Unit 2 Marketing Essentials Assignment Sample

Executive summary

The Marketing Essentials Assignment project is about the marketing strategies and its concepts and Unilever UK has been taken for understanding these concepts. The project contains the external and internal environment analysis of Unilever UK. Tools like PESTEL and SWOT are used for this analysis. The assignment is divided into two parts where in the first part, situationalanalysis is done for Unilever and its competitive advantage will be discussed, the second part chooses the product of Unilever, Surf for STP analysis and for discussing the marketing mix as recommendations for Surf to position itself in the rural and semi-rural markets of UK.
In order to meet competition in the industry of UK, Unilever has to plan its marketing strategy so that it can remain connected with the customers and provide them valuable products which increase the brand reputation of the company in UK. In conclusion, it can be said that effective marketing strategies are the life blood of the business and Unilever also need updated information so that it can develop improved marketing strategies to meet the objectives of the business.

Part 1:

Introduction

Marketing strategy refers to the plans which are made by the companies for achieving the organisational goals and objectives. These plans are made after focussing on the product mix and a proper market research so that the company can gain maximum profits and competitive advantage in the industry. Some of the key conceptsof marketing strategy include situational analysis of organisation, competitive analysis, market research, marketing mix, etc.
This assignment is based on the analysis of Unilever, which is a famous FMCG brand operating across the world. It serves around two billion people every day and helps them to make their lives better. It has around 400 brands and operates in 190 countries to provide them sustainable life. The company is a multinational organisation headquartered in London, UK.
The main objective of the assignment is to evaluate, analyse and recommend the marketing strategies for Unilever in context of UK.

Unit 2 Marketing Essentials Assignment Sample

Situational analysis

Situational analysis is a method to analyse the internal and external environment of an organisation so that the capabilities of the organisation can be understood and future strategies can be developed for business and its growth (Walker, et. al., 2015).
Here, the situational analysis of Unilever, UK can be done with the help of methods like PESTEL analysis and SWOT analysis.

PESTEL analysis

PESTEL analysis is a framework with the help of which. The marketers can analyse and monitor the external environment factors of the business which have an impact on the organisation. It also helps in identifying the threats and opportunities for the business. PESTEL stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal factors which are known as macro factors as well (Sun, et. al., and 2014).

PESTEL analysis

PESTEL analysis

PESTEL analysis of Unilever UK

Political Environment

This shows that on what level the inference of government in the country influence the business of the organisation. This includes manypolices and legislations. The headquarters of Unilever is in London so political systems of UK are in practice.Unilever has to follow certain rules and policies which are made by the government of UK. It has to follow the Equality Act, codes and practices (Blythe, 2013).

The stability of government in UK also provides it a benefit of smooth operations of business in the country. The political relations of UK are good with other countries which help Unilever to take advantage of it and can import or export the material, labour, products and other resources. For e.g. Unilever purchases raw materials from the countries which provide it in cheap rates, it lowers down the total cost of production and increases the profit margins. Another example can be taken of recent separation of Britain from European Union known as BREXIT worldwide, it hampered the business of Unilever UK as well (Sheffield, 2016).

That is how political environment supports or hampers the business of Unilever UK (Fifield, 2012).

Economical

environment

Economic factors have major impact on the business because they affect the profits of the business. These factors are like economic growth of the country, interest rates, inflation rates or net disposable income of the consumers (Fifield, 2012).

All these factors impact the business of Unilever UK. UK faced a major challenge in the country in the form of global recession in 2008. The financial crunch lowered down the employment in the country and also the spending power of people which impacts the demands of the products of Unilever. A global player has to be aware of any economic activity in the world because it hampers its business as well (Allen, 2016).

The company has to make future strategies keeping in mind the economic factors of the country and global economic factors as well.

Social environment

Socio cultural factors are those factors which show the lifestyle, attitudes and values of people in a particular country. These factors are growth of population, demographicfactors, prefernces and choices and so on.

Unilever has taken care of these factors in UK and in any other country it operates. For e.g. Unilever has to concentrate on the changing demands of people. Nowadayspopulation of UK is becoming more diet conscious which creates a demand for healthy diet foods and organic products. So, Unilever UK has to invest more in food production of Diet and healthy foods (Kotler, 2013).

