Unit 13 Marketing Strategy Assignment – Persil

Program	Diploma in Business
Unit Number and Title	Unit 13 Marketing Strategy – Persil
QFC Level	Level 5

Introduction

The unit 13 marketing strategy assignment – Persil has been drafted over the marketing strategy of the Persil brand. In order to have a better understanding of the marketing strategies and the current position of the brand within the market situational analysis has been drawn. Through SWOT analysis, the external and internal factors of the organisation are assessed. PESTLE analysis is conducted to analyse the impact of the external business environmental factors on the business practices and market strategies of Persil. Competitive advantages through the unique selling proposition are also discussed. STP strategy of Persil has been discussed in this report. SMART mnemonics are used to recommend proper and accurate objectives for the marketing strategies. By using the market mix elements, product, price, place and promotion strategy of Persil are analysed. On the basis of the marketing mix, marketing strategies are recommended to Persil.

Part 1

Situational analysis

SWOT analysis

The internal business environment analysis can be done through an analysis of the current strengths and weaknesses of the organisation. Threats and opportunities will indicate the external factors which can impact the organisational business in the future. (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010)

Strengths: The Persil Brand has the major strengths from the two parent companies, namely Henkel and Unilever. The brand has employed more than 167,000 people. The brand has been gaining major strengths from the market research budget. Brand recognition among developed countries and emerging countries is also increasing the number of customers. The geographical spread is also a major concern of the brand, which has been providing strength to the brand. (Fischer, and Henkel, , 2010)

• High Brand awareness among international markets
• Alliance with Henkel and Unilever provides the brand with superior identification and profitable launches in various countries
• Emotional connection with the customers
• High engagement of staff and technical expertise, and adding innovation within the production
• Various product lines are attracting the customers’ attention towards the brand
• Strong brand image among foreign consumers
• Brand’s visibility and good distribution
• Market penetration abroad
• The parent company reduced the brand portfolio from 1000 to 400 and increased the revenues by 50% as well as the profit margin by 100% (Fischer and Henkel, 2010)

Weakness: The broad product portfolio is a weakness of the organisation. The long range of products is shifting the focus from individual products’ efficiency to marketing effectively. As the prices are higher than the competitors for similar products, the consumers in most nations prefer the rival brands over Persil. Though the prices are higher for offering better quality, this has been negatively impacting the customers’ preferences for the brand.

• Association with two huge companies, Henkel and Unilever, is giving strong competition in both the domestic market and the foreign market.
• The focus on the emerging market has shifted the focus from the established market
• The current loss in the domestic share has been impacting the business
• More focus on the technology has been shifting the focus from the needed products (Slater, Hult, and Olson, 2010)

Opportunities:

• Increasing interest in eco-friendly products is providing the ability to leverage the strengths
• New lines of products are increasing sales as well as engaging the attention of consumers.
• Niche market
• Need technological improvements in different production and distribution channels (Slater, Hult, and Olson, 2010)

Threats:

• Slump growth in the world economy
• Rising price wars are impacting the business expenses and reducing the profit margin.
• A rise in the cost of fuel is impacting the distribution and budget.
• Higher completion in the international markets
• Resistance to change has been effective over the brand image (Slater, Hult, and Olson, 2010)

PESTLE analysis :

Main aspects of PESTLE Analysis

1. Political: being under the two well-known organisations, the brand has to face different political impacts. Operating internationally also impacts the business as different country has different laws and political issues. As the British political system has been facing different issues and the Dutch political system is in a time of instability, Persil has been facing difficulties in operating in these countries. Elections in these two countries and the coalition are providing hurdles in the business. Governmental frameworks have significant implications for business policies. Changes in the Value Added Tax are also being implemented in business conduct. As the Netherlands has been a member of the European Union, the nation has been facilitating trading among the member states. Operating within the member states of the EU is decreasing the trade barriers. In recent measures, the exit of Britain from the EU has been impacting the economy of the nation as well as the business. Political unrest in the Middle East is influencing the market share. (Mitchell, Wooliscroft, and Higham, 2010)

2. Economic: Within Europe, the market is still facing the effects of the post-war period. These are also impacting the buyers’ behaviour and household consumption. Rising unemployment rate, wages have impacted the business activities. Increasing competitors in the European market have had adverse effects on profit potential. High unemployment, low wages are decreasing consumer demands. (Mitchell, Wooliscroft, and Higham, 2010) Due to the current economic tide, the consumers in the European market are avoiding expensive products. As a result, the brand has been facing difficulties in placing products. Emerging markets like China and Asia are providing opportunities.

