Marketing Mix and Marketing Strategy of Zara
In a very short span of time, Zara has become a well-known name in the world of fast fashion. The reasons are affordability and style. While Zara is known for latest styles, it is also known for affordable fashion. Most people love designer clothes but hesitate to buy them because of their hefty price tags. Zara has bridged this gap for the mid level consumers. It brings the same designs at lower prices quick to the market. The result is higher sales and a larger market share. However, the brand is not known to market itself the way the other brands do. Again, it has cleverly used a strategy that differentiates it from other brands and helps find higher visibility, popularity and brand loyalty. Based on lower prices and sufficiently good quality, Zara has been able to win loyalty quick. It does not invest as aggressively in marketing itself and yet the brand does its marketing in ways that might not be easily evident.
It has used its positioning and pricing scheme in a manner that differentiates it from the others. The focus is on building brand loyalty through affordability. However, if the focus was only on affordability, Zara would not have been as popular as it is. The reason its popularity kept climbing is because of its focus on style. Zara brings the latest designs and its fashion cycles are also shorter. It means fashion does not last here forever. A style that can be found this week will not be there two or three weeks later. This gives rise to a sense of urgency among the buyers and thus leads to higher sales. Moreover, the designs and style are just so good that customers would not like to let them go. The quality of the fabric is also good enough to last a few months when the customer will be back again looking for fresh fashion.
Positioning:
Zara has targeted the young customers mainly. Its target audience is the millennial generation. They are price sensitive young people. They want their fashion affordable but trendy. Zara has sharply targeted this segment using the latest styles and low prices.  However, that does not mean that Zara has compromised on quality. Its fabrics are still of sufficiently good quality but generally meant to be used for just a season. Zara targets mainly the women who comprise that largest part of its target segment. Apart from them, men also comprise a smaller segment of its target market and the smallest segment is that of the kids. Women are more than half of its target market while men and kids make for 40% of its target market (Harbott, 2011). Zara has positioned itself as an affordable fashion brand for the young people.  Its most unique feature is that fashion seasons come and go here faster than the rest of the fashion world. It also provides a larger assortment of designs and styles compared to the average retailers.
Zara Marketing Mix: 4P’s
Product:
Zara is fast fashion brand – a maker of apparel that has earned a lot of growth and reputation in a short period. It identifies the latest trends in fashion and brings them quick to its stores at reasonable prices. However, the products can be different from market to market which is because Zara does its research before releasing any product in the specific markets world over. It sells products that suit the local culture and people’s taste. It is best known for its latest styles and trending designs.
Place:
Zara has spread to several nations with its more than 7000 stores (Fortune, 2016). Its 7000th store opened in Hawaii in 2015. Â Apart from its stores, it also sells online. However, online sales have not been expanded to all markets and are limited to specific ones. In India, people cannot shop from its website but still can check the latest designs and trends on its official website. Now, Zara is looking to grow its online sales further.
Price:
The pricing strategy of Zara is focused at the average shopper that wants the latest in fashion at affordable prices. Zara is a fast fashion brand selling affordable clothing. Its apparel is priced to cater to the price sensitive consumers who want latest fashion but not at high prices. The affordable pricing strategy has helped it address the needs of a very large consumer segment. Latest fashion at affordable price is highly popular among the millennials. This type of pricing strategy has also helped at two other points. It has helped create a unique brand image and grow market share faster.
Promotion:
The marketing expenses of Zara are much lower than the average fashion retailers. It does not market itself as aggressively as others. However, that does not mean Zara has not focused at marketing at all. It still markets its brand and products. A lot of marketing takes place through word of mouth. Because of the large choice of styles and affordable prices, the brand loyalty is high. Zara has kept its consumers happy. A lot of marketing takes place through its thousands of stores worldwide. The customers visiting the stores which are mainly located at prime locations can select from thousands of styles. Â The pricing and distribution strategy of Zara are actually an important part of its promotion strategy. They have helped it achieve the image of an affordable and stylish brand. This has helped build popularity. However, when it comes to promotion, the brand has used the other channels like social media skillfully and effectively. So, people who believe that Zara does not market itself or promote its brand may actually be wrong (Kalb, 2016).
Source:  1. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ira-kalb/if-you-think-zara-does-no_b_12187058.html  2. https://fortune.com/2016/03/09/zara-stores-online-sales-forecast/ 3.  https://www.harbott.com/2011/03/03/analysing-zaras-business-model/