FM Company's Distribution Channels

The FM Company has been utilizing two primary channels for selling its products and services, namely online and offline. The company has seen an increase in the number of stores globally, despite economic crises. Promotion is a crucial marketing strategy for FM Company, which includes public relations and MPR (Marketing Public Relations) to build brand awareness and knowledge. To control implementation, FM Company needs to improve customer service by listening to customers through focus groups and online trackers. The company also needs to promote the right products at the right time using its distribution centers and advanced technology. Furthermore, FM Company should operate franchise chains for their own stores to provide a full range of products.

FM COMPANY marketing plan
Student
[Company name] [Company address]

Executive summary
FM Cosmetics is based in Poland; and it is a very fast growing company in the perfume market.
It has been created by young people, which is why they are able to respond to needs and wishes
of their customers and distributors quickly. The report has done a strategic audit of the company
and its macro, micro analysis has been done along with SWOT. This has helped the company
realize that where should its base its marketing plan. Then according to that a marketing plan for
the company has been developed. This includes the marketing mix of the products of company
and the controls and budget requires to carry out that plan.
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Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................................2
Strategic Audit...........................................................................................................................................2
1.1 MACRO...........................................................................................................................................2
1.2 MICRO.............................................................................................................................................3
1.3 INTERNAL......................................................................................................................................3
1.4 SWOT...............................................................................................................................................4
1.5 CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
Objectives...................................................................................................................................................6
2.1 MISSION/VISION...........................................................................................................................6
2.2 CORPORATE OBJECTIVE..........................................................................................................6
2.3 MARKETING OBJECTIVES........................................................................................................7
Strategic decisions.....................................................................................................................................7
3.1 MODELS..........................................................................................................................................7
3.2 OPTIONS.........................................................................................................................................8
3.3 STP...................................................................................................................................................8
3.4 BRANDING.....................................................................................................................................9
Tactics........................................................................................................................................................9
4.1 MARKETING MIX.........................................................................................................................9
Product...............................................................................................................................................9
Price..................................................................................................................................................11
Place..................................................................................................................................................12
Promotion.........................................................................................................................................13
Controls....................................................................................................................................................14
TOOLS TO CONTROL IMPLEMENTATION...............................................................................14
Budget......................................................................................................................................................17
8. References............................................................................................................................................18
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Introduction
FM Cosmetics is based in Poland; and it is a very fast growing company in the perfume market.
It has been created by young people, which is why they are able to respond to needs and wishes
of their customers and distributors quickly. Among the youth, cosmetics are very famous
especially the women. FM offers large range of fragrances of all types: fresh, flowery, oriental,
woody, and fruity and many more. Their primary goals are, to always have available products at
the best possible prices, to focus on the customer and distributor satisfaction by being able to
satisfy customer’s requests. They offer their products branded in the name of Federico Mahora,
FM and Aurile.
Since 2004 FM Group has enjoyed rapid expansion in over 50 countries. Fragrance for the
perfumes is created by the one of the biggest companies in the world with the 100 years tradition
which is growing up very fast and has its bases in Europe, Australia, United States, China and
Brazil. In 2004 FM Group launched an exclusive range of fragrances and complementary
products. This young and exciting company has behind it a wealth of experience in perfume
creation, marketing and direct sales and has in a short amount of time already expanded into
more than twenty countries. FM Group UK office opened in January 2006.
The strategic audit in the next section will provide the necessary information that will it
understand the reasons to build a strong position in UK.
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Strategic Audit
1.1 MACRO
In the macro analysis, the PESTEL analysis of the business of FM Company has been done. The
company operates in the global environment, and it has stores all over the world. So the political
and legislative condition of the respective countries affects the business of FM Company to a
great extent. Legislation of the nation and the quality of products and services are changing, and
they are introducing new instructions programmes for the beauty fields. Moreover the
government is introducing higher taxes for business, and this is badly affecting the business
environment (Legislation.gov.uk, 2016).
We believe the FM Group Buyers Club offers the perfect solution. It’s only shopping from
home instead of the Supermarket, and sharing those benefits with people you know it is really
easy.