3. Social environment: The increasing trend of hygiene has been adopted by Persil by relentlessly improving the hygiene standards. The acceleration of the ageing population is also impacting the demand for products. Apart from this, the low literacy within the population also impacts the success of the marketing strategy of advertisements in print media. This also impacts the human resource availability. By recruiting migrant resources, the brand can be able to face this impact. The health and ethical consciousness among consumers is increasing with the globalisation trend. (Mitchell, Wooliscroft, and Higham, 2010)

4. Technological: increasing usage of technologies, especially among the young generations, has been influencing the brand to implement modern technologies. The communications with the customers are also done through modern technologies. Persil implemented modern technologies in the production to increase efficiency and enhance the quality. Adding new inventions is also required to achieve excellence. Persil includes innovations and high technical aspects within the production for achieving excellence. Persil has been improving brand communications through the internet and including e-business within its business approaches. Through IT expertise, the cost of the overall operations is minimised by Persil. Advanced bioscience, nanotechnology, and advanced material science are the concerning areas. The readiness of the products and the prices, shopping online, and digital activities are also crafting the marketing strategy of Persil. (Mitchell, Wooliscroft, and Higham, 2010)

5. Legal: Significant legislative changes are impacting the area of different operations. Different laws like anti-discrimination law, equality laws, people management, etc, are concerned areas in this environment. Legislative frameworks are also focusing on the areas of ageing populations, retirements, pensions, etc. In human resource management, Persil has to be concerned about these legislative frameworks. Multinational activities or international trading are also influenced by the legal framework of different countries. The legal framework regarding the hygiene factors is followed by the brand in its production stage. Taxation policies and fiscal and monetary policies of the government are followed by the organisation to avoid the legal consequences. (Lamberti, and Noci, 2010)

6. Environmental: Consumer health and safety issues are of concern to the brand. The environmental issues are also related to the social corporate responsibilities. By enhancing and implementing the policy of health and safety and maintaining proper health measures within the production corporate and social responsibilities are performed by Persil. Regarding this, Persil with Unilever introduced training programmes to different business groups to ensure compliance with the organisation’s Standards for Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Care and the management of ISO standards. (Lamberti, and Noci, 2010) In response to the environmental degradation, Unilever, with joint participation with Henkel, is cooperating with the governmental bodies in the waste management system. Under the requirement of the Kyoto Protocol, the carbon emission reduction strategy is also generated by Persil.

Competitive advantage (USP)

Persil has been operating within a string competitive market. For survival, the organisations try to have a better position in the market. Competitive advantage can be gained through competitive strategy, which includes cost focus, differentiation, differentiation focus cost leadership. Leadership within a market can be approached through cost leadership or differentiation of the products. (Nath, Nachiappan and Ramanathan, 2010)

• USP: Persil has adopted a unique selling proposition or USP for its competitive advantages. Unique Selling Proposition is a factor which is used to differentiate the products from similar products of the rivals in terms of the lowest cost, highest quality or uniqueness. The unique selling proposition is a form of marketing which has been adapted by brands to convince customers to switch to the brands. This strategy states the reason behind the differentiation between other products and the organisation’s products. The USP strategy is the key to effective selling by pinpointing the uniqueness of the brand among the homogeneous competitors. (Nath, Nachiappan and Ramanathan, 2010)
• USP of Persil: Persil has been using the USP strategy through the proper implementation of its two phases, such as market research and creativity. Through market research, Persil has been gaining the acknowledgement of the market perspectives, competitors’ strategy in customer approach and the customers’ preferences. Through the market research, the company has been carefully analysing other homogenous companies’ ads and marketing messages. Through this analysis, the brand Persil has been able to acknowledge how the companies are distinguishing themselves. (Nath, Nachiappan and Ramanathan, 2010) Persil develops a strong brand image by using the USP, such as “Persil washes whiter” or by promoting the product's unique ability to provide hygiene better than other competitors.

