Unit 4 Marketing Principles Sample Solution

Course	Diploma in Business(Marketing)
Unit Number and Title	Unit 4 Marketing Principles
QFC Level	Level 4
Credit value	15 credits
Unit Code	F/601/0556

Introduction

The Marketing activities of an organisation allow the organisation to communicate the various features and advantages of the specific products to the various stakeholders and customers. The marketing model of an organisation depends on the various factors involved in the business model of the organisation such as the various business processes used in the organisation, the type of product manufactured in the organisation, the type of market being targeted for a particular product etc. All of these Marketing Principles Assignment allow the management of the Unilever to develop and implement effective marketing strategies for the various products of the Unilever. One of the most important component of the marketing model of Unileveris the marketing mix, which consists of a number of elements related to the market, environment and the product (Balmer, 2006). The report focuses on the marketing activities for the products of Unilever PLC. Some of the products of Unilever are Dove, AXE, Vaseline and Sunsilk.

                                                                 

Task 1

1. Definition of Marketing

“Marketing” is defined in a number of ways by various authorities and regulatory bodies. The AMA defines the term “marketing” as the process or activity which allows any of the organisations in the market to creating, spreading words regarding its products and services and delivering them. The process of marketing focuses on the communication of the products and services to the people who have value for the corresponding products or services. According to Kotler, the process of marketing is the activity of satisfying the needs of the customers by providing them the corresponding products and services in exchange of monetary resources (Doyle, 2009). The CIM defines the term “marketing” as the management process responsible for theidentification, anticipation and satisfaction of the needs of the customers, ensuring the
profit of the organisation.AXE is one of the personal care brands of the Unilever PLC. The various definitions of the process of marketing can be applied to this brand of Unilever PLC. The organisation includes the process of procuring materials for the products of AXE. The development, advertisement and promotion processes are also included in the business model of Unilever.The marketing process of AXE also includes various promotional activities (Jeannet, 2005).

2. Elements of the marketing process applicable for UNILEVER PLC

There are a number of major elements of the marketing process which helps the management of the organisation to focus in the right direction for the marketing process of its products. The people involved in the marketing processes play a very important role in deciding the final quality of the products. The process of creating the product, the quoted price of the product, the promotional activities and the operational market are some of the other elements of the marketing process(Juin, 2000).

SWOT analysis of AXE

Strengths  Other grooming products are also available from the organisation under the same brand name. The promotional and advertising activities focus on the young mass in the society (Juin, 2000). The various fragrances are developed by Ann Gottlieb, an international fragrance diva.	Weaknesses A number of times, some of the advertising processes lead to controversies and hence to legal issues for the organisation. The products have a bit more price in comparison to that of the competitors’.
Opportunities Signing deals with large hotel chains and other chains for their needs for fragrances in the workplace(Wedel, 2000).      Creation of some unique and limited edition fragrances.	Threats Presence of a number of large organisations in the same industry and market.

 3. How the selected brand is using the marketing concept in their marketing activities

Marketing concept is defined as the business strategy or philosophy which allows the identification and satisfaction of various needs and requirements of the customers in the targeted market of the product. Marketing orientation is the set of activities which allows the implementation of the marketing concept in the real time scenario i.e. the business model of the organisation (Balmer, 2006). The brand named AXE of the Unilever PLC included a wide range of deodorants and targeted the young mass in the society as their potential customers. The marketing activities of AXE were based on the marketing concept that the young males in the society want to be seductive for the girls without being seen as trying too much. This business philosophy gradually got a name of passive seduction. The marketing activities of AXE try to follow this marketing concept of the organisation. The marketing orientation activities of the brand allow the products to be developed in such a way that satisfies the passive seduction needs of the customers. The marketing orientation activities of the brand try to position the brand as the solution to the corresponding needs of the targeted customers in the market(Hawkins, 2009).

4. Possible costs and benefits for pursuing a marketing orientation culture

Original Requirement

For any brand "customer satisfaction" play a key role in marketing activities. To improvethe cost/benefits ratio and customer satisfaction Unilever (the organization which produces your brand) spent significantly in terms of e.g. time, money, man power...

This has been done properly.

The satisfaction of the needs and requirements of the customers is the most important goal and objective of the organisation. The identification, anticipation and satisfaction of the various requirements and needs of the customers in the targeted market of the organisation allow the organisation to build up its brand image, popularity and profit. The brand, AXE of the Unilever PLC is following a marketing orientation strategy and culture to ensure the effective and efficient satisfaction of the needs of the customers. The costs and benefits analysis allows the management to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the market orientation culture and implementation of the same for the products of the specific brand. One of the major costs of the market orientation strategy is the investment in the various market research activities. The high cost of the market research activities is due to the requirement of extensive market research for the effective implementation of the market orientation culture in the organisation (Aaker, 2008). The cost involved in the process of establishing the technological infrastructure for the corresponding market orientation activities and the various training activities for the employees are some of the other costs of the market orientation activities of AXE(Juin, 2000).