The company has to take care of the economic factors as well because they influence the costs
of the company, demand for products, prices and profits of the company too. There has been the
shift in the shopping trends of customers of UK. Mintel consumer research 2015 shows that high
class customers aged 16-44 tend to buy expensive and branded beauty products (Mintel, 2016).
The economy in UK improved significantly by 2015. There is an increasing cost of cosmetics
with a decreasing personal income of people. However middle class customers are still
purchasing wisely fancying the high quality luxury products (Mintel 2016).
Nowadays people tend to use make-up a lot for outing, to look more presentable and change
theirs looks. FM creates a good value gift sets for both men and women. However the greatest
gift of offers comes on Christmas period, New Year season, Mother’s Day, Valentines and
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summer deals. Researches in cosmetics show that customers switch to organic and natural
cosmetics (Mintel 2016). However which FM is dedicating and that will also help to build a firm
position in the market. So this is due to the social factors.
With technology advancements, there has been development in the products of FM Company.
This also has an impact on the customer satisfaction because, with the latest technology, the
goods can be made available to the customers in the short period. According to Mintel 2016,
over 19% of customers have researched about desired products online before purchasing the
product. The advancement of technology has created opportunities for FM to reach their
customers. Many companies also invest more in mobile applications using any tools of integrated
communications to promote the band (Mintel 2016). The use of the internet is promoting FM to
get the opportunity for customers to notice them through online. In additional is helping FM to
improve business on both operating and promoting, and increasing sales and the presence in the
marketing.
The environmental issues threaten the cosmetics the most, so they need to act in a socially
responsible way. This is done with the help of proper regulations and corporate governance.
Nowadays the environmental protection issue has become a very delicate topic, in where more
amendments in environmental law are presented from 2015 (Legislation.gov.uk, 2016). However
has been able for FM to introduce the natural wellness skin care such as Aloe Vera, Beta-Glucan
Active, Skin Lab, Honey Collection; and other nutrition wellness like infusions, natural coffee,
tea and functional coffee. (uk.fmworld.com)
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Finally, the legislation of governments and their policies affect the performance of FM
Company directly. Health and safety regulations, safe packaging, labelling regulations (Gov.
2016). Also all EU operating companies has the necessity to adopt new regulations: "changes in
fragrance allergen labeling laws; for this reason it is suggested that FM should set strict selling
and distribution regulations in order to prevent any damaging consequences for the brand itself.
These factors affect the decisions of marketing because the ultimate goal of marketing is that the
products should get sold in the market successfully. But if these factors are not considered so the
plan can fail too.
1.2 MICRO
Now the Porter’s five forces model will be used here. The micro factors that affect the business
of FM Company include competitors, customers, suppliers, and employees. The marketing plan
should be able to make the company move ahead of its competitors. The competitive rivalry has
an effect on the business as they copy the moves and then introduce similar products in the
market. The bargaining power of customers is strong. Customers are most important
stakeholders of the company. If they feel satisfied with the products of the company then only
they buy it. Otherwise, they don’t buy the products. So the marketing plan has to be such that it
is able to attract more and more people. The bargaining power of suppliers is weak. Suppliers
of the company are important too as they determine as per the market plan that how much
business will the get from the marketing of the products. The people of the company are the ones
who make every strategy possible by implementing them successfully (Temperley, 2013). The
entrants can enter the market easily as there are fewer barriers to enter the market. The
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products can be substituted easily as there are many companies that make and sell cosmetic
products.
Though this environment is micro and does not have any direct impact on the business still it is
an important consideration when the marketing plan of FM Company is made.
1.3 INTERNAL
FM Company has various strengths and weaknesses that it needs to focus and that can help if
build a successful marketing plan. By analyzing these strengths and weaknesses, the company
can meet the needs of its target market. This analysis is important because this gives the
company an opportunity to determine that what it can do best and what it cannot do at its best.
The company has to strategize its marketing plan as per the market conditions and the needs of
its customers. So the internal analysis of the company will determine the available resources of
the company and its capabilities and strengths that can be deployed to build a successful
marketing plan.
