Strategic Plan to Improve Marketing Management of Beauty Products in Unilever Company

Introduction Planning is one of the tools used in improving efficiency, effectiveness, and performance of organizations. Most organizations have realized and adopted this aspect. The management of organizations is no longer embracing general plans. They have realized the importance of strategic plans as they are more comprehensive than general plans.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Plan to Improve Marketing Management of Beauty Products in Unilever Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Strategic plans capture significant details and often bear positive results when implemented. These tools portray certain aspects that may seem insignificant, yet they have a big effect on the organizational activities. Strategic plans are prepared through strategic analysis (Abraham, 2012). Strategies are formulated basing on the strategic analyses. Strategic analyses give the management of organizations well informed and comprehensive bases of understanding organizational environment (Hitt, Ireland Hoskisson, 2012). Also, the interaction of the organization with the environment is well comprehended. Therefore, it becomes quite easy to raise the levels of efficiency and effectiveness in the organization. This is done by intelligent redeployment of organizational resources (Hitt, Ireland Hoskisson, 2012). Strategic plans are vital in improving all aspects of organizational performance. This paper presents a strategic plan of Unilever. This is a company that produces and distributes consumer products. The plan focuses on the marketing management of beauty products of the company. Background/Situational Analysis Unilever is a multinational company dealing in the manufacturing and distribution of consumer products. The company is ranked third on the list of companies dealing in consumer products based on the 2011 global business statistics. Unilever deals in a wide range of products among them hea lthcare products, as well as consumable products. The organization has been operating for more than 80 years. The Unilever Company is one of the most treasured companies in the world with its assets and intermediaries located in various parts of the world. The Unilever Company has set a leading pace in providing high quality beauty products (Jones, 2005).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The beauty products of the company are well known by quality all over the world. This has been critical in defining the organization to its customers worldwide. The company’s brand originates from the beauty products. Unilever operates through subsidiaries that help in easing its global operations. The demand for beauty products in the world continues to grow due to the rising number of people who are using beauty products. However, competition in the beauty industry is becoming stiffe r day by day as other beauty product companies are coming up. This implies competition on the side of the beauty products being produced by Unilever. In the recent times, there has been a twist in the beauty industry with more people turning to products with herbal ingredients. These products have been known as the natural beauty products. Individuals are emphasizing on the use of beauty products that have been manufactured using the natural ingredients. Many companies have come up with what is called the herbal beauty products (Peter Donnelly, 2009). Many changes are taking place in the beauty industry. This denotes competition for companies like Unilever that have been in the industry for a long time. A review on marketing improvement has been the focus of the organization. Unilever has been forced to incur great expenses on advertising so as to beat the competition. The focus on improving marketing management is important in ensuring that the company remains relevant in the mark et. There is still a certain level of trust in the company products by its network of customers (Piotraschke, 2008). Since the start of the 20th century, the company has embarked on aggressive marketing of its products. Enhanced advertising and promotion campaigns were held in the last decade than in any other period of the company’s existence. The year 2010 recorded the highest amount of money ever used by the company in advertisement. The company has also been focusing on diversity as one of the means through which to increase the number of customers while maintaining the existing ones. An example is the introduction of the anti-ageing beauty products. As it is now, competition is still imminent and is likely to persist into the future.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Plan to Improve Marketing Management of Beauty Products in Unilever Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Market strategizin g and implementation of both long-term and short-term plans has to be held up by the organization. It has been quite efficient for the short time and will be more helpful if it is done in a comprehensive way. The marketing department of Unilever will come up with improved strategies that will help them in understanding the external environment (Piotraschke, 2008). SWOT Analysis Strengths of Unilever Unilever is a large company with operations in five major continents – Asia, Europe, South and North Americas, as well as Africa. The company has a large revenue and capital base which comes from the diverse products of the company. Unilever deals in more than four hundred different products. This has helped to keep the capital base of the company intact even when a certain line of product is not performing well in the market. The firm has been operating on profits despite the challenges being faced in the world economy. Unilever operates in different parts of the world, and this is achieved through subsidiaries (Unilever Website, 2012). The company sells