These factors impact the business profits and image in the markets.

Technological environment

Technology is changing very rapidly and it impacts the products and services of the business. For Unilever in UK, technology has proved as a boon because with the increase in the usage of technology, Unilever has started selling and marketing its products online through websites.

Unilever UK also uses social media platforms for the objective of promotion of its products. It conducts surveys online and encourages the customers to provide their feedbacks on the products so that improvements can be made in the products for providing better experience to the customers (Ferrell & Hartline, 2008).

Technology also provided better connectivity to Unilever which helps in it maintaining better distribution networks and continuous innovations in products.

Environmental environment

This is the recent concept which merged in last two decades. This environment analysis has become important because of the shortage of raw materials, increase in pollution, increase in the importance of business ethics, etc.

Unilever being the leading brand of FMCG products in the market of UK I responsible for the environment and its safety. It tries to adopt such production practices which do not harm the environment. For e.g. Unilever make detergent powders which uses less water. It also packs its products in the ecofriendly packaging material. It also runs certain plans and programs for maintaining sustainability of the environment so that the future generations can be benefitted (Shankar, et. al., 2012).

Legal environment

These are related to the law system and legal regulations in the country. For example, health and safety regulations, employment laws, human rights, standards for advertising, etc.

Unilever has to take care of all the related laws so that its operations can be carried without any barrier. Unilever UK follows the corporate laws and standards which are required and also pay taxes on the business it does. Unilever pays the standard VAT at the rate of 20% (Unilever, 2016).

SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis is the tool which helps the organisation to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats so that the future strategies can be developed on the basis of this internal environment of business.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Unilever is a well-known brand in UK and across the world. It has wide popularity. Unilever has a wide range of products fulfilling the demands of major sections of the society in UK. The products of Unilever are customised according to the latest trends, choices and preferences of the company. The distribution channel of Unilever is excellent and is very prompt. The marketing strategies and activities of the company are super effective.	Unilever focuses more on urban parts of UK but it does not focus more on rural population of the country. The prices of the products of Unilever are higher which is ultimately charged by the final consumers. So, consumers do not prefer high priced products. The competition is very high in the industry as there are many other big players like Proctor and Gamble are giving tough competition to Unilever.
Opportunities	Threats
Rural markets are still untapped and Unilever can cover these areas for more market share in UK. Online marketing and retailing is a big opportunity for UnileverUK Unilever can acquire smaller companies which produces quality products and the customers have preference for them	The merging competitors in the industry are a big threat for UnileverUK. People also prefer the private labels by the supermarkets which are cheaper and good in quality. Reduced margins in profits in FMCG products. Due to economic crisis, the business climate has become complex so Unilever should focus more on its liquidity rather than profitability

Competitive advantage

Competitive advantage refers to that special feature, product, brand name or any other characteristic which makes a brand better than its competitors in the industry. There are many companies in UK which produces markets and sells FMCG products. The biggest competitor of Unilever in UK is Proctor & Gamble. The famous brands owned by Unilever in UK are Axe, Dove, Knorr, Lipton, Surf, Sunsilk and more while P& G constitutes brands like Ariel, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Olay, oral-B, Tide and more in UK (Unilever.com, 2015)
UK has a competitive advantage in the markets of UK because of its high brand image. It provides quality products to the customers and it has millions of loyal customers. The brands of Unilever UK are world famous and are consumed across the world. Unileveralso participates and runs many social responsibility programs which help poor people and raise awareness among the population for conserving environment.
It brings innovative products for its customers which keeps on changing in terms of features or packaging, it maintains the interest in the people to buy and use the products of the company, Unilever in UK adopts creative marketing and selling techniques which helps it in creating the awareness of its products among the consumers and this brings the competitive advantage to the company(Unilever, 2016).

Evaluation of current marketing strategy

Unilever prepares marketing strategies after considering the analysis of its environment. The marketing strategies of Unilever are explained over here in terms of Growth, Sales trend and profit alibility of the company.