In the company FM Company, there are large numbers of people who work and they are the
strength of the company. These people are highly skilled, and they have excellent capability to
implement any plan. So FM Company will use its human resources for making that marketing
plan a success (Alkhatib. n.d.). Also, it will take inputs from these people to build the plan. Then
the company also has experienced people in the top management so they can be trusted upon to
build a good marketing plan.
1.4 SWOT
STRENGHTS
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 Provide natural products for customers,
 Maintain good relationship with customers.
 Possibility to be flexible for new services
 Attractive prices
WEAKNESS
 The company has not developed a relationship with customers yet.
 Do not have a physical shop
OPPORTUNITIES
 The finding of lead in cosmetic products created an opportunity for FM to show consumers that
the products are natural and organic. If the company incorporates this in their products then
they will be sold more.
 More beauty cultural programmes that can be seen in TV programmes
 It covers all needs of all ages, product and service expansion
 Innovation
 Increasing market demand for more treatment
THREATHS
 Few big companies and a large number of small companies would be fighting for market share in
the global market.
 In an unstable economy, people will reduce their expenses in order to save money for future
use. This consideration leads to decrease their purchase intention on inferior good such as
cosmetics products.
 Increasing cost of other equipment
1.5 CONCLUSION
FM is highly affected by external factors, and those which are negatively affecting their revenue
are political and legal, on the other hand those that are positively affected consist on the
environmental, technological and the social factors, that is been able to protect the company and
it has made it possible for FM to developed new successful products. The internal analysis shows
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that has a profitable structure. The staff is quite satisfied with the establishment of FM
progression into the industry.
Objectives
2.1 MISSION/VISION
Their mission is to create products, which will have the possibility to be shared committed with a
lifestyle that will give customers financial freedom. To market the high-quality skincare and
cosmetic products to women who want what goes on their bodies to have as high a quality as
what goes in their bodies. It will strive to be the leading producer and marketer or personalized
make-up brands for consumers of color who are searching for flawless make-up and convenient
make-up. (Brannen, 2013).
Their main vision is to be the global leader of Multi-Level Marketing and be number one for
fragrance sales worldwide. They are aiming to work ethically with people driven by the spirit of
success. (www.networkmarketinghq.co.uk)
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2.2 CORPORATE OBJECTIVE
FM Cosmetics has the challenging ambition to go across national borders, is aiming to change
the world for the better and is concentrating in promoting the spirit of enterprise. FM objective is
to make money by generating profit from selling the products. It is all about the commission you
can earn through generating personal points and those of your business partners; for them to be
able to build and manage an effective sale group. Additionally FM is concerned about the
healthy lifestyle that their customers should live. (www.networkmarketinghq.co.uk)
2.3 MARKETING OBJECTIVES
FM believes that the products should always be available at the best possible prices; also should
focus on gaining the total customer and distributor satisfaction. And lastly they are aiming to
concentrate on giving always the best satisfaction to their customers’ requests.
(www.networkmarketinghq.co.uk)
With marketing, the company FM Company introduces its product to the targeted customers in
any market. The goal of the company is to adopt a workable marketing plan for achieving the
competitive advantage over the competitors. This helps the company in generating more sales
and profits. The company wants to maximize its reach to the target market. Another objective of
the company is to become and sustain the position of leading company in the UK. It wants to
invest in the market development of its products. The last marketing objective of the company
FM Company is to grow larger than its biggest competitor and to capture the market share
(Malik, 2015).
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Strategic decisions
3.1 MODELS
There are many models that the company has used for it marketing like it has used the Ansoff
matrix to determine its current position and future possibilities. It has also used porter's five
forces model to determine its industry competitiveness. But now the company will use Porter's
generic strategy model where it will determine that what strategy it will adopt to gain market
share, whether it will focus on its cost and differentiation or it will gain cost and differentiation
leadership. The company has already able to lower down its level of cost so the company should
focus on its differentiation and gain leadership in differentiation (Peck, 2013). This strategy will
help the company to acquire the share in all the markets.
3.2 OPTIONS
The company has the option to expand its operation in international markets especially in the
market of Switzerland. This will enable the company in serving the broad range of customers.