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Current marketing strategy:

Marketing objectives: the current marketing objectives of Persil are to attract potential customers, engage social customers and create a social network platform. The current market plan of Persil is Persil Cleaner Planet, which has been developed to produce environmentally friendly products for all ages. The main objectives are:

• Increase brand awareness
• Increase current sales
• Reduce carbon footprint (Persil.co.uk., 2016)

Mission: The mission of Persil behind the current marketing strategy is to influence customers by putting value and trust in the relationship. Through proper implementations of the health and safety policies, the target market is approached by Persil. (Persil.co.uk., 2016)

Strategies: The marketing strategies are adapted by the brand to increase brand awareness in foreign markets. The current strategies are seeking to provide appropriate brand messages to the wide range of customers. Other perspectives of the strategies are to place strategic relationships with the parent companies and also establish mutually beneficial for have visibility of each other. Different marketing strategies of Persil:

Online activities: a global digital marketing strategy has been implemented by Unilever for the promotion of Persil in more than ten international markets. The digital drive of the brand is known as Omo outside UK. The brand has created a web portal for providing proper information about the products and a range of training tips. Apart from it, the web portal is also providing information on family-oriented content. The branded web portal is also upgrading the existing information within the current website by encouraging customers to become planet-friendly. Regarding this online advertisement campaign has also been arranged. Apart from the advertisement, a marketing drive has also been organised named Comfort Pure. YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram are approached for the promotional activities through online, marketing campaigns are done by Persil for placing the product's awareness in cost cost-effective manner. (Berthon, Pitt, Plangger, and Shapiro, 2012)

Offline activities: complementary products ads through TV and SMS, along with print advertisements through magazines and newspapers, are conducted by Persil. The offline marketing activities are done to target a wide range of consumers of all ages.

CRM: marketing strategies of Persil are also developed on the basis of customer relationship management. In the recent market strategies of Persil, the brand has been increasing the customers’ relationship approaches by placing online transactions, customer feedback, etc. (Berthon, Pitt, Plangger, and Shapiro, 2012)

Part 2

Segmentation, targeting and positioning

Segmentation:

The wide market needs to be segmented through proper measures. Segmentation of a market must be done for dividing the wide market into smaller components targeting considering different criteria such as behavioural segmentation, geographical segmentation, Demographic segmentation, etc. By using these categories, the customers are divided into subsets of the market. (Blythe and Megicks, 2010). Persil adapt demographic segmentation by dividing the market in terms of age, population, gender, family size, income, and education. Through this segmentation, the customers and target markets can be divided into proper measures, and the brand will be able to make efficient marketing. (Blythe and Megicks, 2010). Persil can segment the market by dividing the consumers by considering the behavioural segmentation criteria. The users of the laundry and home care, adhesive technologies and beauty care are segmented by Persil. The behaviours of the users of laundry services and their needs, preferences over the product’s quality and quantity, must be analysed before segmenting the market. (Blythe and Megicks, 2010)

Targeting the market:

Targeting the market is necessary for placing the product in an efficient manner. The customers and their preferences over those products must be analysed by Persil for targeting the segmented markets. For targeting the market, the types of people who are included within the market segment should be defined. (Lee, Park, Yoon, and Park, 2010). The segmented market can be targeted with efficiency. The consumers who have a consciousness of the environment and ethical issues related to the environment should be targeted by Persil. Considering the behavioural market segments, the consumers who prefer the new technological advances within the products should be targeted with efficient measures. New parents are also targeted by Persil, along with the baby boom. (Blythe and Megicks, 2010). Considering that customers who have better income and upper-class backgrounds can be targeted for the higher-priced products. The householders who have families along with kids from mass, medium and upper-class backgrounds can be targeted through an efficient marketing strategy. Through penetration pricing, Persil can target the customers who are trying to change their current brand of laundry products to more environmentally friendly products.