Growth

Unilever started its business operations after a merger between two companies in UK. It established its business in 1929 in UK.
Unilever is growing since 1929 and now it is the global brand.
The company is overcoming different challenges since then and now is a global leader in FMCG products.
The company has survived the depressions and now positioned itself in the 21^st century with the help of its diverse product range.
It has around 170000 employees in UK and these employees are committed to provide best products to the customers of Unilever.
The company focuses on Long term growth by operating along with its stakeholders

Sales Trends

Being a global leader, Unilever in UK has big sales volumes.
The company continuously uses its effective marketing channels and strategies to increase its sales and perform better than its competitors.
The company has major 13 brands in UK which bringssales of €1 billion to the company.
The company has a sales growth of 4.1% in 2015 while the standard global growth was 3%. The volume growth of Unilever in UK was 2.6%

Profitability

The earning per share growth of Unilever was 14% in 2015.
Unilever has been successful in showing increase in profits even in the volatile markets by using its effective marketing strategies.
The company plans to increase the budgets for advertising and marketing which increase its sales numbers and ultimately the profits .

Part 2: Recommendations

STP analysis

STP analysis refers to the process which is used to divide the markets into various segments and then target those selected segments to position a brand matching the suitability of the target consumers. So, it is Segmentation, targeting and positioning which assist the businesses to achieve their set targets and bring more growth to the business. Unilever constitutes many brands in UK, one of which is Surf, which is a detergent brand introduced in 1952 by Unilever in UK (Blythe, 2013). It is also a globally recognised brand and one of the leaders in its own sector. STP analysis of Surf in UK is explained below:

Segmentation

This is the first step of STP process. Segmentation refers to the division of markets into different parts on the basis of various factors like Demographic factors, Geographic factors, psychographic factors and behavioural factors. Segmentation is done to value customers and to serve their needs properly. It is for identifying the correct customers of the product. Segmentation helps in determining the strategies for selling the products in the market (Kotler P. , 2013).

The segmentation of Surf in rural areas of UK can be done on the below given basis:

1	Demographic Segmentation	Age between 20-50 Housewives and maids Upper and middle sections of society.
2	Geographic segmentation	Rural markets Semi-rural markets like smaller towns(Ferrell & Hartline, 2008).
3	Psychographic Segmentation	Regular advertisements High quality detergents Offers and discounts to retailers
4	Behavioural Segmentation	Based on the usage rate and loyalty of customers. The customers who need quality rather than low priced detergent (Ferrell & Hartline, 2008).

The above segmentation clears that Surf should segment its markets on the basis of geographical segmentation because it has to develop marketing strategies for Surf for rural population. Surf, along with urban areas need to capture rural markets because the competition is increasing in the markets and rural untapped area is an opportunity for the brand like Surf. So the company has to focus on the behaviour and demands of the rural population for selling its product in the rural and semi-rural markets (Ferrell & Hartline, 2008).

Targeting

Once segmentation is done, targeting is done for the specific segments. Surf will have to target rural and semi-rural areas where most of the people prefer local products as they are lower priced. Surf has to target those customers who need quality products in spite of high prices of those products. For this, Surf will collect the information about the substitute products and what all strategies are adopted by them. Keeping in mind all these points, surf will develop strategies for the rural markets (Walker, et. al., 2015).The target market of Surf detergent is:

Rural customers
Customers who need quality products
Housewives and maids
High or middle income customers

This targeting is done by considering the type of consumers, choice of consumers or income of consumers. The marketing strategies will be decided and made after considering the target markets (Walker, et. al., 2015).

Positioning

Positioning means how the brand is placed before the customer so that it attracts maximum no of customers. It creates an image in the minds of customers. Surf targets rural people and semi-rural population of UK which are particularly the housewives and maids. Surf should position its products as a value product which provides maximum value to the customers. It should advertise its product in women magazines for catching the attention of women, it can also be advertised on radios and televisions and should design the advertisement to which rural population can connect (Sun, et. al., and 2014).
Surf can design a new marketing strategy in which it introduces a new surf product which is stronger in removing dust and stains from the clothes. The campaign should highlight the lower price of the product compared to the competitors and should highlight the features of it. It can take the help of promotional techniques like free locusassignments. discounts or extra quantity while introducing the product in the rural markets. Surf could use the concept of corporate social responsibility with its new positioningstrategy. It can initiate a program where a part of revenue from the sales of Surf products will be contributed to charities or for some other social purpose like education for poor children. This will connect rural population with the brand and they will demand for the product to contribute indirectly for the social cause (Sun, et. al., and 2014).