This will also give the benefit of becoming a leader in the retail business internationally. There is
the huge potential of earning higher revenues in the international markets. Then another option
with the company is that it can open the variety of stores (Rundh, 2015). Alliances can be formed
with other cosmetics of international markets ad they can jointly develop new stores. This will
help in building the brand of the company as well as the expansion of the operations of the
company could be done.
3.3 STP
STP refers to Strategic Targeting Positioning Strategies. Here the company should go with the
segmentation strategy. The company should target few international markets first and then it
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should expand further. The specific features of the brand and the product will be focused to
position it in the new markets (Palmer, 2014). So the marketing should tell the customers about
these products and their need in the market. Also, the company will target people of young age
group so that the needs of all people are taken care of.
3.4 BRANDING
The company believes that brand experience is everything. The company builds its brand by
managing the relations with its customers successfully. The company should introduce a card
where all the information of the customers purchase is recorded. When the customers swipe the
card, the information gets displayed, and the company is able to determine that what are the
purchasing decisions of the customers and accordingly those things that are less sold can be
developed and promoted.
Tactics
4.1 MARKETING MIX
The marketing mix can be utilized as a tool for influencing the demand of the marketers. The
marketing mix is usually combined with the four elements namely- product, price, place and
promotion. The marketing mix of FM Company is manipulated by the marketing as well the
senior management for offering them competitive benefits so as to target the customer segment
along with the positive effects on the bottom line.
Product
A comprehensive range of products has been offered by FM Company. It offers the following
products that can easily be purchased: FM has 7 type of product range: Fragrances (for him/ her/
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youth), body care, hair care, make up, home products, wellness nutrition (tea and natural coffee),
and pets products
The product categories of FM Company stores also depend on the store and their types along
with the Express stores having less variety of products and the Extra stores that help in offering
highest choice. Furthermore, FM Company Bank also helps in offering a range of banking
products that are widely accepted like credit cards, mortgages, savings and personal loans. The
FM Company’s product line is highly vast and helps in catering various customers who have
varying tastes and preferences.
Price
The pricing strategy of FM Company can be considered as the case of cost leadership. FM
Company has developed its pricing strategy as per its business strategy, and it has helped in
contributing towards the company to provide the competitive advantage. The pricing strategy of
FM Company is therefore strategized on the basis of the marketing message called ‘Every Little
Help.' The management of FM Company has aimed towards the reduction of the cost of purchase
along with their operational costs via the economies of the scale along with which various sets of
measures are set for passing the cost advantage towards their customers so as to gain main brand
value. The company further utilizes all the psychological pricing, economy pricing, geographic
pricing strategies and product line pricing. Furthermore, the pricing strategy is the best method
for determining the demand for the good or products. These pricing strategies will help in setting
a price for the product so as to help FM Company to develop a standard cost and quality that
would be beneficial for finalizing the actual price of any product.
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FM Company believes that the product must be priced depending upon the consumer perception
regarding their product as the perception of the consumer is highly important for setting up the
price of the product. The company also utilizes pricing strategy where they identify a unique
product and then develop a suitable strategy for the setup of that product giving them a
competitive edge. FM Company believes in charging the high price to luxurious products only.
On focusing on the cosmetics charges, we can identify the fact that FM Company charges lower
prices as compared to the others. Product pricing is highly considered in FM Company helping
them to attain a high position in the competitive market. Furthermore, FM Company further
enjoys decreasing their product prices and also do not to compromise their quality helping them
to become the leader of the market.
Place
This element of the marketing mix is related to the locations and places where the customers can
buy products and purchase services and further the distributions of these products can be done to
these places. FM Company has been seen to utilize two important channels for selling all the
products and services namely, online and offline.
The figure given below describes that the number of FM Company stores has been increasing
from the past eight years despite all the global financial as well as economic crisis, especially
during 2007-2009. By the end of 2015, FM Company had 7817 stores in overall 11 countries. It
has further been seen that the two-thirds of the total FM Company sales are prepared in the
United Kingdom.
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Promotion
Promotion is one of the most important marketing strategies of any organization.
Promotion helps to reach out to the small groups along with the target audience using the print
advertisement, magazines, television advertisement for helping them reach out to the target
audience at one particular time.