Positioning the product:

Positioning the products in the market includes three prime strategies: brand, product and price. Positioning is the marketing strategy which has been used for making a brand occupy a distinctive position in the competitive market. Through a positioning strategy, the brand can be placed in the minds of the customers. (Blythe and Megicks, 2010). Persil uses a proper positioning statement to attract potential customers towards the brand. Through the effective positioning message, the brand has been communicating its reliability as a laundry products company, along with its use of technologies for customer satisfaction. Persil has been positioning the customers based on four categories- emotional expensive, rational and cheap. Persil has placed its products within the market through the emotional, expensive and rational category of positioning. (Blythe and Megicks,2010). Persil has adapted competitive positioning by direct and indirect comparison to the comparative products, such as Tide. The brand has been defining the core benefits of the cleaning clothes better with the products of Persil, and also poses a challenge to the brand Tide. (Lee, Park, Yoon, and Park, 2010)

Recommended objectives and goals (SMART)

Goals and objectives: Goals of a plan or strategy are related to the overall result. The goals are the purpose towards which an attempt is directed. On the other hand, the objectives are related to the efforts or actions which are intended to accomplish the purpose defined in the goals. (Lee, Park, Yoon, and Park, 2010)

SMART framework: For marketing strategy, proper goals and objectives should be formed for the marketing activities. For specifying the marketing objectives, the use of the SMART tool is common. Through the SMART tool, the suitability of the objectives which are set for driving different strategies of the marketing. In the setting of the future goals and objectives of the marketing planning, the SMART mnemonic is helpful. The SMART objective definition:

• Specific: The objectives which are set for the Persil marketing strategy should be specific. The objectives should be sufficiently detailed to measure the real-world trouble and opportunities.
• Measurable: the objectives and goals should be measurable by placing a metric through adding qualitative and quantitative attributes.
• Actionable: the objectives should be actionable or achievable. The actionable objectives are required for improving the performance of the organisation. The objectives should be aligned with the corporate goals. The objectives should be set over action-oriented measures. (Lee, Park, Yoon, and Park, 2010)
• Time-bound: the time frame must be defined over the objectives and goals for achieving the goals within a proper accuracy. Objectives are short-term, but goals are long-term.

By considering the SMART framework, the goals and objectives of Persil’s marketing strategy are focused on customer acquisition, retention and conversion:

• Digital channel for marketing: Considering the marketing planning of Persil, it should achieve 10% of online revenue contribution within two years. (Lee, Park, Yoon, and Park, 2010)

• Acquisition objectives: The digital marketing of Persil should be measured over the objective of acquiring new online customers with an average profitability of £5.

• Conversion objectives: increase the current average sales through online orders as well as offline orders within one year. (Lee, Park, Yoon, and Park, 2010)

• Engagement objectives: increasing the active customer purchasing once a quarter.