Task 2

1. General description of macro and micro marketing environments and how these affect the marketing decisions of the selected brand

The brand AXE under Unilever PLC has a number of micro and macro environmental factors which affects the marketing activities of the brand.

Micro Environmental Factors

The micro environmental factors of Unilever are the factors which are responsible for directly affecting the various marketing activities of the brand. Some of these micro environmental factors are consumers, shareholders and suppliers of the organisation which are present in the close proximity of the internal business environment of the organisation.

Consumers

The needs of the consumers are one of the biggest factors which affects the marketing decisions of Unilever. The marketing decisions of the brand always focus on the identification, anticipation and satisfaction of the needs of the customers.

Suppliers

The suppliers present in the market for the Unilever PLC are also responsible for the marketing strategies of the organisation. The marketing decisions of Unilever are affected if the suppliers change their business strategies and policies.

Macro Environmental Factors

The macro environmental factors of the brand are some of the factors in the distant environment which affect the marketing activities in an indirect manner (Peng, 2000). The macro environmental factors of the brand affect the micro environmental factors of the brand. Some of

these macro environmental factors are technological, political and economic condition of the society.

Economy

The shareholders of AXE should be convinced regarding various marketing activities or else they can demand for the change in specific marketing activities of AXE. The marketing activities of AXE are also dependent heavily on the customers who are targeted in the market as they can change their requirements and needs.

Technology

The technological condition of the society in which AXE operates decides the usage of various technologies in the marketing activities and hence affects the same. The political condition of the society in which AXE operates also decides the various rules and regulations to be followed in the various marketing activities.

2. Segmentation Criteria

Marketing segmentation is the concept which defines that all the customers of a brand don’t want the same thing as per their needs (Jeannet, 2005). The process of market segmentation allows the management of AXE to focus on various specific segments of the market consisting of customers having specific characteristics. There are a number of criteria in which the market of a brand or product is divided into several segments. The marketing professionals of AXE are also implementing various market segmentation strategies to divide the market according to a number of segmentation criteria. One of the major segmentation criteria used by AXE is the demographic criteria which allow the marketing professionals of AXE to divide the market into segments based on the personal characteristics of the customers such as age, gender, education and occupation. The marketing activities of AXE focus on the young males in the societies who are either studying or doing a job.The targeting strategy of AXE focuses on the youngsters within the age range of 17 to 25. The products under the brand name of AXE focus on the aspiring males in the targeted market (Wedel, 2000).

3. Targeting strategy

The market segmentation process of AXE allows the division of the market into a number of groups mostly on the basis of the demographic factors. The next step in the marketing strategy of AXE includes activities to target particular segments of the market. The process or methodology used by the organisation to target particular market segments is known as the targeting strategy. There are various types of targeting strategy which can be utilised and implemented in the market targeting activities of the brand. AXE follows the undifferentiated targeting strategy which allows the marketing activities of the brand to communicate the benefits in a different way to different segments of the market. The brand assures the young customers in the market that the usage of the deodorants will cause the girls to be impressed by the fragrance. The brand assures the professionals in the market that the usage of the deodorants will allow them to have a soothing and good fragrance in the workplace which will allow them to be confident (Jeannet, 2005).

Original Requirement

What is the targeting strategy used by your brand?, e.g. undifferentiated targeting,differentiated targeting. (AC2.3)

This has been done properly.

4. How buyer behaviour affects marketing activities in different buying situations

The buyer behaviour defines the various activities done by the customers prior to and during the process of buying a product. The buyer behaviour of the customers in the target market are based on a number of factors in the environment of the market and also affect the marketing activities of the brand. AXE modifies the marketing activities of its products for various buying conditions according to the buyer behaviour of the targeted customers in the specific target customer. The situational factor affects the buying behaviour of the customers in the retail stores in a number of ways. The marketing activities of AXE try to exploit such opportunities to increase the sale of their products. AXE ensures that the retail stores put the products of the brand in a well organised manner which helps the customers in making the buying decision. The buying behaviour of the customers in the market is also affected by the budget of the customers. AXE ensures that the prices of the products are affordable for the targeted customers in the specific market segments (Cravens, 2008).