One of the most popular promotional strategies that FM Company widely uses helps in
evaluating the public attitudes, then identify the critical areas within the organization and finally
a program of action is executed for earning the public acceptance and their understanding. The
public relations can be helpful for the FM Company in communication with all the customers,
stockholders, employees, suppliers, communities, etc. the public relations are further used for
maintaining the positive image of the company. FM Company has now moved to the MPR
(Marketing Public Relations) for building the brand knowledge as well as awareness for new
products and current. MPR is highly useful in reaching to the local communities. FM Company
does not pay does not pay for the space obtained and for the time in the field of media exposure.
Controls
FM Company needs to place the financial and strategies controls in place. The following
measures must be taken for formulated strategy.
TOOLS TO CONTROL IMPLEMENTATION
i.) Improve customer service
Implement: This can be done by listening to customers by engaging with them with the help
of focus groups and online trackers. FM Company can engage in social media to listen to
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their customers and respond to their customers using Facebook, Twitter, webchats, etc. in
one go. The loyalty cards provided by FM Company can also be beneficial in this method.
Control: The marketing insight business is responsible for providing analysis which must be
provided as a feedback for the business model which can help to shape the product and him
development of the range enabling FM Company to offer best products to the customers.
(Jung, J. & Yoo, J., 2016)
ii.) Promotion of right products at the right time.
Implement: The network of the distribution centers (DCs) and using the advanced
technology supporting the modern and cost-effective as well as efficient supply chain. FM
Company needs to understand their DC regarding the products present in the stores.
Therefore, FM Company should forecast the needs of the customers and then auto-update
their ordering systems on the basis of the product brought by the customers.
Control: The DCs must be planned along with the systems, the network for maximizing the
efficiency. The transport planning and the labor scheduling should be made available for
operating high effectively this will further minimize the mileage which is needed or getting
the products in a perfect condition towards the store (Stone, 2003).
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iii.) Best shopping trip
Implement: A multi-format approach must be applied for meeting the needs of the customers for
the various types of the shopping experiences, be it from the large or small. The Extra Stores
must provide a full range of cosmetics, to all the stores.
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Control: FM Company must operate franchise chains for their own stores. One of the most
famous franchise models of FM Company is the C&C model for the cosmetics brand in Saudi
Arabia.
Budget
For accomplishing the objectives, the company should develop various strategies which are
accessible within the stipulated amount of time. The plan has been estimated to cost around
$5000. FM Company should hire people who are able to listen to the customers very carefully
and understand their needs and wants. These people must be able to solve these issues. In order
to make sure that the actualization of these objectives must be developed so as to make sure that
the delivery of the correct type of message must be provided to the right person in the right
manner.
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8. References
Alkhatib, B., Business Strategy-A case Study of FM COMPANY.
Brannen, M., Moore, F.I.O.N.A. and Mughan, T.E.R.R.Y., 2013. Strategic ethnography and
reinvigorating FM Company PLC: leveraging multicultural teams using ethnographic
method. Ethnographic Praxis in Industry, pp.282-99.
Cushman, D. and Burke, J., 2014. Introduction: FM Company PLC—an Open Business. In The
10 Principles of Open Business (pp. 10-23). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Ho, C. and Temperley, J., 2013. Consumers’ Reactions to FM Company’s Market Entry in
Taiwan: A Comparison with the UK Experience. Marketing Management in Asia, Routledge,
pp.101-119.
Malik, S.A., 2015. Optimising supermarket promotions of fast moving consumer goods using
disaggregated sales data: A case study of FM Company and their small and medium sized
suppliers (Doctoral dissertation, University of Kent, United Kingdom).
Palmer, M., Simmons, G. and Mason, K., 2014. Web-based social movements contesting
marketing strategy: The mobilisation of multiple actors and rhetorical strategies. Journal of
Marketing Management, 30(3-4), pp.383-408.
Peck, H., Christopher, M., Clark, M. and Payne, A., 2013. Relationship marketing. Taylor &
Francis.
Ridolfo, M., Lu, L., Toth, J. and McCarthy, D., 2015. Faculty of Management Assignment 1:
INDIVIDUAL REPORT.
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