Marketing Mix

• Product: the products are the units which should be placed to meet the customer needs in different markets. The products of Persil consist of environmentally friendly measures with non-biological hypoallergenic washing powders. The products of Persil have been made from the ingredients which are used for washing reusable nappies. (Lee, Park, Yoon, and Park, 2010) Through adding technologies, the products are made with advanced methods that attract customers who are using modern technologies for their laundry purposes. The products are also included proper packaging and branding is included within the product of Persil. The labelling of the products of Persil displays the suggestion section and advice on the washing tips, and promotes different environmental issues.
• Price: The prices of the products of Persil are higher than the general market prices of detergents. For attracting more customers from the mass market as well as the middle market, the penetration pricing strategy must be used. For the new products, the introductory price will be offered to the customers. The initial prices should be set in line with other biological products of Persil. After a certain time measure the prices will be increased by focusing on the close competitors and their prices. For achieving the maximum profit, the price must be reviewed in a constant manner. The pricing strategy should be developed with the objective of boosting the current sales and profits of the organisation. (Lee, Park, Yoon, and Park, 2010)
• Place: The distribution of the products should be planned with careful measures. The supply chains and distribution channels are referred to in the placement of the products. Through a proper distribution method, the accessibility of the products is increased. Persil has well-developed distribution channels through retailers and wholesalers. The international markets are approached with the internet marketing or e-marketing strategies. The online marketing channels are used to allow customers to select their preferred products and preferred channels. With a more personal relationship with the customers, the brand is trying to place a better commitment in the CRM strategy. (Lee, Park, Yoon, and Park, 2010)
• Promotion: Persil performs a wide range of marketing campaigns to reach the target markets. Advertisements are done through TV and printed media such as magazines. The brand is already spending the budget on the digital market, websites, social marketing, etc. Apart from these, partnership working with the local councils, different nursing homes or hospitals would also be effective to promote their environmentally friendly products. (Lee, Park, Yoon, and Park, 2010)

Recommended marketing strategies:

• Mission: The mission of marketing strategy of Persil must put the customers at the centre of the strategies. Through the highest quality and better implementation of the standards, the highest values can be offered to the customers. Through a proper marketing strategy, the brand will place trust and values within the customer relationship. The goal of Persil would be to maintain the leading position within the HDD category. (henkel.com, 2016)
• Vision and values of Persil: The vision and values of Persil guide the employees and staff to make the strategies successful. Through its vision and values, Henkel tends to unite the employees towards a common goal and the fundamental purpose of the organisation. The vision of Persil is to provide direction and a sense of destination to the staff and lead the human resources towards the aspiration of being the best within the competitive market. (henkel.com, 2016)
• Competitor analysis: In order to make the marketing strategy successful, the current strategies of the strong competitors within the market must be analysed. This will provide an idea of the uniqueness within the approaches. Considering the competitors of the Persil products, P&G has faced hurdles in the competition. P&G has been offering homogeneous products in the international market and reorganising the brand portfolio in the international market. (Cravens and Piercy, 2006)

Market strategies:

Online activities: With the increasing trends of the use of the internet among customers, the competitors are opting for advertising through the internet. Persil should consider certain approaches to the existing activities:

• E-marketing campaigns: This campaign will position the products within a larger mass market through cost-effective and time-effective measures. YouTube, Pop-ups in different web pages, creative advertisements through innovative video and audio measures in different social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc, should be done regarding e-marketing. (Cravens and Piercy, 2006)
• Online storyboards: Online storyboards are useful to encourage customers by presenting the stories of the customers who have experienced using the products of Persil. It can be used as a customer forum where customers can share their experiences with other customers. This will also increase the values and trust within the customer relationship.

Branding: the branding strategy of Persil would be the differentiation strategy through differentiation from the local products, the brand can place itself within the market and attract customers’ attention to increase their willingness to buy. (Cravens and Piercy, 2006)By analysing the distinct in the tastes of different customers, the brand places different creativity in packaging and product development. By considering the climate changes in the different countries, the components like bleach in the products should be added over local needs analysis.

Advertisements: advertisements through TV and print media, sampling the products in local markets, promotions, sponsorships bigger events like the Super Bowl are also necessary to provide proper information about the products. (Cravens and Piercy, 2006)

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Conclusion

The above marketing report has been drafted for the marketing strategy of a detergent company. Marketing strategies are essential for survival in the strong competition within the current market. The marketing strategy comprises goals, organisational objectives, and corporate objectives. In order to make the marketing strategy successful, proper marketing research should be conducted. Persil has been conducting market research in an efficient manner to have a successful measure within the market. By focusing on the product mix and marketing mix, the maximum profits can be obtained through a marketing strategy. The marketing strategies are done to convince the customers about the uniqueness of the products than the competitors.

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