its products in more than 150 countries around the globe. Subsidiaries reduce centralized planning and the negative effects associated with such plans. Planning is thus easily decentralized hence addressing all issues existing in the specific environment and market. Having been in the market for over 80 years, Unilever has managed to establish a strong brand depicted in its products. Unilever has a wider coverage in the market already meaning that there are a sizable number of customers who have developed loyalty to their product (Unilever Website, 2012). Unilever has managed to enter and establish deeper roots in the local markets. It has knowledge of different cultures that preempt different consuming patterns in the market. All the four major brands of Unilever have gained a wider acceptance in the market. The company produces beauty products that cater for both men and women. Unilever has a well network ed marketing approach with each focusing on certain regions of the world (Unilever Website, 2012). The company has maintained a good record environmental sustainability. This starts with the ingredients which go into their beauty products. They conduct various tests to ensure that their products do not have negative impacts on the health of their customers. Also, they have a good record of adhering to environmentally conscious technology in producing the products (Piotraschke, 2008).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Weakness Unilever is constrained by many factors in its effort to boost its brand and the wide presence in the market. As good as it is for the company to concentrate on a big number of products, it also works to the disadvantage of the organization. Unilever has a high number of products, and this limits it from concentrating on improving the marketing of its beauty products. Monitoring its products in the market is a big challenge since the company has so many products. The monitoring of the product consumption patterns forms the basis on which effective strategies of improving marketing are crafted (Piotraschke, 2008). The company has a very big workforce. Aligning such a big workforce to the objectives of the organization is quite challenging. It entails the alignment and moderation of the needs of the workers first. This is a costly and time consuming affair, and it brings delays in the formulation and implementation of strategies. Unilever is choosing to partner with other com panies. This has a positive outlook on the inside. However, when it is looked at extensively and from a marketing point of view, the company is likely to lose its brand, position, and value. Unilever has taken too long to bring other products into the picture. The company has been relying on its ancient and pioneer products for quite long. It banks heavily on a certain number of beauty products in the personal care brands. This is quite risky as any of these products can lose value leading to the general loss of significance by the company (Piotraschke, 2008). Opportunities In the wake of the renewed sense of embracing beauty in the world, many people are embracing the use of beauty products. Beauty and fashion is graduating into a big industry. Unilever can use this chance to foster good relations through its product and become one of the major suppliers in the market. As people continue to embrace the use of beauty products, the company shall gain a significant number of customers . If the company engages in best customer practices by way of products and service offered, more customers will be attracted to the company (Piotraschke, 2008). It was noted earlier that Unilever has a good strategy with the local markets. The company interacts well with customers hence understanding the customers’ needs regarding their products. This is also an opportunity for the company as the developing countries get integrated in the global market. The fashion industry is gaining momentum in the developing countries. The company can easily capture these markets using previous experience in dealing with local markets (Aslam, Garcà ­a, Szczecina Lima de Faria, 2008). Diversity of products is an issue that is being addressed by the company. In the recent past, the company has been devising a number of new products to meet the changes in consumption. An example of such products is the Vaseline cocoa butter lotion and the anti-ageing beauty products. The changing beauty nee ds is creating an opportunity for Unilever. Unilever is crafting new products to match the needs in the market and enhance growth of the company (Piotraschke, 2008). Threats Competition in the beauty industry is stiff. Companies are coming up daily and manufacturing similar products as those that are manufactured by Unilever. This gives the company a hard time as it responds to the changing needs in the industry. Companies from different parts of the world, especially Asia, are manufacturing complementary products and attaching lower prices to these products in the market (Piotraschke, 2008). The shift in the consumption paradigm with the concept that herbal products are the best on human has affected the organization. Various herbal companies have used this to change the minds of consumers and have taken over a number of local markets (Piotraschke, 2008). A rise in prices of raw material has been witnessed in the recent times. The price of palm oil remains to be a worry for Unileve r. Palm oil is critical in the manufacturing process of beauty products. The cost of production has been rising, yet this cannot be easily passed to consumers owing to the competition observed in the industry. The increased cost poses a risk to Unilever. It can result to a shrink in profits. Increased competition is expected due to the entrance of other companies in the industry. Market focused and equally serious companies such as P G are flooding the market with their products. This is