5. How products are positioned in the market

The process of market positioning allows the brand to position its products in such a way that the potential customers see the corresponding products as a solution to their needs and requirements. The positioning strategy of AXE allows the management of the brand to position its products as a solution for the various aspiring individuals in the society trying to increase their confidence in front of the girls. The products of AXE are positioned as a weakness of the girls which allows the young males using the products to impress them without any effort. The positioning strategy of the products of AXE suggests that the fragrance of the deodorants will force the girls to be impressed and follow the customers of AXE. This positioning strategy allows the young males to buy and use the various products of the brand to try in the real world scenarios (Zeithaml, 2006).

Task 3

1. A new product range that could be developed for a foreign market

The task done clearly describes a new brand named “Aquatouch” along with the benefits and advantages of the marketing strategies associated with it.
The new product range for the organisation can be a range of shaving foams under the brand name of “Aquatouch”. This range of products of the organisation can focus on the various markets in the Asian and US countries. The product will have a number of features such as soothing effects on the skin of the consumers, softening effect on the hair in the applied region, good fragrance after a long time of application and absence of any kind of side effects. The advantages of introducing this product range in the various countries in Asia and US include the absence of any popular shaving foam with good fragrances. This range of products will allow the customers in the targeted markets to have high quality shaving foam in a number of fragrances. The customers can choose from a wide range of fragrances for the shaving foam according to their preferences. This will allow the brand to be positioned as a unique solution to the needs of the customers and will gain popularity and market share very quickly. This in turn allows the brand to gain a lot of profit in return of its investments in the corresponding market segment (Errunza, 2000).

2. Marketing mix for two different segments in consumer markets in the newly selected market

The marketing mix is the most important component of the marketing strategy of any organisation. The marketing mix consists of a number of elements such as product, price, promotion and place. All of these elements define the marketing strategy and processes to be used by the management of the organisation to communicate the features of its products to the potential customers in the target market and increase the sale of the corresponding product. The new product range described in the previous section can be marketed in two different segments such as the college going individuals and the businesspersons working in various corporate industries.

College going individuals

The marketing mix for the marketing segment consisting of the college going individuals consists of the price which is affordable for the targeted customers, the product which is of good quality and the promotional activities which focus on the needs of the college going students in the society.

Businesspersons

The marketing mix for the segment consisting of the businesspersons contains the price which is not a constraint in relation to the quality, the product which provides premium quality and the promotional activities which focus on the people working in various corporates (Zeithaml, 2006).

3. Distribution strategies

The process of distribution of the products consists of various activities which allow the products to be available for the end customers to buy from various sources. The process of distribution is one of the elements of the marketing mix of the new range of products under the brand name of Aquatouch. There are a number of strategies which are used for completing the distribution process of a particular product. The Aquatouch product range can use the intensive distribution strategy to distribute the products to various retail stores and supermarkets across the country of operation. This distribution strategy allows the maintenance of high quantity of the products in various retail stores and supermarkets. The distribution strategy of the Aqua touch range of product should use various channels of transporting the products to the retailers which allows them to be available directly to the customers (Hawkins, 2009). The importance of the distribution strategies can be defined by the increase defficiency of the organisation to provide the retailers with the products, which in turn increase the sales of the products. This results in the increase in profits for the organisation. The distribution strategy can be improved by the inclusion of the various information and communication technologies in the entire strategy and included strategies.

4. How prices are set to reflect an organisation’s objectives and market conditions in a newly selected market. Recommended pricing strategy for new product which will reflect the different market conditions

Price is one of the important elements of the marketing mix for a combination of specific market segment and a product. The price of the product is determined by the management of the organisation based on the reports of the marketing department and extensive market researches. The price of the product of the product range named “Aquatouch” depends on a number of factors including the objectives of the brand of the organisation and the marketing research methodologies utilised for the specific product of the brand. The pricing strategy is the strategy used by the management of the organisation to determine the price of a unit of the product. The pricing strategy depends on the market condition. The new shaving foam, Aquatouch from the organisation can be priced depending on the buying behaviour of the customers in the targeted market segment. The people in Asia generally need an affordable personal care product in comparison to the people in the US. So the pricing decisions for the saving foam can be taken according to that. The pricing strategy of the shaving foam also depends on the standard of living and the economic status of the targeted market segment (Hawkins, 2009). The pricing strategy includes the recommended price of a unit of “Aquatouch” to be 5 US Dollars which can be defined by the summation of the cost of 4 US Dollars and the desired profit of 1 US Dollar from each unit of the product. This pricing strategy can be backed up by the value strategy which provides the college going students with premium products in the affordable range.

