mind. The online purchasing process is quick and easy, with multiple shipping options offered so that customers can receive their orders at a time that suits them. In-store, product presentation is carefully arranged to be visually appealing, and the pricing structure ensures that the range is genuinely accessible to a broad customer base.
"Consumer vs. B2B and domestic vs. international marketing"
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