indeed a nightmare for Unilever given the many years it has enjoyed market dominance (Aslam, Garcà ­a, Szczecina Lima de Faria, 2008). Areas to be emphasized in the strategic plan As said earlier, strategic plans center on major issues in streamlining the functioning of an organization. As it is with this organization, the major focus will be on improving the marketing management of the personal beauty products. From the analysis, the marketing management of Unilever is not strong enough to deal with competition and other challenges in the marketing environment. The marketing team will need to be tailored to meet the marketing demands. Most organizations are turning to best human resource practices among the employees. Effective management of employees will be a good tool of bridging the vacuum existing in the market. If any organization has to improve its performance, it has to be ready to invest substantially. Marketing improvement forms one of the major goals of this strategy. Training the marketing staff will be one of the priorities for the management. Staffs need to be informed about the demands in the market and how to introduce and maintain the products of the company. Marketers will be trained not only on the basic skills in marketing, but also the technical aspects of marketing. In this case, the technicalities of products, such as their composition and their effect in use, must be understood by the team (Effron, Gandossy Goldsmith, 2003). Market diversification will also be an area of focus in the strategic management improvement. In the analysis, it has been discovered that the company has been focusing on diversifying its products though not so much has been achieved. Many other companies are diversifying their products. Diversification is one of the important and efficient methods of improving marketing. This can be done by producing products that address the needs of different consumers. The consumers of beauty products can be categorized into three groups. These are the ageing people, men, and women beauty products. If the products are tailored and end up meeting the needs of all these groups, then Unilever will be assured of capturing bigger market compared to what its current status (Jones, 2005). Quality management is a method that is used in gaining and maintaining customers in the markets. The management of Unilever will need to focus on quality of the personal care beauty products. Quality management is a sure way of improving t he quality of goods and services in the market. It is a leading way of market differentiation. A lot goes into quality management especially if the organization will be required to enhance quality management. The importance of focusing on quality for Unilever will be to assure the customers of value for their money. Many trendy products are coming up, and reassuring the customers through quality must be embraced to capture customer loyalty. It will enhance loyalty and make the customers trust the company products. As part of quality assurance to customers, the marketing team will be trained on standards that go into the manufacturing of the products. In this case, it is expected that customers will respond to queries about the products. Therefore, the marketing team will convince them to continue using the products (Aslam, Garcà ­a, Szczecina Lima de Faria, 2008). Evaluation of the areas of focus in plan It is important to measure the success of any plan. It helps one to understan d the level of achievement in each of the objectives in the plan. It also helps in understanding the gaps that arise from the implementation plan thus easy to fill the gaps so that the plan can be kept on track. The training of the marketing team by focusing on the technical aspects of products can only be tested in the field. After a marketing exercise has been run, surveys will be conducted to ascertain the depth of customer understanding about the products. As the company introduces diversified product in the market, the customers will be informed of products through marketing campaigns. The acceptance levels will be measured through the consumption trends during the early stages of product introduction into the market. The only way to determine whether the quality of a product is appealing is through the rate at which it is being consumed. Customer opinions will be sought to establish the areas of weakness in the quality of products and the general way in which the product is ad ministered by the company. Conclusion Strategic plans are meant to facilitate comprehensive changes so as to raise the perspective in which the organization and management of activities is done. For such plans, understanding of the areas which need change in the organization is very critical. This is done through comprehensive and analytical tools such as the SWOT analysis. References Abraham, S.C. (2012). Strategic planning: A practical guide for competitive success. London: Emerald Group Publ. Aslam, S., Garcà ­a, E., Szczecina, J.C. Lima de Faria, H.A. (2008). UNILEVER Portfolio Management. Web. Effron, M., Gandossy, R.P. Goldsmith, M. (2003). Human resources in the 21st century. Hoboken, N.J: J. Wiley Sons. Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D Hoskisson, R.E. (2012). Strategic Management Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization. Mason, OH: South-Western Pub. Jones, G. (2005). Renewing Unilever: Transformation and tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Peter, J.P. Donnelly, J.H. ( 2009). Marketing management: Knowledge and skills. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Piotraschke, F. (2008). Brand Portfolio Management, Basic Principles and Recent Trends Shown in Context of Unilever, a Consumer Goods Company. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Unilever Website (2012). Customer Development. 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