Recommended Objectives and goals

Surf needs to get established in the rural and semi-rural areas so that it can tap more consumers and more market share. In order to meet competition, Unilever is urging for covering every possibility and grabbing every opportunity to increase its sales numbers and profitability in the market and to become no. 1 brand in the industry of detergents in UK. The Objective and goals of Surf, UK for the year 2017 is to increase its growth to 5% so that it can have highest market share in UK (Sun, et. al., and 2014).

Recommended marketing mix for Surf in UK

Marketing mix is a tool which helps in developing the marketing strategies for product or a brand by using 4 P’s i.e. Product, price, promotion and place (Borden, 2011). In this part, the marketing mix will be discussed for recommending and developing the strategies so that the objectivesof Surf can be achieved.

Product:product is the substance which is provided or offered to the customer by the company to satisfy its needs and wants. Surf already has a wide product range which specialises in fragrance or dirt removal. Also, these products are available in different forms like bar, cakes, liquids, powder, etc. For tapping rural and semi urban areas, Surf should develop smaller packets of the products which can be available at lower prices and the rural population can think of purchasing them. It is the psychology of people that they go for price; they do not notice the exact quantity of the product. Surf should develop the products which uses less water so that the problem of shortage of water can be solved in rural areas. The packaging of the products should be attractive and should be done keeping in mind the interests of the rural population of UK
Price: the products of Surf are normally high priced but Surf should pay special attention on price minimisation while operating in rural markets. It has to do proper market research to find out the prices at which the competitors are providing products to the people. Also, it should provide value products so that the customers do not have to think before paying prices for the products. Surf could pay attractive commissions to the local retailers so that they also recommend and sell the products of surf to the customers (Singh, 2012).
Place:place is where surf sells its products. It is recommended that Surf should sell its products in rural markets through local retailers because the customers in rural areas do not have more access to supermarkets or online channels and they interact more with the local retailers. Surf should maintain cooperative relationships with the retailers so that they recommend the products of surf to the customers. Surf is also recommended to build warehouses in the rural areas so that the availability of the product can be maintained at right level (Borden, 2011).
Promotion: Promotion is how the company places its products in front of customers to boost sales of the product. It is recommended to Surf to promote its products by advertisements which are designed to attract rural population of UK. Surf should use promotional strategies like discounts or contests in which gifts can be provided to the customers so that customers get attracted and purchase the products of Surf. The retailers can also be provided with special discounts and prizes in completing the targets given by the company. This will help the company and brand to meet the competition in the rural areas and to make its strong presence in rural markets. Surf is recommended to involve itself in CSR activities so that it can gain strong brand image among the customers. Sales promotion and personal selling can be used effectively for promoting the product of Surf(Borden, 2011).

Conclusion

It can be concluded that Unilever, being the market leader in UK have the responsibility of providing the best and value products to its customers. Unilever has a wide range of products which are well known globally. To develop marketing strategies for better growth in business, Unilever UK have to do external and internal environment analysis which helps in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the company. Surf is the well-known brand of Unilever which needs to expand its market in rural and semi-rural areas. STP analysis has been done for the same and to achieve the objectives and goals of the company, marketing mix strategies has been recommended to Surf. It will bring effectiveness in the operations of Surf and it would be able to increase its market share in the rural areas and semi-rural area as well in UK.

References

Allen, K. (2016). Brexit 'would trigger economic and financial shock' for UK. Theguardian.
Banting, P., & Randolph, R. E. (2010). Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science . (Springerink).
Blythe, J. (2013). Principles and practice of marketing. . Sage.
Borden, N. H. (2011). "The Concept of the Marketing Mix". In Schwartz, George. Science in marketing. Wiley marketing series.
Churchill, G., & Brown, T. (2009). Basic Marketing research, 7th edition. Thomas South-Western.
Ferrell, O.C. & Hartline, M.D. 2008, Marketing strategy, 4e []. edn, Thomson South-Western, Mason, OH.
Fifield, P. 2012;1998;, Marketing Strategy, 2nd;2; edn, Taylor and Francis, Saint Louis.
Kotler, P. (2013). Principles of Marketing.