5. Promotional strategy

The requirement asked to provide a promotional strategy, which has been done with the recommended elements.
The promotional activities of an organisation are the activities done by the marketing department of the organisation to increase the curiosity of the potential customers in the targeted market regarding the specific product of the organisation. There are a number of promotional strategies which can be used by the marketing department of the organisation. Some of the promotional mix elements can be combined to create the promotional strategy of the shaving foam brand, “Aquatouch”.

Direct marketing

The organisation can utilise the direct marketing promotional activity in which the brand representatives communicate directly with the customers. This allows the management of the organisation collect the feedbacks of the customers in terms of the features of the product and get opportunities to enhance the quality of the product, which in turn allows the organisation to increase the sale of the product.

Personal selling

The personal selling promotional activity of the Aquatouch brand allows the trained salespersons of the brand to complete the process of sale by establishing a personal relation with the customers.

6. How the additional elements of the extended marketing mix can be used by Unilever PLC (UL) to enhance customer experience and improve customer service

The extended marketing mix contains some extra elements along with the regular elements of the marketing mix. These extra elements in the extended marketing mix of Unilever PLC are the people, process and physical evidence. The process element allows the management to focus on the recruitment of the candidates with suitable skills for various business processes of the organisation. The people element of the marketing mix also includes various training and development activities which in turn increase the performance of the individuals and the experience of the customers.The process element of the extended marketing mix of Unilever PLC is concerned about the various business processes involved in the creation and delivery of the products to the customers in the target market. The focus on these processes allows the management of Unilever PLC to increase their qualities, which in turn enhances the experience of the customers. The last element of the extended marketing mix of Unilever PLC is the physical evidence of the products. The physical evidence of the product defines how the product presented to the customers. Focus on the presentation of the products allows Unilever PLC to enhance the experience of the customers (Hawkins, 2009).

7. Differences in marketing products to businesses (B2B) rather than consumers (B2C)

The major difference between the B2B and B2C marketing is the form of the communication. Generally the B2B marketing processes involve the sharing of a number of facts, numerical data and complex features. But in case of the B2C marketing, the communication is simpler in comparison to the B2B marketing processes. TheB2B customers of the particular product of the organisation focus on the efficiency and performance of the product (Juin, 2000). But the B2C customers of the particular product of the organisation focus on the satisfaction of their corresponding needs. The B2B customers require all the minute details regarding the product of the organisation. But the B2C customers need the product to satisfy their needs along with the basic information. The Business to business marketing activities of the brand, Aquatouch should include the communication of various features which can be reused by the customers. The organisation should focus on providing all the details of the products to the next organisation along with various facts regarding the benefits and advantages of buying the product (Cravens, 2008).

8.“Service” and the characteristics of service

Service can be defined as an intangible commodity which allows the consumer to have some values in exchange of their monetary resources. There are some common characteristics of a service which helps the determination of the quality and type of the service provided by the organisation. Services are intangible, which means they can’t be felt or seen physically. The intangibility of the services allows the organisation not to bother regarding the process of maintaining an inventory for the services. The services have no requirement of being maintained in an inventory as they are consumed as soon as they are produced and as they are intangible. The quality of a particular service can be a variable. The quality of a particular services can’t be exactly same every time and varies every single time. There is transportation activity involved in the process of delivering the services to the respective consumers. The consumer of the services are always involved in the delivery process of the services. The mass generation of the services along with delivery is very difficult and requires a large number of resources (Aaker, 2008).

9. How and why international marketing differs from domestic marketing

The domestic marketing defines the marketing processes of an organisation for its products in a single country. But the international marketing processes allow the organisation to sell its products beyond the border of the operating country. The international marketing differs from the domestic marketing in a wide number of ways. The international marketing processes experience involvement of various types of laws and regulations which are established in various countries of operation. The international marketing processes also include the effects of a large number of competitors operating in the same industry.The shaving foam product Aquatouch of the organisation can be marketed internationally. The management of the organisation has to focus on positioning the product in the targeted international market segments to ensure that the potential customers see several features and advantages unique to the various similar products available in the corresponding international market. The various marketing processes for the shaving foam also have to focus on the various laws and regulations in the international markets (Doyle, 2009).The brand is getting ready to enter into the Asian market, which allows a number of opportunities for the products of the brand. The markets in India and China, provides stable political condition which allows the international business operations of the brand to be smoother.The economic conditions of the of these markets are also quite high which allows the organisation to have a lot of opportunitiesin terms of the sales of the premium range of products.

Conclusion

This report covered a number of activities involved in the marketing model of a product of an organisation. The report allows the readers to have an insight to the various marketing activities of the various products of Unilever PLC. The report also includes suggestions for a number of marketing activities for some of the existing and new products of Unilever PLC.

References

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